safe to install software if /var/adm/sw/product is gone?

[TechC]

Is it safe to install software if the /var/adm/sw/products directory was deleted. I know I cannot list installed patches or software but is it safe to install software and patches.

For example if i know that ssh is not installed can I install it from depot file without damaging the system?

Thank you

[Dennis Handly]

Your system is already damaged. You might as well reinstall it from scratch.

Since you can't install anything if the IPD is not here, you could say that was "safe". ;-)

And you sure won't be able to install patches to any existing products.

[TechC]

Dennis,
Thank you for the information.
I cannot reinstall from scratch. This system runs legacy software that they do not have the media for.
So no IPD means no installing of software then?

I really want to get Ignite-UX on this box to create a recovery tape. There is no /opt/ignite/bin directory so I am assuming that this means it is not installed.

So you definitely would advise against attempting an Ignite install?

Don't mean to be repetitive just making sure.

Thank you

[Bill Hassell · Accepted solution]

swinstall will fail to install anything (patches, applications, subsystems, drivers, etc) on this system, including Ignite. This is a very serious problem for this system. You can restore the directory from your backup tapes but you will have to refer to your patching and swinstall records to make sure you load a version of the products directory that is current. Without a valid products directory, this system is truly legacy -- it can never be changed using swinstall.

[TechC]

Bill,
Thank you, that is the definitive answer I am looking for. Nice and to the point. I figured it was not a good idea but wanted to make sure. Dennis and yourself have confirmed my suspicion, thanks again.

James

[Srimalik]

You can try setting up a new server with base OS and then manually copy the legacy software files to the new system. (The problem is that you need to know every file that the software owns, a very difficult task when you don't have IPD)

You need to test the new system before bringing it in production till then you can keep on using old system.

[TechC]

Srikrishan,
Thanks for the advice. That is a good idea. However I would not know what patch revisions and such that the box is currently at. It is worth a shot though.

Thanks again
James

[Dennis Handly]

>So no IPD means no installing of software then?

As in your previous thread, there may be a way to create an empty IPD so you can install new software.

>So you definitely would advise against attempting an Ignite install?

If I wasn't clear, you have nothing to lose.

>I would not know what patch revisions and such that the box is currently at.

Some products have a what(1) string that gives the patch ID.

And if you want to be exhaustive, all products/patches give checksums, so you could compare against a list.