General question about TM1 Fix Packs and file formats.

[roblightbody]

Hello,

We're running 9.5.2. We want to install FP2, but first of all I want to put it onto our test server and I have a couple of questions around that please.

My questions are.

• Does the fix pack affect any of the objects in the model? For instance, if hte test server is on FP2 and the live one isn't, can I copy TIs, rule files, cubes etc across from one to the other without problem? Could I copy the whole data folder over?
• If I install FP2 on the server only, will that cause any problems? (Clients will be updated too, but there might be a short gap).
• We have a lot of issues with Excel crashing out when using Perspectives. Has anyone else had this problem, and has FP1 & 2 helped?

Many thanks for your help.

- Rob

[tomok]

As a general rule IBM does not introduce technology changes in fix packs so you are almost always safe coping off the data folder, installing the fix pack, and re-copying in the objects without needing to do anything else. I did that with FP2 and did not encounter any issues. YMMV. Client install is a no brainer. There is nothing really at risk so I would definitely install it. Can't answer your Perspectives question as I never noticed issues with 9.5.2. There are plenty of posts on this site about Perspectives and stability issues. Do a quick search to see if any of them address your specific issue.

[mattgoff]

Does the fix pack affect any of the objects in the model? For instance, if hte test server is on FP2 and the live one isn't, can I copy TIs, rule files, cubes etc across from one to the other without problem? Could I copy the whole data folder over?

You can always copy all model files and run them on a newer server version. Most of the time (the 9.5 unicode transition is the only exception I know of) you can also go the other direction (take files from a newer version and run them on an older version), but it's probably not a good idea.

If I install FP2 on the server only, will that cause any problems? (Clients will be updated too, but there might be a short gap).

No problem. We still have lots of clients running 9.5 even though we upgraded to 9.5.1 more than a year ago. It's probably best to keep the version numbers relatively close. We did have an issue with clients on 9.1.2 and the server on 9.2 and had to do a quasi-emergency client upgrade, but I think this was due to the introduction of SSL.

We have a lot of issues with Excel crashing out when using Perspectives. Has anyone else had this problem, and has FP1 & 2 helped?

Every time one of my users has had this problem, it's been fixed by running Microsoft Update and ensuring all of the Office patches are applied. I can't speak to this FP specifically.

Matt

[roblightbody]

Thanks very much for the quick replies, very reassuring. I'm still learning TM1 as I go and its very different to anything I've used previously.

The user workstation copies of Excel are stuck on 2007 FP3, without any subsequent updates, I'll need to see if there is a way for the company to get them up to date.

Cheers,

- Rob.

[roblightbody]

One year on, and about to have a similar problem!

9.5.2. FP3 on some of the clients, while the server is still on 9.5.2. FP2 (for a while).

Its just a case of not managing to upgrade everything at the same time.

Any expected issues with this?

Thanks.

[mattgoff]

9.5.2. FP3 on some of the clients, while the server is still on 9.5.2. FP2 (for a while).

You can run older clients against newer servers, but not vice versa.

Matt

[lotsaram]

You can run older clients against newer servers, but not vice versa.

Yes but Rob is talking about a fix pack difference of server 9.5.202 vs. client 9.5.203. Unless the ClientVersionPrecission (I think that's the name of the parameter) is set really tight I think that should work. But I am probably setting myself up to be corrected as I don't think I have ever tested this in practice to see Certainly a newer dot point or whole number client will NOT work on an older server, but at the 3rd decimal you are in with a shot.

However I don't understand why anyone would want to do this or why it would be necessary. Usually all the effort in an upgrade is in 2 things the model testing and the client packaging. The testing comes first and then it is a simple and quick task to upgrade the server. It can then take a few months to get the new client out to users depending on how dysfunctional the packaging and deployment process is and how many users there are. I think that would be the "usual" way. I have never seen any issues with running a newer server with older clients.

[roblightbody]

You can run older clients against newer servers, but not vice versa.

Yes but Rob is talking about a fix pack difference of server 9.5.202 vs. client 9.5.203.

Yes I am. Thanks for your comments. Its a bit of a strange circumstance that led me to end up doing the upgrade like this, and I wouldn't normally choose to do it this way. We have a smallish number of users, who have to be manually installed/updated by me, and new users were required all of a sudden just as I was about to do the FP3 upgrade!

What I find odd is that I can't find any information on the IBM website about this - the release notes don't really say anything except what's fixed. Using your collective experience of doing things previously is the only information i can find online about it!

Cheers, I'll let you know how I get on!

- Rob