How to make superseded patches relevant for non-Windows platform

Usage and Config Server Automation
1

how to install the superseded patches in non-Windows platform? Do you have any URL equivalent to https://ibm.biz/BdZzUN for non-windows platform?

When we schedule patches along with superseded patches, then the superseded patches not getting installed.

2

Hi Sakthi,

As far as I know the superseded patches are always relevant for platforms like Linux and it can be installed rather than the most recent release. This is the reason the new setting was designed only for Windows.

But if the user is selecting the most recent version along with a superseded release, there is no point on installing the old patch as it will be not applicable in the end.

3

Hello Heber,

Thanks for the response. This exactly the issue. They scheduled the patches along with superseded patches from RCP, hence the superseded patches not getting installed as it’s not longer relevant to the end point server. Then they are trying to install the superseded again, which will not be relevant and complaining as issue. In Windows, we have a configuration parameter to make those superseded patches as relevant. Do we have any such forge option for non-windows platform?

4

The settings exists for Windows endpoints only because the standard BigFix behaviour is to make all superseded patches not relevant for that platform. For non-windows endpoints this does not apply because old fixlets are relevant by default.

That being said the scenario you have explained is different, if the most current release of a given patch is installed all former releases will be not applicable and it does not make any sense to force them to be relevant, they are basically not needed anymore.

I would try to explain this to the customer as there is a chance he does not have the correct concepts of applicability and supersedence.

5

So one of the lines of a non-windows super-seded Patch should read as “false” to force the relevance fro the Fixlet to evaluate falsely. So… create a custom copy of a Fixlet, modify the relevance labeled as false to true and save. Now you can submit a superceded patch.

6

Hi,

Just another update that can clarify the policy related to superseded patches for Linux RedHat.

Although superseded patches can be targeted as any current patch, the really old patches that were superseded in 2016 and earlier may not be available anymore on the External Site.

Reference:

7

In addition to what the others said (use custom Fixlets, some superseded content are no longer available in general sites), another thing to note is that the superseded content in Patches for RHEL X sites aren’t actually marked with the false relevance due to legacy reasons. So you don’t actually need to make a custom copy of them if you’re using the RHEL sites. But other non-Windows sites do set superseded content as false.