One of the essential tasks for WebSphere administrator is to ensure technology stack in a production environment is up-to-date.

There are many including security, feature enhancements & bug fixes are released by IBM as a fix pack, and in this guide, I will explain how to upgrade the fix pack in IBM WebSphere Application Server 8.5.5 version.

My current version is 8.5.5.0, and I will upgrade Fix Pack 6 using IBM Installation Manager so, in the end, my WAS will be upgraded to 8.5.5.6.

Download WebSphere Application Server Fix Pack 6

  • Go to following URL

http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg24040035

  • Select the zip file for your desired platform. I am using Linux so that I will proceed with the download for “Distributed” platform.

ibm-fixpack-download-package

  • Fix Pack 6 is available in two parts, so you got to download both of them as shown below and click on Continue

ibm-fixpack-parts

  • Log in with your IBM ID to download the fix pack

ibm-fixpack-signin

  • Click on each file (part 1 & part 2) to download

ibm-im-download-details

  • Transfer the downloaded file to your server
  • You should have following two files on WAS server where you wish to upgrade the fix pack
-rw-rw-r--. 1 chandan chandan 901272378 Aug 30 02:18 8.5.5-WS-WAS-FP0000006-part1.zip
-rw-rw-r--. 1 chandan chandan 1762272953 Aug 30 02:53 8.5.5-WS-WAS-FP0000006-part2.zip
  • Extract the file using unzip command
# unzip 8.5.5-WS-WAS-FP0000006-part1.zip
# unzip 8.5.5-WS-WAS-FP0000006-part2.zip
  • It will take a minute or two, and you will have following extracted files/folders.
[root@localhost fixpack]# ls -ltr
total 2604656
drwxr-xr-x. 3 root   root          30 Jun 12 16:44 atoc
-rw-r--r--. 1 root   root       376411 Jun 12 16:44 update_com.ibm.websphere.ND.v85_8.5.5006.20150529_0536_from_8.5.0.20120501_1108.xml
-rw-r--r--. 1 root   root       375954 Jun 12 16:45 update_com.ibm.websphere.NDTRIAL.v85_8.5.5006.20150529_0536_from_8.5.0.20120501_1108.xml
-rw-r--r--. 1 root   root       358020 Jun 12 16:45 update_com.ibm.websphere.BASE.v85_8.5.5006.20150529_0536_from_8.5.0.20120501_1108.xml
-rw-r--r--. 1 root   root       357755 Jun 12 16:45 update_com.ibm.websphere.BASETRIAL.v85_8.5.5006.20150529_0536_from_8.5.0.20120501_1108.xml
-rw-r--r--. 1 root   root       357957 Jun 12 16:45 update_com.ibm.websphere.DEVELOPERS.v85_8.5.5006.20150529_0536_from_8.5.0.20120501_1108.xml
-rw-r--r--. 1 root   root        357763 Jun 12 16:45 update_com.ibm.websphere.DEVELOPERSILAN.v85_8.5.5006.20150529_0536_from_8.5.0.20120501_1108.xml
-rw-r--r--. 1 root   root       358185 Jun 12 16:45 update_com.ibm.websphere.EXPRESS.v85_8.5.5006.20150529_0536_from_8.5.0.20120501_1108.xml
-rw-r--r--. 1 root   root       357817 Jun 12 16:45 update_com.ibm.websphere.EXPRESSTRIAL.v85_8.5.5006.20150529_0536_from_8.5.0.20120501_1108.xml
-rw-r--r--. 1 root   root       128376 Jun 12 16:45 update_com.ibm.websphere.NDDMZ.v85_8.5.5006.20150529_0536_from_8.5.0.20120501_1108.xml
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root   root       159744 Jun 12 16:45 files
-rw-r--r--. 1 root   root       128313 Jun 12 16:45 update_com.ibm.websphere.NDDMZTRIAL.v85_8.5.5006.20150529_0536_from_8.5.0.20120501_1108.xml
-rw-r--r--. 1 root   root         1284 Jun 12 16:45 repository.config
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root   root         4096 Jun 12 16:45 plugins
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root   root         4096 Jun 12 16:45 Offerings
drwxr-xr-x. 2 root   root         53248 Jun 12 16:45 native
-rw-r--r--. 1 root   root       149645 Jun 12 16:45 repository.xml

Now, it’s time to use IBM Installation Manager to apply the fix pack.

Few pointers…

  1. Stop the WAS if it’s still running
  2. Take a backup of entire WAS

Apply WAS Fix Pack using IBM IM

  • Open IBM Installation Manager
  • Click on File >> Preferences

ibm-im-preference

  • Click on Add Repository
  • Click on Browse and select repository.config which you got above after extracting fix pack
  • Click on OK

ibm-im-selectrepository

  • You should have something like below, click on OK to continue

ibm-im-selected-repository

  • Click on Next on select package group window

ibm-im-update-package

  • It will give you confirmation that Version 8.5.5.6 is recognized in a repository.config file. Click on Next

ibm-im-fix-pack

  • Accept the terms and click on Next

ibm-ibm-terms

  • Here you can customize the features if you wish. Click on Next

ibm-im-features

  • Review the summary information and click on Update to apply the fix pack

ibm-im-summary

  • It will take few minutes and at the end, you will have success message as shown below.

ibm-im-fix-pack-installed

Well done! This indicates you have applied Fix Pack 6 on 8.5.5 version and now WAS version should be 8.5.5.6. Let’s verify them.

  • Go to $PROFILE_HOME/bin folder
  • Execute versionInfo.sh to see the installed WAS
[root@localhost bin]# ./versionInfo.sh
WVER0010I: Copyright (c) IBM Corporation 2002, 2012; All rights reserved.
WVER0012I: VersionInfo reporter version 1.15.1.48, dated 2/8/12
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IBM WebSphere Product Installation Status Report
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Report at date and time August 31, 2015 4:52:31 AM PDT
Installation
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Product Directory       /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer
Version Directory       /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/properties/version
DTD Directory           /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/properties/version/dtd
Log Directory           /var/ibm/InstallationManager/logs
Product List
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NDTRIAL                 installed
Installed Product
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name                 IBM WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment
Version               8.5.5.6
ID                   NDTRIAL
Build Level           cf061521.02
Build Date           5/29/15
Package               com.ibm.websphere.NDTRIAL.v85_8.5.5006.20150529_0536
Architecture         x86-64 (64 bit)
Installed Features   IBM 64-bit WebSphere SDK for Java
                     WebSphere Application Server Full Profile
                     Sample applications
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End Installation Status Report
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[root@localhost bin]#

You may also use historyInfo.sh to see previous and current installed version.

[root@localhost bin]# ./historyInfo.sh
WVER0210I: Copyright (c) IBM Corporation 2002, 2012; All rights reserved.
WVER0212I: HistoryInfo Reporter Version 1.7.1.28, Dated 10/18/11
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IBM WebSphere Product History Report
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Report at date and time August 31, 2015 4:52:57 AM PDT
Installation
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Product Directory   /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer
Version Directory   /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/properties/version
DTD Directory       /opt/IBM/WebSphere/AppServer/properties/version/dtd
Log Directory       /var/ibm/InstallationManager/logs
Installation Event
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Install Manager Offering ID       com.ibm.websphere.NDTRIAL.v85
Action                             install
Version                           8.5.5.0
Package                           com.ibm.websphere.NDTRIAL.v85_8.5.5000.20130514_1044
Log File Name                    20150812_0525.xml
Timestamp                         2015-08-12 06:18:25-0700
Result                             success
Installed Features                 Sample applications
                                   IBM 64-bit WebSphere SDK for Java
Installation Event
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Install Manager Offering ID       com.ibm.websphere.NDTRIAL.v85
Action                             update
Version                           8.5.5.6
Package                           com.ibm.websphere.NDTRIAL.v85_8.5.5006.20150529_0536
Log File Name                     20150831_0419.xml
Timestamp                         2015-08-31 04:25:16-0700
Result                             success
Installed Features                 IBM 64-bit WebSphere SDK for Java
                                   Sample applications
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End History Report
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------[root@localhost bin]#

So that was all for today, and I hope you have an idea how to apply Fix Pack on IBM WebSphere Application Server environment.

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