Installing and uninstalling Liberty fix packs

You can use IBM® Installation Manager Version 1.8.5 or later to update the product with the fix packs that are available for your service level of the product. Uninstalling fix packs to a previously installed level is called rolling back.

Before you begin

Through version 19.0.0.8, the minimum acceptable version of IBM Installation Manager is 1.8.5.

The minimum acceptable version of IBM Installation Manager for installing Liberty is 1.9.0 or later.

Important:

Java™ SE 21 is the recommended Java SDK because it provides the latest features and security updates. As an alternative to installing Java SE 21, you can install another supported Java SDK version. Liberty runs on any of the Java SE versions that are listed in the Java SE versions column of the Supported Java Releases table on the Open Liberty website.

The Liberty end of support date for Java SE 8 is October 2026, fix pack 26.0.0.10.
The Liberty end of support date for Java SE 11 is October 2027, fix pack 27.0.0.10.
The Liberty end of support date for Java SE 17 is October 2027, fix pack 27.0.0.10.
The Liberty end of support date for Java SE 21 is October 2029, fix pack 29.0.0.10.

Because Java SE 24 is not a Long-Term-Support (LTS) version of Java, Liberty will not support Java SE 24 after the next version of Java SE is supported.

For more information, see Removal notices.

For the most current information about upgrades for Liberty and its associated software, see the IBM Software Support Center and Fix Central.

For a list of fix packs that are available for Liberty and its associated software and for specific information about each fix pack, perform the following actions.

Go to Fix Central.
Click Find product.
Select WebSphere Liberty as the product group.
Select the version of the product to be updated.
Select your operating system as the platform, and click Continue.
Select Browse for fixes, and click Continue.
Click More Information under each fix to view information about the fix.

About this task

New: Fix pack 16.0.0.2 is the next Liberty fix pack after 8.5.5.9. For more information about changes in Liberty fix pack numbering and delivery, see What is new in this release of Liberty.

Installation Manager can install any fix-pack level of the product directly without installing the intermediate fix packs; in fact, Installation Manager installs the latest level by default. For example, you can skip fix-pack levels and go from fix pack 16.0.0.2 directly to fix pack 16.0.0.4. Keep in mind, however, that later you can not roll back to any level that was skipped. If you directly install to fix pack 16.0.0.4, for example, you cannot roll back to fix pack 16.0.0.3. If you skip from fix pack 16.0.0.2 to 16.0.0.4, you can only roll back to 16.0.0.2. The same principle also applies to the common IBM Java SDK fix packs.

When you install a fix pack, Installation Manager automatically reapplies any installed interim fixes if they apply to the updated fix pack level. Interim fixes that do not apply, such as if the updated fix pack contains the fix, are uninstalled. In some cases, Installation Manager must uninstall an interim fix that you must manually reapply. For example, you might update to a fix pack that does not contain the fix and requires an updated interim fix level. Installation Manager notifies you if any interim fixes must be manually reapplied. You can verify which interim fixes are installed by running the productInfo version --ifixes command.

Important: For the common IBM Java SDKs, such as com.ibm.java.jdk.v8, all updates are installed and uninstalled using the method for fix packs described in this section. Individual fixes for WebSphere® Java SDKs, such as com.ibm.websphere.liberty.IBMJAVA.v70, continue to be packaged as interim fixes and can be installed and uninstalled using the method described in Installing and uninstalling Liberty interim fixes.

Tip: You can use the IBM Packaging Utility to generate a new local or web-based repository that contains all of the fixes that you want to install and then use Installation Manager to update the product with all of the fix packs as a group. For information on using the Packaging Utility, see the IBM Installation Manager documentation.