HP-UX 11i v3 Installation and Update Guide, September 2007 (Update 1 Release)

Deciding Which Method to Use
Now that you have evaluated your system and ordered any needed hardware, you
need to decide whether to cold-install or update to HP-UX 11i v3 on your system.
When to Cold-Install
CAUTION: The cold-install process erases software on the root volume before
installing. If you want to retain any existing software, make sure to back up that software
before migrating or use update.Cold-installing using Ignite-UX overwrites everything
on the target volume.
You can cold-install rather than update to HP-UX 11i v3 when:
• You have a new system.
• You are managing several systems with similar OS configurations.
• Your disk space needs reconfiguration. See “How to Plan Your Disk Space Needs”
(page 25).
• Your systems are organized with clean separation of the OS from user, application,
and data files.
• Overwriting the root (/) volume on existing systems will not cause a loss of
applications or data.
• Your system configuration is not listed as a supported update path. See “Supported
Update Paths to HP-UX 11i v3” (page 33).
You can cold-install from any supported configuration. See “Supported Systems”
(page 26).
The process described in this guide cold-installs a single system from local media. If
you plan to install many systems simultaneously, use an Ignite-UX server. Additional
information on Ignite-UX and newer versions are available at: http://docs.hp.com/en/
IUX/
See Chapter 4: “Preparing to Cold-Install or Update to HP-UX 11i v3” (page 53) for
more information about preparing your system for cold-install and then read the
cold-install process using Ignite-UX in Chapter 5: “Cold-Installing HP-UX 11i v3 From
Media” (page 67).
When to Update
You can update rather than cold-install HP-UX 11i v3 when:
• You are updating from a supported HP-UX 11i v2 or HP-UX 11i v3 system. See
“Supported Update Paths to HP-UX 11i v3” (page 33) for specific details.
• You are concerned about recovering unique applications and data on your root
volume, and do not want to write over non-OS files, which occurs when
cold-installing HP-UX 11i v3.
Deciding Which Method to Use 35