Larry's on vacation but I can tell you what we both do. Since we need all
the PTFs for whatever machine our customers have we always order ALL of the
PTFs. That way I have everything you need if I come in with my image
catalog to apply PTFs. Bigger download -- Yep, but now we don't play the
missing Prereq/Coreq game.
Your customized image did not duplicate any PTFs you have on your system
hence the smaller image size. That's good for a shop that has one or two
systems where they are kept very close together in PTF loads. The moment
they start to diverge PTF loads then the trouble starts with Prereq/Coreq
issues.
I also have taken to ordering the Cumulative and the All Groups group
together. That cuts down the total size as well since the same PTF can show
up in many groups if they are ordered individually and by doing this IBM
compresses out all the duplicates.
In your case the customized package might be the best bet, but for Larry,
me, and other consultants, we need to have everything, all the time in the
event we need them.
BTW as a side note, we also insist on our customers all having current
software support on their machines, we don't provide PTFs to those customers
who try to cheat the system by not paying SWMA. (I get at least two
requests a month from folks that have dropped support now that fix central
checks the serial number/model for a valid contract)
--
Jim Oberholtzer
Chief Technical Architect
Agile Technology Architects
-----Original Message-----
From: MIDRANGE-L [mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Steinmetz, Paul
Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2015 7:34 AM
To: 'Midrange Systems Technical Discussion'
Subject: RE: SNDPTFORD SF99711 taking excessively long, unneeded secondary
languages being downloaded, fixed by CHKPTF *NO to *YES
Larry,
When you do your fix central PTF order, do you let it download all or do you
customize your order, (only order PTF if not on system).
I just tried 2 orders for SF99711, all was 6 bin files.
Customized for SF99711, 1 bin file.
Paul
-----Original Message-----
From: MIDRANGE-L [mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
DrFranken
Sent: Friday, January 30, 2015 11:55 AM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Subject: Re: SNDPTFORD SF99711 taking excessively long, unneeded secondary
languages being downloaded, fixed by CHKPTF *NO to *YES
YMMV, It Depends, personal preference, all apply!
When I'm on Fix Central I see the group number and data and there is a link
directly to the cover letter there.
I like to control the name of my downloads. I use the FTP option and I name
the current HIPER for example HIPER130 so I know exactly what that image is.
I need to know the release so I put that in the directory name
V7R1 for example.
I order up the groups that have changed and a bit later paste one little
piece from that email into a script and off they go.
I get a handful of images not a swarm of *SAVFs. I can exclude these images
from backups very easily too.
I can look easily in the output logs to see how many files I got and how
fast they arrived or if there were errors.
Those files end up exactly where i want them so I can apply to 40 or more
LPARS as needed without having to touch them again. The CL that runs at the
end sets up all the IMGCLG stuff for me.
Don't need to configure any of the 40 LPARS to handle SNDPTFORD. Nor do I
need the disk space on them to hold the PTFs. Application is also very fast
as the reads are on another system entirely.
Why would I want all PTFs for all LPARs rather than specific ones for a
single LPAR? Because I do ONE download not 40 (or more!)
I Haven't used SNDPTFORD to get more than a couple PTFS in a decade.
So My personal preference is exactly opposite of yours.
By the way we're both right. :-) :-)
- Larry "DrFranken" Bolhuis
www.frankeni.com
www.iDevCloud.com
www.iInTheCloud.com
On 1/30/2015 11:09 AM, Steinmetz, Paul wrote:
I believe Fix Central has similar options. I'd be interested in the times
for both if anyone has them.
Just for S&G, I'm doing a fix central order for SF99711.
Well, sitting on "Download fixes to my system" Loading for 30 minutes now.
SNDPTFORD Pros,
1) Automate
2) Only get PTFs needed for that LPAR, (why would you want all the
same PTFs for other LPARs If not needed on that LPAR
3) Cover letters included
4) From *SAVF format, No extra steps for image catalog, ready for
option 8
SNDPFTORD Cons,
1) Can't think of any
Fix Central Pros
1) Not seeing any
Fix Central Cons
1) No automation
2) Lengthy order process
3) More potential order and download issues.
I'd be interested in feedback, as of now SNDPTFORD wins hands down every
time.
Paul
-----Original Message-----
From: MIDRANGE-L [mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Bryan Dietz
Sent: Friday, January 30, 2015 10:22 AM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Subject: Re: SNDPTFORD SF99711 taking excessively long, unneeded
secondary languages being downloaded, fixed by CHKPTF *NO to *YES
If this is the case then I think that ordering for FTP download from Fix
Central is the way to go.
You for sure will get what you need for pretty much any given LPAR.
Bryan
DrFranken wrote on 1/30/2015 10:04 AM:
Note that this parm is gold for you if you are doing one partition as
it tells IBM that you only want PTFs for stuff (and languages) YOU
have installed on the requesting partition. This could save you hours
:-)
IF you intend to distribute these PTFs to other systems that may not
have the same product load this will be a problem.
- Larry "DrFranken" Bolhuis
www.frankeni.com
www.iDevCloud.com
www.iInTheCloud.com
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