Always install Update Manager hotfixes before installing other PRPC hotfixes

IMPORTANT: The PRPC Update Manager page is the primary source for the latest Update Manager patches.

You must install required patches for Update Manager prior to installing other PRPC product hotfixes. The prerequisite Update Manager hotfixes ensure that PRPC product hotfixes install properly. PRPC 6.x hotfixes will not install successfully until you have applied the required patches to Update Manager.

Symptoms

Users reported the following problems for Update Manager, the Hotfix Installer component, in the PRPC 6.x releases identified here.

PRPC 6.1 SP1 Update Manager Problem

When you try to install a PRPC 6.1 SP1 hotfix that delivers code changes, Update Manager halts in an inconsistent state. HFix-2811 removes the hard coding from gatherCodeInventory and gets the required Build details from com.pega.pegarules.pub.util.BuildInfo.

As a prerequisite to installing any hotfixes for PRPC 6.1 SP1, you must install HFix-2811.

PRPC 6.1 SP2, PRPC 6.2 SP1, PRPC 6.2 SP2 Update Manager Problems

The following problems were reported and corrected in the hotfixes described in this section:

• Installing large downloadable (DL) files that contain many hotfixes can result in one or more hotfixes not being installed. 
• The System Scanner incorrectly reports partial installations of hotfixes.

You encounter these issues when using Update Manager to install hotfixes for PRPC 6.1 SP2, PRPC 6.2 SP1, and PRPC 6.2 SP2 – whether you create a DL file using the Hotfix Self-Service site or you receive a DL file from Global Customer Support (GCS).

As a prerequisite to installing any hotfixes for PRPC 6.1 SP2, PRPC 6.2 SP1, and PRPC 6.2 SP2, you must install the following Update Manager patches:

• PRPC 6.1 SP2: Install HFix-4452 and HFix-5023. HFix-5023 replaces HFix-4496 and HFix-4564. Also install HFix-5877.
• PRPC 6.2 SP1: Install HFix-6805, available 28 February 2013 and updated 18 April 2013; and HFix-8209, available 24 October 2013.
• PRPC 6.2 SP2: Install HFix-5369, available 04 October 2012. Also install HFix-5831, HFix-6824, and HFix-8626 to correct other Update Manager issues.

PRPC 6.3 SP1 Update Manager Problem

PRPC 6.3 SP1 does not start after Hotfix Rollback is run. You see this error:

Error (partial): PegaRULES initialization failed. Server: unknown
java.lang.NoSuchFieldError: com/pega/pegarules/data/internal/dictionary/
DictionaryCacheImpl$PropertyInfoContainer.mLock
at com.pega.pegarules.data.internal.dictionary.DictionaryCacheImpl.
getPropertyInfo(DictionaryCacheIm)

This problem was reported for the scenario in which, after installing a set of hotfixes, you need to roll them back. Using the Hotfix Rollback feature successfully, with no errors, you clear the extract marker and attempt to restart the system. Your PRPC system does not start and you see the error message. HFix-8358 corrects the Hotfix Rollback feature to remove the limit on the number of database records being retrieved.

As a prerequisite to installing any hotfixes for PRPC 6.3 SP1, you must install HFix-8358.

Also install HFix-8655 to correct the NPE when the Hotfix Installer encounters an unextracted JAR file in the HFix DL file.

Details for HFix-4452, HFix-5023, HFix-6805, and HFix-5369

Installing large DL files (HFix-4452)

Installing large DL files that contain many hotfixes can result in one or more hotfixes not being installed. The preprocessing step shows that the hotfixes will be installed, but during the installation process, the hotfixes are not imported into the system. No errors display at the end of the HFix Installation processing; the last scanner step simply shows that one or more of the hotfixes in the DL were not installed. The problem occurs because files are incorrectly closed during the hotfix installation. This causes some HFix files to be skipped, even though the logs show that the installer processed a file for each hotfix. The HFix Installer incorrectly reuses the .jar file from a previous HFix in the DL; therefore, it never installs all of the hotfixes.

This problem will surface simply based on the size and complexity of a DL file and the determined installation order of hotfixes. If a major dependency is missed because of this defect, it can cause problems with the target PRPC system, for example, errors at startup, failed login to the Developer portal, and other problems. These problems all indicate that dependent hotfixes are not being installed properly.

Typical Scenario

When you install a DL file for one HFix, it is usually small because it contains the HFix and its dependent HFixes. However, if you go to Hotfix Self-Service and select a large number of HFixes – or, worse, if you click the checkbox in the first column of the table, Hotfixes available for download, to Select All Rows, thereby selecting all the HFixes for the specified version of PRPC – you will experience the problems described.

Warning

Choosing to install all HFixes that are available for a given PRPC version is a misuse of the Hotfix Self-Service site and the Update Manager utility. Select and install hotfixes for the specific problems that you are experiencing with your PRPC deployment.

Unix, Linux, and WebSphere Application Server

The problem of installing large DL files has been reported for PRPC systems running on Unix and Linux with WebSphere Application Server. The problem has not been reported for PRPC systems running Windows and the Tomcat application server.

Minor problems with System Scanner (HFix-5023, HFix-6805, HFix-5369)

Two minor scanner issues that are fixed relate to engine-level classes that do not have versions. This includes inner classes and some engine-level classes that do not contain a VERSION string. The scanner incorrectly marked these types of classes as Not Installed, causing the entire HFix to be marked as Partial Install instead of Installed or Superseded.

Solutions

From the PRPC Update Manager page, click the link for PRPC V6.1 SP1 Update Manager Required Patch to download the file HFix-2811.jar. The artifacts for this patch are packaged in the HFix-2811.jar file, which you must install using the special procedure documented in the HFix-2811 ReadMe file.

From the Hotfix Self-Service site, select Process Commander Version 6.1 SP2, 6.2 SP1, 6.2 SP2 or PRPC 6.3 SP1 find and install the following patches for Update Manager:

PRPC 6.1 SP2

• HFix-4452, Update Manager does not install all HFixes in a DL file. (See the description on Hotfix Self-Service.)
• HFix-5023, System Scanner incorrectly shows HFixes as Not Installed. (See the description on Hotfix Self-Service.)
• HFix-5877, Update Manager fails to install second hotfix with matching time. (See the description on Hotfix Self-Service.)

PRPC 6.2 SP1

• HFix-6805, System Scanner incorrectly shows HFixes as Not Installed. (See the description on Hotfix Self-Service.)
• HFix-8209, Update Manager incorrectly installs hotfixes with JAR files (See the description on Hotfix Self-Service.)

PRPC 6.2 SP2

• HFix-5369, System Scanner incorrectly shows HFixes as Not Installed. (See the description on Hotfix Self-Service.)
• HFix-5831, Update Manager fails to install all hotfix components (See the description on Hotfix Self-Service.)
• HFix-6824, Update Manager incorrectly installs hotfixes with JAR files (See the description on Hotfix Self-Service.)
• HFix-8626, Update Manager NPE when HFix contains unextracted JAR file (See the Important note above and the description on Hotfix Self-Service.)

PRPC 6.3 SP1

• HFix-8358, PRPC does not start after Hotfix Rollback is run. (See the description on Hotfix Self-Service.)
• HFix-8655, Update Manager NPE when HFix contains unextracted JAR file (See the description on Hotfix Self-Service.)

Additional Information

What is the Update Manager utility?

PRPC Update Manager