Technical Refresh Explained for the Casual User

This document will help clarify the technical refresh PTF that was introduced in V7R1M0. The Technology Refresh is explained in this document.

With the release of R710, IBM has now gone to the strategy of using Technical Refresh PTFs rather than coming out with a point release. The basis of the Technical Refresh (TR) PTF is to release new SLIC code to work with newly announced hardware.
There are at least five distinct ways to get portions or all of the TR PTF installed onto a system:

1.	Order the TR PTF which will be in the form of MF99xxx where xxx is an incrementing 3-digit number that started with 001.
2.	Load a PTF that has MF99xxx listed as a TR requisite.
3.	Order the most current resave of LIC for R710.
4.	Order the latest cumulative package. Note: These first four methods may result in different amounts of PTFs being loaded to your system. The first and second scenarios are going to result in you getting just the MF99xxx PTF and any of its prerequisite PTFs. This will get just the base level of LIC code for the technical refresh and will not get all of the operational functionality that goes with that refresh. The third method, ordering the resave, may result in getting you more access to the functionality; you are still not guaranteed to get all functionality. The same holds true if you ordered the latest cumulative package.
5.	Order the TR group PTF and, for R710, that group PTF number is SF99707.

You will also find that there are differences in the loading and applying of PTFs when MF99xxx is involved. All PTF processing will stop when the system realizes that a TR PTF needs to be applied to a system. This requires that an IPL be done to get MF99xxx applied, and then you will need to perform another GO PTF Option 8 to get the rest of the PTFs loaded and marked to be applied. A special PTF has been created that will perform this double IPL for you. Note: You must be using *SERVICE or virtual images for your PTF processing. It will not work if you are using physical media. For Technical Refresh 3, MF99003, this PTF is SI44041. This is an immediate PTF and is found on the cumulative package.

Here are the instructions for applying the latest cumulative package for R710, whether it is just an upgrade of the cumulative package or if it is a version upgrade:

1.	Verify that the system is running on the B side.
2.	Load and apply immediate PTF SI44041. This PTF can be loaded individually from the first image of the cumulative package.
3.	Perform a GO PTF, select Option 8, and specify either *SERVICE for the device or your optical virtual device name if you are using images.
4.	The system will then start loading the PTFs as usual. When it gets to MF99003, it will IPL the system to get that PTF applied, and then will automatically go back to begin loading and marking the remaining PTFs and then perform a second IPL.

You can find additional information explaining this in more detail in Section 2.2.2 at the following URL:

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg247858.pdf

This is a Redbook regarding technical refreshes.