19.02.01: Patch 1 for version 19.02

Updates

The Remedy 19.02.01: Patch 1 for version 19.02 introduces a single deployment package  for Remedy platform components: Remedy AR System, BMC CMDB, and Atrium Integrator.

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.

Downloading the patch

The following table lists the patch components and the link to the deployment packages: 

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Package Deployment workflow

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

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Applying the patch

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.

Before you begin

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

• The Remedy platform (AR System Server, BMC CMDB, and Atrium Integrator Server) is upgraded to version 19.02. For more information, see Upgrading-the-platform. 
• The Remedy applications (Remedy IT Service Management, BMC Service Request Management, BMC Service Level Management) are upgraded to version 19.02. For more information, see Upgrading-the-applications.

• Disable the Preload action from the Cache Settings page in the Mid Tier Configuration Tool. See Cache setting parametersin 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.

• Ensure that the plug-in heap size is three times more than the deployment package size to avoid package import errors. If the heap size is less than 1.5 GB, increase the heap size on all the servers in the server group. The minimum plug-in heap size required is 1.5 GB for a package of size more than 300 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 and 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_build005.jar;
  C:\BMCData\ARSystem\arserver\api\lib\arcmnapp91_build005.jar" com.bmc.arsys.pluginsvr.ARPluginServerMain
  -x localhost -i "C:\BMCData\ARSystem" -m

• 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.

• When a package contains binaries, you can deploy the binary payload automatically by setting the  filedeployer.localDeploymentRequired  parameter to  f alse  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.
• Download the patch packages from the EPD site. See Patch components .
• 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.

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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)
3. Remedy ITSM Suite
4. BMC Service Request Management
5. BMC Service Level Management
6. Remedy with Smart IT

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.

      Note

      While deploying the Remedy Platform package, the AR server restarts 3 times.

   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

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
     

     Note

     A binary payload is deployed on all the servers automatically if the filedeployer.localDeploymentRequired parameter is set to f alse in the deployConfig.properties file. If the filedeployer.localDeploymentRequired parameter is set to t rue (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.

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.

1. 1. 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
   2.  After the utility completes its run, re-login to the mid tier.

2. 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 BMC Remedy IT Service Management is successfully applied to your environment.
   
   

   Note

   • 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 BMC 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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Rolling back the patch

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 with Smart IT
2. BMC Service Level Management
3. BMC Service Request Management
4. Remedy ITSM Suite
5. Remedy platform (Remedy AR System server, BMC CMDB, and Atrium Integrator)
6. 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.

1. 1. 1. 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

• 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 parametersin the BMC Remedy AR System online documentation. 

  Note

  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 optionin 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.

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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 payloadin BMC Remedy AR System online documentation.

Creating and deploying a packagein BMC Remedy AR System online documentation.