FB – Fallback


This section provides information about Fallback. 

FB – Definition

The FB (Fallback) operation is valid at either the Production level or HOLD/controlled levels and is used in emergency situations to back out or reinstate one or more modules to a different version. Use the FB command as follows:

  • To fallback at PROD, a special Action code F task is created (explicitly by the user or implicitly by ISPW). Any previous Production version may be fallen back to; it does not have to be the one immediately prior to the current version.
  • To fallback at a HOLD level, the user finds the backed up version they wish to reinstate and types the FB command beside it. If an active version already exists at the level, it will be backed up itself in the ISPW Warehouse.

Important

A fallback cannot be performed on a closed container.

Fallback Process at PROD

Fallback can be performed at Production in a number of ways:

  • The user can create an Action F task to reinstate any previous Production version.
  • The user can enter FB against the current Production task, and ISPW will automatically create an Action F task to reinstate the immediately previous version.
  • The user can request a Fallback of a Set that has Promoted modules into Production to reinstate the immediately previous versions of all modules (that is, to back out the entire Set).

Fallback at PROD With an Action F Task

  1. Click Add on the Tool Bar or type A on the Command line for Task Add.
  2. Type F for Fallback in the Special Action field of the Add Task screen, then press Enter to display the Application inventory list.
  3. Use the Type and Name filters to find components in the Repository list as shown in the following figure.
  4. Click on the plus signs to expand the list of possible versions to fall back to, then type to select the specific module version that the Fallback operation is to recover to.
  5. Press End to return to the Task List display.
  6. From the Task List, type FB beside the entry being backed out (or highlight it with the Slash (/) operation and click Fallback on the Tool Bar.
  7. Approve the Fallback request, if required.

Fallback at PROD with Action F Task

image2021-9-30_15-21-22.png

Fallback at PROD With FB Against the Current Production Task

  1. Type FB for Fallback against the current Production Task from the Task List.
  2. The Set Create screen is displayed, because the FB operation must run in a Set. Press Enter to continue.
  3. Approve the Fallback request, if required.

Fallback at PROD With a Set

  1. On the Modify/Approve Set screen (following figure), type F (or FALLBACK) in the Set Control field for a Set that has just promoted modules into Production. (Fallback from a Set is not currently supported at non-Production levels.) 
    Fallback at PROD with Set
    image2021-9-30_15-21-50.png
  2. Press Enter to confirm the details for the new Fallback Set (following figure). 
    Confirm Fallback Set Details
    image2021-9-30_15-22-20.png
  3. Enter L (or LOCK) in the Set Control field to Lock the Set.
  4. Approve the Fallback request, if required.

Fallback at HOLD

If a module has been promoted over the top of another version, and a backup exists in the ISPW Warehouse, an FB operation against the Superseded Backup version will reinstate it.

Important

The ISPW Administrator must specify that backups are to occur at each level in the change cycle where required. Otherwise, when a module is replaced at a level, it will be erased and displayed as Superseded Gone.

Example

Version 11 of a copy module has been promoted over the top of version 10 at the STG1 level. Version 10 is now backed up in the ISPW Warehouse.

To see the inactive Superseded Backup versions, click Show/Hide in the Tool Bar, then click Show_Superseded. The screen shown in the following figure is displayed.

Fallback at HOLD Example

image2021-9-30_15-22-46.png

Expand the plus sign beside the backed up version to show who did it and in which assignment (following figure).

Expand to View Changes

image2021-9-30_15-23-7.png

Note that the Date and Time is displayed for the Last Operation performed on a Task. A version replacement event is not considered to be an Operation. To see when the replacement occurred, type H beside the task to see the full history. The version replacement event is represented by the characters -> and, in this example, it occurred at 23:00.

Full History

image2021-9-30_15-26-10.png

Fallback Operation

Reinstate the old version 10 instead of version 11 at STG1 as follows:

  1. Type FB beside the backed up version 10. The Set Create screen (following figure) is displayed. (The FB operation must be performed in a set.)
    Fallback at HOLD Operation
    image2021-9-30_15-26-42.png
  2. Press Enter. The FB operation is started as shown in the following figure.
    Start Fallback Operation
    image2021-9-30_15-27-26.png
  3. When the Fallback is complete, FB is shown in the Last Op field for the newly reinstated version 10 (following figure). Version 11 is now backed up in the ISPW Warehouse and is inactive at STG1.
    FB in Last Op Field
    image2021-9-30_15-28-0.png
  4. Type V beside either version to see all of the versions for the component. The Component Version List screen (following figure) is displayed. Version 10 has been reinstated and is active at STG1, while version 11 has been backed up and is now inactive. 
    Component Version List
    image2021-9-30_15-28-31.png

 

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