Best Practices for WebSphere Application Server Product Updates

Transcription

1 IBM Software Group Best Practices for WebSphere Application Server Product Updates Joe Mertzlufft WebSphere Support Technical Exchange

2 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 2 of 39

3 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 3 of 39

4 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 4 of 39

5 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 5 of 39

6 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 6 of 39

7 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 7 of 39

8 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 free in the filesystem which contains the product Time download time, install time, update time, rollback time, and server downtime WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 8 of 39

9 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 9 of 39

10 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 10 of 39

11 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: Platform: linux Architecture: ia32 Build Release: WAS61.IWAS Build Level: b Build Date: 05/16/2006 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 11 of 39

12 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 ID ND Build Level r Build Date 8/31/08 Architecture AMD (64 bit) WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 12 of 39

13 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 13 of 39

14 Example of fix pack listing Excerpt of V6.1 Fix Pack 25 for Linux download page WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 14 of 39

15 Check the file extension Check the file extension: <filename>.pak: <filename>.zip: Do not unzip this 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 15 of 39

16 Obtain the UpdateInstaller choose one WebSphere version updating TO Recommended UpdateInstaller These are the WebSphere 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 Other compatible UpdateInstaller V6.0.0 to V V6.0 V and later V7.0 V6.0, V6.1 V6.1, all versions V7.0 V6.1 V7.0, all versions V7.0 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 16 of 39

17 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 17 of 39

18 Installing Prepare the response file You can install using a graphical wizard, or using a noninteractive 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 18 of 39

19 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>" WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 19 of 39

20 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 20 of 39

21 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) WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 21 of 39

22 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. WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 22 of 39

23 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 noninteractive 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 23 of 39

24 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" WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 24 of 39

25 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 25 of 39

26 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 26 of 39

27 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 27 of 39

28 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: WS-WAS-LinuxX32-FP 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 28 of 39

29 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 29 of 39

30 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. WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 30 of 39

31 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 31 of 39

32 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 32 of 39

33 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. WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 33 of 39

34 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 34 of 39

35 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. WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 35 of 39

36 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 WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 36 of 39

37 Additional WebSphere Product Resources Discover the latest trends in WebSphere Technology and implementation, participate in technically-focused briefings, webcasts and podcasts at: developerworks/websphere/community/ Learn about other upcoming webcasts, conferences and events: software/websphere/events_1.html Join the Global WebSphere User Group Community: Access key product show-me demos and tutorials by visiting IBM Education Assistant: View a webcast replay with step-by-step instructions for using the Service Request (SR) tool for submitting problems electronically: support/d2w.html Sign up to receive weekly technical My Notifications s: support/einfo.html WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 37 of 39

38 Join WebSphere Support Technical Exchange on Facebook! Stay up-to-update on upcoming webcast sessions Suggest future topics Suggest program improvements Network with other product users And More Become a fan now! WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 38 of 39

39 Questions and Answers WebSphere Support Technical Exchange 39 of 39