Overview of Oracle Solaris 11 Support Repository Updates (SRU) System Testing (Doc ID 1990007.1)

Last updated on JULY 06, 2023

Applies to:

Purpose

Oracle provides long term support for Solaris 11 by delivering changes in periodic Update releases, such as Solaris 11.2, which provide feature enhancements and bug fixes, and intervening monthly Support Repository Updates (SRUs), which primarily provide bug fixes but may also deliver some features.

Oracle Solaris Support Repository Updates (SRUs) go through multiple System Test cycles prior to being released on the MyOracleSupport (MOS) customer support site and to the Image Package System (IPS) Support Repository. The System Test cycles occur in parallel to the verification of bug fixes included in the SRUs.

The Verification is designed to check that patches fix what they're supposed to fix.

The System Test is designed to check that patches don't break functionality on the system to which they are applied.

This document provides an overview of Oracle Solaris SRU System Testing.

Solaris Updates and SRUs combine to provide a contiguous support train for Solaris 11, where an SRU/Update together form a superset of what preceded it. Each SRU provides the cumulative code delta relative to the preceding Solaris Update. For example, SRU 11.2.5.5.0 is Solaris 11.2 SRU5.5, which is the fifth SRU released since Solaris 11.2. The second "5" in the "5.5" release string indicates there were 5 (internal) builds of SRU5, each of which was tested by SME. Both the Solaris 11 Update(s) and the SRU(s) need to be added to a customer's Repository to enable a Solaris 11 system to be updated to the desired SRU level.

This cumulative content is similar to patches in Solaris 10 and earlier, whereby the latest patches were a superset of the content of preceding Solaris 10 Updates and patches.

SRUs are designed to be installed as a unit, providing a much simpler maintenance model for customers than the patching model in Solaris 10 and earlier.

Scope

The scope of this document is intended for Solaris 11 SPARC and x64/x86 systems.

Details

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