AIX & PTFs, war stories...

[7863]]

Recently, there have been questions regarding problems with specific PTFs.
All of the PTFs have been 1000 series PTFs.  My experience from the last
18 months of dealing with IBM software support is to NEVER touch the 1xxx
series fixes except under emergency conditions.  I have been using AIX since
version 2.1.something on an RT/PC model 125.

The meaning of the numbering of the AIX PTFs is:

	1xxx	-	emergency fix, it should fix the specific
			problem (PMR/APAR). It may break working functions
			and other fixes.  Caveat Emptor

	2xxx	-	regression tested fix from "ISD".  This
			is a cumulative set of fixes that usually
			includes a group of APARs.  These fixes
			don't break other fixes but may introduce
			new problems.

I stopped accepting 1xxx series fixes from IBM software support about 6 months
ago.  The quality control on the 1xxx fixes was atrocious.  In almost every
case the fix caused more problems (some critical) than were corrected.
In some instances the fixes corrupted the system files on the disks and forced
me to restore from backup tapes or rebuild from distribution media.

Since I stopped accepting 1xxx fixes from IBM the number of new problems
that I find has dramatically declined.

My policy is:
		If I absolutely must have the problem fixed (i.e. I am unable
		to work around the problem) I will TEMPORARILY apply
		the 1xxx fix.  I then wait for the 2xxx series fix and
		remove the 1xxx fix before applying the 2xxx fix.

My experience is that 1xxx series fixes are rarely worth the trouble and
time that they entail.  The 2xxx series fixes are generally ok.


If you run AIX 2.2.1 on a RT/PC make sure that you have updates 2704 and
2707 on your system.


AIX, RT/PC are trademarks of IBM...

I speak for myself...
-----------------------

	Mike Brown	
	Systems Analyst			(314) 235-7863

Strategically Applied Technologies
One Bell Center, Rm 24-V-5
Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.
St. Louis, MO  63101