Where is the warning that Critical Patch Sets may lead to a upgrade/update dead end?

[RussDavidson]

I have been testing a system with PDMLink 11.0 M010, and I applied CPS4 awhile ago because I had read the FAQ about CPS which states "Customers are strongly encouraged to schedule regular CPS updates...".  Applying CPS4 has left me unable to update to 11.0 M020.

While attempting to update to M020, I finally found the installer log file in the system %TEMP% folder, and the installer log notes that only M010 installations up to CPS3 are compatible for update to M020.  Surely, this must be a mistake, I thought.  Oh, no, it's not.

I went and downloaded the latest Supported Upgrade Paths document from 11/29/2016, and sure enough, M010 CPS4 and CPS5 are not supported for update to M020.  Furthermore, I see that there are A LOT of dead ends in the supported upgrade paths.  If you've been patching a 10.2 M030 system with the latest CPS, you're probably in trouble without an old backup to which you can revert.

The Release Notes for the CPS and the Update Existing Installation Guide make no mention of this dead end potential.  Only the Supported Upgrade Path document gives any indication as far as I can tell.

How can PTC strongly encourage customers to apply CPS regularly and not immediately follow that up with a strong encouragement to take and indefinitely preserve a backup of the system to guard against potential update/upgrade dead ends?

[BenLoosli]

This could also be a release timing issue. The latest CPS released after the next version release.

[RandyJones]

RUSS DAVIDSON wrote:

I have been testing a system with PDMLink 11.0 M010, and I applied CPS4 awhile ago because I had read the FAQ about CPS which states "Customers are strongly encouraged to schedule regular CPS updates...".  Applying CPS4 has left me unable to update to 11.0 M020.

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I am also one of those that install the CPS updates as they come out. I think it is extremely short sighted of PTC that one can't update the latest CPS patch of a previous build with the latest CPS patch of the newest build. You have to skip installing 1 or 2 months of CPS patches on the previous build before updating to the newest build with its latest CPS.

So to update to M020 you will need to do the following:

• do not install any more CPS's on M010
• wait until M020 CPSxx to update to M020.
  • The "Windchill Supported Upgrade Paths" document doesn't say yet which CPS
  • probably CPS01 or CPS02

[BjoernRueegg]

oh, I have the same problem. I installed CPS05 because finally a bug in the change task is being solved. Two weeks later M020 is coming out and now we have to wait for 1 or 2 month until finally the CPS is being released which allows us to update to the M020.

@PTC: Please mark in advance those CPS which are not able to update to a maintenance release!

[BjoernRueegg]

I just got the answer from PTC. You will be able to update from 11.M010 CPS04 or CPS05 to 11.0M020 CPS01.

The 11.0M020 CPS is not yet listed in the CPS Product Calendar http://support.ptc.com/cs/product_calendar/WC_CPS.htm

Normally a CPS is being released every 30 days...

[bo'shea-2 · Accepted solution]

For sites that have installed 11.0 M010 CPS04, CPS05 or CPS06, the release of 11.0 M020 CPS01 will be required.  This release is scheduled for January 11, 2016 and the CPS product calendar has been recently updated to reflect this release.    To enable better future planning, we will update the Windchill Update/Upgrade Path document to be forward looking.

[RussDavidson]

Updating the Windchill Update/Upgrade Path document to be forward looking is a start in the right direction.

The Windchill Upgrade Guide documents should also be updated to reflect this potential problem as the last few versions which I have read contain this same paragraph:

"Critical Patch Set releases are supported as Windchill upgrade targets. Critical Patch Sets may include upgrade-related fixes, so PTC recommends that upgrade target systems be updated to the latest applicable CPS before upgrade."

Following those directions in the Upgrade Guide can lead to this problem at the exact wrong time.  Time is money, and a month's worth of time waiting for another CPS release that might make a system compatible for update/upgrade is not a good solution.  The user should be forewarned in any document that references installing CPS.

A big improvement could also be made to the PSI installer.  At the stage of "Select how you would like to update your PTC Windchill Installation", all of the radio buttons are shown, but only the valid selections are active.  Adding a simple line about why a particular radio button is inactive would be extremely helpful.  For example, when a installation is not compatible for update, the Install Maintenance Release button/line could have a simple "Not compatible with current configuration" noted next to it.  Today, it just sits there inactive, offering nothing.  The installer log contains that information, but the log location is not documented either from what I can tell.  I had to run Process Monitor to find that the installer was logging to a file in the %TEMP% folder.  Not nearly as user friendly as it could be.

Thank you.