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| Patches are assigned an HP Rating of 1, 2, or 3 stars based on how many quality standards they meet. As patches advance on the quality scale, the higher their rating becomes (more stars). Patches must be available and be used for specific time periods before they meet the higher standards |
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| Upon their initial release, patches are assigned an HP Rating of 1 star. These patches may fix the problem, but also may contain some element of risk. Patches with ratings of 2 or 3 stars qualify as "HP Recommended" and may appear in the recommended column of the patch search results list. |
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| Patches with an HP Rating of 1 star have not yet earned HP's full confidence and should be evaluated carefully before applying. HP makes these patches available to you in the event: |
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- this type of patch fixes a problem that is truly critical to your system, and
- you can tolerate the risk that a less than fully tested patch might represent
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| If you are not facing a critical problem, or you cannot tolerate any risk to your system, HP recommends waiting until the patch gains more exposure, and thus achieves a higher HP Rating. |
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| If you defer installing a patch because it has a rating of 1 star and does not yet appear as a recommended patch in the "recommended" column, re-check it after one of the quarterly dates below to determine if it has passed further testing resulting in a higher rating. |
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| patches
with warnings |
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A patch may be labeled as a patch with warnings when it is known to
introduce another problem. However, not every patch which has
warnings associated with it causes problems for
every
customer. Click on the one line patch description to view the patch
details and review the warnings section. Then make an informed
decision after assessing the risks for your environment.
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| Patch Database will recommend a replacement patch if you search
by an explicit Patch ID and the patch contains warnings. |
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patch rating update |
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| Patches undergo testing for promotion to an HP Rating of 3 stars on a quarterly basis. The HP Rating of a qualifying patch is upgraded to 3 stars on or shortly after: |
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- February 1
- May 1
- August 1
- November 1
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| The HP Rating of a patch may be updated from 1 star to 2 stars on a daily basis. |
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Printable version
,
,
or 
after a patch number in the Patch Search Results indicates the quality rating assigned to a patch, where 3 stars is the highest rating assigned to a patch. The higher the rating, the lower the risk of side-effects and the more suitable the patch is for mission critical environments.