NetWare Support Packs contain updates for components contained in the NetWare 6.5 product. The purpose of a Support Pack is to provide a bundle of fixes that have all been tested together. The files have undergone component testing, core OS testing, internationalization testing, and integration testing with other Novell products.
The latest Support Pack for NetWare 6.5 is Support Pack 8. During the installation of this Support Pack, the following events occur:
The files contained in the support pack are copied to the server. Newer files on the server are not overwritten. The installation program checks the version of each file. If two files have the same version, the program then checks the date of each file.
NOTE:Files contained in .zip files are copied to the server but are not compared to existing files.
The installation program reads the sys:\system\products.dat file on the server to determine which products are installed and then automatically updates the files needed for those products. If the products.dat file is missing or corrupted, the Support Pack installation stops.
All installed NetWare 6.5 server components are upgraded except for iManager. iManager 2.02 is not upgraded to iManager 2.7, but updates for iManager 2.02 or 2.7 are installed, depending on which version is installed.
Upon completion of the Support Pack installation, a record is added to the products.dat file in the Installed Products section and the following product listing appears: “SPACK 6.5 V8.0 Support Pack for NetWare 6.5.” Any other product updates made during the upgrade are also listed.
IMPORTANT:If you install products from an earlier version of the NetWare 6.5 CDs or install other Novell products after installing the latest Support Pack, you must reinstall the NetWare 6.5 Support Pack to ensure that you have all of the applicable updates.
For example, if you install a Novell product such as BorderManager™ after installing the Support Pack, some BorderManager files might be overwritten by an older version and some features, like Virtual Private Networking (VPN), might not function. Reinstalling the latest NetWare 6.5 Support Pack ensures that all files are at the correct version level.
For more information on Support Pack issues, see the “NetWare Issues” section of the NW 6.5 SP8: Readme.