Interim fix releases, test fixes, and debug patches

A Known Issue is a formal report of a problem caused by a suspected defect in a current unaltered release of an IBM program. Known Issues describe problems reported by customers.

The modified code that resolves the problem described in the Known issue can be delivered in a major release, an interim fix release, or as a test fix.

Version release

A version release includes the resolved issues that are fixed Known issues and fixed defects.

Interim fix release

An interim fix release is a cumulative collection of important Known Issue fixes that arise between versions. To qualify for inclusion in an interim fix release, a Known Issue must be considered pervasive or business critical. Candidate Known Issues are evaluated and approved by experts on the IBM Support team. Interim fix releases have the following characteristics:

They are cumulative. Interim fix releases for a particular release of IBM® Engineering Lifecycle Management supersede or contain all of the Known Issue fixes shipped in previous interim fix releases.
They are available for all of the same operating systems supported by the main release of IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management.
They usually contain 20 to 30 new Known Issue fixes.
They are published on the Fix Central and are generally available to customers who have purchased products under the Passport Advantage program.
They are fully tested by IBM.
They are accompanied by documentation that describes how to install and remove the interim fix release.

For more information about the schedule for IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management interim fix releases, see Interim fixes for Engineering Lifecycle Management 7.0.3.

It is recommended that you keep your environment running at the latest interim fix level to ensure problem-free operation.

Test fix

A test fix is a temporary solution that is supplied to customers for testing in response to a reported problem. Test fixes are sometimes referred to as exceptions and they have the following characteristics:

They usually contain a single Known Issue.
They are obtained from IBM Support and are not generally available to the public.
They undergo no IBM testing.
They include minimal documentation, including a description of how the test fix should be applied, the Known Issues it fixes, and instructions for the removal of the test fix.

Test fixes are supplied in situations where a new problem has been uncovered, there is no workaround or bypass for the problem and you cannot wait until the next interim fix release becomes available. For example, if the problem is causing critical impact on your business, a test fix might be provided to alleviate the situation until the Known Issue is addressed in an interim fix release.

Debug patches

A debug patch is code provided by development for troubleshooting. It may contain additional logging or an experimental fix. It is provided as-is and subject to the terms and conditions displayed at time of download. An experimental fix provided by a debug patch may or may not be released in a future interim fix at the discretion of IBM.

To learn more about the support process IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management, see IBM Engineering support: Severity 1 case handling policy and Cases, Known issue, and test fixes. To help ensure problem-free operation, keep your IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management environment running at the latest fix release level. To be notified of the availability of fix releases, subscribe to My notifications email updates on the Support website. For a list of fix releases, see the Fix list for IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management Family of Products page.