6 Activating, Applying, and Distributing Upgrade Kits

This chapter discusses activating, applying, and distributing upgrade kits, plus related tasks. It includes the following topics:

• "Process of Completing Upgrade Kit Creation"

• "Activating an Upgrade Kit"

• "Controlling the Order of Upgrade Kit Installation"

• "Deactivating an Upgrade Kit"

• "Applying an Upgrade Kit"

• "Converting an Optional Upgrade Kit to a Required Upgrade Kit"

• "Distributing Upgrade Kits"

• "Disabling Siebel Anywhere"

Process of Completing Upgrade Kit Creation

The remaining three steps in the process of creating an upgrade kit are activating, applying, and distributing the upgrade kit.

To complete upgrade kit creation, perform the following tasks:

1. "Activating an Upgrade Kit". This step gathers all the files for the upgrade and creates a single compressed archive file.

2. "Applying an Upgrade Kit". This step updates the compiled information string in the database with the new version information. If you have not already done so, then, during this step, you indicate whether or not an upgrade kit will be required.

3. "Distributing Upgrade Kits". This step makes the upgrade kit available to designated subscribers as either a required or an optional upgrade kit, depending on your selection in Step 2 of this process.

   
   

   Note: There are additional instructions for distributing Siebel Database Schema upgrade kits. For information, see "Process of Updating the Siebel Database Schema".

   
   

Activating an Upgrade Kit

After you define the upgrade kits for an upgrade, you must activate each upgrade kit. The status of an upgrade kit must be Pending before activating it. Activating an upgrade kit gathers the files to be included in the upgrade kit and compresses them into a single archive on the Siebel File System. It also sets the status of the upgrade kit to Active.

This task is a step in "Process of Completing Upgrade Kit Creation"

To activate an upgrade kit 

1. Navigate to the Administration - Siebel Anywhere screen, then the Upgrade Kits view.

   The Upgrade Kits view appears.

2. Select the upgrade kit you want to activate.

   The Status field must show that it is Pending.

3. Click Activate.

   A dialog box appears indicating activation is in progress.

   If you are activating a large upgrade kit, then your browser might be unresponsive for a few minutes after you click Activate. The delay in response occurs because the client application must wait for a reply from the server before proceeding. During the wait, no hourglass is displayed. When the client application receives the server's reply, the Status field changes to Active.

4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 to activate each upgrade kit required for your upgrade.

Note: Activating the upgrade kit does not affect the version information stored in the database. Activating an upgrade kit populates the File Size field for that upgrade kit. The upgrade kit is not available to subscribers until it has been applied and distributed.

When you activate the upgrade kit, the upgrade kit items you see in this view turn into item entries in the upgrade.ucf file, which is part of every Siebel Anywhere upgrade kit.

Controlling the Order of Upgrade Kit Installation

Usually, when you distribute upgrades to a configuration requiring several related components, the order in which upgrade kits are installed is undefined. If you must control the installation order of upgrade kits, then you can do this by making one upgrade kit dependent upon another. If this is the case, then do not use the Upgrade Kit Wizard to activate the upgrade kit.

An example of this type of situation is when you have one Siebel Repository Export Import upgrade kit (Upgrade Kit 1) and another Siebel Client Customer Revisions upgrade kit (Upgrade Kit 2), and you need Upgrade Kit 1 to be installed first.

To set the order of upgrade kit installation 

1. Navigate to the Administration - Siebel Anywhere screen, then the Upgrade Kits view.

   The Upgrade Kits list appears.

2. In the Upgrade Kits list, select the upgrade kit that you need installed second (for example, Upgrade Kit 2, the Siebel Client Customer Revisions upgrade kit).

3. If the upgrade kit is already activated, then perform one of the following actions:

   • Manually set the status to Pending.

   • Deactivate the upgrade kit, which changes the status to Pending.

4. In the Upgrade Kit Component list (lower list in the same view), make sure that the upgrade kit to be installed second is still selected in the Upgrade Kits list, and then click New.

   The Upgrade Components dialog box appears.

5. Select the component Upgrade Kit 1 upgrades; for example, Siebel Client Repository__language-code.

6. In the new record, set the Min Old Version to the New Version of the upgrade kit (the Siebel Repository Export Import upgrade kit).

7. Click to activate the Upgrade Kits applet.

8. Select the upgrade kit that you need installed second again and click Activate.

This procedure forces first the installation of Upgrade Kit 1 (Siebel Repository Export Import upgrade kit), followed by Upgrade Kit 2 (Siebel Client Customer Revisions upgrade kit). This interlinked series can be extended to three or more upgrade kits.

Deactivating an Upgrade Kit

Sometimes you might need to deactivate an active upgrade kit. For example, perhaps there was a last-minute decision to delete an upgrade kit. (You must first deactivate an upgrade kit before deleting it.)

Observe the following guidelines when deciding whether to deactivate an upgrade kit:

• If there was a problem with the upgrade kit, then deactivate the upgrade kit and create a replacement upgrade kit to upgrade the users who had problems with the initial upgrade kit.

• If later upgrade kits depend on the upgrade kit you are considering for deactivation, then perform the following actions to make sure that users will be able to download and install the later upgrade kits:

  • Make sure that every user who needs the upgrade kit that will be deactivated has already installed the upgrade kit. This includes any infrequent users who might log in too infrequently to have been prompted to install the upgrade kit.

    
    

    Caution: Deactivating a previously distributed upgrade kit could cause mobile users to have an unsuccessful synchronization and place those users unnecessarily into a read-only state.

    
    

  • Make sure that you can clone new client installations from existing up-to-date clients. This method is the preferred method for providing new users with material that was formerly delivered in one or more upgrade kits. New users cannot download later upgrade kits if a prerequisite upgrade kit has been deactivated.

To deactivate an upgrade kit 

1. Navigate to the Administration - Siebel Anywhere screen, then the Upgrade Kits view.

   The Upgrade Kits view appears.

2. Select the upgrade kit that you want to deactivate.

   The Status field indicates Active.

3. Click the menu button and select Deactivate.

   A warning message asks you to confirm. If appropriate, then click OK.

   The Status field now indicates Pending.

4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 for each upgrade kit that you want to deactivate.

Applying an Upgrade Kit

After you activate the upgrade kits for an upgrade, you must apply each upgrade kit. Applying an upgrade kit updates the compiled information string in the database with the component version information. This is an essential step in creating an upgrade kit. This is also the step in which you indicate whether an upgrade kit is a required upgrade kit.

This task is a step in "Process of Completing Upgrade Kit Creation"

Upgrade.ucf is the driver file for the Upgrade Wizard to apply the upgrade kit. It contains an ordered list of action items for the Upgrade Wizard to execute during the installation of the upgrade kit.

The following procedure describes how to apply an upgrade kit. This updates the compiled information string in the database with the component version information.

Note: If a replacement upgrade kit uses the same values for New Version, Minimum Old Version, and Maximum Old Version as the deactivated upgrade kit that it replaces, and if the deactivated upgrade kit was previously distributed, then you do not need to apply or distribute the replacement upgrade kit.

To apply an upgrade kit 

1. Navigate to the Administration - Siebel Anywhere screen, and, from the link bar, click Upgrade Kits.

   The Upgrade Kits view appears.

2. Select the upgrade kit that you want to apply.

   The Status field must show that it is Active.

3. Click Apply Versions.

   The Apply Upgrade Kit Version Information dialog box appears. Review the information in this dialog box:

   • The Min Version and Max Version numbers in this dialog box apply to the version of the component that can be used to bring up the application in read and write mode. If users have a version below the minimum and choose not to install the upgrade, then they can only access the application in a read-only mode.

   • If you click OK without clicking Require Upgrade Kit, then you are making it an optional upgrade kit (that is, after the upgrade kit is distributed, your subscribers can use Siebel Business Applications without upgrading, if their version is between the minimum and maximum).

   • If you click Require Upgrade Kit, then the minimum version changes to match the maximum version, which is the new version. In this case, the subscribers must upgrade after the configuration is distributed; otherwise, they can only start the application in read-only mode.

     
     

     Note: It is strongly recommended that you create upgrade kits as optional and then test to make sure that the upgrade kit is functioning properly. After you thoroughly test an upgrade kit using retrieval and installation, you can return to the Upgrade Kits view and reapply and distribute the upgrade kit as a required upgrade kit. See "Distributing Upgrade Kits" for more information.

     
     

4. Click OK if the version information is correct or click Cancel to exit the dialog box without applying the upgrade kit.

   If you click OK, then a prompt reminds you that you must distribute the upgrade kit to make it available to subscribers.

5. Repeat Steps 2 through 4 for each upgrade kit in this upgrade.

Continue to "Distributing Upgrade Kits" for distributing updated version information for upgrade kits.

Note: If there are multiple upgrade kits of the same type that are Siebel Database Schema or Siebel Client Executables, then it is strongly recommended you deactivate the old upgrade kits. This will save time for your users by preventing the downloading of outdated upgrade kits. (The version information for a deactivated upgrade kit can be retrieved, but a deactivated upgrade kit, itself, cannot be retrieved. When a user tries and fails to retrieve a deactivated upgrade kit, an automatic attempt is made to retrieve a later upgrade kit that is currently activated.)

Converting an Optional Upgrade Kit to a Required Upgrade Kit

After thoroughly testing an optional upgrade kit, you can reapply the upgrade kit to convert it to a required upgrade kit

To convert an optional upgrade kit to a required upgrade kit 

1. Navigate to the Administration - Siebel Anywhere screen, then the Upgrade Kits view.

   The Upgrade Kits view appears.

2. From the Upgrade Kits list, select the optional upgrade kit that you want to convert.

   The Status field indicates Active.

3. Click Apply Versions.

   The Apply Upgrade Kit Version Information dialog box appears. Review the information in this dialog box.

4. Click Require Upgrade Kit to make the upgrade kit required.

   The Minimum and Maximum Version numbers are now the same because the upgrade kit is now required.

5. Click OK if the version information is correct or click Cancel to exit the dialog box without applying the upgrade kit.

   If you click OK, then a prompt reminds you that you must distribute the upgrade kit to make it available to subscribers. See "Distributing Upgrade Kits".

Distributing Upgrade Kits

After applying an upgrade kit, you must distribute it to one or more configurations. For general information about configurations, see "Upgrade Configurations".

This task is a step in "Process of Completing Upgrade Kit Creation"

Note: If a replacement upgrade kit uses the same values for New Version, Minimum Old Version, and Maximum Old Version as the deactivated upgrade kit it replaces, and if the deactivated upgrade kit was previously distributed, then you do not need to distribute the replacement upgrade kit.

Upgrade kits are distributed to one configuration at a time. The distribution process makes the upgrade kit's component version information available to all the subscribers who are associated with that configuration, giving the subscribers their first opportunity to download and install the upgrade kit. Neither required nor optional upgrade kits are available to subscribers until the version information is distributed.

The version information that is made available during the distribution process includes version information for all the related components of the configuration, not just the component that the new upgrade kit is designed to upgrade. Technically, therefore, when you distribute a new upgrade kit to a configuration, you make that upgrade kit's version information available to the configuration, and you redistribute the version information of other active upgrade kits for the configuration's related components. In practice, however, you generally can proceed as if you were distributing only the one upgrade kit.

After distribution, if the upgrade kit is required, then subscribers are automatically prompted to retrieve and install it. If the upgrade kit is optional, then subscribers use the Component Upgrades view and Upgrade Wizard to locate and install the upgrade kit.

Caution: Before you distribute an upgrade kit, you must define, activate, and apply it. Before you distribute an upgrade kit to any configuration containing production users, it is strongly recommended that you use the Siebel Test Client configuration to test the upgrade kit thoroughly. It is particularly important to test any required upgrade kit before distributing for general use, because Mobile Web Client users can suffer unnecessary delays while downloading a defective required upgrade kit, and they can lose read and write access to Siebel Business Applications until a correctly functioning upgrade kit is available.

The following procedure describes how to distribute an upgrade kit from the Upgrade Configurations view. The same procedure can also be performed from the Employees view.

Note: There are additional instructions for distributing Siebel Database Schema upgrade kits. For information, see "Process of Updating the Siebel Database Schema".

To distribute an upgrade kit 

1. Navigate to the Administration - Siebel Anywhere screen, then the Upgrade Configurations view.

2. In the Upgrade Configurations view, select the appropriate Anywhere subscriber configuration.

3. Inspect the Upgrade Components list to verify that the components in the upgrade kit are related components for the selected configuration.

   For example, for a Siebel Innovation Pack release, the related components must include the Siebel Client Executables component for the base upgrade kit.

4. Click Distribute.

   This action makes the version information in the database available to subscribers with that particular configuration.

   A dialog box appears to confirm the intent to distribute the related components to the configuration.

5. Repeat Steps 2 through 4 for other configurations, as applicable.

For more information about special cases of distribution, see:

• "Limiting the Distribution of an Upgrade Kit"

• "Distributing Different CFG Files to Different Users"

Limiting the Distribution of an Upgrade Kit

You can limit the distribution of a upgrade kit to certain subscribers by temporarily assigning subscribers to a new configuration. For example, you might have a situation where you want to send a set of reports only to management, or you want to limit the users for testing an upgrade kit.

This topic is part of "Distributing Upgrade Kits".

To limit upgrade kit distribution for a new configuration 

1. Define the upgrade kit that you will be distributing.

   For more information, see Chapter 4, "Defining Upgrade Kits."

2. Activate the upgrade kit that you will be distributing.

   For more information, see "Activating an Upgrade Kit".

3. Apply the upgrade kit that you will be distributing.

   For more information, see "Applying an Upgrade Kit".

4. Either create a new configuration that you will use to distribute the upgrade kit to specific subscribers, or use the Siebel Test Client configuration for this purpose.

   For more information, see "Creating a New Configuration".

5. Associate the configuration with one or more components that correspond to the upgrade kit or upgrade kits that you want to distribute.

   For more information, see "Adding Components to a Configuration".

6. Add the logins for the subset of users that you want to receive this upgrade kit to the Employee view for this configuration.

   For more information, see "About Assigning Employees to a Configuration".

7. Distribute active upgrade kits to the configuration.

   For more information, see "Distributing Upgrade Kits".

   When you select a configuration and click Distribute, the subscribers associated with the configuration gain access to version information for all of the related components for the configuration. This gives those subscribers potential access to all active upgrade kits for those components, including any new upgrade kits that have been defined, activated, and applied. Subscribers associated with other configurations do not gain access to your new upgrade kit until you distribute to their configurations.

8. Remove subscribers from the configuration.

   Give the subscribers who are associated with the configuration enough time to download the upgrade kit. However, you must disassociate these subscribers from this special configuration as soon as possible. Ending a user's dynamic configuration assignment returns that user to the original configuration assignment defined in that user's CFG file. Upgrade kits targeted for the original configuration are again available to the user.

   For more information, see "Removing Employees from a Configuration".

Distributing Different CFG Files to Different Users

It is possible to distribute different CFG files to different sets of users. For example, you might have two groups of users, Sales Group users and Engineering Group users, where each group uses a different CFG file with their respective Siebel applications.

This topic is part of "Distributing Upgrade Kits".

Distributing CFG Files to Different Groups of Users

The following procedure describes how to use Siebel Anywhere to distribute a new CFG file to each group of users.

To distribute different CFG files to different groups of users 

1. Prepare all of the CFG files your various groups will use.

2. Start the Siebel application.

3. Navigate to the Administration - Siebel Anywhere screen, then the Upgrade Component List view.

   The Upgrade Components list appears.

4. Create a component for each applicable language, such as Sales Group CFG__ENU, that is similar to one of the default components for language-specific CFG files. Use the Copy Record option and set the values for the columns for each record as shown in the following tables.

   Example values for Record 1:

   Field Name	Value
   Name	Sales Group CFG__ENU
   Component Type	Siebel CFG File
   Min Version	100
   Max Version	Leave blank for a new component
   Locate Method	CFG
   Locate Information	Siebel,ClientRootDir,BIN\enu\SalesGrp.cfg
   Version Method	CFG
   Version Information	Siebel,Version
   Component Type	Sales Group CFG__ENU

   
   

   Example values for Record 2:

   Field Name	Value
   Name	Engineering Group CFG__ENU
   Component Type	Siebel CFG File
   Min Version	100
   Max Version	Leave blank for a new component
   Locate Method	CFG
   Locate Information	Siebel,ClientRootDir,BIN\enu\EngGrp.cfg
   Version Method	CFG
   Version Information	Siebel,Version

   
   

5. Create a configuration for each language combination for each group of users (such as Sales Group and Engineering Group), and add the appropriate CFG components you just created as related components.

   See Chapter 3, "Planning and Preparing to Use Siebel Anywhere," for details.

6. Navigate to the Administration - Siebel Anywhere screen, then the Upgrade Kits view.

7. Use Auto Create to create one upgrade kit for each group of users.

   For example, you might create one upgrade kit for Sales Group users, using the Sales Group CFG__language-code component and SalesGrp.cfg file, and another for Engineering Group users, using the Engineering Group CFG__language-code component and EngGrp.cfg file.

8. Apply the upgrade kits, and click on the Require Upgrade Kit button in the Apply Upgrade Kit Version Information dialog box.

The following procedure describes how to test the distribution of different CFG files to different groups of users.

Testing the Distribution of CFG Files to Different Groups of Users

The following procedure describes how to test the distribution of different CFG files to different groups of users.

To test distributing CFG files to different groups of users 

1. Navigate to the Administration - Siebel Anywhere screen, then the Upgrade Configurations view.

2. Add the new CFG components (such as Sales Group CFG__ENU and Engineering Group CFG__ENU) to the Siebel Test Client configuration.

3. Add two or more users to the Employees list for Siebel Test Client.

4. Distribute the Siebel Test Client to verify that you can retrieve the kit successfully.

5. Make sure that your test users' CFG files reflect the correct ComponentName in their CFG files.

   For example, Sales Group users must have this parameter set to Sales Group Configuration while Engineering Group users must have this parameter set to Engineering Group Configuration. Also, have these users verify that an exact match exists between the ComponentName in the CFG file and the configuration name in the Administration - Siebel Anywhere screen, Upgrade Configurations view.

6. Distribute the final configurations (such as Sales Group Configuration and Engineering Group Configuration) to send the kit to all applicable users.

Disabling Siebel Anywhere

Sometimes you might not want your users to be prompted to install upgrade kits when they log in to Siebel applications. The following procedures describe how to disable Siebel Anywhere version checking and the ability to install Siebel Anywhere upgrade kits for Developer Web Clients and Mobile Web Clients.

Disabling Siebel Anywhere for Siebel Developer Web Clients

The following procedure describes how to disable Siebel Anywhere for Siebel Developer Web Clients.

To disable Siebel Anywhere for Developer Web Clients 

1. Navigate to the Administration - Siebel Anywhere screen, then the Upgrade Configurations view.

2. Use one of the following methods to disable Siebel Anywhere version checking and related user prompts:

   • Rename the appropriate configurations. For example, rename the Siebel Sales Client as Old Siebel Sales Client, and so on. Then, redistribute current version information to the renamed configuration.

   • Delete all of the related components in a configuration and redistribute current version information to that configuration.

Disabling Siebel Anywhere for Siebel Mobile Web Clients

The following procedure describes how to disable Siebel Anywhere for Siebel Mobile Web Clients.

To disable Siebel Anywhere for Mobile Web Clients 

1. Follow the instructions in "Disabling Siebel Anywhere for Siebel Developer Web Clients".

2. In addition, use one of the following methods to disable Siebel Anywhere version checking and related user prompts:

   • Change ComponentName parameter in the CFG file to None.

   • Reextract local database.

If Mobile Web Clients are associated with a particular configuration through the Administration - Siebel Anywhere screen, Upgrade Configurations, Employees view, then reextracting is the only choice.