Software Distributor (SD-UX) Administration Guide HP-UX 11i v1, 11i v2, and 11i v3 (762797-001, March 2014)

Installing Multiple Versions
Your installation may commonly having multiple versions of a software product installed at various
hosts on the network. Multiple installed version let you:
• Back out defective versions (by removing the new version and reconfiguring the old version,
if necessary)
• Let users migrate to newer software versions at their own pace
You can decide whether to allow multiple versions by controlling the allow_multiple_versions
command option. If set to false, installed or configured multiple versions (that is, the same product,
but a different revision, installed into a different location) are not allowed. While multiple installed
versions of software are allowed, multiple configured versions are not recommended.
Once multiple versions of software are installed into a location, you can manage them by specifying
the product attribute in the software specification of SD-UX commands. (This is as opposed to
specifying other version attributes such as revision and architecture). This lets you install old and
new versions of software at the same time and configure both versions (if the software packaging
supports it).
You can avoid unauthorized, privately installed versions of software by controlling access to the
IPD and restricting the use of the swinstall tool.
NOTE: Managing multiple versions of a software product on your system requires close attention
to the cross-product dependencies that may exist for each version. When you installing multiple
versions, make sure you also install multiple versions of the cross-product dependencies. If the
dependencies are not relocatable and each version you want to install depends on a different
version of the same product, multiple versions of the original product cannot be installed.
Installing to an Alternate Root
Software is usually installed relative to the primary root directory (/) but you can also install to an
alternate root directory.
The automatic configuration and compatibility filtering that is part of the swinstall command
is not performed when installing to an alternate root. You can, however, perform configuration
separately from installation by using the swconfig command. See “Configuring Your Installation
(swconfig)” (page 52).
Compatibility Filtering and Checking
SD-UX normally filters out software products that are incompatible with any selected targets.
Compatible means that the architecture of the hardware matches that required by the software
(determined by the system uname attributes). It also means that the OS version is the proper one
for the software. The actual check for incompatible software is performed during the selection
phase. Compatibility filtering and checking are controlled by the allow_incompatible option
and depend on the host’s uname attributes.
NOTE: HP strongly advises that you do not install software that is incompatible unless you are
advised to do so by your HP Support representative.
Table 8 Product Compatibility
Target Root attributeProduct value (Pattern to
match)
Product attribute
uname -mIAia64*machine_type
uname -mIA or PA9000/*machine_type
uname -sHP-UXHP-UXos_name
Installation with swinstall 51