If you are participating in Incremental Release 20.0 or thinking about upgrading to this release of the CA Database Management Solutions for DB2 for z/OS, review the following article for a summary of how new features and fixes are released.
An incremental release starts with a pax file or GENLEVEL that matches the functionality of the prior release. As new features and fixes are completed, they are collected together in an increment and released to customers approximately every two to four months. An increment is a set of PTFs that are created for the component FMIDs. One PTF is created for each component FMID that has updates. These updates are provided from the Download Management option on CA Support Online as published solutions with the following summary information:
- DBM 20 GA IR n (where n represents the increment number)
- PTF #ROnnnnn (where nnnnn represents the fix number, one for each component FMID)
Note: When ROnnnnn numbers run out, SOnnnnn will be used.
For example, DBM 20 GA IR 1 with one PTF for each FMID comes first, followed by DBM 20 GA IR2 with one PTF for each FMID, and so on. Customers are expected to install the latest increment as it becomes available.
Important! Although fixes and features are bundled together in an increment, customers can influence when and how a fix is delivered. For example, customers can:
- Request a fix in the form of an APAR prior to publishing. CA Support may also request that you apply an APAR to verify a specific fix.
- Receive a fix PTF outside of the planned incremental publish date. We typically target lower priority fixes to be published in the next increment. However, you can request that the fix PTF be provided sooner. This may be an available option based on your business needs.
Share your needs and concerns with our CA Technologies support team members.
After all new enhancements have been added, a final 'GA complete' release (or mature release) is produced at a point decided upon by CA Technologies. A new GA pax file (GENLEVEL) is created and the release transitions from the incremental phase to the GA complete phase. The new pax file is used for new installations only and is a rollup of all features and fixes that were published during the incremental phase.
Customers participating in the incremental release continue to apply published maintenance and do not need to perform a fresh installation. The same published stream of fixes applies for the duration of the supported release, whichever pax file was used for the initial installation. In the GA complete phase, no new features are added and only fixes are provided. In this phase, fixes are published individually as needed.