Patching and upgrading Red Hat Decision Manager 7.8

Red Hat Decision Manager 7.8

Red Hat Customer Content Services

Abstract

This document describes how to apply patch updates and minor release upgrades to Red Hat Decision Manager 7.8.

Preface

As a Red Hat Decision Manager user, you can apply updates to Red Hat Decision Manager as they become available in the Red Hat Customer Portal to keep your Red Hat Decision Manager distribution current with the latest enhancements and fixes. Red Hat provides update tools and product notifications for new product releases so you can more readily apply helpful updates to Red Hat Decision Manager and KIE Server.

Prerequisites

Chapter 1. Red Hat Decision Manager versioning

Red Hat Decision Manager versions are designated with a numerical Major.Minor.Patch format, such as 7.7.1. In this example, the major release is 7.x.x, the minor release is 7.7.x, and the patch release is 7.7.1. Major releases often require data migration, while minor release upgrades and patch updates are typically managed with update tools provided with the Red Hat Decision Manager release artifacts.

The following are the general types of releases for Red Hat Decision Manager:

Major release migrations

Major releases of Red Hat Decision Manager include substantial enhancements, security updates, bug fixes, and possibly redesigned features and functions. Data migration is typically required when an application is moved from one major release to another major release, such as from Red Hat JBoss BRMS 6.4.x to Red Hat Decision Manager 7.0. Automated migration tools are often provided with new major versions of Red Hat Decision Manager to facilitate migration, but some manual effort is likely required for certain data and configurations. The supported migration paths are specified in product announcements and documentation.

For example migration instructions, see Migrating from Red Hat JBoss BRMS 6.4 to Red Hat Decision Manager 7.0.

Minor release upgrades

Minor releases of Red Hat Decision Manager include enhancements, security updates, and bug fixes. Data migration may be required when an application is moved from one minor release to another minor release, such as from Red Hat Decision Manager 7.7.x to 7.8. Automated update tools are often provided with both patch updates and new minor versions of Red Hat Decision Manager to facilitate updating certain components of Red Hat Decision Manager, such as Business Central, KIE Server, and the headless Decision Manager controller. Other Red Hat Decision Manager artifacts, such as the decision engine and standalone Business Central, are released as new artifacts with each minor release and you must re-install them to apply the update.

Before you upgrade to a new minor release, apply the latest patch update to your current version of Red Hat Decision Manager to ensure that the minor release upgrade is successful.

Patch updates

Patch updates of Red Hat Decision Manager include the latest security updates and bug fixes. Scheduled patch updates contain all previously released patch updates for that minor version of the product, so you do not need to apply each patch update incrementally in order to apply the latest update. For example, you can update Red Hat Decision Manager 7.7.0 or 7.7.1 to Red Hat Decision Manager 7.7.2. However, for optimal Red Hat Decision Manager performance, apply product updates as they become available. Occasionally, unscheduled patch updates may be released outside the normal update cycle of the existing product. These may include security or other updates provided by Red Hat Global Support Services (GSS) to fix specific issues, and may not be cumulative updates.

Automated update tools are often provided with both patch updates and new minor versions of Red Hat Decision Manager to facilitate updating certain components of Red Hat Decision Manager, such as Business Central, KIE Server, and the headless Decision Manager controller. Other Red Hat Decision Manager artifacts, such as the decision engine and standalone Business Central, are released as new artifacts with each minor release and you must re-install them to apply the update.

To ensure optimal transition between releases and to keep your Red Hat Decision Manager distribution current with the latest enhancements and fixes, apply new product releases and updates to Red Hat Decision Manager as they become available in the Red Hat Customer Portal. Consider also enabling product notifications in the Red Hat Customer Portal.

For information about enabling product notifications, see Chapter 2, Enabling Red Hat Decision Manager notifications in the Red Hat Customer Portal.

Chapter 2. Enabling Red Hat Decision Manager notifications in the Red Hat Customer Portal

You can enable notifications in the Red Hat Customer Portal to receive Red Hat Decision Manager updates and announcements. These notifications inform you of updated or added documentation, product releases, and patch updates related to Red Hat Decision Manager. With notifications enabled, you can more readily apply product updates to Red Hat Decision Manager as they become available in the Red Hat Customer Portal to keep your Red Hat Decision Manager distribution current with the latest enhancements and fixes.

Prerequisites

  • You have a Red Hat Customer Portal account and are logged in.

Procedure

  1. In the top-right corner of the Red Hat Customer Portal window, click your profile name and click Notifications.
  2. Select the Notifications tab and click Manage Notifications.
  3. Next to Follow, select Products from the drop-down menu, and then select Red Hat Decision Manager from the next drop-down menu that appears.
  4. Click Save Notification to finish.

You can add notifications for any other products as needed in the same way.

Chapter 3. Applying patch updates and minor release upgrades to Red Hat Decision Manager

Automated update tools are often provided with both patch updates and new minor versions of Red Hat Decision Manager to facilitate updating certain components of Red Hat Decision Manager, such as Business Central, KIE Server, and the headless Decision Manager controller. Other Red Hat Decision Manager artifacts, such as the decision engine and standalone Business Central, are released as new artifacts with each minor release and you must re-install them to apply the update.

You can use the same automated update tool to apply both patch updates and minor release upgrades to Red Hat Decision Manager 7.8. Patch updates of Red Hat Decision Manager, such as an update from version 7.8 to 7.8.1, include the latest security updates and bug fixes. Minor release upgrades of Red Hat Decision Manager, such as an upgrade from version 7.7.x to 7.8, include enhancements, security updates, and bug fixes.

Note

Only updates for Red Hat Decision Manager are included in Red Hat Decision Manager update tools. Updates to Red Hat JBoss EAP must be applied using Red Hat JBoss EAP patch distributions. For more information about Red Hat JBoss EAP patching, see the Red Hat JBoss EAP patching and upgrading guide.

Prerequisites

  • Your Red Hat Decision Manager and KIE Server instances are not running. Do not apply updates while you are running an instance of Red Hat Decision Manager or KIE Server.

Procedure

  1. Navigate to the Software Downloads page in the Red Hat Customer Portal (login required), and select the product and version from the drop-down options.

    If you are upgrading to a new minor release of Red Hat Decision Manager, such as an upgrade from version 7.7.x to 7.8, first apply the latest patch update to your current version of Red Hat Decision Manager and then follow this procedure again to upgrade to the new minor release.

  2. Click Patches, download the Red Hat Decision Manager [VERSION] Update Tool, and extract the downloaded rhdm-$VERSION-update.zip file to a temporary directory.

    This update tool automates the update of certain components of Red Hat Decision Manager, such as Business Central, KIE Server, and the headless Decision Manager controller. Use this update tool first to apply updates and then install any other updates or new release artifacts that are relevant to your Red Hat Decision Manager distribution.

  3. If you want to preserve any files from being updated by the update tool, navigate to the extracted rhdm-$VERSION-update folder, open the blacklist.txt file, and add the relative paths to the files that you do not want to be updated.

    When a file is listed in the blacklist.txt file, the update script does not replace the file with the new version but instead leaves the file in place and in the same location adds the new version with a .new suffix. If you blacklist files that are no longer being distributed, the update tool creates an empty marker file with a .removed suffix. You can then choose to retain, merge, or delete these new files manually.

    Example files to be excluded in blacklist.txt file:

    WEB-INF/web.xml  // Custom file
    styles/base.css  // Obsolete custom file kept for record

    The contents of the blacklisted file directories after the update:

    $ ls WEB-INF
    web.xml web.xml.new
    $ ls styles
    base.css base.css.removed
  4. In your command terminal, navigate to the temporary directory where you extracted the rhdm-$VERSION-update.zip file and run the apply-updates script in the following format:

    Important

    Make sure that your Red Hat Decision Manager and KIE Server instances are not running before you apply updates. Do not apply updates while you are running an instance of Red Hat Decision Manager or KIE Server.

    On Linux or Unix-based systems:

    $ ./apply-updates.sh $DISTRO_PATH $DISTRO_TYPE

    On Windows:

    $ .\apply-updates.bat $DISTRO_PATH $DISTRO_TYPE

    The $DISTRO_PATH portion is the path to the relevant distribution directory and the $DISTRO_TYPE portion is the type of distribution that you are updating with this update.

    The following distribution types are supported in Red Hat Decision Manager update tool:

    • rhdm-decision-central-eap7-deployable: Updates Business Central (decision-central.war)
    • rhdm-kie-server-ee8: Updates KIE Server (kie-server.war)
    • rhdm-kie-server-jws: Updates KIE Server on Red Hat JBoss Web Server (kie-server.war)
    • rhdm-controller-ee7: Updates the headless Decision Manager controller (controller.war)
    • rhdm-controller-jws: Updates the headless Decision Manager controller on Red Hat JBoss Web Server (controller.war)

      Example update to Business Central and KIE Server for a full Red Hat Decision Manager distribution on Red Hat JBoss EAP:

      ./apply-updates.sh ~EAP_HOME/standalone/deployments/decision-central.war rhdm-decision-central-eap7-deployable
      
      ./apply-updates.sh ~EAP_HOME/standalone/deployments/kie-server.war rhdm-kie-server-ee8

      Example update to headless Decision Manager controller, if used:

      ./apply-updates.sh ~EAP_HOME/standalone/deployments/controller.war rhdm-controller-ee7

      The update script creates a backup folder in the extracted rhdm-$VERSION-update folder with a copy of the specified distribution, and then proceeds with the update.

  5. After the update tool completes, return to the Software Downloads page of the Red Hat Customer Portal where you downloaded the update tool and install any other updates or new release artifacts that are relevant to your Red Hat Decision Manager distribution.

    For files that already exist in your Red Hat Decision Manager distribution, such as .jar files for the decision engine or other add-ons, replace the existing version of the file with the new version from the Red Hat Customer Portal.

  6. If you use the standalone Red Hat Decision Manager 7.8.0 Maven Repository artifact (rhdm-7.8.0-maven-repository.zip), such as in air-gap environments, download Red Hat Decision Manager 7.8.x Maven Repository and extract the downloaded rhdm-7.8.x-maven-repository.zip file to your existing ~/maven-repository directory to update the relevant contents.

    Example Maven repository update:

    $ unzip -o rhdm-7.8.x-maven-repository.zip 'rhba-7.8.1.GA-maven-repository/maven-repository/*' -d /tmp/rhbaMavenRepoUpdate
    
    $ mv /tmp/rhbaMavenRepoUpdate/rhba-7.8.0.GA-maven-repository/maven-repository/ $REPO_PATH/
    Note

    You can remove the /tmp/rhbaMavenRepoUpdate folder after you complete the update.

  7. After you finish applying all relevant updates, start Red Hat Decision Manager and KIE Server and log in to Business Central.
  8. Verify that all project data is present and accurate in Business Central, and in the top-right corner of the Business Central window, click your profile name and click About to verify the updated product version number.

    If you encounter errors or notice any missing data in Business Central, you can restore the contents in the backup folder within the rhdm-$VERSION-update folder to revert the update tool changes. You can also re-install the relevant release artifacts from your previous version of Red Hat Decision Manager in the Red Hat Customer Portal. After restoring your previous distribution, you can try again to run the update.

Chapter 4. Enabling executable rule models when upgrading to Red Hat Decision Manager 7.8

Beginning in Red Hat Decision Manager 7.8, rule assets are built from executable rule models by default with the standard kie-maven-plugin plugin. The executable model is a more efficient alternative to the standard asset packaging in previous versions of Red Hat Decision Manager.

When you install Red Hat Decision Manager 7.8, this default executable model behavior is configured for all new projects that you create going forward. However, if you are upgrading to Red Hat Decision Manager 7.8 from a previous version of the product and you have not already enabled executable rule models, you must add the required dependency to your existing Red Hat Decision Manager projects so that your rule assets are built from executable models in Red Hat Decision Manager 7.8. If you do not use the kie-maven-plugin plugin or if the required drools-model-compiler dependency is missing from your project, then rule assets are built without executable models.

For more information about executable rule models, see Packaging and deploying a Red Hat Decision Manager project.

Procedure

In the pom.xml file of your Maven project or on the relevant class path of your Java project, add the following dependency to enable rule assets to be built from the default executable model:

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.drools</groupId>
  <artifactId>drools-model-compiler</artifactId>
  <version>${rhdm.version}</version>
</dependency>

This dependency compiles the executable model into Red Hat Decision Manager internal data structures so that it can be executed by the decision engine.

The <version> is the Maven artifact version for Red Hat Decision Manager currently used in your project (for example, 7.39.0.Final-redhat-00005).

Note

Instead of specifying a Red Hat Decision Manager <version> for individual dependencies, consider adding the Red Hat Business Automation bill of materials (BOM) dependency to your project pom.xml file. The Red Hat Business Automation BOM applies to both Red Hat Decision Manager and Red Hat Process Automation Manager. When you add the BOM files, the correct versions of transitive dependencies from the provided Maven repositories are included in the project.

Example BOM dependency:

<dependency>
  <groupId>com.redhat.ba</groupId>
  <artifactId>ba-platform-bom</artifactId>
  <version>7.8.0.redhat-00005</version>
  <scope>import</scope>
  <type>pom</type>
</dependency>

For more information about the Red Hat Business Automation BOM, see What is the mapping between RHDM product and maven library version?.

Chapter 5. Additional resources

Appendix A. Versioning information

Documentation last updated on Wednesday, July 29, 2020.

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