IBM Sterling Transformation Extender

Do you want to avoid being a 'bear with a sore head' when migrating to a newer version of ITX? If so, preparation is key!

Migration is a complex subject and system dependent, so not everything can be included here but we will include the documentation available to go through in preparation for a migration to make the migration easier.

Release notes
The first documentation to look at is the release notes for the release that you are upgrading to.

The following is the top level page where you can find links to release notes for each version/fix pack.

https://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg27008337

It's a good idea to peruse the release notes for all version/fix packs in between the current version you are using and the version you are migrating to.

As ITX V11 is the latest version let's look at the ITX V11 release notes.

https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7030628

New and changed behaviour

In the 'new and changed behaviour' section you will find information about any deprecated/removed functions, components etc.

https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7030628#newchange

Upgrade and migration

There is a section for 'upgrade and migration' which contains points to consider when migrating.

https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7030628#upgrade

for example:

The section 'Migrating maps, type trees, and systems' says 'You must regenerate systems. Although it is not always required for running maps from an earlier version, you should reanalyze and save the type trees, and save and recompile the maps; otherwise, the processes must convert the files each time they load the files. '

Known Limitations, problems and work-arounds

For answers to frequently asked questions and workarounds for known problems in all product releases, see the IBM Support website.

Importance of reading release notes

ITX Support found that some clients did not know the following key information contained within the release notes that could affect a migration.

·        There is a behaviour change in ITX V9 that Transformation Extender V9.0.0 does not change to the map directory before it runs a map. V9.0.0 resolves relative paths by appending the relative path to the directory of the currently running process.

·        If you are migrating from V8.0 to V11.0.0, you must run your database triggering scripts in order to successfully run source-triggered database systems. After V9.0.0 is installed on the supported Oracle or SQL Server databases, no earlier release of Transformation Extender can use triggering on that database, because the client and source reference different names.

This is also true for V8.4.x and V8.4.1.x also.

An example of removed functionality.

·        For version 9.0.0 and higher, Windows and Solaris clustering are no longer supported.

What's New

It's worth going through the 'What's new' for each version/fix pack between the version you are using and the version you are migrating to.  Sometimes there are new features that you can use listed here and unless you read this section or the product documentation cover-to-cover you may not know that it was added.  Question: Does anyone read documentation cover-to-cover anymore!?

The following link is for the What's new documentation.

https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/ste/11.0.0?topic=new-whats-in-v11000

·         In the case of ITX V11 the What's New is very important as we have consolidated all configuration into config.yaml file.   All options in dtx.ini, tx-server.env, and tx-rest.properties are now combined into a single config.yaml file for easier configuration.

ITX utility commands

For migration purposes, the ITX utility commands can be used. You can use the ITX utilities in a script to compile maps, analyse type trees etc.

https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/ste/11.0.0?topic=commands-introduction

For example  :

• Mcompile can be used to compile maps
• Tanalyse can be used to analyse type trees

Different behaviour

If a map behaves differently in new version, it may be due to a bug existing in the previous version that has been fixed in the new version or it could be a bug. You can raise a case with support and provide a simple testcase that can be run in both versions showing the difference in behaviour.

ITX support engineers are here to help if you encounter any problems.

Please visit ITX support site at:
 
https://www.ibm.com/mysupport/s/topic/0TO50000000IVstGAG/transformation-extender
 
You can open and manage cases from here electronically after signing in.

Happy bear!

Lots to learn about for the v11 upgrade it seems.  I have a deep dive question on Launcher however.  From the upgrade notes about Launcher it says:

Do you want to avoid being a 'bear with a sore head' when migrating to a newer version of ITX? If so, preparation is key!

Migration is a complex subject and system dependent, so not everything can be included here but we will include the documentation available to go through in preparation for a migration to make the migration easier.

Release notes
The first documentation to look at is the release notes for the release that you are upgrading to.

The following is the top level page where you can find links to release notes for each version/fix pack.

https://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg27008337

It's a good idea to peruse the release notes for all version/fix packs in between the current version you are using and the version you are migrating to.

As ITX V11 is the latest version let's look at the ITX V11 release notes.

https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7030628

New and changed behaviour

In the 'new and changed behaviour' section you will find information about any deprecated/removed functions, components etc.

https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7030628#newchange

Upgrade and migration

There is a section for 'upgrade and migration' which contains points to consider when migrating.

https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7030628#upgrade

for example:

The section 'Migrating maps, type trees, and systems' says 'You must regenerate systems. Although it is not always required for running maps from an earlier version, you should reanalyze and save the type trees, and save and recompile the maps; otherwise, the processes must convert the files each time they load the files. '

Known Limitations, problems and work-arounds

For answers to frequently asked questions and workarounds for known problems in all product releases, see the IBM Support website.

Importance of reading release notes

ITX Support found that some clients did not know the following key information contained within the release notes that could affect a migration.

·        There is a behaviour change in ITX V9 that Transformation Extender V9.0.0 does not change to the map directory before it runs a map. V9.0.0 resolves relative paths by appending the relative path to the directory of the currently running process.

·        If you are migrating from V8.0 to V11.0.0, you must run your database triggering scripts in order to successfully run source-triggered database systems. After V9.0.0 is installed on the supported Oracle or SQL Server databases, no earlier release of Transformation Extender can use triggering on that database, because the client and source reference different names.

This is also true for V8.4.x and V8.4.1.x also.

An example of removed functionality.

·        For version 9.0.0 and higher, Windows and Solaris clustering are no longer supported.

What's New

It's worth going through the 'What's new' for each version/fix pack between the version you are using and the version you are migrating to.  Sometimes there are new features that you can use listed here and unless you read this section or the product documentation cover-to-cover you may not know that it was added.  Question: Does anyone read documentation cover-to-cover anymore!?

The following link is for the What's new documentation.

https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/ste/11.0.0?topic=new-whats-in-v11000

·         In the case of ITX V11 the What's New is very important as we have consolidated all configuration into config.yaml file.   All options in dtx.ini, tx-server.env, and tx-rest.properties are now combined into a single config.yaml file for easier configuration.

ITX utility commands

For migration purposes, the ITX utility commands can be used. You can use the ITX utilities in a script to compile maps, analyse type trees etc.

https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/ste/11.0.0?topic=commands-introduction

For example  :

• Mcompile can be used to compile maps
• Tanalyse can be used to analyse type trees

Different behaviour

If a map behaves differently in new version, it may be due to a bug existing in the previous version that has been fixed in the new version or it could be a bug. You can raise a case with support and provide a simple testcase that can be run in both versions showing the difference in behaviour.

ITX support engineers are here to help if you encounter any problems.

Please visit ITX support site at:
 
https://www.ibm.com/mysupport/s/topic/0TO50000000IVstGAG/transformation-extender
 
You can open and manage cases from here electronically after signing in.

Happy bear!

Lots to learn about for the v11 upgrade it seems.  I have a deep dive question on Launcher however.  From the upgrade notes about Launcher it says:

Do you want to avoid being a 'bear with a sore head' when migrating to a newer version of ITX? If so, preparation is key!

Migration is a complex subject and system dependent, so not everything can be included here but we will include the documentation available to go through in preparation for a migration to make the migration easier.

Release notes
The first documentation to look at is the release notes for the release that you are upgrading to.

The following is the top level page where you can find links to release notes for each version/fix pack.

https://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg27008337

It's a good idea to peruse the release notes for all version/fix packs in between the current version you are using and the version you are migrating to.

As ITX V11 is the latest version let's look at the ITX V11 release notes.

https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7030628

New and changed behaviour

In the 'new and changed behaviour' section you will find information about any deprecated/removed functions, components etc.

https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7030628#newchange

Upgrade and migration

There is a section for 'upgrade and migration' which contains points to consider when migrating.

https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/7030628#upgrade

for example:

The section 'Migrating maps, type trees, and systems' says 'You must regenerate systems. Although it is not always required for running maps from an earlier version, you should reanalyze and save the type trees, and save and recompile the maps; otherwise, the processes must convert the files each time they load the files. '

Known Limitations, problems and work-arounds

For answers to frequently asked questions and workarounds for known problems in all product releases, see the IBM Support website.

Importance of reading release notes

ITX Support found that some clients did not know the following key information contained within the release notes that could affect a migration.

·        There is a behaviour change in ITX V9 that Transformation Extender V9.0.0 does not change to the map directory before it runs a map. V9.0.0 resolves relative paths by appending the relative path to the directory of the currently running process.

·        If you are migrating from V8.0 to V11.0.0, you must run your database triggering scripts in order to successfully run source-triggered database systems. After V9.0.0 is installed on the supported Oracle or SQL Server databases, no earlier release of Transformation Extender can use triggering on that database, because the client and source reference different names.

This is also true for V8.4.x and V8.4.1.x also.

An example of removed functionality.

·        For version 9.0.0 and higher, Windows and Solaris clustering are no longer supported.

What's New

It's worth going through the 'What's new' for each version/fix pack between the version you are using and the version you are migrating to.  Sometimes there are new features that you can use listed here and unless you read this section or the product documentation cover-to-cover you may not know that it was added.  Question: Does anyone read documentation cover-to-cover anymore!?

The following link is for the What's new documentation.

https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/ste/11.0.0?topic=new-whats-in-v11000

·         In the case of ITX V11 the What's New is very important as we have consolidated all configuration into config.yaml file.   All options in dtx.ini, tx-server.env, and tx-rest.properties are now combined into a single config.yaml file for easier configuration.

ITX utility commands

For migration purposes, the ITX utility commands can be used. You can use the ITX utilities in a script to compile maps, analyse type trees etc.

https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/ste/11.0.0?topic=commands-introduction

For example  :

• Mcompile can be used to compile maps
• Tanalyse can be used to analyse type trees

Different behaviour

If a map behaves differently in new version, it may be due to a bug existing in the previous version that has been fixed in the new version or it could be a bug. You can raise a case with support and provide a simple testcase that can be run in both versions showing the difference in behaviour.

ITX support engineers are here to help if you encounter any problems.

Please visit ITX support site at:
 
https://www.ibm.com/mysupport/s/topic/0TO50000000IVstGAG/transformation-extender
 
You can open and manage cases from here electronically after signing in.

Happy bear!