Information Systems:Upgrading BCD software (WebSmart and Catapult)

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Overview

Both WebSmart and Catapult are made by BCD Software (now Fresche Solutions) and share some similarities in how they operate under the hood. Both run on the IBM i to some extent - WebSmart obviously is a web application server thatn runs on the i, and Catapult processes spool files. There is also a subsystem called EXODUS which they both use. This is how the WebSmart IDE and Catapult Console can communicate with the services running on the i.

When it comes to upgrading these software platforms, the documentation and process are fairly intuitive and straightforward. There is a separate upgrade guide for each of these software which is available on Fresche's website (requires login). The upgrade process for both essentially involves a Windows utility that uploads the necessary files to the i, creates the necessary save files, does clean up etc. There are however some IBM i tasks that need to be carried out e.g. stop and start the web application servers, EXODUS subsystem etc.

The manuals will do a much better job explaining the rest.

Upgrade Notes

May 2021

Both Cwere upgraded in May 2021 to the following versions: WebSmart 11 -> 12.8 and Catapult 7.10 -> 8.4. These are some notes from the upgrade:

  • There was a complication during the Catapult upgrade - a QSYSOPR message complaining about file SP_REQDF being full. This file was found to contain over 5 million records (it's probably the Catapult request history), so it was simply extended by issuing 9999 as a reply.
  • EODSTR2 is the CL program where the command to start the EXODUS subsystem resides (upon system startup). This program should be checked and changed (recompiled) if the subsystem name changes, as it did in this case (XL_EX51/EXODUS51 -> XL_EX55/EXODUS55). Not every upgrade involves a change to these libraries though.
  • The PC clients (Catapult Launchpad or WebSmart IDE) also need to be upgraded if the version difference is great, as it was in this case for Catapult (would not run otherwise).
  • WebSmart changed the way they do licensing and a code needed to be entered during installation. This code was available in the Fresche portal. This probably won't change again for a long time.
  • WebSmart servers WEBINTER, WEBSMART, and WEBTEST. These should all be stopped prior to upgrading.
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