A105@UWOCC1.BITNET (Brent Sterner) (09/02/86)
This is for edu sites. It is customary here to batch our s/w upgrades at the end of term. For VMS, is this really necessary? The reason I ask is that we have 6 DEC languages, and the volume by term-end can be fairly large. We also have some non-DEC products to be considered. Do any of your sites attempt any upgrades in mid-term? This mostly applies to maintenance releases. I'd never upgrade VMS to say 4.4 except in a slow period. Am I being too cautious here as well? Brent Sterner Computing & Communications Services Natural Sciences Building The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5B7 Telephone (519)661-2151 x6036 Network <A105@UWOCC1.BITNET>
McGuire_Ed@GRINNELL.MAILNET (09/03/86)
>Date: Tue, 2 Sep 1986 11:08 EDT >From: Brent Sterner <A105%UWOCC1.BITNET@WISCVM.WISC.EDU> >Subject: s/w upgrades in mid-term (edu site) >To: INFO-VAX-SUBMIT <info-vax@sri-KL.ARPA> > > This is for edu sites. It is customary here to batch our s/w upgrades >at the end of term. For VMS, is this really necessary? The reason I ask >is that we have 6 DEC languages, and the volume by term-end can be fairly >large. We also have some non-DEC products to be considered. Do any of >your sites attempt any upgrades in mid-term? > This mostly applies to maintenance releases. I'd never upgrade VMS to >say 4.4 except in a slow period. Am I being too cautious here as well? This is a subjective question, and the answer for each individual update is different. There are reasons to be cautious, and also reasons to go ahead and boldly install that software update. I can think of four important pros and cons to updating software. Only one of them is not directly related to the user's environment. Pro: - Users need new features or bug fixes contained in update - Vendor maintenance contract requires installation Con: - Changes in software behavior require user retraining - Updates may introduce new bugs, requiring user retraining Perhaps other people can suggest other important reasons. The challenge is to weigh these pros and cons and manipulate the user environment in a way that does not frustrate the user. This is the key: the users are what the system is all about. These are some observations of what we usually do and how we justify it, not hard and fast guidelines. You need the freedom to make a decision on each individual update. I routinely install maintenance updates to layered products anytime during the year, with two weeks advance notice to the users, including a description of any non-transparent changes. This prevents updates from piling up. And, these updates typically have zero impact on the user. This turns out to be a less conservative approach than yours, and I justify it in terms of expediency: it gets the bug fixes in sooner, and keeps the software at the vendor required update level. I might install major updates to layered products with two weeks' notice or put them off until recess or summer break, depending on compatibility with the previous version. The update may not affect the user at all, or it may require us to retrain everyone. The decision is usually made by the computing group that supports the product. Maintenance updates to VMS are generally installed over a recess period, rather than during classes. An operating system update typically requires down time and introduces more non-transparent changes than we are willing to impose upon users without plenty of warning. We are generally not waiting hungrily for that neat new feature of the operating system or a critical bug fix (we would not be running the current system if it didn't work). Major updates to VMS (V4!) wait for summer break. They always require plenty of preparation. Retraining is the deciding factore here. We need the extra time to relearn, look for bugs, change local documentation and workshop outlines, etc. By the way, I generally install layered product updates with the system running, meaning no down time for users of other products. This is another reason I can justify installing them while school is in session. Also, I tend to wait a few weeks and check with DSIN or TSC before installing an update.