20.02.01: Patch 1 for version 20.02

This topic contains information about fixes in this patch and provides instructions for downloading and installing the patch.

This patch consolidates the hotfixes delivered for Remedy version 20.02 and later into a single patch. Additionally, this patch also includes fixes for defects covering Remedy version 20.02 issues.

Updates

The Remedy 20.02.01 patch release is only for the Remedy platform components (Remedy AR System Server, BMC CMDB, and Atrium Integrator). This release also includes Remedy platform language packages for patch. 

The Remedy 20.02.01 patch release also includes replacement of remaining Flash-based capabilities in Remedy and support for OAuth 2.0 in Email Engine for the Exchange Web Services (EWS) protocol to access Microsoft Office 365 (Exchange). Additionally, Smart Reporting 20.02.01 patch release includes performance improvements when designing a report with a calculated field and when broadcasting a report through email.

Learn about the updates in this patch:

• Replacement of remaining Adobe Flash capabilities in Remedy  in the Remedy ITSM online documentation.
  
• 20.02.01: Patch 1 for version 20.02 in the Remedy AR System online documentation.
• 20.02.01: Patch 1 for version 20.02 in the BMC CMDB online documentation.
• 20.02.01: Patch 1 for version 20.02 in the Remedy Smart Reporting online documentation.

Defect fixes

This patch includes fixes for some customer defects. For more information about the defects fixed in this patch, see known and corrected issues.

Applying the patch for BMC Helix ITSM subscribers

If you are a BMC Helix ITSM subscriber and want to apply the patch, you must request for an upgrade. For more information, see BMC Helix Upgrade policy  in the BMC Helix Subscriber Information documentation.

Downloading the patch for on-premises deployment

The following table lists the patch components and links to the deployment packages on the BMC Electronic Product Download site:

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Before you begin

Ensure that the following requirements are met before you deploy the package:

• Make sure that the Remedy platform (AR System Server, Remedy Mid Tier, BMC CMDB, and Atrium Integrator Server) is upgraded to version 20.02. For more information, see Upgrading the platform. 

• Download the patch packages from the EPD site. See Patch components.

• Warning

  Remedy 20.02.01 patch deployment will fail if you do not perform the following procedures:

  
  

  1.If you have previously applied any hotfix on Remedy version 20.02 and you deploy the Remedy 20.02.01 patch, the deployment fails with the following error:

  [main] ERROR com.bmc.arsys.filedeployer.PayloadProcessor  - Error while deploying payload with DEPLOYMENT ID IDGAA5V0G8H8FAQ5PFKXQ4QW2THMD2 : Errors while backup and rename downloaded files. [Errors while extracting zip file server_common.zip. [Not a directory]]
[main] INFO  com.bmc.arsys.filedeployer.PayloadProcessor  - Update the status of the payload as DEPLOYMENT FAILED for DEPLOYMENT ID IDGAA5V0G8H8FAQ5PFKXQ4QW2THMD
  

  Workaround:

  Rename the api folder to a different name. You can find the api folder at the following locations:
  
  (Windows) <ARSystemInstallDir>\pluginsvr\ReconReportUtility\plugins\com.bmc.arsys.studio.api_9.1.10.build009\com\bmc\arsys\studio\api
  
  (UNIX) <ARSystemInstallDir>/pluginsvr/ReconReportUtility/plugins/com.bmc.arsys.studio.api_9.1.10.build009/com/bmc/arsys/studio/api
  
  For more information, see the Knowledge Article number  000372625 .
  
  

  2. (Windows only) Make sure that you are able to start or stop the BMC:EmailEngine and BMC:FlashboardServer processes from the Remedy Management console. For information about starting or stopping the processes, see  Configuring and monitoring AR System server groups  in the Remedy AR System online documentation. 

  Perform this procedure if you are using the following Java versions on Windows on the AR System server:

  • Java 1.8.231 and later
  • Java 11.0.5 and later
  • Java 13.x and later

  We recommend you to perform this procedure even if you are using an earlier version of Java to avoid any future issues when you upgrade Java.

  When you deploy the Remedy Platform package 20.02.01 and if you are unable to start or stop the BMC:EmailEngine and BMC:FlashboardServer processes from the console, you get the following error message in the arfiledeployer.log file:

  Errors while stopping processes. [Failed to stop processes {BMC:EmailEngine=[BMC:EmailEngine]}]


  Perform the following steps if the BMC:FlashboardServer and BMC:EmailEngine processes fail to start or stop: 

  1. Download the Armonitor Snapshot Jar File Prerequisite For Version 20.02.01 file from the  BMC Electronic Product Download (EPD) site .
  2. Unzip the file and find the new armonitor-9.1.10-SNAPSHOT.jar file.
  3. Stop the Remedy AR System service and take a backup of the old JAR file. 
  4. Replace the old armonitor-9.1.10-SNAPSHOT.jar file with the new JAR file from the following locations: 
     • <ARSystemInstallDirectory>/BMC Software/ARSystem

     • <ARSystemInstallDirectory>/BMC Software/ARSystem/lib/start/startlevel3

  5. Start the Remedy AR System service.

  6. Verify whether you are able to start or stop the processes from the Remedy Management console.

  
  3. Set the plug-in heap size of the server to 2 GB to avoid package import errors. The size of Remedy Platform 20.02.01 package is more than 400 MB. If you have multiple plug-in servers, update the heap size on the plug-in server where the AR Migrate plug-in is deployed.

  To update the heap size, open the armonitor.conf file, update the -Xmx value and restart the plug-in server. For example:

  "%BMC_JAVA_HOME%\java" -Xmx1024m "C:\BMCData\ARSystem\pluginsvr;C:\BMCData\ARSystem\pluginsvr\arpluginsvr91_build009.jar;
C:\BMCData\ARSystem\arserver\api\lib\arcmnapp91_build009.jar" com.bmc.arsys.pluginsvr.ARPluginServerMain
-x localhost -i "C:\BMCData\ARSystem" -m

  After you update the heap size, perform the following steps to restart the plugin server:

  a. From the Mid Tier, navigate to Applications-> Remedy Management Console->AR system Server Group Console->Manage Process

  b. Select the BMC:DefaultJavaPluginServer process name.

  c. From Operations, select 'Refresh' and click.
  
  

  4. (Windows only) If you have upgraded Remedy Mid Tier from version 9.1.04 to version 20.02 OR from version 9.1.04 to version 18.05/19.02/19.08 and then 20.02, follow the steps in the knowledge article 00932834 before you apply the Remedy 20.02.01 Mid Tier patch.

• We recommend you to use the following Tomcat versions before you apply the Remedy 20.02.01 Mid Tier patch:
  • 9.0.0 and later
  • 8.5.12 and later
  • 8.0.42 and later
  • 7.0.76 and later
    
  You get an error if you are using an earlier version of Tomcat. For more information, see the knowledge article 000373643 .

• Disable the Preload action from the Cache Settings page in the Mid Tier Configuration Tool. See  Cache setting parameters in the BMC Remedy AR System online documentation.
  If the Preload action is enabled, you must disable the Preload action on the mid tier servers that point to the server where you plan to deploy the package. You need not enable the Preload action after deployment.

• Check the ranking order for the components. Set the ranking order as follows: 

• Rank 1 for admin server

• Rank 2 for integration server

• Last ranks for the user-facing servers 
  Preference is given to the highest ranking server when deploying payloads on that server. For more information, see  Setting the component ranking order before deploying a binary payload in BMC Remedy AR System online documentation.

• Before deploying the Remedy platform package, all the Remedy AR services, such as Remedy AR server, Mid Tier file deployer, email engine, flashboard, should be up and running.

• (Optional) When a package contains binaries, you can deploy the binary payload automatically by setting the filedeployer.localDeploymentRequired parameter to false in the deployConfig.properties file.
  The deployConfig.properties file is located in the following folder:

  (Windows): /ARinstallDirectory

  (UNIX): /ARSystem/bin

  Only an administrator user with permissions to access the file system can change the setting. For more information, see Run the payload deployment utility.

• (Optional) If you have customizations, create a snapshot for reconciliation. Capture a snapshot of your application objects. For instructions, see Capturing a snapshot of server application objects.

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Applying the patch for on-premises deployment

A deployment patch package contains data, object definitions, and binary files. You can deploy a package in your environment using the AR System Deployment Management console that provides a single method to promote data and definitions effectively and reliably across all servers in a server group. A user with AR System administrator permission or a Package Deployer role can deploy the patch package by performing the following tasks:

Package Deployment workflow

The following graphic displays the workflow of the package deployment process: 

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To import the patch 

1. Log in to Mid Tier as an administrator or a package deployer user by using the following URL:
   http://<midTierServerName>:<port number>/arsys

2. From the IT Home page, select Applications > AR System Administration  >  AR System Deployment Management Console.

3. In the Deployment Management Console, perform the following actions:
1. Select Transfer Package  > Import.
   
   
2. In the Add Attachment dialog box, click Browse to navigate to the folder that has the downloaded EPD package.

3. Select the package that you want to import, and then click OK.
   The package status column shows the status as Importing until the package contents are completely imported. If the status shows Importing for more than 10 seconds, click Refresh to view the updated status.

   Important

   The package is a ZIP file. Import the package without extracting the ZIP file. If you need to extract the file for troubleshooting, you must use the 7-Zip utility to extract the contents of the ZIP file.

   When the package is imported, the entry of the package is displayed in the AR System Deployment Management Console and the package status changes to Ready to Deploy.

   

To deploy the patch

Deploy the patch packages in the following sequence:

1. Remedy Mid Tier.
   You can deploy a Mid Tier patch on an additional server. For more information, see Deploying a Mid Tier patch on an additional server.
2. Remedy platform (Remedy AR System server, BMC CMDB, and Atrium Integrator)

The AR System administrator or a Package Deployer performs the following steps to deploy the package in an environment:

1. Log in to Mid Tier as an administrator or a package deployer user by using the following URL: 
   http://<midTierServerName>:<port number>/arsys/

2. From the IT Home page, select Applications > AR System Administration > AR System Deployment Management Console.

3. In the Deployment Management Console, perform the following actions:
   

   1. Select the package that you have imported, and then select Operations > Deploy.
      The following message is displayed if the package contains binaries:
      This package includes files to be deployed/rollback. You can monitor the status of the file deployment/rollback by opening the package, selecting the item for file deployment and clicking on the "View Payload Status" button. (ARNOTE 10000) 

   2. In the message window, click OK.

   3. To view the package status, click Refresh.
      When the package is successfully deployed, the status of the package changes to Deployed.

      Important

      While deploying the Remedy Platform package, the AR System server restarts once.

      The AR server restarts when the package deploys Remedy AR System.

   4. If your package contains binary files, to view the deployment status, perform the following actions:
      1. Select the deployed package entry, and then select Manage Package > View.
         The AR System Deployment Management form opens.
      2. From the table next to the Deployment Package Contents panel, select Deployment Payload.
      3. Click View Payload Status.
         
         
         The AR System Single Point Deployment Status window opens displaying the list of server names in the Host Name column and the package deployment status in the Host Status column.
      4. If the package deployment status is Waiting for Utility Run, connect to the server and run the payload deployment utility. 
         
         
         
         
      5. This utility needs to be run on all the servers that has Waiting for Utility Run status.
         
         

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To run the payload deployment utility

Perform this procedure if your package contains binary files, and the package deployment status is Waiting for Utility Run:

1. On the AR System server,  set JAVA_HOME to point to the JRE top level folder.
2. Run the arpayloaddeploymentutil.bat (Windows) or arpayloaddeploymentutil.sh (UNIX) utility from the following location:

   • ( Windows ): <installDirectory>\Program Files\BMC Software\ARSystem

   • ( UNIX ): <installDirectory>/ARSystem/bin
     

     Important

     A binary payload is deployed on all the servers automatically if the filedeployer.localDeploymentRequired parameter is set to false in the deployConfig.properties file. If the filedeployer.localDeploymentRequired parameter is set to true (default), you need to manually run the payload utility on all the servers in the server group.

     The deployConfig.properties file is located in the following folder:

     - (Windows): /ARinstallDirectory

     - (UNIX): /ARSystem/bin

     Only an administrator user with permissions to access the file system can change the setting.

     The arpayloaddeploymentutil.bat (Windows) or arpayloaddeploymentutil.sh (UNIX) utility stops all the related components services for which the package is provided. After the package is successfully applied, the services are up automatically.

     Make sure that your Primary or Admin server is not part of the auto deployment so that you can use that server to monitor the deployment status.

3. On the mid tier server, run the payload utility by performing the following actions:
   1. Set JAVA_HOME to point to the JRE top level folder on the Mid Tier server.
   2. (UNIX) Verify whether the file deployer service is running. 
      • To start the service, run the ./filedeployer.sh start command from the /opt/bmc/ARSystem/midtier/filedeployer/ location.
      • To stop the service, run the ./filedeployer.sh stop command from the /opt/bmc/ARSystem/midtier/filedeployer/ location.
        
   3. Navigate to the file deployer location and run the utility.
      • (Windows) <AR_Install_DIR>\midtier\filedeployer\arpayloaddeploymentutil.bat  
      • (UNIX) /opt/bmc/ARSystem/midtier/filedeployer/ arpayloaddeploymentutil.sh
   4.  After the utility completes its run, re-login to the mid tier.

4. Repeat steps 1, 2, and 3 on servers where the deployment status shows Waiting for Utility Run .
   After you run the utility, the package for Remedy IT Service Management is successfully applied to your environment.
   
   
   

   Important

   • Depending on your operating system, the package content types compatible with your operating system are processed. Package entries that are not compatible with your operating system, are skipped from processing and are shown with a Skipped status. For example, if your operating system is Unix and if you deploy a package which has content type for Windows, the package processing is skipped for that server.

   • The package deployment process will not continue until the payload deployment status is successful on a server.

   Deploying package in a server group

   When you deploy a package in a server group, the ARX and DEF content types are processed on all the servers of the server group.
   However, if the package contains a Deployment Payload content type, you need to run the payload utility, which is processed according to the component ranking order. The higher the ranking, the higher is the preference given for processing the package on that server. For more information, see  Setting the component ranking order before deploying a binary payload in Remedy AR System online documentation.

   BMC does not recommend to roll back a package that was successfully deployed.

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To deploy a Mid Tier patch on an additional server

Before you begin, you must first  configure that server  if you deploy a Mid Tier patch on one server and want to deploy the same patch on another server. Perform the following steps after configuring the additional server. 

1. Open the Mid Tier Configuration page by using the following path:
   http://<hostName>:<portNumber>/<contextPath>/shared/config/config.jsp
2. Click File Deployer Setting.
3. In the AR Server Host Name field, enter the name of the additional server where you want to deploy the Mid Tier patch.
   
   

4. Restart File Deployer for the Mid Tier patch by using the ./filedeployer.sh start command.
   The Mid Tier entry is added to the AR System Monitor form.

5. Deploy the Mid Tier patch on the additional server.

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To apply a Remedy language pack

Apply the 20.02.01 language packs if you have not applied language packs on the base 20.02 version. Do not apply the 20.02.01 language packs if you have language views already available in the base 20.02 version.

Perform the following steps to apply the 20.02.01 language pack after you apply the Remedy Platform 20.02.01 patch:

1. Download the Remedy Platform 20.02.01 language deployment package from EPD . Remedy Platform 20.02.01 language pack ZIP file contains the individual language packs. 
2. Extract the ZIP file to get the individual language packs and import the packs that you want to apply. Use the 7-Zip utility to extract the contents of the ZIP file.
3. Apply the Remedy platform 20.02.01 language pack. For more information, see Applying a language deployment package.

4. After you apply the Remedy platform language pack, download the Remedy applications language pack from the EPD and extract it. To download the latest version of Remedy applications language pack, see Downloading the installation files.

   Important

   Remedy 20.02.01 patch contains language pack for Remedy Platform 20.02.01 only. Make sure that you download and apply the Application language pack of the same version as your Remedy applications version.
   For example, if you have Remedy applications version 20.02 on your server, apply the Remedy applications 20.02 language pack. 

5. Import and apply the Remedy applications language pack.

Rolling back the patch for on-premises deployment

If an issue occurs during the validation of the patch package, or if an error occurs while deploying the package, you can restore the objects on your server to the pre-deployment state. 

Roll back the packages in the following sequence: 

1. Remedy platform (Remedy AR System server, BMC CMDB, and Atrium Integrator)
2. Remedy Mid Tier

Package rollback criteria

Rollback validation helps you to avoid accidental rollback. BMC offers the following conditions for a package rollback:

• You can roll back a package within 48 hours of a successful package deployment. You can configure a maximum 168 hours. 
  Use the D2P-Rollback-Timeout-Interval parameter in the Centralized Configuration to configure the limit for rollback. For more information about the D2P-Rollback-Timeout-Interval parameter see,  D2P-Rollback-Timeout-Interval  in Remedy AR System online documentation.
• You can rollback only the last deployed package.

To roll back the patch

The AR System administrator or a Package Deployer performs the following steps to roll back a package:

1. Log in to Mid Tier by using the following URL: 
   http://<midTierServer>:<port number>/arsys/
2. From the IT Home page, select Applications > AR System Administration  >  AR System Deployment Management Console.
3. In the Deployment Management Console, perform the following actions:

1. 1. Select the package that has  Deployed with Error  status.
   2. Select  Operations > Rollback .
   3. In the confirmation dialog box that is displayed, click Yes.
   4. (Optional) Click Refresh. 
      The state of the package changes from Rolling back to Rolled back.
      If a package contains binary files, the state of the package is shown as Pending Rollback. 
   5. To view the payload deployment status for a package containing binary files, perform the following steps:
      1. Select the deployed package entry and click Manage Package > View.
         The AR System Deployment Management form opens.
      2. Select Deployment Payload from the table next to the Deployment Package Contents panel. 
         The Deployment Payload status is shown as Rollback Pending.
         
         
      3. Click the View Payload Status button.
         A table that shows the status of the package on all the servers in a server group is displayed.

         
         
         

      4. Connect to the server that has the Wait for Utility Run status and run the payload utility.
         

      5. Repeat steps from i to iv on all the servers of a server group from where you want to roll back the package.
         After the payload utility is run, the package starts rolling back. You can view the package status on the main AR System Deployment Management Console. If the State changes to Rolled Back, it means that the package rollback is successful.

         
         

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BMC_DEPLOYMENT_PACKAGES folder

The BMC_DEPLOYMENT_PACKAGES folder is automatically created on the target server when a package deployment or rollback operation is triggered from the AR System Deployment Management console. The folder is created at the following location:
<Install directory> \BMC Software\ARSystem\Arserver\Db\BMC_DEPLOYMENT_PACKAGES

This folder is a temporary working directory. You can safely delete this folder or the contents of this folder after the package is successfully deployed or rolled back on all the servers. Do NOT delete this folder or the contents of this folder when the package deployment or rollback is in progress.

Package deployment logs

You can check the following log files to view the package deployment status or any related errors. For more information, see Troubleshooting package deployment issues.

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Post deployment tasks

• Apply the Backward Compatibility (BCT) hotfix to make your Remedy ITSM Applications (version 20.02 or earlier) compatible with Remedy Platform version 20.02.01. The BCT hotfix includes fixes for issues related to approvals in AR System, rendering of images in SRM and rendering of task flow forms in Incident management, Change management and Work orders and so on. 
  Download the Platform Only Upgrade Compatibility Package For Apps hotfix from BMC Electronic Product Download (EPD) site .
  
  
• If you have installed Remedy Mid Tier on a BEA WebLogic web server, restart the Weblogic services to complete the deployment.
  
  
• If you have deployed Remedy Mid tier 20.02.01 using the Deployment Management Console, you must replace the axis2.xml file in the <midtier_home>/WEB-INF folder. To download the new XML file and for additional information, see the Knowledge article  000372740 .
• If you have customized out-of-the-box objects, you need to reconcile the customizations. 
• Use three-way reconciliation in Developer Studio to reconcile the objects if overlays exist for any of the objects that were updated. For more information, see  Reconciling Workflow Objects  in BMC Remedy AR System online documentation.

• Clear plug-ins cache from the Cache Settings page in the Mid Tier Configuration Tool.
  See  Cache setting parameters in the BMC Remedy AR System online documentation. 

  Important

  Whenever AR System server successfully applies a deployment package, the Mid Tier receives a notification and syncs the cache automatically. For more information, see Using the cache sync option in the BMC Remedy AR System online documentation.

• (Optional) If needed, you can reset the heap size to its previous value and restart the plug-in server.
  
  

• When the BMC:DefaultJavaPluginServer process stops, the following log4j warning is logged in the <ARServerInstallDir>/ARServer/Db/armonitor.log file:

  log4j:WARN Continuable parsing error 199 and column 23

  log4j:WARN The content of element type "log4j:configuration" must match "(renderer*,throwableRenderer?,appender*,plugin*,(category|logger)*,root?,(categoryFactory|loggerFactory

  You can ignore the log4j warning because it does not impact functionality.
  
  

• Use the Like Operator Object Identifier utility to list all filters and escalations where the LIKE operator is used without a wildcard in the Run If qualification. This utility is shipped as part of the AR Tools. This utility provides you with the list of objects. As a part of post-deployment tasks, you must use this utility and then check and correct those objects. Otherwise, you might lose your customizations or experience breaking of business logic.

  For more information, see  Listing filters and escalations by using the Like Operator Object Identifier utility .

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What else changed in this release

The following table contains a list of objects that were changed in this patch release. If you have an overlay for any of the objects listed in the following table, you must reconcile the overlay objects with the objects that were updated by using three-way reconciliation.  For more information, see Reconciling AR customizations.

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Related topics

Troubleshooting package deployment issues

Creating and deploying a binary payload in BMC Remedy AR System online documentation.

Applying a deployment package