3.2 General Planning Tasks

Check and verify compatibility of third-party software.

Verify that any third-party software products you are running are compatible with the latest version of the operating system software. Do this before you modify the system.

Review disk space requirements.

Plan to increase your disk space capacity, if necessary. Steps for checking disk space requirements are included in the task procedures.

Review and plan your network, as required..

Verify that you are starting with a compatible OS version.

If you are running a system version older than 6.0 you must perform two updates:

Contact your HP support representative if you need more information.

Perform a media check of all source material.

Steps are included in the task procedures.

Review peripheral devices and plan to correct conflicts if necessary.

Steps for checking peripheral devices are included in the task procedures.

Schedule a full system backup.

Perform a full system backup before applying any modifications. Use standard backup procedures or follow procedures included with the tasks.

Ensure that an LP device class exists in your system configuration by using the SYSGEN utility.

Move files that you want to keep from the group, PATCHXL.SYS.

If you have old versions of the files from the tape in the group, PATCHXL.SYS , they will be purged by Patch/iX.

Ensure that all HP supplied system files were not renamed.

In the SYSGEN utility, use the SHOW command in SYSFILE to ensure that all HP supplied MPE/iX HP e3000 system files have retained their original names. System filenames in both columns must be identical. If they are not identical, rename the files in the second column to match the filename in the first column.

Do not use the SYSFILE> RSPROG command in the SYSGEN utility to rename HP supplied MPE/iX HP e3000 system files. A renamed system file can corrupt your system during an update. This problem can occur if you have third-party software installed on your system, and you have renamed some system files to run that software.

Record and store customized HP configuration information.

The configuration groups listed in Appendix B “Configuration Tables” are reserved for use by Hewlett-Packard. These groups contain sample configuration files and will be overwritten during a system installation. If you are using any of the group names for other than HP configuration files, store the files to tape before proceeding. HP recommends that you DO NOT use any of these groups for other than HP configuration files.

Record and store customized HP files.

Updating or re-installing your system software removes any application customizing you may have performed on HP products. STORE , or make arrangements to migrate, any files you have customized for applications.

The update process brings in a standard CATALOG.PUB.SYS file. If you want to keep your customization, you must copy the new CATALOG.PUB.SYS and make your needed changes to the INPUT file, and then run MAKECAT,BUILD after the update.

Record any HP defined special accounts you have customized.

These accounts are created or modified to Hewlett-Packard standards during the system software modification process. The accounts are listed in Table 3-3. .

Confirm that you have a terminal or a PC with a terminal emulator, if your checklist indicates that you will use HP Patch/iX.

HP Patch/iX is the recommended method for applying patches and is required for applying Reactive patches.You cannot use the console to run HP Patch/iX for Phase I, because console messages disrupt HP Patch/iX. If you cannot run HP Patch/iX, you can select alternate tasks using AUTOINST to install PowerPatches.

Reflection is a separate third-party product that is a PC-based terminal emulator program. To use HP Patch/iX from a PC, install Reflection with the MPE/iX POSIX option. If this option is not used, HP Patch/iX will not work on your PC.

Check SCSI device configuration.

All SCSI drivers must be configured with a transparent_mgr in its device path prior to performing the Update or Install for 7.5. For further information, see the Communicator e3000.

Document your current system configuration.

Keep a listing of output from:

If you have mirrored disks and users are logged on, do not run SYSINFO . When you can access the system, verify that you have a current version of SYSINFO on your system and keep your listing.

Plan for downtime.

Most of the tasks described in this manual require that you shutdown your system. Plan for this downtime. DO NOT SHUTDOWN your system until it is necessary. Each task checklist indicates when the system will be shutdown. Perform all the other steps for the task while your system is up.

To estimate the amount of downtime, review the steps you need to perform after the system is shutdown. Where possible, an estimate of time is provided. Record the amount of time for the individual steps and add it up. This will give you a very rough estimate of the amount of system downtime you will require.

The amount of time listed is based on small and low-end machines. Actual time values can be about one-half of the time listed.

If you are using HP Stage/iX, be aware that not all patches are stageable.

At the time of release 7.5, Stage/iX cannot handle patches which involve System configuration files, MMSAVE.MPEXL.SYS , nonsystem volume set files, and patches with files that contain jobs that are streamed during patch installation. During the process, Stage/iX will identify which patches are stageable.

If you are using HP Stage/iX to apply patches to your system, remove old stages BEFORE applying the new release.

Since the process installs a new operating system, you must uninstall HP Stage/iX and/or remove all of the old stages BEFORE applying the factory SLT.

Uninstalling HP Stage/iX deletes all staging areas and all files and directories that HP Stage/iX has built.

To uninstall HP Stage/iX:

:STAGEMAN
STAGEMAN>UNINSTALL

Reply Y to the prompt, Are you sure?