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Maximo Anywhere 7.5.2.1 is out! So lets take a look at the update process.

Technical Blog Post


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Maximo Anywhere 7.5.2.1 is out! So lets take a look at the update process.

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As some of you may already know Maximo Anywhere 7.5.2.1 was released this week. Along with the usual bug fixes and enhancements that are included in the Maximo Anywhere fix packs this release also brings support for Windows Tablets, to add to the current supported Android and iOS platforms. 

 

It's important to note the following information from the README around the supported Windows OS platforms. Windows tablets running on the Windows OS 8.1 are supported, however 8.0 is not a supported tablet operating system. The Maximo Anywhere applications are also not supported on Windows Phones or RT for Tablets.

 

Now that we have gone over the new features of the 7.5.2.1 fix pack, I will walk through the update to hopefully assist with any current deployments going on. Before upgrading we need to ensure we are at the required base version of Maximo Anywhere 7.5.2.  For the purpose of this update, I will be upgrading Maximo Anywhere 7.5.2 to 7.5.2.1 using WebSphere 8.5.5 and MySQL 5.6 for MobileFirst on Maximo 7.6.

 

Downloading the packages

 

This first thing we need to do is download our update files, these can be obtained from Fix Central . Depending on the version of Maximo you are using, there are two separate downloads.

 

For Maximo 7.6 users you will need the following package: Max_Anywhere_V7521_for_Max76.zip

For Maximo 7.5 users you will need the following package: Max_Anywhere_V7521_for_Max75.zip

 

As we are updating Anywhere on a 7.6 environment the screenshots you see will reflect some 7.6 Installation screens, this will only be for the Maximo Anywhere Enablement updates, the MobileFirst\MaximoAnywhere configuration and  updates would be the same.

 

Updating Maximo

 

The first thing we need to do is update the Anywhere Enablement files for Maximo, we can do that by clicking on "Update IBM Maximo Asset Management Required Components" Then click on "Update"

 

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This will launch the Installation Manager window and load the repository with the update.  From here you need to click on "Update"

 

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Once you click update, you will see a list of your packages to update, as we launched the Installation Manager from the launchpad we will not be able to use the update all packages option to update everything as the MobileFirst update repository will not be loaded.  We just want to choose IBM Tivoli's process automation engine and choose next.

 

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You can now click next through the screens until you get to the final review page. Here you will once again see the Enablement update that will be applied.  Once your review is complete click update.

 

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After you see the screen saying your installation was successful, our next step is to apply the configuration (updating the database, rebuilding the ears and redeploying the application to WebSphere). This can all be done manually however the Maximo 7.6 Configuration tool will automate this process for you.  From the Maximo Anywhere launchpad we can move down to the next step by clicking on "Configure IBM Maximo Asset Management Required Components"  then clicking the "Configure" button.

 

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Clicking on configure will launchthe Maximo Configuration Tool, having installed Maximo 7.6 and Anywhere 7.5.2 previously, this is likely a familiar tool to you. From it's launch pad you will want to click on "Update Database and Rebuild and Deploy Application EAR files. If your are installing for Maximo 7.5, you can update using the updatedb command, then rebuild and redeploy.

 

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You will see an update summary showing your current installed applications which require updates, ear builds and deploys.  Your Maximo Anywhere Enablement should report that all three are required for your 7.5.2.1 update. From here you can click "Finish"  Once done your application will be updated, rebuilt, redeployed and started up.

 

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We can now proceed to the MobileFirst update.

 

Updating MobileFirst Server

 

Now that Maximo is updated, the next step is patching MobileFirst 6.3, this is very similar to the previous step using the Installation Manager to make the updates. From the Maximo Anywhere launchpad click on "Update IBM MobileFirst Server" then click on "Update".  This will launch the installation Manager main screen as we saw previously, from here you can choose "Update" once more.

 

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From this screen it will show your list of products, for this update we want to choose IBM MobileFirst Platform Server and click Next.

 

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Ensure the lastest fixes are applied by clicking the "Version 6.3.0.0" box if not already done and click next.

 

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After the above screen you will be brought through a bunch of configuration pages, this data is read only as it is pulling the values from your previous install that is being updated. You can proceed through these screens until the final review page from here you can click "Update" to finish updating the MobileFirst components.  It's important to ensure all tools, such as the MobileFirst Configuration Utility are shut down or the update will fail when it tries to delete\move\update these files.

 

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Once the MobileFirst update is done make sure you stop and start the MobileFirst server in your WebSphere console. The our next stop of the Maximo Anywhere application itself.

 

Updating Maximo Anywhere to 7.5.2.1

 

Again updating the Maximo Anywhere component is quite similar to the rest, we will click on the final step of the launch pad " Update IBM Maximo Anywhere" then click on "Update" . Once the Installation Manager opens click on "Update" again.

 

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This will bring you to the familiar Update Packages page, this time we will select "MaximoAnywhere" and choose next.

 

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On the update packages screen, we will see packages for both the Anywhere Mobile Platform and the Anywhere mobile apps.  We need to ensure both of these are selected and updated to the 7.5.2.1 level. Once selected click next.

 

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One of the last panels before the review screen and the final update, is the device information panel.  Here you now have the choice to add Windows 8 to your build configuration.  For the purpose of this walk through we will be leaving out the Windows 8 configuration, however I will follow this blog up with another specific to building and installing the Windows 8 mobile applications.  If you choose Windows 8 at this screen you need to ensure you have Microsoft Visual Studio Tools installed.

 

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Review the final page and click update.

 

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Now were done all the software updates required for Maximo Anywhere.

 

The finishing touches

 

Now that we have updated the following components, what's next?

  • Maximo Anywhere Enablement
  • MobileFirst Server
  • Maximo Anywhere

We have two tasks left to do.

 

1. We need to update our runtime for the MobileFirst server.

 

We can do this by launching the appropriate Server Configuration Tool from IBM\MobileFirst_Platform_Server\WorklightServer\ConfigurationTool then clicking on "Replace MobileFirst Project WAR file of a Deployed Runtime"

 

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Choose your current Configuration and runtime for MaximoAnywhere and enter in your wasadmin password for the deployment.

 

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Browse to your updated war file in ibm\Anywhere\MaximoAnywhere\bin and click on update.

 

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2. Rebuild the Maximo Anywhere applications for Maximo Anywhere 7.5.2.1.  To do this we will open a command prompt to /ibm/Anywhere/MaximoAnywhere and run the following command. 

 

build all

 

As the MobileFirst Server configuration and Maximo application configuration settings do not change during the update, we will not have to worry about changing anything in our build properties.  Once the build finishing your updated applications will show in the MobileFirst console for your runtime.

 

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I hope this blog was informative and helps some with the update process of going from 7.5.2 to 7.5.2.1 for Maximo Anywhere, as there are many components involved its good to be able to visualize the path you are taking. As I mentioned earlier this update adds Windows Tablet support for OS 8.1, I will handle this topic in my next blog, were we will take a look at the Configuration for Windows 8.1 and building\installing it's applications.  If you have any questions or concerns, as always feel free to comment below.

 

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