Solaris 9 is exiting Extended Support and entering Sustaining Support.
In accordance with the Oracle Lifetime Support Policy for Software and Operating Systems, http://www.oracle.com/us/support/library/lifetime-support-hardware-301321.pdf (Page 37), and http://www.oracle.com/us/support/library/hardware-systems-support-policies-069182.pdf (Pages 6 and 9), all patches created during the Extended Support period will revert to “Operating System” access entitlement on MOS so they are available to all customers will a valid support contract, not just those that purchased Extended Support.
There will be a final patch release cycle in November for both Solaris 8 and Solaris 9 to release bug fixes currently in process.
After that, there’ll be no new Solaris 8 or Solaris 9 patches created. All existing patches will remain available.
It’s time to move to Solaris 11.2!
You can even run Solaris 10 guest domains under a Solaris 11 Control Domain and run Solaris 8 and Solaris 9 branded zones in your Solaris 10 guest domains if you really want to.
Or you can leverage our Binary Compatibility Guarantee to run your apps natively on Solaris 11 and enjoy the vast performance and maintainability benefits that Solaris 11.2 brings.
Please see my equivalent Solaris 11 blog, https://blogs.oracle.com/Solaris11Life to get an idea of the vast improvements Solaris 11 brings over Solaris 8/9/10, including a much improved maintenance experience with no more patches!