View source for Image Packaging System

{{Short description|Cross-platform package management system}}
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The '''Image Packaging System''', also known as '''IPS''',<ref>{{cite web|title=Packaging and Delivering Software With the Image Packaging System in Oracle Solaris 11.1|url=http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E26502_01/html/E21383/preface-1.html|work=Oracle Solaris 11.1 Information Library|access-date=18 December 2012}}</ref> is a [[cross-platform]] [[package management system]] created by the [[OpenSolaris]] community in coordination with Sun Microsystems. It is used by [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]] 11 and several [[Illumos]]-based distributions: [[OpenIndiana]], OmniOS, XStreamOS<ref>{{cite web|title=Distributions - illumos - illumos wiki|url=http://wiki.illumos.org/display/illumos/Distributions|website=Illumos wiki|access-date=12 May 2015}}</ref> and a growing number of layered applications, including [[GlassFish]], across a variety of Operating System platforms. IPS is coded in the [[Python (programming language)|Python]] programming language.

==Features==
IPS enables a [[superuser]] to search for, install, and remove [[Software package (installation)|software packages]] from the Solaris system.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bhuse |first1=Vijay |last2=Hekhuis |first2=Kyle |date=9 March 2018 |title=Support for Secure Code Execution in Server Operating Systems |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eHpTDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Image+Packaging+System%22&pg=PA21 |journal=ICCWS 2018 13th International Conference on Cyber Warfare and Security |publisher=Academic Conferences and Publishing Limited |pages=21–30 |isbn=978-1-911218-73-9 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
* Use of [[ZFS]], allowing multiple boot environments and easy package operation rollbacks
* Transactional actions
* Support for multiple platform architectures within a single package
* Legacy support for SVR4 packages
* Extensive search grammar
* Remote search capability
* Changes-only based package updates
* Network package repository
* File and network-based package publication
* Package operation history
* On-disk package format (p5p)
* Multi-platform ports for layered applications:
** Broad platform support: [[Windows]], [[Linux]], [[OS X]], [[Darwin (operating system)|Darwin]], [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]], [[OpenSolaris]], [[Illumos]] and [[AIX (operating system)|AIX]]
** Cross-platform update notification and package management [[Graphical user interfaces]].

== Considerations ==
Due to the fact that IPS delivers each file in a separate shelf{{what|date=September 2023|reason=Question}} with a separate checksum, a package update only needs to replace files that have been modified. When dealing with [[Executable and Linkable Format|ELF]] binaries, IPS computes checksums only from the loaded parts of an ELF binary{{Citation needed|date=September 2023|reason=please cite specific documentation pages (see also clarification tag above)}}. This means in practice that when only the ELF comment section has been changed, there would be no need to update it. However, this method of delivery can cause slower operation when the input source is on a medium with high latency (e.g. internet with higher round trip time or CD/DVD media with slow seeks).

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://github.com/oracle/solaris-ips/ GitHub Project: Image Packaging System]
* [https://wikis.oracle.com/display/IpsBestPractices/Multi-platform+Packaging+for+Layered+Distros Multi-Platform Packaging for Layered Distros]
* [https://java.net/projects/updatecenter GlassFish Update Center Toolkit] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404221423/https://java.net/projects/updatecenter |date=2017-04-04 }}
* [https://java.net/projects/updatecenter2/  Update Center 2.0 (multiplatform IPS)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404221412/https://java.net/projects/updatecenter2/ |date=2017-04-04 }}

{{Package management systems}}
{{Oracle FOSS}}

[[Category:OpenSolaris]]
[[Category:Free package management systems]]
[[Category:Sun Microsystems software]]
[[Category:Unix package management-related software]]
[[Category:Free software programmed in Python]]

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