Business Communications Manager (BCM) 2.0 Patch Tool

2.01 Upgrade Patch

September 24, 2000

This document contains instructions for applying the 2.01 Upgrade patch to Business Communications Manager (BCM) 2.0. 

Overview  User Preparation  Details Known Issues

Overview

Business Communications Manager (BCM) 2.0 patch tool consists of a series of steps the user will be prompted through.   These steps are presented in a Wizard-like html interface that is initiated by opening index.html from the specific patch directory.

Connect: Connect to the BCM server being patched
Map Patch Share: Locate and connect to the source patch directory
Prepare Server: Prepare the BCM to be patched
Apply Patch: Apply the patch to the BCM
Wait for Reboot Wait until the system is active after reboot 

This patch will upgrade an Business Communications Manager (BCM) 2.0 system to the 2.01 maintenance release. It includes the changes or fixes of the following BCM software components: 

Core Software
Unified Manager
QoS Driver
ISDN Driver
ISDN Monitor
VoIP Gateway
Voice Platform (including BRU) 


User Preparation

In preparation for the patch you must know the name or IP address of the Business Communications Manager (BCM), the Unified Manager port number and  password, and the VNC password.  The patch files must be located in a shared location on the computer the Wizard will be run from and the computer must be connected to the same network as the BCM.  If you received the patch on CD, then the CD must be shared. If the patch is in a directory elsewhere on your local system, it's parent directory must be shared.  

eg. You have the 201 upgrade patch.  It contains subdirectories and files.  If you have chosen to place the 201 upgrade patch on your local system in d:\EEPatches, your local directory structure will look like this:

Root directory of all patches

d:\EEPatches\

Root directory of PatchName d:\EEPatches\201\
Subdirectories of PatchName d:\EEPatches\201\patch files\
d:\EEPatches\201\prepfiles\
d:\EEPatches\201\server html\

In this example, the shared directory must be d:\EEPatches\ and the file to start the patch is d:\EEPatches\201\index.html.

When accessing the share during the Map stage of the patch, it is important to remember that if the username being used is not part of the same domain as the BCM, the username must be preceded with your local computer's name or IP address.  In this case, the username must be entered on as hostname\username rather than simply username.


Process Details

*** Important: You must exit the Unified Manager before proceeding with applying the patch. *** 

The current process is broken into html pages. As the patch proceeds you are guided through these pages step by step.  At all stages, a small frame is present  in the lower part of your window.  This frame will display all output of the various commands that are sent to the server during the patch. 

Connect

To begin the Business Communications Manager (BCM) patch, the Wizard must know the location of your server.  Please enter the IP address or DNS Name and Unified Manager port number of the BCM being patched.  When prompted for a userid and password, enter the Unified Manager userid and password.

Once entered, a connection will be attempted. If successful, the wizard will automatically proceed to the next step.   If the connection fails, the Nortel Networks logo will disappear and any error returned from the server will appear in the lower frame.  In the case of a failure, please verify the BCM's address and that you are using the correct userid and password.

Map Patch Share

The second step in the patch process is to tell the Wizard where to find the patch files.   The share name is that of the root directory on your local computer where the patch is located.  This directory must be shared for remote file access.  If the patch is located in d:\EEPatches\201\, then d:\EEPatches\ must be shared.  Please enter the share name, username, and password required to connect to the share.  It is important to remember that if the username being used is not part of the same domain as the BCM, the username must be preceded with your local computer's name or IP address.  In this case, the username must be entered on as hostname\username rather than simply username.

Once completed, you will see "The operation completed successfully." in the lower frame.  At this point press Next to continue to the server preparation stage of the patch.  If you see an error message, please verify the share information and access credentials and try again.   (If you have previously completed this step and are redoing it without having performed the Prepare stage or restarted the BCM, you will see an error indicating the device name is already in use. This is because you've already performed this step and the drive is not disconnected until a reboot.  You can click Next and continue.)

Prepare Server

Step three makes some changes to the server to prepare it for the patch.  These changes consist of copying the patch files,  reconfiguring the Apache web server, and unmounting the patch share.  This step requires no user input, simply an acknowledgement that it is going to happen.

This step takes two minutes.  The wizard will wait  for the web server on the Enterprise Edge to restart and verify the connection.  While waiting a countdown is displayed.  Once the connection has been verified, the wizard will automatically proceed to the next step in the patch process.

You should also open VNC viewer at this stage as it is required for monitoring the progress of the remaining steps.

Apply Patch

This is when the patch is actually applied and will involve stopping and restarting processes on the server and a reboot. 

The Business Communications Manager (BCM) desktop must be monitored using VNC during these steps. 

The update progress is displayed in the lower frame, however due to the nature of replacing the running components, your browser may appear inactive for long periods of time, and possibly timeout.   While replacing and updating running components it is also possible that something may fail causing the Enterprise Edge to open a dialog box on the server.  While the patch was designed to be as robust and automated as possible, there remains a possible error scenario.  Without VNC, you will not be able to detect and respond to this type of situation should it occur. 

To execute the update component steps, please follow this process:

  1. Click the "Apply Patch Now" button. Use VNC to monitor the patch progress and activity. Progress is also reported back in the bottom frame, which you will need to scroll down to follow. If a subcomponent fails to be installed or patched, a dialog box will launched from the wizard. You will be forced to restart the Enterprise Edge and re-apply the Patch. If this occurs repeatedly, please call for technical assistance.
  2. Once the patch completes,   the logfile for the patch will be automatically loaded inside a new web browser or text window.   Scan this  logfile  and the monitor frame at the bottom of the browser for any anomalies.  The last line should contain the words "Application of patch ... completed".
  3. Click on "Reboot Now" button.
  4. Close the VNC window.
  5. Wait for the System to reboot and the wizard to reconnect.

Wait For Reboot

After clicking on the "Reboot Now" button, the Business Communications Manager (BCM) will reboot.  The wizard will automatically count down from a 5 minute timer and reconnect to the BCM.

Patch Complete

The patch is now complete. The logfile for the patch will be automatically loaded inside a new web browser or text window. Please review the logfile for any anomalies. Also, launch VNC viewer, and log into the BCM to check for any error dialog boxes, or critical system events.


Known Issues and Limitations

Patch Specific

Patch Tool