DYNIX/ptx V4.4.9 and Layered Products Software Installation Release Notes: Resolve File Conflicts


Appendix B
Resolve File Conflicts


File Conflicts in DYNIX/ptx V4.4.9

When you update DYNIX/ptx to V4.4.9, the preview logs may contain CONFLICT-REPLACE entries for certain files that you have modified locally. This type of entry tells ptx/INSTALL to replace the file currently on the system with the new version of the file on the distribution medium. It is important to check each file in this category carefully. If you do not intervene, your local file modifications will be lost during the installation.

This section describes certain conflicts that you should be aware of in this product release. Depending on the version that you are updating from and the local file modifications that you have made, you may have additional conflicts that must be resolved.

For details about interpreting and resolving file conflicts, refer to the later sections in this appendix.


Conflicts That Must Be Merged


/etc/passwd and /etc/shadow

A new system account, devalloc, has been added to the /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow files. If you are updating from a version earlier than V4.4.0, the preview log will contain CONFLICT-REPLACE entries for these files. We recommend that you change the preview log entries to CONFLICT-SKIP and retain your existing files. After the installation is complete, you can create a new user account for devalloc as described in Chapter 9.

Also, in V4.4.2, the anon flag was turned on for several system accounts in the /etc/shadow file. (The anon flag is used when auditing is enabled and indicates that more than one user can log into an account.) This change causes /etc/shadow to have a CONFLICT-REPLACE entry in the preview log. We recommend that you change the entry to CONFLICT-SKIP and, if you are using auditing, merge the anon entries into your existing file. (You can also use the Change a User Account menu option to turn on the anon flag after the installation is complete.)


Other Files

The preview log may also contain CONFLICT-REPLACE entries for the following files:

You will need to merge the new information in the V4.4.9 version of the files with the existing files on your system. The section "CONFLICT-REPLACE Entries," later in this appendix, describes several ways to do this.


Conflicts That Can Be Skipped

The preview log may contain CONFLICT-REPLACE entries for certain files because of changes to their copyrights. These files do not need to be replaced on your system. If the preview log contains a CONFLICT-REPLACE entry for any of the following files, change the entry to CONFLICT-SKIP:


ATTENTION

If the entry for a particular file is simply REPLACE, do not modify the entry. REPLACE is the correct action. The distribution media contains a new version of the file, and you have not modified the version currently on your system.



EMC Devices and mpt_space.c

If you installed DYNIX/ptx V4.4.2 on a host with an EMC device, you will have modified the standard timeout and busy-retry timeout in the /usr/conf/uts/io/mpt/mpt_space.c file. In V4.4.9, the standard timeout is set on a per-device basis in the sd_space.c file and the busy-retry timeout is calculated by the system.

When you update to V4.4.9, the mpt_space.c file will be replaced by a new version of the file. This is the correct action and should not be changed. You no longer need to modify the timeout values for EMC devices.


Conflicts With ptx/9GB_DISK

The ptx/9GB-DISK product has been incorporated into the DYNIX/ptx base operating system. When you update to DYNIX/ptx V4.4.9, the default VTOC files provided with ptx/9GB_DISK will be replaced by new versions of the files. The preview log for the base operating system will contain CONFLICT-REPLACE entries for these files; do not change these entries.


User Access to crontab Files and the at and batch Commands

Two files, /usr/lib/cron/at.allow and/usr/lib/cron/at.deny, control access to the at and batch commands. Similarly, the files /usr/lib/cron/cron.allow and /usr/lib/cron/cron.deny control access to user crontab files. As installed, these files are empty.

If you have deleted any of these files, the V4.4.9 update procedure will reinstall the deleted files. The reinstallation of the files can change the user access permitted on your system:

To prevent these changes from occurring, either remove the reinstalled files or change the entries for the files in the preview log from NEW to SKIP and delete the second line of the entries.

For example, if the at.allow file has been deleted on your system, the preview log will contain the following entry for the file:

NEW     /usr/lib/cron/at.allow  - old file missing
   ----644 root     sys            18 28939 New BOM entry

To prevent the file from being reinstalled, change the entry from NEW to SKIP and delete the second line of the entry:

SKIP     /usr/lib/cron/at.allow  - old file missing 


File Conflicts in ptx/TCP/IP V4.5.3

If you are updating from a version of ptx/TCP/IP earlier than V4.4.3, the ptx/TCP/IP V4.5.3 installation replaces the /etc/services file. If your site has ptx/CLUSTERS installed, this action will remove the ptx/CLUSTERS information from the file. To retain the information, locate the entry for /etc/services in the preview.log file for ptx/TCP/IP and change the action to CONFLICT-SKIP.

The preview.log may also contain CONFLICT-REPLACE or CONFLICT-DELETE entries for the following files. The entries for these files should be changed to CONFLICT-SKIP.

For more information, refer to the ptx/TCP/IP V4.5.3 Release Notes.


File Conflicts in ptx/RAID V2.0.5

When DYNIX/ptx is upgraded from V4.2.x to V4.4.9 and ptx/RAID is upgraded from V1.4.0 to V2.0.5, the preview.log for ptx/RAID will contain a CONFLICT-DELETE entry for the /etc/dumpconf command. This entry will cause the command to be deleted from the system. To retain the command, change the entry to CONFLICT-SKIP.


Preview Log Format

The preview log for each product is located in the /usr/options/<product> directory. The log contains an entry for each file on the distribution medium that requires an action during the installation. It also includes entries for files that were installed by a previous release of the software but are no longer included in the software package.

The log does not include entries for files that have not changed between releases of the software and have not been modified locally. ptx/INSTALL does not reinstall these files; the file currently on the system is retained.

Each entry in the preview log consists of an action, followed by the name of the file. The entries have this form:

action filename [default_action explanation]
[New BOM entry]
[Old BOM entry]
[Filesystem entry]

The action specifies how the install phase will treat the file; it can be either SKIP, NEW, DELETE, REPLACE, or CONFLICT. The default_action and explanation fields appear only for CONFLICT entries.

Preview log entries containing the NEW or REPLACE action are followed by a new BOM entry. Preview log entries containing the CONFLICT action are followed by new BOM, old BOM, and filesystem entries as appropriate. Following is a sample CONFLICT entry from an update of the base operating system.

CONFLICT /etc/vfstab - SKIP, old file does not match BOM
    ----6 64 root     sys         606 11934 New BOM entry
    ----664 root     sys         606 11934 Old BOM entry
    ----664 root     sys         854 13493 Filesystem entry

The new BOM entry is from the BOM on the distribution medium; the old BOM entry is from the BOM for the current version of the operating system. The filesystem entry provides information about the actual file on the system.

The BOM and filesystem entries tell you the status of the file. If the new and old BOM entries are identical, the file has not changed between releases of the software. If the new and old BOMs do not match, the distribution medium contains a new version of the file. If the filesystem entry does not match the old BOM, the file has been modified on the system. (Filesystem entries appear only for the CONFLICT action.)


View or Edit the Preview Log

The preview phase locates files currently on the system that will be deleted or replaced during the installation. You can then take the appropriate actions to ensure that you do not lose the information in these files. This section provides a brief description of the entries you should look for in the preview log and the actions you can take to preserve local information. For detailed information about preview log entries and how they can be modified, refer to "Preview Log Entries," later in this chapter.

To read or edit the preview log, select the View/Edit Preview Log option from the Software Management menu. Then select the software package containing the preview log you want to read.

In the preview log, look for entries marked CONFLICT-NEW, CONFLICT-DELETE, and CONFLICT-REPLACE. The following paragraphs describe how to treat these entries.

For example, you could add information about your TTY lines to the /etc/inittab file on the system. When the distribution medium includes a new version of this file, the file will be reported as CONFLICT-REPLACE. Although the new version of the file must be installed on the system, it is important to keep your TTY information.

To resolve this conflict, you need to merge the local changes made to the file currently on the system with the new version of the file. The following steps describe one way to do this.

  1. Compare the new files that ptx/INSTALL preloaded with the versions of the files currently on the system.

  2. Merge the local information from the files on the system into the new files. For example, you would need to copy your TTY line entries from the current /etc/inittab file to the new version of /etc/inittab.

  3. Resume the installation. The new version of /etc/inittab will be installed from the preload location; however, the file now contains your local additions.

If you prefer not to modify the preloaded new files, you can resolve the conflicts after the installation is complete. Merge the local information from the saved old files into the new versions of the files now on the system.

The detailed discussion of CONFLICT-REPLACE entries, later in this chapter, describes some additional ways to merge your local changes with the new versions of the files from the distribution medium.

The remaining preview log entries (NEW, REPLACE, DELETE, SKIP, and CONFLICT-SKIP) typically require no action on your part. You can modify some of these entries if necessary. Refer to "Preview Log Entries" for more information.


Preview Log Entries

The preview log can contain NEW, DELETE, REPLACE, SKIP, and CONFLICT entries.


NEW Entries

A NEW entry means that the distribution medium contains a new file that is not currently on the system and that was not included in a previous release of the software package. The install phase will load this file onto the system.

Typically, this type of entry appears either when you are installing a layered software package for the first time or when a new file has been added to a package that you are updating.

In the following example, the base operating system includes a new header file,hdformat.h.

NEW      /etc/conf/stand/hdformat.h
    ----444 root     sys          3699 06947 New BOM entry


ATTENTION

Do not change these entries.



DELETE Entries

A DELETE entry means that a file currently on the system is no longer included in the software package. The file matches the old BOM; it was not modified locally. The install phase will delete this file.

This type of entry appears only when you are updating a software package that already exists on the system. For example, if you are updating the base operating system and it no longer needs the file /usr/include/sys/fsid.h, the following line will appear in the preview log.

DELETE   /usr/include/sys/fsid.h

If you want to keep the file on the system, take one of these actions:


REPLACE Entries

A REPLACE entry means that the distribution medium contains a new version of a file included in the previous release of the software. The file currently on the system has not been modified; it matches the old BOM. The install phase will replace the file currently on the system with the new version of the file.

In the following example, the distribution medium contains a new version of the /bin/login program. This version will replace the /bin/login currently on the system.

REPLACE  /bin/login
    -u--555 root     bin     88232 20817 New BOM entry


ATTENTION

Do not change these entries.



SKIP Entries

A SKIP entry means that the file already exists on the system and will not be installed. These entries are typically for system directories.


ATTENTION

Do not change these entries.



CONFLICT Entries

A CONFLICT entry means that the file on the system does not match the appropriate BOM. If you are installing a software package for the first time, the file currently on the system does not match the entry for that file in the new BOM. Typically, either the file was installed by another DYNIX/ptx software package or it was placed on the system locally.

If you are installing an update of a software package, the file on the system does not match the corresponding entry in the old BOM (the BOM for the version of the software currently on your system). This means that the file has been modified. For example, the system administrator might have added local information to the file, another software package might have modified the file, or a special update package might have included changes to the file.

Entries marked CONFLICT include two optional fields: default-action and explanation. The default-action, which can be either NEW, DELETE, SKIP, or REPLACE, tells the install phase how to handle the file. The explanation field contains the reason for specifying that default-action. You can change the default_action if necessary.


CONFLICT-New Entries

A CONFLICT-NEW entry means that the file already exists on the system, but the previous release of this software package did not include the file (there is no old BOM entry). The install phase will replace the existing file with the new file from the distribution medium.

In the following example, the/usr/admin.ptx/edc/newfs program already exists on the system, but the current version of the operating system does not include the file (there is no old BOM entry for the program).

CONFLICT /usr/admin.ptx/edc/newfs - NEW, non-matching file already exists
    ----444 root     sys          4020 33602 New BOM entry
    ----644 root     sys          4020 56583 Filesystem entry

This situation can occur when another software package has installed the file. For example, the encryption package includes a new version of the vi command, which was originally installed with the base operating system. The first time you install encryption, the preview log will report vi as CONFLICT-NEW because it exists on the system, but there is no old BOM file for encryption. Typically, you don't need to do anything for this type of conflict. For encryption to function correctly, you must install the new vi command on the system.

If you want to compare the two files, refer to the new version of the file. To retain the existing file on the system, change the entry to CONFLICT-SKIP. You can then resolve the conflict after the installation is complete.

A CONFLICT-NEW situation can also occur if the file was placed on the system locally. In this case, if you want to keep the local file, either move or rename it.


CONFLICT-DELETE Entries

A CONFLICT-DELETE entry means that a file currently on the system does not match the old BOM (the file was modified locally). The file is no longer part of the software package, and will be deleted.

In the following example, the/etc/blarv file was loaded during the previous installation of this software package. It was then modified locally and no longer matches the old BOM. The software package no longer includes the file (the new BOM does not contain an entry for the file).

CONFLICT /etc/blarv - DELETE, installed by another package
  ----444 root     sys         4020 33602 Old BOM entry
  ----644 root     sys         4020 56583 Filesystem entry

If you want to keep the file on the system, take one of these actions:


CONFLICT-SKIP Entries

A CONFLICT-SKIP entry means that a file did not change between versions of the software; however, it has been modified locally. The file on the distribution medium will not be installed. Instead, the existing file will remain on the system.

In the following example, the /etc/vfstab file has not changed between versions of the software-the new and old BOM entries are identical. The filesystem entry does not match the old BOM entry; the system administrator has modified the file currently on the system to include information about local filesystems.

CONFLICT /etc/vfstab - SKIP, old file does not match BOM
    ----664 root     sys          606 11934 New BOM entry
    ----664 root     sys          606 11934 Old BOM entry
    ----664 root     sys          854 13493 Filesystem entry

In most cases, SKIP is the proper entry. If you do not want to keep your local changes and prefer to go back to the original form of the file, change the default entry to REPLACE.

CONFLICT /etc/vfstab - REPLACE, old file does not match BOM
    ----664 root     sys          606 11934 New BOM entry
    ----664 root     sys          606 11934 Old BOM entry
    ----664 root     sys          854 13493 Filesystem entry


CONFLICT-REPLACE Entries

A CONFLICT-REPLACE entry means that a file that has changed between versions of the software has also been changed on the system. The install phase will replace the file currently on the system with the new version of the file. Check each file in this category carefully. If you do not intervene, your local file modifications will be lost during the installation.

In the following example, the /etc/passwd file has been changed between releases (the old and new BOM entries do not match). The file on the system has also been modified locally (it does not match the old BOM entry).

CONFLICT /etc/passwd - REPLACE, old file does not match BOM
    ----644 root     sys        1058  30286 New BOM entry
    ----644 root     sys        1202  31028 Old BOM entry
    ----644 root     sys        29779 32936 Filesystem

In most cases, you should incorporate your local changes with the new version of the file. There are several ways to do this: