SFX KnowledgeBase Update

Location of Files Related to the Update

Update files are located as follows:

All version 4 revisions can be found on the Ex Libris FTP server in sfx/ revisions_v4. Each revision is stored in a separate directory.

For example, the KBDB revision with Release Number 20100500 is stored in sfx/revisions_v4/20100500/sfx-kbdb-update-20100500.run.

A list of all version 4 revisions and the order in which they need to be applied can be found in sfx/revisions_v4/list/RevisionList.pm.
On the local SFX server, the exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/.sfx_history file contains information about which revision packages have been applied for each instance.
Revision packages are downloaded to the local SFX server during the revision update in the /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/tmp/rev-up-downloads directory.
The report files can be found in the /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/tmp directory.

It is best to clean this directory after the update but retain the latest backup of the database.

The ftp.config configuration file contains the information necessary to FTP the KnowledgeBase package from the FTP site. The file can be found in the /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/sfxglb41/config directory.

The configuration file contains the host name, user name, and password (in encrypted form) to connect to the Ex Libris FTP server. Additionally, the configuration file contains an option to define whether active or passive FTP should be used. By default, passive FTP is used and the value of the passive parameter is either blank or 1. If it is necessary to use active FTP, change the passive parameter to 0.

At the start of the revision update, a backup is made of the prerevision state of the SFX server.

Each backup is stored as a compressed .tgz file in /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/tmp/backup.

The following options can be used when running the revision update (rev-up) program:

rev-up [options]

Options:

--status shows current state of server

--available fetches list of available updates from Ex Libris

--justget=ID downloads update(s), if not specified, 'all' is

assumed

--justgetall downloads all relevant update(s)

--justapply=ID applies update(s), if not specified, 'all' is

assumed

--applyall applies all relevant update(s)

--instance=NAME name of instance to update, not a good idea for

sw updates

--defaults assume that the answer to any question is the default

--nolog, --log disable logging

--logfile full path of log file

--manualdownload assumes all files already downloaded into

Directory specified by rev-up.conf

--type=type restricts the process to run only on a type of

revision, i.e. kbdb or sw

--help brief help message

--man full documentation

--apply_v3_all downloads and applies all updates up to the latest released revision in V3

To get information on the latest KB Revision and Service Pack applied on the SFX server, type the command ver (this works from any location in the SFX file system, as any user).

The following is displayed:

KBDB: <KBDB revision number> KBSW: <KBSW revision number>; SW: <SP number>; EXTRA: <last 'extra' package applied'>

For example:

KBDB: 20134600; KBSW: 20134600; SW: 4.6.0; EXTRA: 4.6.0

Run the revision update program with the --apply_v3_all option after installing SFX 4 and before starting the upgrade to ensure that SFX 4 is up-to-date with the latest revision released for SFX 3 (a prerequisite for the SFX 3 to SFX 4 database migration).

When running the revision update on your SFX 4 installation with the --apply_v3_all option, the program retrieves the /sfx/upgrade_3_to_4/revision_info_ver3_and_ver4.txt file from the Ex Libris FTP server. This file contains a list of SFX 3 and SFX 4 revisions and maps the SFX 4 KBDB revision number to the latest SFX 3 KBDB revision released to customers.

Running this option is needed to make sure SFX 3 and SFX 4 are synchronized.

Manual FTP

If, for some reason, you are not allowed to FTP the revision package automatically during the revision_update program, you need to download the necessary files manually and place them in the /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/tmp directory before you can apply the SFX update.

To manually download the files:

Download the RevisionList.pm file located in ftp.exlibris-usa.com/sfx/revisions_v4/list and place the file in the /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/tmp/rev-up-downloads directory.
If you are using the --apply_v3_all option (as described in the previous section) in combination with manual FTP, download from the FTP server the file that lists the SFX 4 and corresponding SFX 3 revisions and place the file in the /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/tmp/rev-up-downloads directory:

cd /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/tmp/rev-up-downloads

ftp ftp.exlibris-usa.com

cd /sfx/upgrade_3_to_4/

get revision_info_ver3_and_ver4.txt

bye

Run the revision_update program to create a list of necessary software updates.
1. Log on to the SFX server as the sfxglb41 user.
2. Enter da to go to the /admin directory.
3. Start the software update program by entering the following:

./revision/rev-up --available --manualdownload

A report is created to list the revisions needed in each instance.

Using the report, manually download all the following update packages, where <mmddyyyy> is the revision date of each package listed in the report file:

sfx-kbdb-update-<mmddyyyy>.run located at ftp.exlibrisusa.com/sfx/revisions_v4/<mmddyyyy>
sfx-kbsw-update-<mmddyyyy>.run located at ftp.exlibrisusa.com/sfx/revisions_v4/<mmddyyyy>
sfx-sw-update-<VERSION.SP.minorRelease>.run located at ftp.exlibris-usa.com/sfx/revisions_v4/<mmddyyyy>
sfx-extra_<VERSION.SP.minorRelease>.run located at ftp.exlibris-usa.com/sfx/revisions_v4/<mmddyyyy>
tar files associated with the extra package located at ftp.exlibris-usa.com/sfx/revisions_v4/<mmddyyyy>

Note that you can reduce download time of the operating system specific tar files (for Linux or Solaris) by downloading only the tar file appropriate for the operating system of your SFX installation.

If an extra package is included in the revision update, do the following before running the rev-up program with the --manualdownload option (as the sfxglb41 user):

type 'Setenv manualdownload 1'

If the revision update is run in batch mode (for more information, see Running the KnowledgeBase Update in Batch Mode), with the manualdownload option for a revision with an extra package, add the following line to the sfxglb41.cshrc file before starting the rev-up program:

type 'Setenv manualdownload 1'

Once the files are placed in the /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/tmp/rev-up-downloads directory, run the revision_update program using

./revision/rev-up --manualdownload.

SFX Revision Update

$Id: rev-up,v 1.6 2005/06/01 04:19:15 am_3 Exp $

Logging at '/exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/tmp/rev-up-2005-05-31T23:24:40.log'.

Looking for 'RevisionList.pm'... found

Looking for 'sfx-kbdb-update-20050601.run'... found

Looking for 'sfx-sw-update-20050601.run'... found

Running the KnowledgeBase Update in Batch Mode

To run the KnowledgeBase update in batch mode, you need the UNIX root password and the database passwords of all the instances you want to update.

To run the KnowledgeBase update in batch mode:

Log on as sfxglb41.
Type da.
Type su.
Enter the UNIX root password.
Enter the /bin/tcsh -c "source <home directory of sfx global>/.cshrc; /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/sfxglb/admin/revision/rev-up" command to start the revision_update program.

For example:

/bin/tcsh -c "source /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/sfxglb41/home/.cshrc; /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/sfxglb41/admin/revision/rev-up"

There must be a space between source and the path to the environment variables of the global instance. The environment variables of the global instance must be loaded in order for the update to be run as root.

Additional Options

This section describes four possible options for running the KnowledgeBase update:

OPTION 1

If you want to run the update in the background, log on as a root user and send the process to the background.

On a Linux machine, add & to the command. For example:

/bin/tcsh -c "source /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/sfxglb41/home/.cshrc; /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/sfxglb41/admin/revision/rev-up" &

On a Solaris machine, press ctrl-z to stop the process and enter bg to send it to the background. For example:

/bin/tcsh -c “source /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/sfxglb41/home/.cshrc; /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/sfxglb41/admin/revision/rev-up"

Ctrl+Z

bg

OPTION 2

If you want to run the update at certain time, such as 1:00 AM on the 15^th of every month, set the command in a cronjob of root. Root permissions and knowledge of the crontab command are required. You may need to contact your system administrator to set this up.

Your crontab -l may look like the following for a system in which the update is going to run at 1:00 AM on the 15^th of every month:

[root@carreta root]# crontab -l

00 01 15 * * /bin/tcsh -c "source /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/sfxglb41/home/.cshrc; /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/sfxglb41/admin/revision/rev-up"

OPTION 3

You can run the update in nohup, enabling the process to continue even if the terminal window is closed.

To run the nohup command, you need the root password.

To run the nohup command:

Log on as sfxglb41.
Enter da.
Enter su.
Enter the root password.
Paste the nohup command line.

To verify that the nohup is running correctly:

Log on to another sfxglb41 session.
Enter da.
Enter su.
Enter the root password.
Enter vi nohup.out.

You see the files being downloaded from the FTP site and the software and KB packages being applied.

The nohup.out file should be deleted before each new update. Otherwise, the new data is appended to the same file.

The following is an example of a Linux nohup command:

nohup /bin/tcsh -c "source /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/sfxglb41/home/.cshrc; /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/sfxglb41/admin/revision/rev-up" &

The following is an example of a Solaris nohup command:

nohup /bin/tcsh -c "source /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/sfxglb41/home/.cshrc; /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/sfxglb41/admin/revision/rev-up"

OPTION 4

If you do not have root access to the SFX server, you can run the software and KB update separately. Root access is required only for the software part of the update, not for the KB part which is more time-consuming.

To run the KB update without root access:

Enter ./revision/rev-up --type=sw .

If you run this command as sfxglb41, you are prompted for the UNIX passwords for the different SFX instances.

Enter ./revision/rev-up --type=kbdb.

If you run this command as sfxglb41, you are not prompted for any passwords.

Related options include:

Rev-up --nointeractive

This option skips the creation of symbolic links from the local instances to new files in sfxglb41, which is the part of the software update for which root access is required.

This option can be used in cases where no root access is allowed, but the symbolic links need to be created afterwards.

Revision Update Backup and Rollback

When you start the revision update program, a backup of all directories and database tables that may be affected by the update is automatically performed. This backup allows a rollback to the prerevision state of the server in case a problem occurs during the revision update. A rollback allows all software, KB software, and KB database package changes to be rolled back if a problem occurs.

If multiple KB database packages are applied simultaneously, the revision update program makes an additional temporary backup of each database before it is updated. This temporary backup is made from the second KB database package forward and is removed from the server after the database is successfully updated. The purpose of this temporary backup is to make it easier to do a one-instance rollback.

Contact your local Ex Libris Support Center if you encounter problems while applying an update. The Support Center can provide advice on whether a roll-back is needed and whether to use a complete rollback or a one-instance rollback.

Rollback instructions and details about the backup and rollback procedure via the Server Admin Utility can be found in the Revision Backup/Rollback section of the SFX System Administration Guide.

Description of the Full-Revision Update Backup

During the revision update backup, the following data is saved:

All SFX databases that are updated during the revision

This is not a full backup. Only the tables altered by the revision update are backed up.

All software files in the following folders of the sfxglb41 instance:
- admin
- cgi
- lib
- config
- dbs/sqltab
- sfxadmin
- templates
.sfx_history file (includes a list all revisions applied on each instance)

Location/Format of the Backup

Each backup is stored as a compressed .tgz file in /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/tmp/backup.

Third party applications located in the /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/app directory of the SFX server are not part of the backup/rollback procedure. This directory contains all supporting software required to run SFX (MySQL, Perl, Java, and Apache). When updates are needed for this directory, the revision update includes an extra package. For these extra packages, no rollback is provided. Therefore, when an extra package is part of a revision, the revision release note instructions recommend that you make a full backup of the SFX system before the revision update program is run.
The SFX server requires the correct file permissions on the sfxglb41 instance directories to ensure a successful backup. If the backup fails because of incorrect file permissions, the program reports the problem and stops. You need to resolve these file permission problems before you can run the revision update program.

The full backup is not performed automatically if the revision update program did not finish successfully for all instances in a previous run of the revision. If SFX detects that not all SFX databases are up-to-date with the same revision number and the revision update program is run as sfxglb41, you are asked whether or not a full backup should be taken. Since a full backup of the prerevision state in which all instances are in sync most likely still exists, no additional backup is needed in most cases.

For example:

IMPORTANT NOTE:

.sfx_history file is out of sync

Would you like to run a full backup? [y/N]

If SFX detects that not all SFX databases are up-to-date with the same revision number and the revision update program is run as root, the backup is not performed.

Description of the Temporary Database Backup

When the revision update program detects that multiple KB database packages need to be applied on the SFX server, the revision update program makes an additional temporary backup of each database before it is updated. The purpose of this temporary backup is to make it easier to do a one-instance rollback.

This temporary backup procedure starts from the time the second KB database package is applied. Before each database is updated, a temporary backup is taken. Once the database is successfully updated, the temporary backup is removed.

This is not a full backup. Only the tables altered by the revision update are backed up.

Location/Format of the Temporary Database Backup

The backup is stored as a mysqldump .sql file in /exlibris/sfx_ver/sfx4_1/tmp/applykbdb-bak.