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releases. It is very important to monitor the system as well as the product support page for
any late-breaking news regarding the MDV during this QA period.
Refer to the MDV's readme, release notes, and any subsequent TechNotes that may follow its
release for details on any compatibility or integration issues discovered. If problems arise in
your environment during QA, using the Self-Help resources described throughout this
document will aid in your successful upgrade.
Overview of the fix strategy
Often, a fix (interim or cumulative fix) is installed to correct a condition encountered in your
environment. If you are a heavy or frequent user of a particular component or function, you
might have the flexibility available to you to keep up to date on all of the latest fixes for it, such
as for the XML Configuration interface (XML Access) or WCM. Even if you have not
encountered a problem in one of these areas but a fix is available, it may prevent you from
incurring an outage or down time by applying the fix.
Sometimes a Fix Pack or other such higher level MDV is released but with companion Interim
Fixes available at the same time. Typically, these are for problems discovered very late in the
testing cycles prior to release, too late to be included in the final build of the product. These
fixes will have had specific testing to ensure they correct the issue discovered, and are
usually well documented on the product support page.
Installing fixes on a clustered environment is different from installing on a stand-alone node.
Be sure to read and understand the installation instructions in the WebSphere Portal V6.0
Information Center regarding the installation of fixes in a clustered environment, as covered in
the topic "Installing interim fixes on a cluster node", which can be found at:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/wpdoc/v6r0/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.wp.en
t.doc/wpf/clus_upgradeifixes.html
Our approach to fixes
If you report a defect to IBM support, an APAR is opened and a fix is prepared, and it is tested
by IBM to ensure it works as intended. In some cases, such as a rare configuration or in an
unusual integration with an application or custom content not available to IBM support, a test
fix might be provided before the fix is made generally available. In these cases, it is imperative
that you test the fix in your local environment to ensure that it adequately corrects the
condition reported and that you provide feedback to IBM support. After confirming that the fix
works, it will be packaged and officially released from the product support page.
Interim Fixes are commonly available to customers, and quite valuable to the self-help
troubleshooter. If you encounter a problem in your environment, use the troubleshooting tools
and methods discussed elsewhere in this document to determine the root cause of the
problem. Use the product support page to find if a fix is available to correct the condition by
searching on relevant keywords (error message codes or strings, or relevant
configuration/application names), review any APARs found, and then retrieve the fix for that
APAR.
There is also a special type of Interim Fix that is sometimes made available, the Cumulative
Fix, which typically includes fixes for a number of APARs. Functional areas currently offering
these fixes include the WebSphere Member Manager (WMM), Java Content Repository
(JCR) and Web Content Management (WCM) components, all made available through the
product support page found at:
http://www.ibm.com/software/genservers/portal/support/
Appendix B. Maintenance: Fix strategy, backup strategy, and migration strategy
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Troubleshooting
