Oracle developed a method allowing users of Solaris 10 OS to more easily upgrade their apps to new versions of the operating system.
According to Oracle, users of Solaris 10 can more quickly and easily upgrade their applications to more modern versions of the operating system, starting with Solaris 11.4.
Although Solaris 10 has officially been end-of-life since 2018, the version still receives extended support. Support includes the now-released Python script ‘sysdiff’, which should solve problems for users unable to upgrade their applications to version 11.4 via other methods or have special reasons for doing so.
The sysdiff script works as follows. It starts by analysing a Solaris 10 environment, looking for binaries, libraries, custom data and configuration files that are not part of Solaris 10 itself. The script puts this data into a package that’s compatible with Oracle’s CRM and Image Packing System. This package can then be redeployed under the latest version of Solaris (11.4).
No easy task
The migration process is no child’s play. For example, if applications are migrated to run on bare metal, they must first be migrated to a Solaris 10 branded zone, which is a container format. Users also need a working Oracle Solaris 11.4 system to run the sysdiff script.
Sysdiff isn’t included in Solaris 11.4 yet. The script can currently be found on GitHub.