Upgrading to HCL Connections™ 6.5

Upgrading to HCL Connections™ 6.5.

Before you begin

Before you begin upgrading to a HCL Connections™ 6.5 deployment, refer to the following for additional information Migrating to HCL Connections 6.0 CR6.
Note: Previous configurations for IBM FileNet and Metrics deployments will be retained in Connections 6.5 going forward.
  1. On the system where the Deployment Manager is installed, prepare the supporting software for the update:
    • Download the Connections 6.5 installation package from the HCL FlexNet portal. Decompress the 6.5 package into a temp directory.
    • WAS 8.5.5.14 - WAS 8.5.5.16 are supported. WAS 8.5.5.15 is supported but requires an iFix for APAR IFPH09407 which can be downloaded from Fix Central, 8.5.5.15-WS-WASProd-IFPH09407
    • Verify that you have installed WebSphere® Application Server 8.5.5.14 - 8.5.5.16 and supplemental software, and have updated HTTP Server 8.5 and Web Server Plug-ins for IBM® WebSphere® Application Server 8.5.
    • Verify that you are running Installation Manager 1.8.5 64-bit.
    • In the soap.client.props file, change the SOAP Request Timeout to com.ibm.SOAP.requestTimeout=0 to ensure that no requests time out during the Cumulative Refresh installation. Restart the Deployment Manager and start the HTTP services: HTTP Administration for WebSphere® Application Server V8.5 and HTTP Server V8.5.

Procedure

  1. Stop all clusters and node agents in your deployment but leave the Deployment Manager running.
  2. Start Installation Manager.
  3. From the Installation Manager menu, click File > Preferences.
    Note: Be sure that the Search service repositories during installation and updates option is deselected.
  4. Click Repositories > Add Repository.
  5. Enter the full path to the Connections 6.5 install package that you downloaded and then click OK.
    Verify that Installation Manager can connect to the repository. For example: ..\HCL_Connections_Install\HCLConnections\repository.xml.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Click Update.
  8. Select Connections 6 and click Next.
  9. From the Update Packages screen select Version 6.5.0.0 and click Next.
  10. Review and accept the license agreement by clicking I accept terms in the license agreements and then click Next.
  11. Ensure that all the Connections applications are selected and click Next.
    Note: All of the installed applications are selected by default. If you add any of the non-selected applications, those applications will be installed. If you clear any of the selected applications, those applications will be uninstalled.
  12. Enter the administrative ID and password of the Deployment Manager and click Validate.
    Note: This ID is set to the connectionsAdmin J2C authentication alias, which is mapped to the following Java™ EE roles: dsx-admin, widget-admin, and search-admin. It is also used by the service integration bus. If you plan to use security management software such as Tivoli® Access Manager or SiteMinder, the ID that you specify here must exist in the LDAP directory. For more information, see the Switching to unique administrator IDs for system level communication topic.
  13. Click OK > Next > Update > Finish.
  14. Close Installation Manager.
  15. When the installation is complete, start the node agent to deploy the updated Connections applications.
  16. Generate a new plug-in (to include the new Highlights app) by completing the following steps.
    1. Still in the Integrated Solutions Console, click Servers > Server Types > Webservers.
    2. Select the Webserver, click Generate Plug-in, and wait for the plug-in to be generated.
    3. Select the Webserver again and click Propagate Plug-in.
  17. Stop the node agent so the temp directory can be cleaned out in the next step.
  18. Delete the contents of the cache under the App Server.
  19. Start the node agents, then perform a full synchronization to push the update to all nodes.

    Check the SystemOut.log of each nodeagent to ensure synchronization completed successfully.

  20. Start the Connections server.

What to do next

A Connections 6.5 upgrade deployment updates a number of web services and other artifacts that require an end user to clear the browser cache to get the updates.

Alternatively, you can allow user's browsers to load new web services and artifacts by updating the <versionStamp value="####"/> in the LotusConnections-config.xml so users will see the changes the next time they log in, without having to clear their web browser cache. See Post-customization step after a Connections 6.5 upgrade is deployed so users will receive changes the next time they log in without having to clear their web browser cache. If the browser cache is not updated problems such as the Community Catalog not displaying correctly may occur.