IBM BS029ML - WebSphere Portal Server, Self Help Manual

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Appendix B. Maintenance: Fix strategy, backup strategy, and migration strategy
217
Table B-2 Distribution channels by fix type
When a fix is needed to correct a problem you have encountered, it rarely happens at a good
time. IBM continues to invest resources into ensuring that such a fix is well tested, installs
properly, and does what it is intended to do: fix the problem without introducing more
problems. Many times there is urgency associated with the need for a fix especially if it is
affecting a production environment. Nearly all of WebSphere Portal’s test, interim, and
cumulative fixes are installed with the Portal Update Installer (PUI) utility, which is available
with a command-line interface as well as a graphical interface.
Administrators familiar with the PUI
(
http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=688&uid=swg24006942 ) and its
documentation in Information Center Version 6.0 can save time by familiarizing themselves
with the utility by practicing on a QA, development, or “sandbox” system before having to use
it in an emergency.
There is a variation in this design for the WebSphere Portal Enable for z/OS® editions, since
it does not use the Portal Update Installer or installation routines designed for the other
distributed platforms. Updates and fixes for the z/OS platform (OS/390®) are released as ++
APARs (for emergency fixes) and PTFs, both of which are SMP/E installables and made
generally available to those customers through their normal ordering and distribution
channels. This section does not cover WebSphere Portal deployed on OS/390. It does,
however, apply to the portal installed on the supported distributions of Linux on System z™
(SUSE and Red Hat), because the operating system is so similar to the distributions installed
on x86 or RISC platforms and hardware.
Fix type Delivered only
by IBM support
to specific
customers Download
linked from
documentation
on the product
support page Fix delivered by
Fix Central
a
a. Fix Central (
http://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral
) is a new service available from IBM support. Fixes
available from Fix Central are identified by APAR number, Fix ID, version, platform, and other means, and the
downloads can also include a fix’s entire prerequisite chain (if it exists). This enhanced function improves the way
we provide fixes and reduces the trouble we find when a fix requires another to be installed before it can be
applied, and in many cases, that fix also requires others before it. When getting the fix from Fix Central, this
complexity is handled by IBM by putting all of the required fixes together in one package for easy retrieval and
installation.
Delivered from
the portlet
catalog Integrated into
later Fix Packs
(or higher MDV)
Test fix Yes No No No No
Interim fix No Yes Yes
b
b. WebSphere Portal is moving its entire fix repository over to Fix Central in the coming months, so until that is
complete, we suggest that customers continue to use the product support page to locate and retrieve fixes to
avoid having to look in multiple places. An announcement will be posted on the support page when the transition
is complete.
No Yes
Cumulative fix No Yes Yes
b
No Yes
Business Portlet
update No Yes No Yes No (refer to the
MDV's
documentation
for confirmation)