An IBM i expert provided an overview of several topics related to maintaining and updating IBM i systems, including: 1) How to apply fixes (PTFs) using methods like Fix Central, image catalogs, and virtual optical devices to streamline the process. 2) Best practices for regularly applying groups of fixes like HIPERs, TR groups, and CUM packages to keep systems up-to-date. 3) How to use tools like WRKPTFGRP, DSPPTF, and job logs to verify fixes have installed correctly. 4) Steps to clean up if a Fix Central download fails to prevent issues with future updates. 5) An introduction to Navigator for

1. IBM i opdatering
IBM Future of Power Event
IBM Power
Lars Johannesson
Advisory IT Specialist - Power System i - STG Lab Services
larsj@dk.ibm.com

3. Agenda
• PTF / Fixes
• Technology Refresh
• IBM Fix Central
• Image Catalog
• IBM Navigator for i
• Business Continuity and Resiliency Services

4. Wording
• SLIC System Licensed Internal Code
(a.k.a. Licensed Internal Code), Respin / Resave
• XPF Extended Program Facility (a.k.a. OS/400, i5/OS, i)
• IBM i 7.1 operating system and licensed program
product (LPP)
• Hiper / High-impact pervasive (HIPER) Licensed Internal
Code fixes
• TR / Technolygy Refresh
• Firmware / Service Packs

5. Problem
New Function
PTF
PTF
A fix is a temporary solution to fix or bypass a defect
diagnosed by IBM in a current, unaltered release of a
licensed program product (LPP).
What is a fix or PTF?

6. Types of fixes
• Single or HIPER PTF (or fix)
• Group PTF (or Group fixes)
• Cumulative PTF packages
• Service packs see details next
• Technology Refresh
• Technology Refresh Group
• Resave

7. PTF’s
• Some fixes cannot be applied immediately because the operating
system or licensed programs they affect are active. These fixes are
called delayed fixes and can be applied only at the next system IPL.
Immediate fixes can be applied without doing an IPL if the licensed
program they affect is not in use, or may be applied like delayed
fixes when you do the next IPL.
• Fixes generally should be installed when received. Installing fixes
allows you to test them in your operational environment. You should
ensure that the new fixes operate properly on your system before
permanently installing them.
• As long as the fixes are installed temporarily, they can be removed.
Once they have been installed permanently, they cannot be
removed.
• You cannot apply or remove fixes with mandatory special
instructions when *ALL is specified

8. Physical or Fix Central
• Physical media orders take, on average, 5 to 9 business
days to arrive.
• Alternatively, Fix Central allows you to order by FTP or
use Download Director (V5R3 or above). Download
Director is a fast, multi-threaded download client. Using
Download Director, you can download CD-ROM images
to your client system that contain your ordered fixes.
• Using this image, you can create your own CD or put
the image into an image catalog on your System i.
• Note: Using disconnected ordering does not allow you to
download the CD-ROM image directly to your System i.

9. Technology Refresh Details Page

10. When to apply Technology Refresh
• Provide support for new hardware and firmware (for example, new I/O
devices or newly announced models)
• Support for new virtualization functions
• Take advantage of performance improvements
• New function enablement
• TR PTFs have a PTF number like MF9900n
– http://www-947.ibm.com/systems/support/i/planning/techrefresh/index.html
• Visit the IBM Prerequisite site at:
– https://www-912.ibm.com/e_dir/eserverv7prereq.nsf

11. The TR PTF Itself
• The TR PTF will be available before GA
– TR PTF is created well before GA, so it can be included in the
GA Resave
– It is extensively tested on older levels of supported hardware
before that – so it is safe to install on older supported systems
– BUT IBM does not recommend that it be installed without the
TR PTF Group, unless it is required by another PTF or PTF Group being
installed.
• The TR PTF can become a requisite of another PTF before (or after) GA
– If a part / module in the TR PTF is changed by a subsequent PTF,
the TR PTF becomes a special kind of requisite, called a *TRREQ
(looks like prereq in Retain)
– Follow on PTFs can be *IMMED even though Tech Refresh PTF is *DELAYED.
• The TR PTF can be included in PTF groups (like HIPERs and CUMs)
– If a PTF in the HIPER group or CUM calls out
the TR PTF as a *TRREQ, then the TR PTF
will be pulled into the HIPER group or CUM
– In fact, this likely will occur TR
PTF
PTF
PTF
PTF
PTF
PTF
PTF
PTFTRREQ
PTF
HIPER
TR
TRREQ

12. Some Other Things to Remember
• The TR PTF may be required for debug or future fixes
– Development / support will generally try to debug
a problem when the system is in the failing state
• Sometimes development builds traps or special
debug code to help isolate the problem
– If system is back-level, may need to bring fix level
up to date before can get permanent fix – if TR PTF
is in PTF chains of fix, this will mean applying the TR PTF
• Later Technology Refreshes are supersets of previous ones
– This means that if a system is back level on Technology
Refreshes, only the latest TR must be installed to
bring the system up to date
• Make sure the TR PTF is permanently applied
– Will need to be perm applied before any
follow on PTFs that require it can be
applied
1
2
3
1 2 3

13. Details for Planning Purposes
• Before installing the TR PTF, TR Group, CUM, etc. make sure the Double IPL
Automation PTF is installed on your system – SI43585
– It will save you time when applying TRs, Groups, PTFs, etc.
– Has been in HIPER group since 05/10/11
– In TR Group for TR 2 – 05/13/11
– In CUM and Resave available at same time as TR 2
• Must be installing from an image catalog, in order to take advantage of the
“Double IPL” automation support
– If installing from a remote virtual optical device on a different partition,
make sure the server partition has PTF SI42302 applied (contains required
image catalog and optical code for “Automatic Double-IPL”).
• Read InfoApar II14482 when planning your upgrade to 7.1
– Lists PTFs and process needed to avoid a potential problem trying to
apply a TR immediately after doing an upgrade to 7.1 from 5.4.x or 6.1.x,
– This was initially thought to be a TR problem, but was actually related to
image catalog support

14. Virtual
Optical
Image Catalog
What Are Best Practices ?
• At a minimum should consider applying:
– CUM, HIPERs, DB Group, TR Group –
roughly every 6 months
– Do not “pick and choose” individual PTFs
from the groups – load everything
– This is the best way to avoid unplanned
downtime
• Depending on needs & your environment
– Other groups
• (Security, Java, HTTP, TCP/IP, Print, BRMS,
etc.)
– Individual PTFs for particular support
– Consult developerWorks and PSP web pages
for info to help make decision
• Load all into same image catalog
– Apply from there
– Let the system decide
how to apply most
efficiently
CUM DB GroupTR Group
H
I
P
E
R
SSecurity
W
ebQuery
TCP/IP
HTTP
Java
E
T
C
Perf.Tools
BRMS
Print

15. Work with Licensed Programs
50. Display log for messages
Selection or command
===> 50
Display Install History
Type choices, press Enter.
Start date . . .05/11/08 MM/DD/YY
Start time . . .18:57:24 HH:MM:SS
Output . . . . . *
*, *PRINT
Display History Log Contents
Loading of PTFs started.
Loading of PTFs completed successfully.
Marking of PTFs for delayed application started.
Marking of PTFs for delayed application completed successfully.
PTFs installed successfully.
Apply PTF started.
Applying of PTFs for product 5761999 completed successfully.
Applying of PTFs for product 5761SS1 completed successfully.
Applying of PTFs for product 5761BR1 completed successfully.
Applying of PTFs for product 5761DE1 completed successfully.
Applying of PTFs for product 5761DG1 completed successfully.
Applying of PTFs for product 5761DP4 completed successfully.
More...
Press Enter to continue.
F3=Exit F10=Display all F12=Cancel
Enter
GO LICPGM
Verifying PTF installation

16. Verify PTFs installed: WRKPTFGRP or DSPPTF
Work with PTF Groups
• System: SYSTEM1
• Type options, press Enter.
• 1=Order 4=Delete 5=Display 6=Print
• 8=Display special handling PTFs 9=Display related PTF groups
• Opt PTF Group Level Status
• _ SF99710 11116 Installed
• _ SF99710 10229 Installed
• _ SF99709 27 Installed
• _ SF99709 26 Installed
• _ SF99707 2 Installed
• _ SF99707 1 Installed
• _ SF99701 6 Not installed
• _ SF99701 5 Installed
• _ SF99362 9 On order
•
•
Bottom
• F3=Exit F6=Print F11=Display descriptions F12=Cancel
• F22= Display entire field
-If PTFs not installed,
previous SCPF joblog
has debug information.

17. Verify PTFs installed: DSPPTF
• Display PTF Status
• System: DKIBMASF
• Product ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 5770999
• IPL source . . . . . . . . . . . . . : ÆÆMACHÆB
• Release of base option . . . . . . . : V7R1M0 L00
•
•
• Type options, press Enter.
• 5=Display PTF details 6=Print cover letter 8=Display cover letter
•
• PTF IPL
• Opt ID Status Action
• TL13037 Temporarily applied None
• TL12279 Permanently applied None
• TL11116 Superseded None
• TL10229 Superseded None
• RE11221 Permanently applied None
• RE11195 Superseded None
• RE11067 Permanently applied None
• QLL2924 Permanently applied None
• MF99006 Permanently applied None
• More...
• F3=Exit F11=Display alternate view F17=Position to F12=Cancel
•

18. Fix Central
http://www-933.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/ibmi/identifyFixes?query.parent=IBM%20Operating%20Systems&query.product=ibm~IBM%20i

19. Fix Central – Select fixes

20. Fix Central – Download options

21. Fix Central – Analyzing fixes

22. Fix Central – Download options

23. Your order is being constructed

24. Download succesful

25. Ordered fixes

26. Fix Central

27. How to Clean Up PTFs Following a Failed Fix
Central Download of PTF Savefiles
• AbstractThis document explains how to clean up PTFs following a failed Fix Central download of PTF savefiles
when using the option to download directly to your system.
WRKPTFGRP may show a group with a status of NOT INSTALLED.
• When using Fix Central to download cumulative, groups, or individual PTFs using the Download Directly to
System option, the process can leave incomplete savefiles and PTF statuses if the download is interrupted and
the download fails to complete. This can lead to many PTFs with a status of NOT FOUND or COVER LETTER
ONLY and will not allow a new attempt to download the PTFs to complete because an incomplete savefile or
incorrect status remains.
• To find and correct these PTF issues, you should use the following steps to clean up and allow a successful
download of the PTFs:
• 1. Review the joblog of a failed load and apply attempt, and look for messages about PTFs that are not found or
that not in the correct state.
2. Issue the WRKPTFGRP command and locate any cumulative or group (for example, SF99710 or SF99709) that
has a NOT INSTALLED status.
3. Use Option 5 to display the individual PTFs in that cumulative or group (if V6R1 or above, you should use F19
to display Not Installed PTFs.)
4. Review the status of the PTFs, and look for NOT FOUND or SAVE FILE ONLY statuses.
5. If the status is NOT FOUND or COVER LETTER ONLY, you should issue the WRKOBJ command to determine
if a savefile does exist on the system for the PTF (in other words, for SI48298, issue the
WRKOBJ OBJ(QGPL/QSI48298) OBJTYPE(*FILE) command.
6. If an object with that name is found, the savefile is probably incomplete and must be deleted with Option 4
before it may be downloaded again.
7. If the status is COVER LETTER ONLY, you must also remove the PTF from the index by issuing the
DLTPTF PTF(SI48298) command.
8. With the savefile deleted and COVER LETTER ONLY status removed, the PTF can be downloaded again from
Fix Central and attempted to be applied with LODPTF / APYPTF again.
Note: If the original download of PTFs that failed was for a cumulative, group, or list of PTFs, there may be
many PTFs that have the same status because the system is downloading many PTF savefiles at the same time.
If the status in Step 4 is DAMAGED, the PTF or a superseding PTF must be loaded to remove the DAMAGED status.

28. FTP
• When you select to use FTP to download your order, you
will receive two emails. The emails will be sent to the
email address in your contact information. The two
emails you will receive are from the following emails
addresses:
• bldml@bldisdmc.vnet.ibm.com: this email is a notice
that the order was received and is being built (first email
sent).
• ccssbldr@bldisdmc.vnet.ibm.com: this email contains
the FTP instructions to retrieve the order (second email
sent).

29. Installing IBM i fixes from an image catalog
1. Create a virtual optical device
CRTDEVOPT DEVD(OPTVRT01) RSRCNAME(*VRT) ONLINE(*YES) TEXT(text-description)
2. Create an image catalog
CRTIMGCLG IMGCLG(ptfcatalog) DIR('/MYCATALOGDIRECTORY') CRTDIR(*YES) TEXT(text-description)
3. Add an image catalog entry
ADDIMGCLGE IMGCLG(ptfcatalog) FROMDEV(OPT01) TEXT(text-description) or
ADDIMGCLGE IMGCLG(PTFCATALOG) FROMFILE(iptfxxx_x.bin) TOFILE(iptfxxx_x.bin) or
ADDIMGCLGE IMGCLG(PTFCATALOG) FROMFILE('/differentdirectory/iptfxxxx_x.bin') TOFILE(iptfxxx_x.bin)
4. Load the image catalog
LODIMGCLG IMGCLG(ptfcatalog) DEV(OPTVRT01) OPTION(*LOAD)
5. Verify that the images are in the correct order
VFYIMGCLG IMGCLG(ptfcatalog) TYPE(*PTF) SORT(*YES)
6. Install PTFs from virtual optical device
GO PTF – Option 8
7. Delete images from image catalog

30. Navigator for i – Web based
• Enter the following URL into a browser:
– http://system:2001 (either sysname or IPaddress)
• Supports the following browsers:
– Microsoft Internet Explorer Version 6.0 or later
– Mozilla Firefox Version 1.0 or later

31. • Accept the certificate warnings.
– The console runs on SSL.
Internet Explorer 6
Firefox 2
Internet Explorer 7
Certificate exchange

32. •The URL will be re-routed to secure path: Port 2005.
•Enter your IBM i user ID and password for this system.
Secure port: Sign-on window

33. IBM Navigator for i
• Independent Tabs
– Switch back and forth quickly
– Open tab in a new window
• Dynamic Navigation
– Navigation how it should be
– Open containers quickly
• Modern Tables
– Search & filter large data
– Function you expect
Significant upgrade from previous
Web based interface.
Performance and Usability
Comparable to Client Navigator
https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/ibmi/techupdates/navigator

34. IBM Navigator for i – Independent Tabs
• Switch back and forth between
tabs with no server refresh
• Open a tab in a new window

35. IBM Navigator for i – Modern Tables
Click column to sort
Right Click on any row to
see list of functions
Select how many
entries to show
Fast path to the page you
want to see
Hover on any row to
see details
Fast Filtering – Rethink
how you find data in
a table
Help and guides:
http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/i/software/navigator/directornavigator.html

36. 5250 emulation session

37. • New Java based iAccess solution
– Runs on any platform with Java
• Windows PC
• Linux
• MAC
• Popular iAccess Functions
– 5250 Display and Print
Emulation
– Data Transfer (*.ods & *.xlsx)
– IBM i System 5250 Console
• Portable solution – NO Install!
– Load solution on thumb drive!
• Open Beta
IBM i Access Client Solutions
http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/power/software/i/access/solutions.html

38. Business Continuity and Resiliency Services
a.k.a. Backup Center
• Backup aftale
• Restore test
• Release opdate test
• Migration test
• Performance test
• Internal vs. External Storage

39. References
• System i Software Information Center: http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/eserver/ibmi.html
– Maintaining and managing IBM i and related software
– Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)
– Service and support
• Additional URLs
– IBM i Technology Refresh:
• http://www-947.ibm.com/systems/support/i/planning/techrefresh/index.html
– IBM i Resaves:
• http://www-947.ibm.com/systems/support/i/planning/resave/v7r1.html
– IBM i PTF Groups
• http://www-
912.ibm.com/s_dir/sline003.NSF/GroupPTFs?OpenView&view=GroupPTFs
– Preventative Service Planning (PSP) for IBM i:
• http://www-912.ibm.com/s_dir/sline003.nsf/sline003home
– IBM Systems Support, System i, Fixes:
• http://www-947.ibm.com/systems/support/i/fixes/index.html
– “Automate Extra IPL for PTF Install,” iDevelop Blog article:
• http://ibmsystemsmag.blogs.com/i_can/2011/03/automate-extra-ipl-for-ptf-
install.html