RE: V7R1 to V7R2 i5/OS upgrade - PTF questions and concerns

Paul,

As a veteran of many of these very upgrades I agree with Rob. If the latest
available cumulative and PTF groups are put on the system as part of the OS
upgrade, there should be no real problem. The only PTFs on the list of ones
not on the Cumulative/Groups that you need to pay attention to are the
vendor specific PTFs and if there are special PTFs that IBM has provided
you. Most of the rest of the PTFs that IBM elects not to put into groups
are ones that would not affect most systems and you would know if you needed
them.

I'd cross reference only your "special" PTFs that IBM or an OEM vendor
called for. That should be a much smaller list and somewhat more
manageable.

--
Jim Oberholtzer
Agile Technology Architects


-----Original Message-----
From: MIDRANGE-L [mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Rob
Berendt
Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2016 2:29 PM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Subject: RE: V7R1 to V7R2 i5/OS upgrade - PTF questions and concerns

Again, I rarely use the PTF cross reference during an upgrade. I just make
sure
- I'm using the latest refresh of the OS that I'm upgrading to
- I have the latest cume, groups, "recommended PTF's" and vendor recommended
PTFs.


Rob Berendt
--
IBM Certified System Administrator - IBM i 6.1 Group Dekko Dept 1600 Mail
to: 2505 Dekko Drive
Garrett, IN 46738
Ship to: Dock 108
6928N 400E
Kendallville, IN 46755
http://www.dekko.com





From: "Steinmetz, Paul" <PSteinmetz@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "'Midrange Systems Technical Discussion'"
<midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: 11/01/2016 01:59 PM
Subject: RE: V7R1 to V7R2 i5/OS upgrade - PTF questions and
concerns
Sent by: "MIDRANGE-L" <midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx>



Larry and Rob,

You clarified some points, thank you.
I think I originally misread the cross reference listing.
These lists contains PTFs that are NOT part of any CUM and/or group.
I spot checked the list, also found some of my "special" PTFs.

It contains 3 lists, depending which V7R2 cum you are loading.
In my specific case:
List 1 - CUMULATIVE PTF PACKAGE C6127720 - contains 687 PTFs
List 2 - CUMULATIVE PTF PACKAGE C5311720 - contains 1194 PTs
List 3 - CUMULATIVE PTF PACKAGE C5310720 - contains 1278 PTFs.

Using List 1 - (latest V7R2 cum) - I would have to manually order possibly
687 PTFs.
That's a lot of manhours.
Am I reading this correctly?
I'd be curious how large this list is for others?
Another concern is the high number of PENDING. 100+
"PENDING" WHICH INDICATES THAT A PTF/FIX IS BEING PRODUCED, BUT HAS NOT
BEEN RELEASED YET.

I never used the cross-reference list in the past. .
I simply order the latest cum, latest groups, and anything that appeared
in recommended fixes for each category.

I could see that if the list is NOT used, you could be missing many PTFs
on your target system.

Paul




-----Original Message-----
From: MIDRANGE-L [mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
DrFranken
Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2016 11:06 AM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Subject: Re: V7R1 to V7R2 i5/OS upgrade - PTF questions and concerns

First I would upgrade to IBM i. :-)

On the PTF questions these are good questions. What you MUST have are the
PTFs named here:
https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/wikis/home?lang=en#!/wiki/IBM%2
0i%20and%20Related%20Software/page/Required%20PTFs%20for%20upgrading%20to%20
IBM%20i%207.2


( Links available on http://www.frankeni.com/links.html )

In that document it points out the methods for the upgrade (IBM Media,
Virtual Media, Network based media etc.) and the source level and
identifies the needed PTFs. I consider ALL of them mandatory and apply
them permanently before beginning the upgrade.

Then check the cross reference here:
http://www-912.ibm.com/systems/electronic/support/s_dir/sline003.nsf/PSP%20N
umber%20View/SF97048

for any of those 'Special PTFs' I believe it DOES contain all PTFs but it
specifcially is targeting your current CUMe level to help reduce the
number to compare.

Then after that do the Perm apply as mentioned.

For the programs that do not get upgraded I have consistently ignored that
detail without issue. I perm apply all and have not once needed to remove
a PTF from one of those products and found it perm applied. Since those
are LPPs anyway *IF* that were to happen you could always simply delete
the LPP, reload it and apply all PTFs but the offending one.

Hopefully that gets you going!!

- Larry "DrFranken" Bolhuis

www.Frankeni.com
www.iDevCloud.com - Personal Development IBM i timeshare service.
www.iInTheCloud.com - Commercial IBM i Cloud Hosting.

On 11/1/2016 10:25 AM, Steinmetz, Paul wrote:

I'm preparing my V7R1 lpars for my V7R2 i5/OS upgrade.

My Production and R&D lpars are fairly current with PTFs.

I have some other playground and test lpars that are not.

I know there are a few critical PTFs that may be required.

I also know to perm apply all PTFs, (mainly to save space) - good post
from Rob - PTF Apply on 5.4 box



A few questions.



1) How important is it to have PTFs current for an i5/OS upgrade since

all PTFs are overwritten. By the time I'm ready for the V7R1 to V7R2
upgrade, the next V7R1 cum will be out. Do I need to apply?

2) If you have some V7R1 PTFs for special issues, (not part of any cum

or group), how do you ensure that you acquire the equivalent V7R2 PTFs.

3) I SNDPTFORD SF97048 - Fix cross-reference summary list V7R1M0 to

V7R2M0. But I think this is only showing PTFs that included in the CUM.
Has anyone ever used the Fix cross reference summary? I'm not seeing much
value from this list.

4) Why do some perm apply PTFs still allow you to display the cover

letter and others do not. It is difficult to check PTFs when you don't
know what the PTF is for?

5) What about PTF for LPP not be upgraded? See note below. This goes

against the "Perm Apply all PTF rule"

From Chapter 6. Preparing to upgrade or replace IBM i software 27

Reviewing software PTF (fix) requirements



Before you begin the IBM i installation process, make sure that your
system is ready by reviewing your

requirements for program temporary fixes (PTFs).



Finding the latest PSP information

Keep informed on the most recent information about conditions that
might impede your IBM i software

installation process.



To ensure that your system has the correct PTFs installed for
upgrading to IBM i 7.2, review the Updates

and PTFs section found in the IBM i and Related Software
developerWorks website

www.ibm.com/developerworks/ibmi/software<http://www.ibm.com/developerw
orks/ibmi/software>



If you are using image catalogs to upgrade, certain PTFs are required.
If you are using an image catalog

to install a more recent update of the same release of IBM i, for
example, you might need to load and

apply a certain PTF. These steps are found in "Preparing to upgrade or
replace software using an image

catalog" on page 35 Do these steps before you install the software to
ensure that the installation media

are ready to use.

For information about how to use preventive service planning, see
Preventive service planning

information. in the IBM i Information Center.



Analyzing fixes you currently have on your system

A fix cross-reference summary list enables you to analyze the program
temporary fixes (PTFs) and

Licensed Internal Code fixes you currently have installed on your

system.

With this information, you can determine which fixes you need to order
to maintain the same or higher

PTF and Licensed Internal Code fix level as you update to the new
level of software. These summaries

are updated each working day with the latest information as new PTFs
and Licensed Internal Code fixes

are released.



To find out how to order a cross-reference summary list, see the topic
Fix cross-reference summary lists in

the IBM i Information Center.



Permanently applying program temporary fixes (PTFs)

Temporarily applied PTFs require a considerable amount of disk storage
space. Follow these procedures

only for IBM i products and temporarily applied PTFs that you have

verified on your system.

When a new release is installed, the installation process overwrites
the PTFs applied to the previous

release. The PTFs for the previous release are no longer applied, but
there might be associated objects that remain on the system and take
up disk storage space. When you use Operational Assistant and choose
to clean up system journals and system logs, PTF save files from
previous releases are deleted from your system. However, for systems

that have the IBM System Manager for i licensed program installed, the PTF
save files are not deleted.

Notes:
v For more information about applying PTFs, see Applying fixes in the
IBM i Information Center which contains information about applying

immediate PTFs temporarily or permanently.

v Do not permanently apply PTFs for those licensed programs that you do

not plan to upgrade.

v If you have the IBM System Manager for i (57xx-SM1) licensed program
installed on your system, use the instructions in the manual System

Manager Use for managing PTFs on your system.

Adding fix support for currently installed licensed programs IBM
licensed programs that are installed on your system are not
automatically supported after an IBM i upgrade to a new release.
If you want to keep the PTF save files for licensed programs that you
have currently installed to continue after you upgrade, add the fix

support for these licensed programs before you upgrade.

To add support, see the topic Add fix support for a software product in

the IBM i Information Center.

Thank You

_____

Paul Steinmetz

IBM i Systems Administrator



Pencor Services, Inc.

462 Delaware Ave

Palmerton Pa 18071



610-826-9117 work

610-826-9188 fax

610-349-0913 cell

610-377-6012 home



psteinmetz@xxxxxxxxxx

http://www.pencor.com/

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