®

IBM Software Group

Best Practices for WebSphere Application Server

Product Updates

Joe Mertzlufft

WebSphere® Support Technical Exchange

 IBM Software Group

Agenda
 Overview of the update process

 Choosing and obtaining the correct maintenance packages

 Obtaining and installing the UpdateInstaller utility

 Using the UpdateInstaller to install maintenance

 Locating log files and identifying common issues

 Additional tips for avoiding issues

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Overview of the Update Process – Products

 The update process discussed in this presentation is

applicable to two releases of three products:
 Releases V6.1 and V7.0
 WebSphere® Application Server
 IBM® HTTP Server
 WebSphere Plugin
 This pertains to distributed operating systems
AIX, HP-UX, Linux®, Solaris, and Windows®

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Overview – maintenance packages

 IBM periodically releases code upgrades to fix defects

and improve performance and serviceability, called fix
packs
 Also previously referred to as refresh packs or cumulative fixes
 IBM also releases patches to address individual issues,
called interim fixes
 Collectively refer to these as “maintenance packages”
 Typically distributed from IBM.com, in the form of a file
with a “.pak” extension

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Overview – fix pack types

 There are two types of fix packs for each product
Product fix pack
Java™ SDK fix pack
 Purpose of Java
WebSphere Application Server runs on Java
IBM HTTP Server and Plugin use Java for utilities
 Fix pack types are intentionally kept separate
 We typically recommend updating the product with both

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Overview – UpdateInstaller

 UpdateInstaller is the utility responsible for applying a

maintenance pack to an existing instance of the product

 Several versions available – aside from certain

limitations, new UpdateInstaller versions can update
previous releases of WebSphere products

 UpdateInstaller needs to be installed prior to updating a

product

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Overview – roll-back features and .pak files

 UpdateInstaller automatically creates backups of the

product binaries it modifies
 The backups are used to roll back a maintenance pack
 Do not need original .pak file for uninstalling the
maintenance
 The backups also help recover from update failure

 Creating a backup of config data is your responsibility –

use a utility such as “backupConfig”
 Must have .pak file available for reinstalling a fix, or
installing a fix on another instance of the product

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Overview – tools and requirements

 WebSphere product must be installed
 Need access to same user which installed product
 Need an “unzip” utility for unpacking zip files
 UpdateInstaller (downloaded, then installed)
 Maintenance pack file downloaded
 Ideally, maintenance file should be present on a local filesystem
 Ample filesystem space
 fix packs typically require 500 megabytes in the system's temporary
directory and 600-800 free in the filesystem which contains the
product
 Time – download time, install time, update time, rollback time,
and server downtime

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Choosing the correct maintenance package

 WebSphere Application Server products support a

number of operating systems and system architectures
Linux: AMD/Intel (x86 / x86_64), PowerPC, OS/390
HP-UX: PA-RISC, Itanium
Solaris: SPARC, x86_64
 Some editions of the product have 32-bit and 64-bit
offerings
 Need to match fix pack to the product offering

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How to determine the product edition

 V7.0: versionInfo utility helps determine product edition

 Prior to V7.0: Edition not as obvious using commands

supplied with the product

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Determining product edition in V6.1

 Look for the “version.txt” file, located in the “uninst”

directory
 The file is plain text and relatively small
 The “Platform” and “Architecture” information indicates
the product edition (32-bit or 64-bit)
 Example:
Name: IBM Common Install Engine for WebSphere Software
Version: 6.1.0.0
Platform: linux
Architecture: ia32
Build Release: WAS61.IWAS
Build Level: b0620.14
Build Date: 05/16/2006

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Determining product edition in V7.0

 Use the “versionInfo” command

 Located in the product's “bin” subdirectory
 ./versionInfo.sh or versionInfo.bat
 Example:
Installed Product
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name IBM WebSphere Application Server - ND
Version 7.0.0.0
ID ND
Build Level r0835.03
Build Date 8/31/08
Architecture AMD (64 bit)

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Obtaining the maintenance package

 Navigate to the appropriate page for the fix pack you
need
Use the “Recommended Updates” page
Use tabs at top of fix pack page to navigate to other
operating systems
 Search for fixes by ID (i.e., PK12345)
Use the “fix list” link from the Recommended
Updates page to see if the fix is already rolled into a
fix pack

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Example of fix pack listing

 Excerpt of V6.1 Fix Pack 25 for Linux download page

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Check the file extension

 Check the file extension:

<filename>.pak: Do not unzip this
<filename>.zip: Unzip this
<filename>.pak.zip: Do not unzip this; rename
file with “.pak” extension only
 Most maintenance should not be unzipped (unpacked)
 Old maintenance packs for V6.0 need to be unzipped
 Certain interim fixes for V6.1 need to be unzipped

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Obtain the UpdateInstaller – choose one

WebSphere version updating TO Recommended Other compatible
UpdateInstaller UpdateInstaller
V6.0.0 to V6.0.2.20 V6.0 –
V6.0.2.21 and later V7.0 V6.0, V6.1
V6.1, all versions V7.0 V6.1
V7.0, all versions V7.0 –

 These are the W ebSphere versions you are updating TO – the

new version of the product once the maintenance is installed
 Does not matter which version you are updating FROM
 32-bit and 64-bit UpdateInstaller editions are both compatible with
the 32-bit and 64-bit products they update
 Recommend using the 32-bit edition

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Download and prepare UpdateInstaller

 Generally, pages on IBM.com which offer a maintenance

pack download will also link to the UpdateInstaller
download page
 Alternatively, use UpdateInstaller resource page for
accessing a page which links to all releases of the
UpdateInstaller
 Unzip downloaded file to a temporary directory
 You must have a utility available capable of handling zip files
 Do not use the “jar xvf” command to unzip the file
 Downloads for some operating systems are available as .tar.gz

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Installing – Prepare the response file

 You can install using a graphical wizard, or using a non-

interactive silent mode
 Once UpdateInstaller is unzipped, the response file is in
directory named “UpdateInstaller”, named
responsefile.updiinstaller.txt
 Make a copy of the response file, open in text editor
 Comments in response file explain what settings to edit

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Installation response file minimum changes

 Minimum changes for UpdateInstaller response
# 1. Change the "false" to "true" to accept the license agreement

-OPT silentInstallLicenseAcceptance="false"

# 2. If you are installing as a non-root user, then un-comment the

# "allowNonRootSilentInstall" line below by removing the hash mark.

# -OPT allowNonRootSilentInstall="true"

# 3. We recommend disabling the OS prereq check to avoid having the

# commonly-seen warnings halt the install.
# To do so, uncomment the line by removing the hash mark.

# -OPT disableOSPrereqChecking="true"

# 4. This is where you declare the location to which the UpdateInstaller

# is installed. In the sample response file, there are several
# examples above and below this line. Only one of these lines should
# be uncommented. Edit the text and specify the full path to the
# installation location between the "double quotation marks".

-OPT installLocation="<SPECIFY_INSTALL_LOCATION_HERE>"

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Initiate installation

 Run the UpdateInstaller's install command:

Windows:
install -silent -options responsefile.updiinstaller.txt
Unix and Linux:
./install.sh -silent -options responsefile.updiinstaller.txt

Note: Some offerings use “./install” instead of “./install.sh”.

 Running the command with no parameters brings up the

graphical install wizard

 “Silent” mode will print little or no text indicating success

or failure

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Basic troubleshooting – location of logs

 <updateinstaller_target>/logs/log.txt
 <user_home>/updilogs/log.txt
Name of log.txt may have date stamp in file name
(V7.0) or numbers at the end of the file name (V6.1)
user_home:
• Windows cd %userprofile%
• Unix and Linux cd ~ (tilde)

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Basic troubleshooting – result of install

 Look at the last line of the log (log.txt) file

 Verify that the timestamp indicates a recent time
 Look for the following messages:
INSTCONFSUCCESS: Success!
INSTCONFFAILURE: Failure. Read the log from
top to bottom, and look for error messages or java
exceptions.

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Installing maintenance – preparation

 Once UpdateInstaller is installed, you can then use it to

apply maintenance packs to the product
 You can update using a graphical wizard, or using a non-
interactive silent mode
 The response file is in the directory named
“responsefiles” and is named “install.txt”
 Make a copy of the response file, open in text editor
 Comments in response file explain what settings to edit

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Update response file minimum changes

 Minimum changes for update response file
# 1. This parameter specifies the path to the response files to be
# installed. Remove the hash mark at the front, then specify the
# FULL PATH AND FILE NAME of the maintenance pack(s) to install.
# Keep the value between the “double quotes”.
# If you want to install more than one, then separate the full paths
# with semi-colons ( ; ). The complete sample response file has
# examples of how this should look.

#-W maintenance.package="SPECIFY_PATH_TO_MAINTENCE_PACKAGES_HERE"

# 2. AIX only: If you using a non-root user, then uncomment the

# line below by removing the hash mark. At some point BEFORE
# running the updateinstaller, the root user should run the
# command, "slibclean".

#-OPT rootUserHasRunSlibcleanCommandSuccessfully="true"

# 3. This is where you specify the full path to the location of the
# product which will be updated with the maintenance packs.
# Edit the value below. Keep the value between the "double quotes".

-W product.location="SPECIFY_PRODUCT_INSTALL_LOCATION_HERE"

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Prepare UpdateInstaller for update

 All application servers (or web servers) in all profiles

associated with product must be shut down

 Log in as the same user that was used to install the

product

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Initiate UpdateInstaller for update

 Run the UpdateInstaller's install command:

Windows:
update -silent -options install.txt
Unix and Linux:
./update.sh -silent -options install.txt

Note: Some offerings use “update” instead of “update.sh”.

 Update process:
 Running the command with no parameters brings up the graphical
install wizard
 “Silent” mode will print little or no text indicating success or failure

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Basic troubleshooting – update logs

 Check <UpdateInstaller_dir>/logs/tmp# directories

 Each new set of logs is written to a new “tmp#” directory
 # is the highest available number
 Focus on “updatelog.txt”
 Example: /UpdateInstaller/logs/tmp9/updatelog.txt
 Log will remain in this location if there is a prerequisite
error or if an invalid .pak file name was specified

 Log is moved out of this location if UpdateInstaller begins

processing the actual fix pack file

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Basic troubleshooting – update logs (ctd)

 Check <product_home>/logs/update directory

 Logs moved to this location once update process begins
 If only one fix is installed, then set of logs are moved to
subdirectory “<FIXNAME>.install”
 Example: 6.1.0-WS-WAS-LinuxX32-FP0000035.install
 Example: PK12345.install
 If multiple fixes are installed, then set of logs are moved
to subdirectory named “install”
 Full path would be <product_home>/logs/update/install
 Not the same as <product_home>/logs/install

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Basic troubleshooting – result of update

 Look at the last line of the log (updatelog.txt) file

 Verify that the timestamp indicates a recent time
 Look for the following messages:
INSTCONFSUCCESS: Success!
INSTCONFFAILURE: Failure. Read the log from
top to bottom, and look for error messages or java
exceptions.
INSTCONFPARTIALSUCCESS: “Partial success”

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What do you do if it failed?

 Set up a response file to uninstall the most recently installed

maintenance packs
 Use the “uninstall.txt” sample
 Similar to “install.txt” sample, except instead of giving a full path to a
“.pak” file, just give the name of the “.pak” file with no path
 Invoke the UpdateInstaller again, and using your “uninstall”
response file
 Upon successfully uninstalling the failed maintenance pack,
you can restart the product, or you can attempt to install the
maintenance pack again.

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“Partial” success?
 Maintenance packs can potentially run configuration
scripts for tweaking configuration

 A “partial success” means that all code fixes were

delivered – this is good news

 A “partial success” means that at least one of the scripts

for tweaking the configuration failed

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What about the script that failed?

 The script would be considered “non-essential”

 The configuration scripts can be run again later, without

reinstalling the whole maintenance pack

 Can safely start and run servers after a “partial success”

 Reason for script failure logged in updateconfig.log –

usually requires assistance from IBM Support

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Basic troubleshooting – common issues

 Double-check response file

 Filesystem space
 Check file permissions
 Did you unzip the install package properly?
 “Access is denied” error writing a file
 Ensure all servers on all profiles associated with install are shut down
 Windows: Turn off Indexing Services
 Windows: If servers are set to automatically start up with the system,
set them to “manual” start-up. Reboot (make sure no servers are
started upon reboot), then use UpdateInstaller again.

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Basic troubleshooting – common issues (ctd)

 No log file generated? Try running installer with this

parameter, in addition to other parameters:
-is:javaconsole

./install -silent -options test.txt -is:javaconsole

./update -silent -options test.txt -is:javaconsole

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Avoid trouble: Common issues

 All servers for all profiles associated with a particular install instance must
be shut down
 Windows: Some DLL files (such as WASServiceMsg.dll) may be locked
by the operating system itself, and shutting down application servers does
not resolve the lock. Must reboot system and ensure no server processes
automatically start with it.
 Network filesystems: Under most circumstances, it is okay to install a fix
pack from a file located on a remote filesystem. However, this may be
significantly slower than copying the fix pack to the local filesystem and
installing it from there
 If installing from a system that uses a remote “dial-up” or VPN software to
communicate with servers on an isolated network, be sure that you
occasionally do something over that connection to be sure that it does not
time-out and disconnect during the UpdateInstaller operations.

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Summary

 Choose the correct fix pack by identifying your

product

 Obtain and install the UpdateInstaller

 Locate the logs produced from the update

 Verify that the fix installed properly

 If a failure occurred, use the troubleshooting tips

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Additional WebSphere Product Resources

 Discover the latest trends in WebSphere Technology and implementation, participate in
technically-focused briefings, webcasts and podcasts at: http://www.ibm.com/
developerworks/websphere/community/

 Learn about other upcoming webcasts, conferences and events: http://www.ibm.com/

software/websphere/events_1.html
 Join the Global WebSphere User Group Community: http://www.websphere.org
 Access key product show-me demos and tutorials by visiting IBM Education Assistant:
http://www.ibm.com/software/info/education/assistant

 View a webcast replay with step-by-step instructions for using the Service Request (SR)
tool for submitting problems electronically: http://www.ibm.com/software/websphere/
support/d2w.html
 Sign up to receive weekly technical My Notifications emails: http://www.ibm.com/software/
support/einfo.html

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Questions and Answers

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