Post patch bundle install testing

[Bob E Campbell]

I come from the world that creates the bundle. For us the primary concern is if the installation proceeded as expected.

For that I recommend:

1. Run of swverify(1M) before and after

2. Review of messages in swagent.log

For those of you with applications it comes down to the investment you have made to certify your environment. Hands on testing is expensive and does not reproduce well.

If you are interested in the system level aspects I might recommend running the standard performance benchmarks or "standards" tests before and after. If HP is doing our job these should never have an issue. See http://www.opengroup.org/testing/testsuites/ for starters.

What I really recommend is the testing we cannot do. In an ideal world I would have a simulated production load so that my applications themselves are the test. That takes an investment...

[Bob E Campbell]

Oh, one more thought...

Over the course of time as failures are encountered a test that recreates the problem should be generated. The most likely failures are the ones you have already seen. If you can only have one test, this would be my vote for the best return on investment.

[James R. Ferguson]

Hi Andy:

I'd begin by agreeing with Bob: make sure you have a current Ignite or DRD image in the event all goes poorly.

Depending upon how you patch, for example whether or not you are applying an individual patch or two to correct a specific issue or whether or not you are performing a "routine" update will determine what you test and what your back-out plan may be.

In some cases, you can 'swremove' a patch. In other cases, an Ignite or DRD recover may be necessary (e.g. kernel patches that cause you problems).

If you apply the standard patch bundles (either from CD/DVD media, via a download, or (best) via SWA), then you have the highest probablity that everything will work. The standard HP-UX bundles offered every 6-months, comprise the most generally tested set for most environments.

Reading the patch notes (for whatever you intend to install) _before_ patching avoids surprises. This applies particularly to any patches with special instructions!

Rebooting your server _before_ applying a large set of patches may eliminate surprises or at least un-cover any issues _not_ related to the patch session.

Running 'swverify \*' or the 'check_patches' script _before_ a patch installation _and_ paying stict attention to the output is excellent insurance against surprises and/or problems.

If at all possible, deploy patches or patch bundles on a test server before doing the same in production.

Regards!

...JRF...

[Steven E. Protter]

Shalom,

I definitely endorse the concept of having a test server that mirrors production and do Quality Assurance there before production.

That does not negate the need for a test plan prior to deployment in production.

All of these are important steps and Quality Assurance is good for all concerned, including system administrators.

Involving the users in Quality Assurance makes the process more transparent and produces higher quality results. It makes them stakeholders.

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