MDCMS Install Server Patch

for MDCMS

from Midrange Dynamics

Published May 28, 2024

Overview

Patches (or updates) for the MDCMS core product libraries are made available between point releases of the MDChange product suite. A patch is provided as a save file. As opposed to a full installation, the installation of a patch does not require special system authority.

Users can be active in the MDChange products when a patch is applied, though it is generally recommended that any active connections are restarted.

Manually Apply a Patch

When a patch has been provided to you via email or a Service Desk ticket, take the following steps to apply the patch:

1. place the save file in an IFS folder on your IBM i partition
2. go into the MD instance to update by using command MDSEC, MDXREF or MDCMS
3. press F21 to access a command line
4. type MDUPDATE and press F4

The PATH parameter by default is '/path/mdupd_vv.rr_yyyymmddx.savf'. Change the value as follows:

• path = the full path to the IFS location for the patch file
• v = the version number for the patch
• r = the release number for the patch. The version/release of the patch must match the version/release of the target MD product.
• yyyymmdd = the date of the patch. The patch date must be >= the build date of the target MD product.
• x = the unique patch ID for the given date

Automatically Apply all available Patches

As of MDCMS 8.6.1, patches can be checked and applied using MDOpen for VS Code.

1. From within the MDOpen extension, connect to the partition with a user with MDSEC authority to System Settings (code 11).
2. Navigate to Settings->System->Check for Updates
3. Click the Check for Updates button

If any patches are available, the number of patches will be displayed, along with the Apply Patches button.

Additionally, if Config Deployment settings have been generated, the locally applied patches can be automatically packaged into a Send RFP for easy distribution to other partitions. If a Send RFP should be created, check the box Add Patches to Send RFP and verify the RFP description and Project/Task/Subtask before clicking the Apply Patches button.

Logging / Rollback

Each time a patch is applied since the last full install, it is logged in MDCMS / MDSEC. To view the log, go into green screen system settings and press F8=Patch History (requires MDSEC authority to manage system settings).

If issues arise after applying a patch – go into the log screen and use option R=Rollback in order to roll back the patch.