Information about Lotus Domino 7.0.3 Fix Pack 1

Information about applying Lotus Domino 7.0.3 Fix Pack 1 is included below in the format of Frequently Asked Questions.

Beginning with Domino 6.5.2, IBM Lotus introduced the term 'Fix Pack'. A Fix Pack is an incremental install that addresses a small percentage of defects that impact the broadest set of customers. IBM strongly recommends upgrading to the latest Fix Pack as preventive maintenance to help customers safely avoid known problems. Starting with Domino 6.5.4, IBM Lotus implemented a new Fix Pack strategy to provide more fix packs and increase stability of Domino. Periodic Fix Packs will be scheduled up to and beyond the next scheduled Maintenance Release. This allows customers to benefit from important fixes on installed releases until they are able to upgrade to the latest Maintenance Release + Fix Pack combination.

Fix packs within a release are always cumulative; for example, if a 7.0.3 FP2 were to be released, it would included all the fixes from 7.0.3 FP1. Fix Packs are language independent and can be installed with any language version of Domino. See more below for specific platform issues. IBM strongly recommends applying the latest Fix Pack available for a Maintenance Release.

Administrators need to take into account several things when deciding to install a Fix Pack:

• See what fixes are included in each Fix Pack - Check the listing of fixes available in each Fix Pack at the Lotus developerWorks Web site (http://www.lotus.com/ldd/r5fixlist.nsf/Public?OpenView).
• Assess previously-applied "hotfixes" - Many customers have applied one, or several, "hotfixes" to a particular release of Lotus Notes/Domino. In order to apply the latest Fix Pack, previously-applied hotfixes must be uninstalled prior to installing the Fix Pack. On Windows platforms this step is not required since the Fix Pack installer will uninstall hotfixes automatically. This assumes the backup directory and PATCH.ini created during hotfix installs are still present. If they are not still present, Domino 7.0.3 must be reinstalled before the Fix Pack is installed.

• Consider later Maintenance Releases, if available - In many cases, a later Maintenance Release may be available. Generally, Maintenance Releases include fixes introduced both in prior Maintenance Releases, and in earlier Fix Packs.
  
  Maintenance Releases contain fixes and enhancements to the product not included in the Fix Packs. It is always best to stay current with the latest Maintenance Releases, in order to take advantage of the most recently introduced fixes and features. IBM recommends that customers upgrade to the latest Maintenance Release + Fix Pack combination to receive the broadest set of fixes available. You will receive more overall fixes with a later Maintenance Release + Fix Pack than with a set of Fix Packs on top of an earlier maintenance Release.

Fix Packs are available as incremental installations from the previous Maintenance Release. Incremental installers allow users to step from their current Domino release to the latest Fix Pack; for example, from 7.0.3 to 7.0.3 FP2 (hypothetical fix pack). Incremental installers apply to a specific to Domino release, and can be installed on any language version of that release.

Note: As with other incremental installers, you must shut down the Domino Server before executing the Fix Pack install.

Server Fix Packs are language independent. Fix Packs and Language Packs may be installed in any order on most Domino platforms. Possible sequences includes these:

• Base product installation - The base product, for example Domino 7.0.3, is installed first, either a new install or an upgrade.
• Language Pack installation - One or more Language Packs may be installed, over the base installation.
• Fix Pack installation - Fix Packs may be installed initially, or as they become available.
• Language Pack installation - Additional Language Packs may be installed, or the default server language replaced.

A Fix Pack may or may not contain the same fixes as provided in previously-applied hotfixes. In cases where a previous hotfix is not included in a Fix Pack, you will need to re-request the desired hotfix built for the latest Fix Pack.

For example, if you have previously applied hotfixes to Domino 7.0.3 and you are considering applying Domino 7.0.3 FP1, you must follow the order below:

• Cross-check Fix Pack against hotfixes - Compare the list of SPRs addressed by the Fix Pack against the SPRs addressed by your hotfixes. In many cases, the Fix Pack will provide the same solutions as the hotfixes. As an example, assume that you have applied 6 hotfixes to Domino 7.0.3, and you determine that 5 of those 6 hotfixes have now been addressed in 7.0.3 FP1.
• Uninstall previous hotfixes - Remove any hotfixes applied to the existing installation, in this example, all 6 hotfixes from Domino 7.0.3. Note that on Windows systems, the incremental installer will automatically uninstall any hotfixes to return the product to its base state.
• Install the Fix Pack - The Fix Pack, 7.0.3 FP1, is installed next, updating the 7.0.3 installation. You are now running 7.0.3 FP1, which has addressed 5 of your original 6 hotfixes in the example.
• Re-request unaddressed hotfixes - In this example, there was one hotfix which was not addressed by 7.0.3 FP1. Simply request this hotfix again through Lotus Support; it will be re-built on top of the 7.0.3 FP1 release and provided to you.

If you need to remove a Fix Pack, run the incremental installer executable again to perform the uninstall.