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Introduction
In Part 2 of this series, I described how I upgraded several Solaris Non-Global Zones using an out-of-place upgrade method. Because the zones did not have enough temporary working space for a direct IPS upgrade, I copied the zone filesystems to a larger storage area, performed the package update there, and then synchronized the updated files back to the original zones.
The approach worked, but it also introduced additional manual steps compared to a standard upgrade. As with many administrative tasks, the technical procedure itself was not the biggest challenge. The real challenge was making sure each step was performed against the correct zone and the correct filesystem.
During the upgrade process, I made two mistakes that led to some unexpected troubleshooting. First, I accidentally synchronized files from the wrong upgraded zone image, causing one Non-Global Zone to boot with another zone's hostname, IP address, and listener configuration. Later, while correcting the network settings, I mistakenly executed an IP configuration command in the Global Zone instead of the target Non-Global Zone, which immediately disconnected my SSH session and required recovery through the server's ILOM console.
Fortunately, neither issue resulted in data loss, and both were recoverable. This article documents what happened, how the problems were identified, the recovery steps I followed, and the lessons I took away from the experience.
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