LPP packages

LPPs are the container packages for AIX. LPPs have the following characteristics:

• An LPP contains either one or more base filesets or an update fileset.
• When an LPP contains multiple filesets, frequently only a subset of those filesets is installed because users might want to install only certain filesets.

The basic unit of AIX packages is the fileset. Filesets have the following characteristics:

• Filesets are versioned.
• The two types of filesets are base and update.
• Users add filesets to policies. Therefore, SA adds filesets to and removes filesets from servers through remediation.

Filesets are delivered as part of an LPP file, which users upload to the Software Repository. SA automatically creates package entries for all the filesets that the LPPs contain. When viewing an LPP in the SA Client, users see which filesets it contains.

The Agent reports which filesets and Authorized Program Analysis Reports (APARs) are installed on servers because servers only report filesets and APARs (and cannot report LPPs). The SA Client shows filesets and APARs in the Installed Packages list for a server.

LPP metadata

SA uses the metadata contained in LPPs when creating the package entries in the list of packages. An LPP contains the following metadata:

• The name of the LPP
• The name, version, and description of each fileset in the LPP
• For an updated fileset, a list of APARs addressed by the fileset
• For each APAR listed, the list of filesets that make up that APAR

SA does not support bundles (which are abstract sets of filesets, drawn from multiple LPPs) or Program Temporary Fix (PTFs), which are similar to APARs without the metadata. However, users can still model a bundle or PTF by creating a policy and attaching the filesets included in the bundle or PTF to that software policy.

When a user uploads an LPP, SA performs the following actions:

• Opens the LPP and parses its metadata.
• Automatically creates entries in the list of packages for the filesets in the LPP and registers them as installable.
• Automatically creates entries in the list of packages for the APARs defined by the update filesets in the LPP (if any).
• Registers the LPP as a non-installable package.