2 Overview of Siebel Anywhere

This chapter provides an overview of the capabilities of Siebel Anywhere. It includes the following topics:

• "Features and Benefits of Siebel Anywhere"

• "Roadmap for Using Siebel Anywhere"

• "About the Siebel Anywhere User Interface Features"

• "About Siebel Anywhere File Attachments"

• "About Siebel Anywhere Version Settings"

• "Siebel Anywhere Terminology"

• "Siebel Anywhere Deployment Recommendations"

Features and Benefits of Siebel Anywhere

Siebel Anywhere allows the Siebel administrator to distribute software upgrades (in the form of Siebel Anywhere upgrade kits) to Siebel Mobile Web Clients, Siebel Developer Web Clients, and Siebel Servers. Upgrades can include custom configurations (updated CFG or SRF files), certain types of Siebel Business Applications releases, custom extensions to the Siebel database schema, custom files, or third-party files or applications.

Siebel Anywhere provides the following mechanisms:

• Configuration control to make sure that users are connecting to a system with the appropriate software components.

• Creation and packaging of supported types of upgrade components for distribution to clients or servers.

• Distribution to provide users with acceptable version levels of the upgrade components.

Note: Siebel Anywhere is not designed to deliver new Siebel software installations, deliver upgrade kits to Siebel Tools, or support database upgrades of the type described in Siebel Database Upgrade Guide. In general, the term upgrade as used in this guide has a specific, narrow meaning relating to distributing software updates through Siebel Anywhere.

For more information about how Siebel administrators and other users work with Siebel Anywhere, see "Roadmap for Using Siebel Anywhere" and other topics in this chapter. For more information about how Siebel Anywhere performs its functions, see "About Siebel Anywhere Version Settings".

Note: Some of the references in this guide to Siebel CRM version numbers are for example or illustrative purposes. You must verify the availability, characteristics, and requirements of any release. Tasks and requirements for all future releases are subject to change. For example, it is strongly recommended to gain familiarity with changes in Siebel client installation that were introduced in Siebel Innovation Pack 2014 (migration installation, in particular). For more information, see the Siebel Installation Guide for the operating system you are using.

Roadmap for Using Siebel Anywhere

This topic describes the overall process of using Siebel Anywhere.

To use Siebel Anywhere to distribute product updates, perform the following tasks and processes:

1. Plan and prepare to create upgrade kits. For more information about this step, see "Process of Planning and Preparing to Create Upgrade Kits".

   For example, you must determine your upgrade requirements. As a Siebel administrator, you must create any required configurations, dynamic configuration assignments, and components.

   For a discussion of components and configurations, see "Siebel Anywhere Terminology".

2. Define an upgrade kit to meet your requirements.

   For a discussion of upgrade kits, see "Siebel Anywhere Terminology". For more information about this step, see Chapter 4, "Defining Upgrade Kits."

3. Activate the upgrade kit. Activating an upgrade kit gathers the files to be included in the upgrade kit and compresses them into a single archive stored on the Siebel File System.

   For more information about this step, see "Activating an Upgrade Kit".

4. Apply the upgrade kit. Applying an upgrade kit updates a compiled information string with the component version information.

   For more information about this step, see "Applying an Upgrade Kit".

5. (Client upgrade kits only) Distribute the upgrade kit to test users for testing. Test users are specified by membership in a test configuration.

   For more information about this step, see "Distributing Upgrade Kits".

6. (Client upgrade kits only) For Siebel client users belonging to the test configuration, these users retrieve the upgrade kit for testing:

   • Mobile Web Client users retrieve the upgrade kit by synchronizing (if the upgrade kit is required) or by selecting and upgrading the applicable component in the Component Upgrades view in the User Preferences screen (if the upgrade kit is optional).

     
     

     Note: To support the Component Upgrades view, Siebel administrators must include this view in the responsibilities that are assigned to mobile users. For more information, see "Retrieving and Installing Upgrade Kits".

     
     

   • Developer Web Client users are automatically prompted to retrieve the upgrade kit upon logging in to the Siebel application.

     For more information about this step, see Chapter 5, "Retrieving, Installing, and Testing Upgrade Kits."

   
   

   Note: As part of your planning process, see also Chapter 7, "Performing Additional Siebel Anywhere Tasks," which has additional information for particular kinds of upgrades.

   
   

7. (Client upgrade kits only) As a Siebel administrator, correct any problems you discovered during testing. Repeat client testing as necessary.

   For more information, see Chapter 8, "Troubleshooting for Siebel Anywhere."

8. (Client upgrade kits only) Use additional configurations to distribute the upgrade kit for wider use, and notify the appropriate users that it is available.

9. (Client upgrade kits only) All applicable Siebel client users retrieve the upgrade kit through the same mechanisms noted in Step 6.

About the Siebel Anywhere User Interface Features

This topic describes the user interface features for Siebel Anywhere. It contains the following information:

• "Siebel Anywhere Screens and Views"

• "Siebel Anywhere Wizards and Utilities"

Siebel Anywhere Screens and Views

This topic identifies the screens and views that you use with Siebel Anywhere.

Most of the administrative tasks concerned with Siebel Anywhere are done by using views in the Administration - Siebel Anywhere screen. You must be logged in to the Siebel application as a Siebel administrator to access the views in this screen and perform Siebel Anywhere administration tasks.

This topic is part of "About the Siebel Anywhere User Interface Features".

When you install the Siebel Business Applications, you must also create a Siebel administrator account that can be used to perform the tasks described in this guide. For more information, see the Siebel Installation Guide for the operating system you are using.

Siebel Anywhere client users use the Component Upgrades view of the User Preferences screen for retrieving and installing optional upgrade kits. This view also allows users to see their current update status. The Component Upgrades view is available only for the Mobile Web Client and Developer Web Client.

Note: To support the Component Upgrades view, Siebel administrators must include this view in the responsibilities that are assigned to mobile users. See "Retrieving and Installing Upgrade Kits".

This guide provides additional information about these screens and views in later chapters, as part of the information that accompanies specific procedures.

Siebel Anywhere Wizards and Utilities

This topic briefly describes the following Siebel Anywhere wizards and utilities, which are used during various stages of upgrades involving Siebel Anywhere:

• Upgrade Kit Wizard

• Upgrade Kit Builder

• Upgrade Wizard

Note: The tasks and wizards described in this book are not related to the tasks or wizards described in Siebel Database Upgrade Guide. In general, the term upgrade as used in this guide has a specific, narrow meaning relating to the functions provided by Siebel Anywhere.

This topic is part of "About the Siebel Anywhere User Interface Features".

Upgrade Kit Wizard

The Upgrade Kit Wizard is the task-oriented feature that Siebel administrators must use to define an upgrade kit. The Upgrade Kit Wizard uses a browser-based user interface to prompt the administrator for the required information. The Upgrade Kit Wizard performs the following functions:

• Allows the Siebel administrator to provide input to define the upgrade kit. The user interface varies according to the component selected for the upgrade kit.

• Validates the parameters supplied by the administrator.

• Handles file attachments for certain types of upgrade kits.

• Specifies upgrade kit items.

• Specifies the sequence of events in the upgrade being defined.

• Submits a schedule-mode server request to invoke the Upgrade Kit Builder when kit definition is complete.

For more information about using the Upgrade Kit Wizard, see Chapter 4, "Defining Upgrade Kits."

Note: Do not confuse the Upgrade Kit Wizard with the Upgrade Wizard, which is described later in this topic. The Upgrade Kit Wizard constructs the upgrade kit. The Upgrade Wizard reads the upgrade kit and installs it on the Siebel client or server.

Upgrade Kit Builder

The Upgrade Kit Builder (alias UpgKitBldr) server component is part of the Siebel Anywhere (alias SiebAnywhere) component group on the Siebel Server. This server component constructs upgrade kits on the server, based upon definitions of upgrade kits collected by the Upgrade Kit Wizard.

During upgrade kit construction, the Siebel administrator can monitor the progress of the Upgrade Kit Builder. To do this, navigate to the Administration - Server Management screen and the Jobs view, and query for Upgrade Kit Builder in the Jobs list. Alternatively, check the Upgrade Kit Builder log file. The associated log file is UpgKitBldr_taskID.log.

For more information about enabling the Siebel Anywhere component group, see "Siebel Anywhere Deployment Recommendations".

Upgrade Wizard

The Siebel Upgrade Wizard (generally referred to here as the Upgrade Wizard) is a stand-alone executable program that reads and installs upgrade kits on Siebel Mobile or Developer Web Clients or Siebel Servers. The Upgrade Wizard also tracks the upgrade process and automatically recovers from errors. In the Windows environment, the associated log file is UpgWiz.log. In the UNIX environment, the associated log file is srvrupgwiz1.log.

Note: Do not confuse the Upgrade Wizard with the Upgrade Kit Wizard, which is described earlier in this topic. The Upgrade Kit Wizard constructs the upgrade kit. The Upgrade Wizard reads the upgrade kit and installs it on the Siebel client or server.

During the installation of an upgrade kit for a Siebel client, the Upgrade Wizard creates a backup of affected files in the or upgrade folders. If an error occurs during the upgrade, then the Upgrade Wizard attempts to roll back the changes and restore the computer to its original state. Subsequently, when the user starts the Siebel client, the Siebel application detects that an upgrade is either in progress or has failed and notifies the user.

The Upgrade Wizard cannot roll back to the previous version after the upgrade has been installed successfully on a Siebel client. After a successful upgrade, the Upgrade Wizard deletes the backup files, and restoring to a previous configuration is not possible. However, you might be able to roll back from the latest Siebel Innovation Pack release (Siebel CRM version 16.0) to a previously installed Siebel Innovation Pack release (such as Siebel CRM version 8.1.1.14), by using the method described in the uninstallation chapter of the Siebel Installation Guide for the operating system you are using.

About Siebel Anywhere File Attachments

This topic briefly describes how Siebel Anywhere works with file attachments.

Siebel Anywhere stores two kinds of file attachments in the Siebel File System:

• Individual upgrade kit item files. Upgrade kit item files are files that are included when a particular upgrade kit is built. Examples include configuration files (CFG files) for configuration upgrade kits and Siebel Repository files (SRF files) for repository upgrade kits. Depending on the component types being upgraded, an upgrade kit might need to include zero, one, or multiple upgrade kit item files.

  Upgrade kit item files are stored in the Siebel File System after you click Finish in the Upgrade Kit Wizard. The files are visible in the Siebel File System as soon as the status of the upgrade kit record is Pending in the Upgrade Kits view (in the Administration - Siebel Anywhere screen). In the Siebel File System, individual upgrade kit item files are assigned file names that have the format S_UPG_KIT_IARG_ROWID_REVNO.SAF.

  In Siebel Anywhere file attachment names, ROWID is a unique number combination that identifies the upgrade kit record in the database, and REVNO indicates whether the upgrade kit has been revised. If you deactivate and reactivate an upgrade kit, then a new complete upgrade kit file is created, using the same ROWID value but a different REVNO value in the file name.

  In Siebel Anywhere file attachment names, ROWID is a unique number combination that identifies the upgrade kit record in the database, and REVNO indicates whether the upgrade kit has been revised. If you deactivate and reactivate an upgrade kit, then a new complete upgrade kit file is created, using the same ROWID value but a different REVNO value in the file name.

  The file name extension SAF is used for all compressed files stored in the Siebel File System, including Siebel Anywhere file attachments.

• Complete upgrade kit files. Upgrade kit files are the files that end users will download. Each upgrade kit file contains instructions for updating a specific Siebel component. Some upgrade kit files can also contain one or more upgrade kit item files, as described earlier in this topic. If upgrade kit item files are specified in the Upgrade Kit Wizard, then the specified files are incorporated into the complete upgrade kit file when the upgrade kit is built.

  Complete upgrade kit files are stored in the Siebel File System after you activate the upgrade kit. In the Siebel File System, complete upgrade kit files are assigned file names that have the format S_UPG_KIT_ROWID_REVNO.SAF, following the same conventions described for individual upgrade kit item files.

About Siebel Anywhere Version Settings

This topic describes how Siebel Anywhere uses version settings to perform its functions, beginning with some brief definitions of essential terminology.

Siebel Anywhere packages and delivers certain kinds of software using special files called upgrade kits. For more information about upgrade kits, see "Upgrade Kits".

A software module that is upgraded as a single unit is called a Siebel Anywhere component. Examples of components include those for Siebel configuration files, Siebel database schemas, Siebel client executable programs for Siebel Innovation Pack releases (formerly Siebel Fix Pack releases), Siebel Patchset releases (which incorporate multiple quick fixes), Siebel repository files, third-party software, and customer revisions. Any component that you are upgrading using Siebel Anywhere must have its own upgrade kit. For more information about Siebel Anywhere components, see "Upgrade Components".

A Siebel client user that has been associated with one or more Siebel Anywhere components is called a Siebel Anywhere subscriber. The association between a subscriber and a set of components is not direct; the association is formed by means of the subscriber's membership in an upgrade configuration, which is a definition of a setup used by a particular group of users, such as Siebel Call Center clients or Siebel Sales clients. A configuration associates a group of subscribers with the specific set of upgrade components that those subscribers must have managed and maintained.

For more information about configurations, see "Upgrade Configurations". For more information about subscribers, see "Siebel Anywhere Subscribers".

Siebel Anywhere stores and checks several kinds of version information to determine whether a particular subscriber can or must use a particular upgrade kit. To create upgrade kits that have the effects you want, you must understand how these versions are specified, stored, and used.

The following briefly describe the kinds of version information that Siebel Anywhere uses and how Siebel Anywhere uses them:

• "About Specifying a New Version Number for a Component"

• "About Specifying the Versions That Can Use the Upgrade Kit"

• "About Specifying Acceptable Version Ranges for Upgrade Components"

• "About Storing Version Information"

• "How Siebel Anywhere Component Versions Are Used"

About Specifying a New Version Number for a Component

A Siebel administrator who creates an upgrade kit specifies the version number that the component being upgraded will have after the upgrade kit is installed. This version number is called the New Version number.

For example, if the administrator sets the value of New Version to 3 when creating a new customer revision upgrade kit, then a Mobile Web Client on which an upgrade kit successfully installs is upgraded to version 3 of the customer revision component.

About Specifying the Versions That Can Use the Upgrade Kit

The Siebel administrator who creates an upgrade kit also specifies which previous versions of the component are compatible with the upgrade kit. If one or more specific versions are specified, then a client or server must already have one of those versions to download and use the upgrade kit.

The following Upgrade Kit Wizard settings are used to specify the acceptable range of versions for downloading the upgrade kit:

• Minimum Old Version

• Maximum Old Version

These settings are specified as part of the process of defining the upgrade kit. For more information about defining upgrade kits, see Chapter 4, "Defining Upgrade Kits."

As an example, suppose you assign the following values when creating a customer revision upgrade kit. (These values might be suitable when New Version is set to 3 for the upgrade kit.)

• Minimum Old Version = 1

• Maximum Old Version = 2

These example values cause the following results:

• Mobile Web Clients with version 0 of the customer revision component cannot download the upgrade kit until they execute an upgrade kit that changes their customer revision number from 0 to either 1 or 2.

• Mobile Web Clients with version 1 or 2 of the customer revision component can download the upgrade kit.

As a second example, suppose you assign the following values when creating an upgrade kit for a custom component:

• Minimum Old Version = NULL

• Maximum Old Version = NULL

Null values for both of these settings indicate that subscribers who have any previous version of the component, or no previous version of the component, can download and use the upgrade kit. Use null values for these settings only if there are no prerequisite versions for the component, or if the upgrade kit will contain all prerequisites within itself.

As a third example, suppose you want to distribute two upgrade kits for the same custom component, such as a report and a batch file that will manipulate the report. To make sure that the report is installed before the batch file runs, you would create one upgrade kit for the report and a second upgrade kit for the batch file, and you would make the upgrade kit for the batch file dependent on the upgrade kit for the report. The settings shown in Table 2-1 would accomplish this objective.

Table 2-1 Example Settings for Upgrade Kits Where Kit #2 Depends on Kit #1

Upgrade Kit Description	Minimum Old Version Value	Maximum Old Version Value	New Version Value
Report (upgrade kit #1)	NULL	NULL	1
Batch file to manipulate the report (upgrade kit #2)	1	1	2

About Specifying Acceptable Version Ranges for Upgrade Components

Siebel Anywhere also stores the acceptable range of versions for each upgrade component. For each subscriber, Siebel Anywhere checks the following:

• Which upgrade component versions are acceptable for running the Siebel application

• Which components must be upgraded

The acceptable range of versions is defined by the Min Version and Max Version settings. Min Version specifies the earliest acceptable version for a component. A component must be upgraded if its version number is less than the value of Min Version. A component does not require upgrading if its version number falls between the values of Min Version and Max Version, inclusive.

Min Version and Max Version values are assigned automatically when you apply an upgrade kit (that is, when you update a compiled information string with the component version information, before distributing the upgrade kit).

There are two ways to apply an upgrade kit. For more information about applying an upgrade kit while using the Upgrade Kit Wizard to define the upgrade kit, see Chapter 4, "Defining Upgrade Kits." For more information about applying an upgrade kit using the Apply Upgrade Kit Version Information dialog box, see "Applying an Upgrade Kit".

Regardless of when the upgrade kit is applied, the values that are assigned to Min Version and Max Version are as follows:

• For each upgrade kit, the default value for Min Version is set to the current Min Version value for the component to be upgraded. This value makes the upgrade kit optional for all users who have at least that version of the component.

  If you prefer to make the upgrade kit required for all users, then you can do so by performing either of the following actions:

  • Select the Required Upgrade Kit check box in the Upgrade Kit Wizard.

  • Click the Require Upgrade Kit button in the Apply Upgrade Kit Version Information dialog box.

  Either of these actions sets Min Version for the upgrade kit to match the value of New Version for the upgrade kit.

• The value for Max Version for an upgrade kit always matches the value of New Version for the upgrade kit.

As an example, suppose the following values are automatically assigned when you use the Apply Upgrade Kit Version Information dialog box for a customer revision upgrade kit:

• Min Version = 2

• Max Version = 4

These values cause the following results:

• The upgrade kit is required for any Mobile Web Client with version 1 of the customer revision component. If users have a version less than the minimum and choose not to execute the upgrade kit, then they can only access the application in a read-only mode.

• The upgrade kit is optional for any Mobile Web Client with version 2, 3, or 4 of the customer revision component. Users with these versions can either execute the upgrade kit or continue using their current version of the component.

About Storing Version Information

When a Siebel administrator applies an upgrade kit by using the Apply Upgrade Kit Version Information dialog box, the following settings for the upgrade kit are recorded in the form of a compiled information string in the Siebel database:

• New Version

• Minimum Old Version

• Maximum Old Version

• Min Version

• Max Version

How Siebel Anywhere Component Versions Are Used

After Siebel Anywhere has stored an upgrade kit's version information in the database and the Siebel administrator has distributed the upgrade kit, eligible subscribers have access to the upgrade kit. Siebel Anywhere compares the subscriber's current component version with the version information in the database under conditions that depend on both the type of subscriber and certain settings. For detailed information about when these version checks are done, see Table 2-2.

Table 2-2 Version Check Occurrence

Subscriber Type	When Version Check Occurs
Mobile Web Client and Developer Web Client users	Mobile and Developer Web Clients perform the version check when the client starts up and connects to either the server or local database. Mobile Web Clients also perform a version check during each synchronization session.
Regional Node Servers	Performed as the Regional Node Server starts up, dependent upon the version check flag on the Regional Node Server. The Replication Agent on a Regional Node Server also performs a version check for each synchronization session, dependent upon the same Version Check parameter.

Multiple factors affect what happens after Siebel Anywhere performs a version check. These factors include the subscriber type, the state the Siebel application is in when the versions are compared, and the relative version numbers.

In general, if a version check reveals that a subscriber is required to upgrade, then that subscriber is prompted to do so and has limited or no access to the affected application until the upgrade is complete. For detailed information about responses to the version check process when the upgrade is required, see Table 2-3.

However, if a version check reveals that a subscriber is not required to upgrade, then that subscriber generally is not prompted to upgrade, but can voluntarily navigate to the Component Upgrades view in the User Preferences screen to discover whether an upgrade is available and to request the upgrade. For more information about displaying optional upgrade kits and requesting optional upgrades, see "Retrieving and Installing Upgrade Kits".

Table 2-3 Response to Version Check Process Based on Application Status

Client or Server	Status of Application: Running	Status of Application: Startup
Mobile Web Client	During synchronization, if a version check discovers a required upgrade kit, then a prompt appears asking if the user wants to download the upgrade kit now. The choices are: Yes. The upgrade takes place. No. Synchronization does not occur. If you restart synchronization prior to exiting from the application, then you will be prompted again.	If a version check discovers a required upgrade at application startup, then a message such as the following appears: Client is being started in read-only mode. Please start a Siebel Remote session to retrieve the upgrade kit required to upgrade your system.
Developer Web Client	Not applicable.	If version check discovers a required upgrade at application startup, then a prompt appears asking if the user wants to download the upgrade kit now. The choices are: Yes. The upgrade takes place. No. The application starts in read-only mode.
Regional Node Server	If Version Check is TRUE, then Replication Agent automatically downloads the upgrade kit and shuts down the Regional Node Server. If Version Check is FALSE, then Replication Agent stops merging but does not shut down the Regional Node Server.	If Version Check is set to TRUE, then the Regional Node Server downloads the upgrade kit and shuts down. The Siebel administrator must invoke the Upgrade Wizard manually, from the command line, to perform the upgrade. If Version Check is FALSE, then the Regional Node Server starts up.

Siebel Anywhere Terminology

This topic provides information about the following crucial terms and concepts for understanding and working with Siebel Anywhere:

• "Upgrade Kits"

• "Upgrade Components"

• "Upgrade Configurations"

• "Siebel Anywhere Subscribers"

Upgrade Kits

A Siebel Anywhere upgrade kit is an archived file that contains software or Siebel database schema changes required to upgrade a specific upgrade component on a subscriber's computer. An upgrade kit contains one or more upgrade kit items, which are instructions for actions to be performed and the files associated with those actions. An upgrade kit also contains information about the sequence in which the actions are to be performed.

The available actions include:

• Executing any type of program or batch script. For example, this could include installing a Siebel Innovation Pack release or a Siebel Patchset release.

• Copying, moving, or deleting files.

  
  

  Note: In this guide, these actions are generally referred to as installing the upgrade kit, even where some actions might not represent installation in the same sense as what is described in the Siebel Installation Guide for the operating system you are using or in Siebel Patchset documentation.

  
  

The Siebel Anywhere architecture supports the creation of upgrade kits in a Web deployment. A Siebel administrator can use a Web browser, without any locally installed Siebel Business Applications software, to perform many Siebel Anywhere administrative tasks. The administrator prepares upgrade kits by using the Upgrade Kit Wizard and the Upgrade Kit Builder server component.

After the Siebel administrator creates an upgrade kit, it is automatically stored on the Siebel File System. From this location, it is available for retrieval and installation by subscribers. Files or scripts that are included in the upgrade kit are stored in compressed form. For more information about how Siebel Anywhere stores and identifies upgrade kits and the files that are included in upgrade kits, see "About Siebel Anywhere File Attachments".

It is very important to test upgrade kits. For example, it is recommended that you distribute each upgrade kit to selected mobile users through the use of a test configuration, and have those users attempt to download and execute the upgrade kit before you distribute the upgrade kit to a wider group of users.

Upgrade kits for Siebel client subscribers can be either required or optional.

Required Upgrade Kits

A required upgrade kit is an upgrade kit that must be retrieved and installed on the intended Mobile or Developer Web Clients or Siebel Servers. The Siebel clients and servers will prompt the user to upgrade if there is a required upgrade. If a required upgrade is not implemented, then the Siebel client can only be started in read-only mode and the Siebel Server will not start.

Upgrade kits created for Siebel Servers must always be defined as required upgrade kits.

Optional Upgrade Kits

An optional upgrade kit is an upgrade kit that is made available to subscribers, but subscribers are not required to retrieve and execute the upgrade kit. For example, optional upgrade kits are useful for making third-party applications, files, or other noncritical components available for users to retrieve at their discretion.

Siebel Anywhere does not automatically prompt users to retrieve and execute optional upgrade kits. Optional upgrade kits are manually retrieved using the Component Upgrades view (in the User Preferences screen), and are installed using the Upgrade Wizard.

Note: To support this functionality, Siebel administrators must include the Component Upgrades view in the responsibilities that are assigned to mobile users. See "Retrieving and Installing Upgrade Kits".

Caution: It is strongly recommended that you use the optional upgrade kit method when testing every Siebel Anywhere component upgrade. When an upgrade kit is created as an optional upgrade kit, test users can retrieve the upgrade kit from the Component Upgrades view whenever it is convenient to do so. If the upgrade kit is created as a required upgrade kit, then test users can retain read and write access to Siebel Business Applications only if they upgrade when they are automatically prompted to do so. After testing, you can make the upgrade kit required or optional.

Upgrade Components

An upgrade component is a logical unit of software for which Siebel Anywhere performs version checks to determine whether that software must be upgraded. The determination is made by comparing the subscriber's existing version of the component with the version requirements specified in an upgrade kit. Each upgrade component defines how to check versions for a particular software module. For example, the upgrade component Siebel Sales CFG, which is used to check the version of the Siebel Sales client configuration file (siebel.cfg), defines how to locate the file and how to read the version from it. For more information about how Siebel Anywhere conducts version checks, see "About Siebel Anywhere Version Settings".

Upgrade components can be thought of as belonging to two broad categories:

• History-dependent components depend on the presence of certain previously installed software.

• History-independent components can be upgraded regardless of the software previously installed.

Components are associated with subscribers by means of Siebel Anywhere configurations, which are discussed in more detail later in this topic. A configuration contains one or more upgrade components. The Siebel administrator can include one or more upgrade components in a configuration.

Siebel Business Applications provide several preconfigured upgrade components. These components are available based upon the Siebel languages for which seed data has been added to the Siebel database. The Siebel administrator can also create additional Siebel Anywhere components or other third-party software. Siebel Anywhere can upgrade these components, just as it does the predefined components used by Siebel Business Applications. For example, it would be possible to create an upgrade component to run a batch program in the form of a BAT or EXE file.

Note: Make sure that all of the components that you need are included in all applicable Siebel Anywhere configurations before you try to deliver upgrade kits for those components.

Each upgrade component is classified by a component type, as described in Table 2-4. For more information about upgrade components, see "Setting Up Custom Siebel Anywhere Upgrade Components"

Table 2-4 Predefined Examples of Siebel Anywhere Components

Siebel Component Type	Siebel Anywhere Component	Comments
Customer Revision	Siebel Client Customer Revisions Siebel Client Customer Revisions__language-code	This nonspecific component distributes any customer-revised files, such as Online Help files, Siebel Help files, Siebel Sample Database files, or third-party files or software on the Siebel client. Can be either history-dependent or history-independent.
	Siebel Server Customer Revisions Siebel Server Customer Revisions__language-code	This nonspecific component distributes any customer-revised files, such as Online Help files, Siebel Help files, Siebel Sample Database files, or third-party files or software on the Siebel client. Can be either history-dependent or history-independent.
Siebel Upgrade Wizard	Siebel Upgrade Wizard	This component distributes the Upgrade Wizard. It is automatically associated with every upgrade kit to make sure that the client uses the current version of the wizard. History-independent.
Siebel Database Extension	Siebel Database Schema	This component distributes updates for the Siebel database schema used by the Siebel Regional Node database and by Siebel Remote mobile databases. History-independent.
Siebel Executables	Siebel Client Executables Siebel Client Executables__language-code	This component distributes files for installing Siebel Innovation Pack releases. History-independent. Use the Siebel Client Executables components for creating Siebel Innovation Pack upgrade kits.
Siebel Quick Fix	Siebel Quick Fix	This component distributes files for installing Siebel Patchset releases. Use the Siebel Quick Fix component for creating Siebel Patchset upgrade kits.
Siebel Repository File	Siebel Client Repository File__language-code	This component distributes the repository file used by Siebel Business Applications (SRF file). Generally history-independent. However, components for delta repository file upgrade kits are history-dependent.
Third Party Software	Third Party - Adobe Acrobat Third Party - Adobe Acrobat Reader Third Party - IBM DB2 Client Third Party - Microsoft Internet Explorer Third Party - Microsoft SQL Server Driver Third Party - Microsoft Word Third Party - Oracle 8 Client (use for any supported Oracle version)	This component distributes third-party software, as used on the Siebel client. Can be either history-dependent or history-independent. Some Third Party Software upgrade components are for version checking only. Siebel Anywhere is not intended to deliver complex third-party software products by using upgrade kits. For smaller and simpler software products such as Adobe Acrobat and WinZip, you can use Siebel Anywhere to deliver them as Third Party Software upgrade kits. Note: Before using any Third Party Software components, update Min Version values to conform to supported versions noted in the Certifications tab on My Oracle Support.

Upgrade Configurations

An upgrade configuration is a definition of the setup used by a particular set of Siebel Anywhere subscribers, such as users of Siebel Call Center clients or Siebel Sales clients. A configuration associates a particular set of Siebel Anywhere subscribers with the specific set of upgrade components that those subscribers must have managed and maintained. Each Siebel subscriber belongs to an individual Siebel Anywhere configuration.

When Siebel Anywhere checks whether a particular subscriber needs an upgrade, it checks the versions of all components included in that subscriber's configuration.

Siebel Business Applications provide client configurations to support different applications. Some examples include the following:

• Siebel Call Center Client

• Siebel Marketing Client

• Siebel Partner Manager Client

• Siebel Sales Client

• Siebel Service Client

• Siebel Test Client

Each subscriber can be assigned to one of these configurations. Siebel administrators can also create new configurations for special situations or for applications or products for which predefined components or configurations are not provided.

Note: Siebel Anywhere supports global deployments by including seeded upgrade configurations and components for some supported languages included within your Siebel Business Applications. You might need to create new configurations to support languages for which seed data is not provided. Consider carefully the receivers or subscribers to any upgrade kit you create, and use the correct upgrade component based on end-user languages for Siebel applications.

By default, Siebel Anywhere uses the value of the ComponentName entry in the [Siebel] section of a Siebel client application's CFG file to determine what configuration is used by the client user (employee) and thus what components are to be checked. The server parameter Upgrade Component specifies the configuration for Siebel Server.

It is possible to override a client's default configuration assignment by using the Administration - Siebel Anywhere screen to assign the client to a different configuration. This method of assigning a client to a configuration is appropriate for situations in which the assignment is temporary. For example, a client might be assigned to a specific configuration to let that client's user test an upgrade kit for a particular application's CFG file before it is released for general use. These temporary assignments are also called dynamic assignments.

For more information about viewing the employees that are dynamically associated with Siebel Anywhere configurations, see "Identifying Configurations to Deliver Upgrade Components". For more information about modifying and creating Siebel Anywhere configurations, see "Modifying and Creating Siebel Anywhere Configurations".

Siebel Anywhere Subscribers

A Siebel Anywhere subscriber is a Siebel client or a Siebel Server that belongs to an active configuration. It can be a laptop computer, a desktop computer, or a Regional Node Server. A Siebel Anywhere subscriber belongs to one upgrade configuration. Types of subscribers include the following:

• Mobile Web Clients of Siebel Business Applications such as Siebel Sales, Siebel Partner Manager, Siebel Field Service, or Siebel Call Center

• Developer Web Clients of these applications

• Siebel Servers operating against regional databases (referred to as Regional Node Servers)

For more information about viewing the employees that are dynamically associated with Siebel Anywhere configurations, see "Identifying Configurations to Deliver Upgrade Components".

Caution: It is strongly recommended that you run only the Siebel Web Client (the client type that does not require a Siebel installer) for user accounts that have Siebel administrator responsibilities, to make sure that administrative tasks are performed while connected to the HQ Server, and to make sure that the administrator is not prevented from logging in for reasons related to component versions. If you run the Siebel Developer Web Client for any administrator account, then it is strongly recommended that the account not be associated with a Siebel Anywhere configuration. This precaution also helps prevent version-related login problems.

Siebel Anywhere Deployment Recommendations

In order for you to be able to create upgrade kits, the Siebel Anywhere component group must be enabled on a Siebel Server and the Upgrade Kit Builder server component must be running.

Note: When initially configuring a Siebel Server, do not enable the Siebel Anywhere component group. Wait until every Siebel Server is installed and configured, and then enable the Siebel Anywhere component group on only one Siebel Server.

Caution: Do not enable the Siebel Anywhere component group on a Regional Node Server. The reason for this is that upgrade kits must be built sequentially in the correct order. If the Upgrade Kit Builder server component is enabled on multiple servers, then upgrade kits might be built in the incorrect order, because multiple upgrade kits can be created at the same time.

For details about how to enable a component group on a Siebel Server, see Siebel System Administration Guide.