Solaris is alive: switch to constant updates and the new free version

With the release of the new Solaris, Oracle wants to make the Unix operating system attractive to software developers and home users: the Common Building Environment (CBE) available to them free of charge. Otherwise it is based on the same version 11.4 as the commercial variant of the system originally developed by Sun Microsystems.

However, the move entails another fundamental change in Solaris: Oracle says it’s saying goodbye to small and large releases, and future users will receive updates via Support Repository Updates (SRUs) and so-called small releases. The CBE version is a beta version of these updates.

GA installs are converted quickly

Oracle intends to offer its own ISO installs soon, but users can now switch their current Solaris GA installation to the CBE version. The recent public availability releases have so far served the same purpose from the CBE now, but they have not received any new features after publication. simple yet pkg update Have they been replaced?

Solaris 11.4 saw the light of day in August 2018. Sounds that the OS was written off, Oracle wanted to counter it with its promise that users should get a new release every summer. However, it has since remained in version 11.4. Another free alternative is Illumos distros like OpenIndiana, which receive regular updates.

(fu)