12 The HELIOS Update Installer
12.1 About HELIOS updates
HELIOS Software GmbH offers several options to keep your HELIOS software current. There are options for both product updates, and for upgrades.
Updates include bug fixes, 3rd party compatibility patches, and product enhancements, and are released on an on-going as-needed basis. Updates are available for download from the HELIOS support web site to authorized users.
HELIOS products include free updates (not version upgrades) for a 30 day period after initial licensing. Thereafter, updates are available to those who subscribe to one of the three HELIOS Update/Upgrade options, SE001, SE002, or SE003.
Upgrades are major new product versions and are only available via CD. Upgrades are automatically sent to customers with current SE002 or SE003 contracts, for the covered product, at no additional charge. Further information about these "Software Upgrade Service" options is available from your reseller.
SE001 Internet Update Access
- Available for EtherShare, ImageServer, PDF HandShake, PrintPreview, PCShare
- Duration one year, without automatic renewal
SE001 provides web-only access to updates for your current version, of the covered product. It can be purchased for any products at any time. Upgrades to a new version are not included.
SE002 Software Upgrade Service Agreement for one year
- Can be purchased within 30 days after initial purchase
- Available for EtherShare, PCShare, ImageServer, PDF HandShake, PrintPreview
Product SE002 allows access to the HELIOS update download area on the internet, and it lets the customer receive upgrades on new distribution CD-ROMs free of charge.
Note The "Software Upgrade Service Agreement" can only be purchased within 30 days of activation of the license you are registering. Each Software Upgrade Service covers only one product (e.g. If you have an EtherShare and an ImageServer, you will need two Service Agreements).
SE003 Software Upgrade Service Agreement with cold spare for one year
- Can be purchased within 30 days after initial purchase
- Available for EtherShare, PCShare
- SE002 Service can be upgraded to SE003 Service
SE003 grants access to the HELIOS update download area on the internet, and it lets the customer receive upgrades on new distribution CD-ROMs free of charge. Furthermore, it allows switching to a backup server hardware. The agreement is available for base products only (EtherShare and PCShare), and it must be purchased within 30 days after product activation.
SE003 is a superset of the SE002 software upgrade service and includes additional back-up for the base license and all its user expansions. Back-up for optional EtherShare
add-ons (e.g. ImageServer, PDF HandShake, PrintPreview) is covered, too, but software update service for them is not included. Separate standard software update service agreements for ImageServer, PDF HandShake,
and/or PrintPreview are recommended.
12.2 Using the HELIOS Update Installer
To view a list of all HELIOS modules and their update levels, log into EtherShare Admin as a user with "SysAdm" privileges, and select
Versions on the
Lists menu.
Note: If you need information about a certain update or update level, please check the distribution CD-ROM or the HELIOS web site: www.helios.de
Alternatively, if the HELIOS Services are already running on your server you can use the "uwhat" utility (see
6.18 "uwhat") to get information about the current update level of the HELIOS modules. For example, the entry "afpsrv 3.1.0uXYZ" indicates that the HELIOS
update u0XYZ is already installed.
"uwhat" does not display updates in the way the HELIOS Update Installer does. Thus, it is more reliable to use the HELIOS Update Installer (options
List Updates and
List History) for precise information about the update level on your server. The HELIOS Update Installer is described below.
New HELIOS updates are available on every new distribution CD-ROM and can also be downloaded by authorized users from the HELIOS web server. If you receive a new CD-ROM and want to add the updates on this CD-ROM to your HELIOS installation, check the
/updates directory for the update program files and the "/support/techinfo" directory for detailed descriptions of the updates.
The HELIOS Update
Installer
For update installations, we strongly recommend to use our update installer. The tool is able to find and install all updates that are required for a particular product and to check interdependencies of certain updates. The installer is easy to handle and can also be used to retrieve information about updates or to uninstall a particular update, if required.
-> To start the HELIOS Update Installer, enter the following at the command line:
The HELIOS Update Installer opens (Fig.
37).
Fig. 37: Menu of the HELIOS Update Installer
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Navigating within the Update Installer
The items in the main menu can be selected by typing the first letter. Typing
s, e.g., will highlight the
Setup item.
For detailed information on how to navigate within the HELIOS Update Installer read the instructions in
4.1.4 "Navigating through the HELIOS Installer". Operating the HELIOS Update Installer is the almost the same as operating the HELIOS Installer.
The ESC key (Ctrl-X) always lets you return to the start-up window and the main menu.
The HELIOS Update Installer offers eight different options in its main menu (Fig.
37):
- Express Update will induce the installer to automatically perform the installation of all available updates for the chosen product.
- Custom Update lets you select the updates you want to install.
- Remove Updates allows you to uninstall certain updates.
- Commit Updates removes backup files and makes updates permanent. Usually, if you install an update, the system stores a backup file of the old version. This allows you to uninstall the update in case of problems and to return to your initial installation. If new updates work fine you may want to remove the backup files. This can be achieved by using the Commit Updates option.
- Download Updates lets you download the required updates from the HELIOS Update Server via the Internet.
- List Updates lets you list all available updates, and can also be used to display the update info texts that describe the purpose of the respective updates.
- List History gives information about the date of previous update installations. The list tells you who did what, and when they did it.
- Setup allows you to set preferences, e.g. change the search path. This can be necessary if you move the update files to another directory, or if you have the
CD-ROM and additional update repositories.
Note that the HELIOS Update Installer does not automatically stop the HELIOS services, because this is usually not required. However, to avoid problems, we recommend to stop all printer queues before starting to install updates and to stop and restart the HELIOS services (commands
"stop-helios" and "start-helios", respectively), some time after update installation to make the newly installed modules available. You
must stop the HELIOS services before you select the installer's
Commit Updates option. Otherwise, serious problems can arise.
To install new updates, you should always open the
General setup dialog first and check whether the update search path is correct (Fig.
38).
Fig. 38: The General Setup dialog
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If you have to replace the path entry use the BACKSPACE key to delete the old one. You can enter several search paths at a time, in case you have different updates repositories. E.g. in Fig.
38 we have defined two search paths. They are separated by a "
:".
The
HELIOS Update Server Setup dialog (Fig.
39) lets you specify a path (
Download path) where the downloaded updates are saved. Additionally you are asked for the name of the HTTP Proxy server you want to use, and its port number. In the
Serial Numbers section enter the code of each product for accessing the HELIOS Update Server.
Note: If invalid (or no) serial numbers are entered, the update descriptions can be downloaded, but not the updates themselves.
Fig. 39: The HELIOS Update Server Setup dialog
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Your current update level can optionally be entered in the
Hide updates below: field so that only newer updates are downloaded.
Important: Do not specify a higher number because interdependencies need to be checked!
The
List Updates window lists all updates that are related to a certain product and indicates the state of each update. This means, you can see e.g. if an update is applied, already superseded, or not installed. If you select an update from the list and press ENTER the HELIOS Update Installer will display the corresponding description (Fig.
40).
Fig. 40: The List Updates dialog window
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The
List History window (Fig.
41) reveals the product update history for the specified path.
Fig. 41: The List History dialog window
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To download updates from the HELIOS Update Server via the Internet proceed as follows:
, Select the
Download Updates item and confirm the dialog box that first appears with
Ok (Fig.
42).
A
Download Status list, which appears upon confirmation of the preceding dialog, shows the progress of the update loading process (Fig.
43) and disappears automatically when the loading has been completed.
Fig. 42: The Download Updates dialog
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Fig. 43: The Download Status list
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At this point, update description files have been downloaded to the specified directory. Next, relevant updates for each product are displayed, and can be selected for download.
In the
Download from the HELIOS Update Server dialog (Fig.
44) select the HELIOS product you want to update and the architecture your host uses.
-> To select the desired product and architecture, move to the appropriate field, and press RETURN to display a list of options. Choose the desired option, and press RETURN to select.
Fig. 44: The Download from the HELIOS Update Server dialog window
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-> In the
Update-Description section select and mark the update for download according to the instructions given in
Custom Update. You can mark more than one update at a time. Then confirm your selection with
Ok.
As soon as the download has been completed an
Information box appears stating the number of updates and the directory where they have been saved to.
The easiest way of installing updates is to use the
Express Update option (Fig.
45). The correct
Install path is detected automatically by the HELIOS Update Installer. However, it is possible to override the path entry. The installation will be performed automatically when you confirm with the
Ok button.
Fig. 45: The Express Update dialog
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In contrast to the
Express Update item you do not just select the mere product in the
Custom Update dialog window, but each single update you want to install for that particular product (Fig.
46). The correct
Install path is detected automatically by the HELIOS Update Installer. However, it is possible to override the path entry.
-> To obtain more information on the specific updates highlight an update in the
Updates section and press ENTER. To mark an update for installation highlight it and use the following keys to select/deselect updates for installation or removal. See also the bottom line of the dialog (Fig.
46):
- + select one item and move to next
- - deselect one item and move to next
- * select all items
- 0 deselect all items
- (Space Bar) select/deselect one item
- ! select/deselect one item exclusively
As soon as the installation has been completed, an
Information box appears stating that all updates have been installed successfully.
Fig. 46: The Custom Update dialog
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Commit Updates removes previous update versions. Note that "stop-helios" and "start-helios" should have been issued since updates were installed the last time. If in doubt, issue "stop-helios" and "start-helios" before committing updates.
-> In the
Updates section of the
Commit Updates dialog
(Fig.
47) select and mark the update you want to commit according to the instructions given in
Custom Update. You can mark more than one update at a time. Then confirm your selection with
Ok.
A warning message pops up informing you that after you have committed an update, there is no simple way, apart from reinstalling the product, to fall back to a previous version. As soon as the committal has been completed an
Information box appears stating that the committal has been successful.
Please remember that you have to stop the HELIOS services before committing any updates. Otherwise certain processes could be "killed".
Fig. 47: The Commit Updates dialog
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Some updates change the behavior of certain product modules. To uninstall updates you do not want to work with, use the
Remove Updates option. The respective dialog window is shown in Fig.
48.
Note that there may be interdependencies between several updates. This means that certain updates cannot be removed as long as they are required by other updates that are still installed. You can display in the dialog window either all removable, or all not removable updates. Remember that updates you have already committed can no longer be removed.
Fig. 48: The Remove Update dialog
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