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WebSphere Portal Server (WPS) logs information about fixes and updates when they are installed so that you can inspect the fix and update history on that server. Learning how to inspect the fix and update history can be extremely valuable when developing for or maintaining a WebSphere Portal environment for many reasons. Content syndication, for example, may not work between two servers that are not at the exact same fix level. Comparing fixes and updates between WCM instances can help you keep your content syndication alive and healthy. In some cases, it may not be possible to ensure that you have the same hardware across environments (i.e. DEV, QA, STAGING, and PROD), but you can at least ensure that the software in those environments is precisely the same. Furthermore, many fixes and updates require prerequisite fixes. Analyzing the fix history provides an easy way to determine if you already have the necessary prerequisites installed. Understanding how WPS logs fixes and updates can help you manage and maintain your workplace. Here's how...
Familiarize yourself with the <wps_root>/version directory; that is where all the fix and update history information gets logged. For example:
- /usr/WebSphere/PortalServer/version (on UNIX)
- C:\WebSphere\PortalServer\version (on Windows)
If you list the contents of the version directory, you should find several .component files and several .efix files (depending on what you have actually installed). Just looking at those files can give you some insight and you can compare the contents of this directory with the same directory on another server. But you will also notice that the directory also contains a "history" directory and a "log" directory within. Listing the contents of the "log" directory can give you quick insight into the most recent fix and update activities on the server. For example, in the image below, you can see that the last activity that occurred on my server was the uninstallation of the fix PK48472.
But an even easier comparison between servers can be made by listing the contents of the "history" directory. This can show you what fixes are currently applied to the server. You might also leverage the "event.history" XML file that is in the same directory.
We recommend that you take a moment to explore these directories now so the information will really get burned into your brain. Once familiarized with the version directory in your WPS root, you'll find it invaluable for keeping your Portal instances in sync, alive, healthy, and happy.
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