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Read-Only TopicGo | Search | Notify | Tools |
| To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade | Login/Join |
| Guru |
Here's my quandary. My superiors have asked my opinion on whether or not we should upgrade from 5.3.6 to a more current version. What I am wanting from you is what release you are on and what benefits you would sorely miss if you had to go back to 5.3.6 or lower. My decision will be based on information from the forum as well as my own research. I know you are all busy with your own jobs so any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks Glenda In FOCUS Since 1990 Production 8.2 Windows | ||
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| Virtuoso |
Plus Reduced/no java socket exceptions New features to use Minus Some things don't work that used to do so, tightening the code they call it or a complex where statement suddenly crashes server. Had to redo how we do overnight batch as we use a mainframe system to kick off the caster jobs. Pain of migration Overall, glad we are doing so though it is turning into a slow process for our overnight stuff. Leah | |||
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| Expert |
We went from 5.3.3 to 7.6.2. As Leah said, there was pain during the migration but we are very pleased with the results. I would upgrade to 7.6.5 at this point (due out very shortly). You will love the new HTML Layout Painter and the PDF Layout Painter. While there is some code tightening and certain html pages have to be converted, by and large, I am very happy with the 7.6 track and would highly recommend it. Ginny --------------------------------- Prod: WF 7.7.01 Dev: WF 7.6.9-11 Admin, MRE,self-service; adapters: Teradata, DB2, Oracle, SQL Server, Essbase, ESRI, FlexEnable, Google | |||
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| Virtuoso |
Yes...I'm very happy with the 7.+ versions...we were going to go to 7.6.4.. we are waiting on a fix to be ready...so we will go to 7. something in the Summer. I like the Advanced Graph Assistant..and we do have fewer crashes and strange things happening now. A few things as Leah said that will have to worked around because of "code tightening" - But well worth doing it.
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| Virtuoso |
In addition to the fact that IBI will eventually cut off support for the 5.3.X version. We moved from 5.3.6 to 7.1.6 and yes, it was a little painful. But the new features, much better stability, much more functional DevStudio greatly outweigh any migration negatives. In my mind, it's not a question of whether or not to upgrade, but how/when to upgrade. You will find that careful planning and extensive preliminary testing will save a lot of trouble. Install and create a test environment, miigrate everything over to the test environment, test,test,test,test and keep track of all issues and code and system modifications. Then do it again in a prod environment. I would highly recommend AGAINST simply throwing the upgrade on to your current prod environment. Regards, Darin In FOCUS since 1991 WF Server: 7.7.04 on Linux and Z/OS, ReportCaster, Self-Service, MRE, Java, Flex Data: DB2/UDB, Adabas, SQL Server Output: HTML,PDF,EXL2K/07, PS, AHTML, Flex WF Client: 77 on Linux w/Tomcat | |||
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| Platinum Member |
We just upgraded from 52x to 764 a couple of weeks back. We had to make quite a few code changes before implementation. Some of it were obvious errors that WF let slip before and rejected this time around. Like prevoious comments said, there were also other "Code tightning" changes that we had to deal with. Overall, still very happy with the new verion - PDF layout tool, Web consoles, etc. Based on the size of your environment / staff available, you should plan for a 3-4 month testing phase if possible. Sandeep Mamidenna ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blue Cross & Blue Shield of MS WF.76-10 on (WS2003 + WebSphere) / EDA on z/OS + DB2 + MS-SQL MRE, BID, Dev. Studio, Self-Service apps & a dash of fun !!  | |||
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| Gold member |
We are still in the process of upgrading from 5.33 to 7.64. The migration from one version to another had its ups and downs. Use the migrating tool in the administrative console, otherwise you could corrupt EDASERVE, and it might not start the WebFocus server. I do beleive that at the end of June, IBI will no longer support 5.3.x. As to the version you will go to i think it is based on the functionality of what you want to get out of the version. WF 7.6.10 /IIS 6/ JBoss Enterprise 4.3 Windows XP SP 2/Windows 2003 Server MVS 7.3.3 | |||
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| Virtuoso |
Glenda, If you do have the choice in this, I'd advise you to go oand upgrade to the latest production release available. Yes, there are some things that may be bothersome (like tightening of syntax), but on the whole the benefit lies in the fact that you're working with a supported version again for some years to come, and of course in the vast amount of new features that you will be able to use (like accordion reports, the pdf painter for compound reports and many many more). I would not want to have to go back to some older version - it's very easy to get used to luxury. GamP
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| Master |
Glenda, I wish you would have asked me this at the Forum last week (esp. in front of Phil). I am in exactly that situation. I had 7.1.3 at my last job and am now on 5.3. It is a world of hurt to go backwards. The things I miss most are Excel Templates and the GUI html painter. To me Dev Studio and Report Painter were always crap. Not so once you hit 7.1. The ease of doing parameter screens and dashboards and the professional look of the reports is well worth the pain of conversion and of having to learn new tools. Pat WF 7.6.8, AIX, AS400, NT AS400 FOCUS, AIX FOCUS, Oracle, DB2, JDE, Lotus Notes | |||
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| Expert |
Don't mince your words Pat, say exactly what you mean  T
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| Guru |
Thanks all for your input. From what I'm hearing, upgrading isn't an option at this time it's a priority if we want to continue to have IBI support WebFOCUS. Darin, My shop requires that any new releases be installed in a test environment and will only be moved to production after everything is thoroughly checked out. Pat, I wasn't aware that upgrading was an option at the time or I would have asked you Friday. BTW, it was nice meeting you. It's always great to be able to put a face to a name. Glenda In FOCUS Since 1990 Production 8.2 Windows | |||
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| Platinum Member |
Hi Glenda, Also check the ibi site for the following manual which can help you pinpont where you may have some issues to address. WebFOCUS Upgrade Considerations Version 7 Release 6 DN4500792.1107 Good Luck. Rich WebFOCUS 8202 Win 2012 Test - WebFOCUS 8203 on Win 2012 | |||
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| Master |
Hi Glenda I did an upgrade to 7.6 last year and I tried to document everything I could on the forum. Here are some URLs you might be interested in: https://forums.informationbuilders.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/...181096342#5181096342 https://forums.informationbuilders.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/...921082542#2921082542 https://forums.informationbuilders.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/...091088942#7091088942 https://forums.informationbuilders.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/...081075732#5081075732 https://forums.informationbuilders.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/...451072462#4451072462 https://forums.informationbuilders.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/...791095732#7791095732 Server: WF 7.6.2 ( BID/Rcaster) Platform: W2003Server/IIS6/Tomcat/SQL Server repository Adapters: SQL Server 2000/Oracle 9.2 Desktop: Dev Studio 765/XP/Office 2003 Applications: IFS/Jobscope/Maximo | |||
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| Expert |
John's postings of his upgrade experience will be extremely helpful once we start our upgrade from 5.3 to 7.6. It appears he weeded out a lot of issues that we won't have to deal with because he found them first. Cheers, Francis  Give me code, or give me retirement. In FOCUS since 1991 Production: WF 7.7.05M, Dev Studio, BID, MRE, WebSphere, DB2 / Test: WF 8.1.05M, App Studio, BI Portal, Report Caster, jQuery, HighCharts, Apache Tomcat, MS SQL Server | |||
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| Guru |
Pat, Based on what I'm reading, your shop is going to have to move to a newer release also if they want continued support from IBI. Looks like I may have some company in this endeavor. Glenda In FOCUS Since 1990 Production 8.2 Windows | |||
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| Expert |
read this thread for more encouragement to upgrade. But you might want to install 76 on a new server and move a bit more cautiously than letting the installer perform a migration, as this thread suggests. Some version 5 problems don't seem to go away with migration, but do with a fresh install.
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| Master |
we were supposed to upgrade last October and I have been pushing since then. We already have an unsupported version of Focus on the AS400. We only have one dev license for WF (I think on UNIX) and prod licenses on 3 servers. When we upgrade, our systems admins are requiring that we set up dev/test on all 3 servers. The Dev licenses and a dev server are so expensive it was put off. What I wanted to do was pull everything onto UNIX one dev license, one prod license with data connections to the other servers. The fee for the data adapters was more than the licenses. The way things are going WF may end up replaced. AS deeply as it is ingrained, it will be an expensive venture. By the way Tony, I think I cleaned it up real nice, what I really thought might have been censored. Pat WF 7.6.8, AIX, AS400, NT AS400 FOCUS, AIX FOCUS, Oracle, DB2, JDE, Lotus Notes | |||
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| Expert |
Pat, I'm with you on the expensive nature of implementing WF. I am sure there would be more take-up across the UK if the prices were adjusted and this has always been a contentious issue. I am sure that with some Apps S/W you can set up development and test versions without being charged further. Price is always one of the reasons that there are such large differences between version installs (such as going from 5.3.x to 7.6.x). In my travels as a contractor I have almost persuaded companies to look at WebFOCUS (I don't just consult in WF) and many seem very interested until they find out how much IB want to charge!! And, yes, I am sure that you cleaned up your comment, I know what I've said to others (not on this Forum mind you ) about some of the interfaces! All I will say is there are some relatively decent text editors out there - and not always Microshaft products  Keep smiling T
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| Master |
Pat All my stuff I posted has details how to parallel run stuff on the same machine. You can test the new version side by side with the old and then switch. The key is to use wf76\ibi\ as root instead of \ibi and change the ports by adding 1000 eg 9121 instead of 8121. You need extra tomcats and IIS'es and that is explained as well. You dont kill the machine since the extra load is only when you are testing. There's full details on how to quickly reset the new to look like the old on install day. Regards John Server: WF 7.6.2 ( BID/Rcaster) Platform: W2003Server/IIS6/Tomcat/SQL Server repository Adapters: SQL Server 2000/Oracle 9.2 Desktop: Dev Studio 765/XP/Office 2003 Applications: IFS/Jobscope/Maximo | |||
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| Master |
John, The additional server is a requirement of our systems staff. We have an NT server that is strictly production and they are wanting our development off of that box. We currently have development domains and production domains. Pat WF 7.6.8, AIX, AS400, NT AS400 FOCUS, AIX FOCUS, Oracle, DB2, JDE, Lotus Notes | |||
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| Guru |
Pat, I hear you loud and clear. My superiors have discussed going to another reporting system also. However, I would have been looking for a new job if that had happened and they knew it. I will not move to an inferior product just to save money. Of course they know that my staff and I save them programming money and time. This frees the programmers up for bigger projects. Tony, Show me a product as good or better than WebFOCUS and I will pitch the idea to my company. Never let it be said that this "old" dog can't learn new tricks.  Glenda In FOCUS Since 1990 Production 8.2 Windows | |||
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| Virtuoso |
Hey guys/gals, Our sales rep was out at our site a couple of months ago and mentioned some changes to the pricing structure for dev and maybe test installtions. We, too, have a DEV environment which is used by only 5 people. I am a government customer so this may only apply to government pricing. However, I would suggest checking with your sales rep to see what the latest is. Thanks! Mickey
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