Solaris 10 Patches and /var/sadm/pkg
I manage a number of Solaris boxes in our department. Two run Solaris 8 and the rest run Solaris 10.
When patches are installed under Solaris 8, the directory /var/sadm/pkg is populated with the uninstall information for the relevant packages. In order to prevent the /var filesystem from filling up over time, I redirect the backout information to a separate directory /patchbackout/current (patchadd -B /patchbackout/current patchname) which is in turn a symbolic link to /patchbackout/$Month$Year (e.g. Aug2006). In this fashion I can trash old backout files without worrying about the implications to the system.
As a result of this architecture, /var/sadm/pkg is only populated by the package directory, a small text file called "remote" and after some time the file "obsoleted_by".
Under Solaris 10 I implemented the same system, this time using "smpatch set patchpro.backout.dir=/patchbackout/current". I thought all was well until I noticed that /var was over 5 gigabytes and climbing. Investigating further, I identified /var/sadm/pkg as the culprit. Examining the contents of /var/sadm/pkg revealed the problem. Each package directory contained a number of patch directories each with "remote" or "obsoleted_by" as in Solaris 8 but this time each package also had a subdirectory "pspool" which, with over 1000 packages, contributed to the several gigabytes of data.
A fairly exhaustive search of the net didn't indicate whether it was safe to delete any of this data. One piece of information suggested it was safe to delete everything under /var/sadm/pkg/{pkgname}/save. Someone who tried that went on to say that there were actually two save directories - the other being /var/sadm/pkg/{pkgname}/save/pspool/{pkgname}/save and that they were unsure which (if either) was actually safe to delete.
So my questions are:
1) What is the information in the pspool directories for? As far as I can tell, it has something to do with zones. Each of my Solaris 10 systems operates only in the global zone - local zones exist.
2) Is it safe to delete any of this data?
3) Is it possible to direct smpatch to put the pspool directory with the other backout data rather than inexorably filling up /var?
Any insights appreciated.
Cheers,
John
