Shorter title could be:   PATCHIX  LIED !!!!

...  BUT:  If you do not use or expect to use PATCHIX to
update your system in the near future, you can stop reading
here (but try PATCHIX:  you may like it (for most things) ).

...  AND:  If you use PATCHIX, but never expect to try to install
additional patches with PATCHIX while you are still booted on a
STAGING AREA instead of BASE, again you can *probably*
stop reading.

HOWEVER:      If you might get into a situation where you are
still running on a staging area (have not done COMMIT yet) and
then want to apply additional patches, this may be of more than
passing interest.  This could be a potentially serious problem;
but investigation by the HP RC has just started (key details were
only discovered a couple days ago).  Whether this potentially
applies to *any* PATCHIX patch install actions while you are
booted on a staging area or just to cutting a new SLT for a TAPE
ONLY update while you are booted on a stage is still TBD.

ANYWAY, for those who might care here's the story:

Ken Sletten
============================================


Our site appears to have lucked out, but it's not hard to imagine
other circumstances where this one could be ugly.  Synopsis:

(1)    On 23 Dec 99 I did a PATCHIX - STAGEMAN install of
TurboIMAGE Patch TIXKXX8 A (IMAGE Version C.07.25).
Created staging group IMAGE-DBPUT (we always runs on a
new staging group for a week or two whenever possible before
COMMIT to BASE;  "just in case").  All went well.

(2)    Subsequently, on 18 Jan 00 I installed PRED and DIAG
patches ODIKXK3 A and OSPKXP0 A (yes, I know:  18 days
late...  but let's not get into that now).  These two patches are
NOT stageable;  cut SLT and UPDATE from tape required.

(3)    I run PATCHIX to create the SLT with above two patches.
Early in the process a message pops up (don't recall exact
wording;  not going to take time to check now;  this is close):

"You are currently BOOTED on Staging group IMAGE-DBPUT.
Installation of new patches will be cumulative with all staged
changes."

well, sez I:  That's good:  PATCHIX confirms what I hoped and
expected:  It is smart enough to use what is in the STAGING
GROUP as the BASE for cutting the SLT with the new patches.

(4)    I cut the SLT....  Usual BOOT from ALTERNATE.  UPDATE.
Uneventful.  Everything appears to be fine after system comes up.
But being an untrusting and skeptical soul on stuff like this, I do
a QUERY VERS to confirm my IMAGE version is still C.07.25:
Yup.  Looks like all is still well....  we go about our business for a
couple weeks;  all appears to be routine...

(5)    In preparing to lead SIGIMAGE meeting at SIG3000 I am
reminded:  I think "DBUTIL:  No more stealth flags and options"
should have been done a couple IMAGE vers ago....  well, since
I've got C.07.25 now, methinks I'll just verify that on our own 959:
RUN DBUTIL.

(6)    oops:  HELP SET, HELP SHOW, and HELP DROPI show
nothing about LOCKSIZELEVEL and the [FORCED] option on
DROPI.    but... but...:  I can remember seeing these options
somewhere...   thought I had 'em after TIXKXX8...  but maybe
that was when I was on a remote sys ?? (first serious feelings of
"something's wrong here" start to build up right about then)....

(7)    I put in a call to HP RC.  They check one of their C.07.25
systems....   "gee", they say:  "LOCKSIZELEVEL and FORCED
come up fine for us"....  and DBUTIL on their system comes up
with same vers C.07.10 as on my 959....  huh ?!?!?....  Now I'm
*REALLY* starting to wonder what in the world is going on....

(8)    < Interlude:  Back and forth with HP RC.  They recommend
re-install TIXKXX8.  I am totally confused... >

(9)    Just before seriously thinking of doing TIXKXX8 again, I
have my 15 minutes of fame by remembering one good thing:
Even though I updated from tape, I did NOT purge my IMAGE-
DBPUT staging area yet.  All I need to do is dig DBUTIL out
from down in the HFS staging area directory;  run *that* vers;
and see if LOCKSIZELEVEL and FORCED appear.   With a
helpful reminder from my RC SE that my staged files can be
found in:      /SYS/hpstage/IMAGE-DBPUT@/,2       (darned
upper and lower case again), I get my hands on the DBUTIL I
was running before last PATCHIX SLT evolution.

SIDEBAR CAUTION:  If you do something like the above, do
NOT forget (like I initially did) that files under an HFS directory
are going to have ACD's:  You need to REMOVE ACD's with
MPEX or whatever before all users can access programs like
DBUTIL.PUB.SYS, if you copy from HFS [log in to unmask]

(10)    Sure enough:  LOCKSIZELEVEL and FORCED come up
just fine in the DBUTIL that was staged....    arrggghhhh.....


NOW..:

PATCHIX said "all changes will be cumulative"....  And the
IMAGE intrinsics in XL.PUB.SYS certainly appear to be (most
have version numbers greater than what we were running prior
install of TIXKXX8)....  BUT:

PATCHIX LIED !!..:  It did NOT get the staged version of DBUTIL
out of  /SYS/hpstage/IMAGE-DBPUT/ ...  hmmm..:  better check
version and EOF on *all* of [log in to unmask] and compare to
same in IMAGE-DBPUT staging area....  result:   YIKES !!...:

Staged DBUTIL:            EOF = 1636,  version = C.07.10
DBUTIL.PUB.SYS:        EOF = 1619,  version = C.07.10

Staged DBSCHEMA:     EOF =   863,  version = C.07.18
DBSCHEMA.PUB.SYS: EOF =   830,  version = C.07.13

EOF on all other [log in to unmask] and staging area DB@ are
the same.....

.... of course the above leads immediately to the wider question:
If PATCHIX didn't get latest staged DBUTIL and DBSCHEMA like
it told me it was going to, what else didn't it get ??..   or might it
not get, if a site stages a lot of complex patches and then
subsequently does another major cut SLT - UPDATE from tape
before COMMIT to BASE ??...

.... like I said:  PATCHIX, LIES, ....  and update tape...

.... oh, yeah:  I can clear up one small part of above mystery:
Why is DBUTIL version the same for two different EOF's ??...
well, that at least is easy:  HP inadvertently forgot to change
the version number when putting in the "no more stealth flags"
mod....  but please don't anyone beat up on our friends at the
Database Lab for this small oversight:  We have too many other
good things we want them to do.....    :-)

If anyone cares, my HP RC call ID on this is: 3100139239
(no SR yet).

Anybody else ever do an additional PATCHIX run while booted
on a staging group ??...   if you have, you might want to pay
attention to whatever patch of PATCHIX comes out to fix this....
=============================================