compare_report Command

Purpose

Compares fileset levels to those available and generates a report of filesets needed.

Syntax

To compare filesets installed on a system to filesets contained in a fix repository:

compare_report -s -i FixDir { [ -l ] [ -h ] [ -m ] [ -n ] } [ [ [ -t ReportDir ] [ -Z ] ] | -v ]

To compare filesets installed on a system to filesets available from the support Web site:

compare_report -s -r ServiceReport { [ -l ] [ -h ] } [ [ [ -t ReportDir ] [ -Z ] ] | -v ]

To compare filesets contained in a fix repository to filesets available from the support Web site:

compare_report -i FixDir -r ServiceReport [ [ [ -t ReportDir ] [ -Z ] ] | -v ]

To compare a list of installed software on a base system to another system:

compare_report -b BaseList -o OtherList { [ -l ] [ -h ] [ -m ] [ -n ] } [ [ [ -t ReportDir ] [ -Z ] ] | -v ]

To compare a list of installed software to filesets contained in a fix repository:

compare_report -b BaseList -i FixDir { [ -l ] [ -h ] [ -m ] [ -n ] } [ [ [ -t ReportDir ] [ -Z ] ] | -v ]

To compare a list of installed software to filesets available from the support Web site:

compare_report -b BaseList -r ServiceReport { [ -l ] [ -h ] } [ [ [ -t ReportDir ] [ -Z ] ] | -v ]

Description

The compare_report command compares the filesets installed on a system with the contents of a fix directory or a service report that contains a list of the latest available fixes. The comparison reports produced provide assistance in assuring a system is running a certain level of software. The fix directory can be an image repository, such as an lpp_source. The service report is a list of both the latest level fixes and the fixes contained in the latest technology level and can be downloaded from the IBM® System p® Support for AIX 5L™ and Linux servers site (http://www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/support/unixservers/index.html). Some of the generated reports can be used as input to request fixes from the IBM System p Support for AIX 5L and Linux servers site.

The lslpp command and the compare_report command both show information about interim fixes installed on the system. The lslpp -L or lslpp -Lc command must be run by root, and any interim fix information returned is used by the compare_report command. The information includes an interim fix label and a level value. The interim fix label is the equivalent of a fileset name, and its level is based on the time (YY.MM.DD.HHMMSS, where YY is the year, MM is the month, DD is the day, HH is the hour, MM is the minute, and SS is the second) in which the interim fix was packaged.

Flags

Item Description
-b BaseList The name of the file containing the software installed on the base system (generated with lslpp -Lc)
-h Indicates that the higher level fileset reports should be generated. This will generate one or all of the reports higherlevel.rpt, higherthanmaint.rpt, or basehigher.rpt, depending on which comparisons are performed. This flag is only valid when used either with the -s or with both the -b and the -o flags.
-i FixDir Specifies the name of the fix repository directory. The fileset levels of the images contained in this directory will be used in the comparison.
-l Indicates that the lower level fileset reports should be generated. This will generate one or all of the reports lowerlevel.rpt, lowerthanlatest1.rpt, lowerthanmaint.rpt, lowerthanlatest2.rpt, or baselower.rpt, depending on which of the comparisons are performed. This flag is only valid when used either with the -s or with both the -b and the -o flags.
-m Indicates that a fileset report should be generated that lists either the filesets installed on the system that are not in the image repository, or the filesets installed on the base system that are not installed on the other system. This will generate either the no_update_found.rpt or the baseonly.rpt report file. This flag is only valid when both the -s and -i flags are specified or when both the -b and -o flags are specified.
-n Indicates that a fileset report should be generated that lists either the filesets in the image repository that are not installed on the system or the filesets installed on the other system that are not installed on the base system. This will generate either the notinstalled.rpt or the otheronly.rpt report file. This flag is only valid when both the -s and -i flags are specified or when both the -b and -o flags are specified.
-o OtherList The name of the file containing the software installed on another system that will be compared to a base system (generated with the command lslpp -Lc).
-r ServiceReport Specifies a file that contains the list of available updates. This file can be obtained from the support Web site.
-s Specifies that the comparison should involve a list of the fileset levels that are installed on this system.
-t ReportDir Specifies the target directory where the comparison reports will be stored. If the -t flag is not specified, the reports will be stored in the /tmp directory. If report files already exist in the specified directory, they will be removed and recreated. This flag is not valid with the -v flag.
-v Specifies that no report files should be saved to disk. This flag is not valid with the -t or -Z flags.
-Z Suppresses displaying the report output to stdout. This flag is not valid with the -v flag.

Exit Status

0
The command completed successfully.
>0
An error occurred.

Examples

  1. To compare filesets installed on the system to filesets contained in an image repository, type: 
    compare_report -s -i /tmp/imagedir -l -n
    This command will create reports listing filesets on the system that are at a lower level and filesets in the image repository that are not installed on the system. If all reports (-l, -h, -m, -n) are requested for this type of comparison, the following reports will be generated:
    • lowerlevel.rpt (generated with -l)
    • higherlevel.rpt (generated with -h)
    • no_update_found.rpt (generated with -m)
    • notinstalled.rpt (generated with -n)
  2. To compare filesets installed on the system to filesets available from the support Web site, type: 
    compare_report -s -r /tmp/LatestFixData -l -Z
    This command will create reports listing filesets on the system that are at a lower level from the latest levels, and those that are at a lower level than the last technology level. The reports will be saved to disk but not displayed to stdout. If all reports (-l, -h) are requested for this type of comparison, the following reports will be generated:
    • lowerthanlatest1.rpt (generated with -l)
    • lowerthanmaint.rpt (generated with -l)
    • higherthanmaint.rpt (generated with -h)
  3. To compare filesets contained in an image repository to filesets available from the support Web site, type: 
    compare_report -i /tmp/imagedir -r /tmp/LatestFixData
    This command creates a report listing filesets in the image repository that are at lower levels than the latest levels available from the support Web site. The lowerthanlatest2.rpt report is the only report generated from this type of comparison.
  4. To compare a list of installed software on a base system to a list of installed software on another system, type: 
    compare_report -b /tmp/base.lslpp.out -o /tmp/other.lslpp.out -l -h -m -n
    This command will create reports listing the following:
    • filesets on the base system that are at a lower level than the other system
    • filesets on the base system that are at a higher level than the other system
    • filesets installed on the base system that are not installed on the other system
    • filesets installed on the other system that are not installed on the base system
    If all reports (-l, -h, -m, and -n) are requested for this type of comparison, the following reports will be generated respectively:
    • baselower.rpt (generated with -l)
    • basehigher.rpt (generated with -h)
    • baseonly.rpt (generated with -m)
    • otheronly.rpt (generated with -n)

Files

Item Description
/usr/sbin/compare_report Contains the compare_report command.