Siebel Runtime Repository Version Rollback

This chapter describes how to use the Siebel Runtime Repository Version Rollback feature in the Siebel application to revert to the last known good version of a deployed application’s metadata (Siebel repository definitions). It includes the following topics:

Note: Siebel Runtime Repository Version Rollback applies only to Runtime Repository (RR) environments, such as QA or production. This feature is available in Siebel CRM 20.3 Update and later releases and uses the seamless repository delivery framework. For more information about the seamless repository delivery framework, see Siebel Installation Guide for the operating system you are using and Siebel Database Upgrade Guide.

About the Runtime Repository Version Rollback Feature

If issues are found with the latest deployed version of an application, then administrators can roll back to the last published stable version of the application’s metadata (RR definitions) and activate that version for all users without any downtime. The rollback only applies to the application’s metadata that is deployed in RR tables. Other application artifacts which may have been migrated at the same time but are not deployed in the RR are not rolled back: artifacts such as the manifest, JavaScript files, schema, workspace-enabled seed data or LOVs, as well as tasks that are deployed in workflow deployment tables.

Note: As of Siebel CRM 20.8 Update, browser scripts and workflows are part of the workspace-versioned object definition in RR tables (so rollback is supported for browser scripts and workflows).

Do not perform a rollback if you are unsure whether the latest version of these artifacts is consistent with the last stable version of the application’s metadata which will become active if you do a rollback, as it may lead to inconsistent application behavior.

Rolling back to a previously published stable version of an application’s metadata is required in the following circumstances:

If an unstable MAIN workspace version is published where users can start the application and navigate to the Workspace Dashboard view.
In this case, administrators can go to the Workspace Dashboard view and roll back to the last stable version of the application. All active user sessions will have to log out of the application and then back in again to load the stable version set by administrators.
If an unstable MAIN workspace version is published and users cannot start the application. For example, either the login page does not appear or users cannot log in to the application.
In this case, administrators can change the application object manager component level parameter WorkspaceBranchName to the workspace version to roll back to.

Caution: If the application is not in rollback mode and you cannot start the application, then it is recommended that you use the WorkspaceBranchName server parameter to go into rollback mode. If you are already in rollback mode, then setting this parameter has no effect because it does not update the rollback version number in the ACTIVE_VER column of the S_WORKSPACE table. The value (rollback version number) in the ACTIVE_VER column of S_WORKSPACE is read by the component at user login or component startup. Clicking the Rollback button on the UI updates the rollback version in the ACTIVE_VER column of S_WORKSPACE.

An example of the command syntax to use when rolling back to a previously published stable version of the runtime repository follows.

change param WorkspaceBranchName=<workspace_name> for comp <OBjMgr_lang>

To specify a specific version, use the following command syntax:

change param WorkspaceBranchName=<workspace_name>/<workspace_version> for comp <OBjMgr_lang>

For example, if 2 is a stable version in the MAIN workspace, then use the following command:

change param WorkspaceBranchName=MAIN/2 for comp SCCOBjMgr_enu

After the command is run, when users next log in to the application, the application starts with the specified workspace version without any downtime. There is no need to restart the Application Object Manager component or the Siebel Server services to reflect changes. For more information about setting parameters for components, see Siebel System Administration Guide.

Note: Rolling back to the last published stable version of an application’s metadata is different from rolling back to a previously installed software release (that is, performing a rollback uninstallation), which is described in Siebel Installation Guide for the operating system you are using.

Marking MAIN Workspace Versions as Stable or Unstable

The following procedure describes how to mark the MAIN workspace versions of an application as stable or unstable using the Stable Version check box. Marking a workspace version as stable or unstable gives administrators time to fix issues in an unstable workspace while ensuring that another stable workspace is available for Siebel users.

Administrators can use the Stable Version check box on the Workspace Dashboard view to manually mark a workspace version as stable (described in the following procedure) or they can set the Stable WS Version Duration system preference which will automatically mark a workspace version as stable after a specified time period (in days) has elapsed. For example, setting Stable WS Version Duration to 10 will automatically mark a workspace version as stable if the application has been running successfully on that version for 10 days.

If the application did not run on the workspace version for the configured duration (for example, because a newer version was deployed before the duration elapsed), then the system will not automatically mark the workspace version as stable. Administrators can manually mark a workspace version as stable as long as there is no newer version set as stable. The default value for Stable WS Version Duration is 15 and the minimum value is 1.

Note: Only administrators can perform this task. The Stable Version check box is enabled only for RR environments (such as, QA or production) containing more than one workspace version. It is disabled for DR (development) environments.

To mark MAIN workspace versions as stable or unstable

Log in to the Siebel application.
Click the cube icon on the application banner to navigate to the Workspace Dashboard view.
Select a workspace version and then set the Stable Version check box to No in the Workspace Version pane to indicate that this workspace version is unstable and should not be used.
Repeat this step as required to mark other workspace versions as unstable.
Select a workspace version and then set the Stable Version check box to Yes in the Workspace Version pane to indicate that this workspace version is stable and can be used.

Note: When the Stable Version flag is set to Yes for the latest version of a workspace in a production (RR) environment, the Stable Version flag will be read-only for older versions of the environment.

Rolling Back to the Last Stable Version of an Application

The following procedure describes how to roll back to the last stable version of an application.

Note: Only administrators can perform this task. The Rollback button is enabled only for RR environments (such as, QA or production) containing more than one workspace version. It is disabled for DR (development) environments.

To roll back to the last stable version of an application

Log in to the Siebel application.
Click the cube icon on the application banner to navigate to the Workspace Dashboard view.
Click Rollback to roll back to the last stable version of the MAIN workspace.
When you do this, the application goes into rollback mode and the latest version of the MAIN workspace is internally marked unstable. The application will remain in rollback mode until you exit rollback mode, see Exiting Rollback Mode.
All active user sessions will have to log out of the application and then back in again to load the stable version set by administrators. When users next log in to the application, the application will start with the selected stable version of the application without any downtime.

Note: If no workspace versions are marked as Stable in a production (RR) environment and a user clicks Rollback, then the application will roll back to the base version (0) of the workspace by default.

Rolling Back to Any Other Stable Version of an Application

The following procedure describes how to roll back to any other stable version of an application.

Note: Only administrators can perform this task. The Activate button is enabled only for RR environments (such as, QA or production) containing more than one workspace version. It is disabled for DR (development) environments.

To roll back to any other stable version of an application

Log in to the Siebel application.
Click the cube icon on the application banner to navigate to the Workspace Dashboard view.
Select the stable version that you want to roll back to and then click Activate to roll back to the selected stable version.
When you do this, the application goes into rollback mode. The application will remain in rollback mode until you exit rollback mode, see Exiting Rollback Mode.
All active user sessions will have to log out of the application and then back in again to load the stable version set by administrators. When users next log in to the application, the application will start with the selected stable version of the application without any downtime.

Exiting Rollback Mode

The following procedure describes how to exit or come out of rollback mode by using the Activate button to activate the latest version of an application on which, for example, an incremental migration containing fixes has completed successfully.

If the rollback was carried out by setting the WorkspaceBranchName component level parameter, then to exit rollback, you must reset the component parameter to MAIN without any version. Use the following command to start the application with the latest version of workspace MAIN:

change param WorkspaceBranchName=MAIN for comp SCCOBjMgr_enu

Note: Only administrators can perform this task. The Activate button is enabled only for RR environments (such as, QA or production) containing more than one workspace version. It is disabled for DR (development) environments.

To exit rollback mode

Log in to the Siebel application.
Click the cube icon on the application banner to navigate to the Workspace Dashboard view.
Select the latest workspace version containing, for example, all recent fixes and then click Activate to activate that workspace version.
Log out of the application and then back in again.
Doing this brings the application out of rollback mode (if applicable) and into normal mode immediately without any downtime. Activating the latest workspace version switches the application into normal mode always regardless of whether the application was in rollback mode or not.

Note: Normal mode is where the (stable version of an) application’s metadata is deployed.
All active user sessions will have to log out of the application and then back in again to load the newly activated version set by administrators. There is no need to restart the Application Object Manager component or Siebel Server services to reflect changes.

Using Siebel Runtime Repository Version Rollback in Siebel Web Tools

The Runtime Repository Version Rollback feature is also available in Siebel Web Tools and operates exactly the same way as it does in the Siebel application. If an unstable MAIN workspace version is published and the application login page or workspace dashboard does not appear, you can use Siebel Web Tools to roll back to the last published stable version of the application’s metadata (RR definitions) because Siebel Web Tools starts with safeboot dlls.

Administrators can use the Runtime Repository Version Rollback feature from the Workspace Dashboard view in Siebel Web Tools to do the following:

Mark the MAIN workspace versions of an application as stable or unstable.
You click Stable Version on the Workspace Version pane to set the stable version of a MAIN workspace on or off.
Activate the stable version or latest version of the MAIN workspace.
You click Activate on the Workspace menu to activate any stable version or latest version of the MAIN workspace in the production environment.
Roll back the application to the last stable version of the MAIN workspace.
You click Rollback on the Workspace menu to roll back the changes, in a production environment, to the last stable version of the runtime MAIN workspace.