RE: V4R4 to V4R5 upgrade. -- MIDRANGE-L

Kevin,

I've put some replies inline.

> On Behalf Of Kevin Corcoran
> Subject: V4R4 to V4R5 upgrade.
>
> I have been given the dubious honour of upgrading our machines (a 170
and
> a
> 720) from V4R4 to V4R5.
> My boss tells me that heard (although not from a reliable source) that
> this
> upgrade can be tricky.

I don't recall this upgrade as being more or less tricky than most.

> Having never done an upgrade before I am starting by reading the
entire
> V4R5
> Installation Guide, which I hope will tell me everything I need to
know.
> However, if anyone has done this upgrade and knows of any pitfalls,
> problems, prerequisites etc. I'd love to hear about them.

As well as reading through the Installation Guide, I would also suggest
reading through the 'Memo to Users'.  Get a copy online so that you have
the latest version.  See URL below and get the version for V4R5:
http://www-912.ibm.com/s_dir/sline003.NSF/ALLPSPBYREL?

> A few questions have occurred to me, so far. I will probably find the
> answers as I work my way through the manual but I'll throw the
questions
> out
> here anyway, just in case anyone has the answers off-hand.
>
> 1. I am told that neither of our machines is partitioned, but I want
to
> confirm this. Never having had to do this I have no idea what command
to
> use. If there were partitions, would WRKSYSSTS or WRKLICINF tell me?

It is unlikely that your machines would be partitioned and that nobody
knows it.  At V4R4 you could only put a partition on a multiprocessor
machine, so if you have uni-processor AS/400's, you can be certain that
they are not partitioned.  If you have a multiprocessor machine, sign on
as the Master Security Officer, start system service tools (STRSST), and
look in option 5 to work with system partitions.  (Please note the
instructions above are from a later release, they may have changed since
V4R4).  Take that option and it will tell you how many partitions are on
your system.

> 2. I know that all temporarily applied PTF's have to be permanently
> applied
> prior to upgrade, but is there any specific level of PTF that must be
> applied prior to the upgrade. This question is difficult to put into
the
> correct words. Basically, I'm upgrading from V4R4 to V4R5, so do I
need
> all
> PTF's relating to V4R4 to be applied prior to upgrading to V4R5? Or
can I
> just apply all PTF's from the most recent V4R5 Cumulative package
after
> I've
> upgraded?

Generally you do not need to be absolutely current in order to upgrade.
V4R4 is a rather mature release and if you have installed a cumulative
PTF in the past few years, chances are good that you have the PTFs you
need.  If specific PTFs are documented in the installation guide or the
memo to users, then verify that you have them.  There are cases in which
specific PTFs are required on the source version in order to do an
upgrade.  These will be specifically referenced in the documentation.

> All information gratefully received.
> Thanks,
>
> Kevin.
>

You are moving from a release which is no longer supported to a release
which will not be supported in two months.  Why not go to V5R1?

I hope this is helpful,
Regards,
Andy Nolen-Parkhouse