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Using PUI to Perfect XA Environments – Part 1

This is the first in a three-part series of articles about Infor XA’s PUI tool.  In this article, we will look at the steps necessary to set PUI up on the iSeries.

   (To view in PDF format with screen shots & other visuals, click PUI Part 1.)

 

Product Update Information, or PUI, is a tool provided as part of the Infor XA Client to help you perfect your XA Environments.  It is essentially a database that contains the proper PTF Level for each object in the Environment.  The information in the database is compared against objects in your XA Environment, and then issues with the Environment are noted for your review.  PUI is a very helpful tool, but one that is not easy to learn.  The purpose of this article is to help you understand how to set up PUI.

 

Before you can use PUI, you will need to load the PUI Database onto the iSeries.  The PUI Database is delivered via a PTF, and the PTF to use will depend on which version of the PUI Database you need.  There is a Full Database and a Delta Database.  The Full Database contains a complete set of records for the level of XA you are using, and the Delta Database only contains changes to the PUI Database from the prior two months.  I always use the Full PUI Database for my work, to ensure that I have complete PUI information.  The PTF Numbers for the 9.1 and 9.2 databases are as follows.

 

SH15426.690       Full PUI Database for 9.1

SH15426.692       Full PUI Database for 9.2

SH15429.690       Delta PUI Database for 9.1

SH15429.692       Delta PUI Database for 9.2

 

Once you have decided which PTF to download, you will want to put it in your AFDWEB folder and do an AFDWEBGET on it.  Next, go into the XA Environment where you want to use PUI (in green screen), type the command UPDPUIDTA on the Command Line, and press F4.  You will then be presented with the following screen, where you can specify the appropriate PTF Number.  Note that PTFs are always stored in QGPL.  Once you have filled in the two fields, press Enter.

 

You will see a message stating that the PUI files are being updated.  It may take five minutes or so for this operation to complete.  You will see a completion message when the update process is finished.

 

Next, sign onto the Environment in Powerlink.  Click on the ‘Environments’ tab, and then click on the sub-tab for ‘Production Updates’.  You will see an icon (a 2 over 2 blue box stack, SK41 in the boxes, "Updates" written below it), this is the PUI object.

 

If you double-click on this object, you will see a list of PCMs and PTFs.  However, you may notice that only PCMs and PTFs for one version of XA (9.1 or 9.2) are displayed, based on the extensions of the listed PTF names (690 or 692).

 

One of PUI’s functions is to check each PCM and PTF to see if all pre-requisite PTFs have been applied.  Because each version of XA builds on the prior version, it is helpful if you have the PUI Database for both the current and previous versions of XA loaded and visible in PUI at the same time.  If your PUI object does not have both versions of the PUI Database displayed, you will need to add a second PUI object to the Environments tab.  The new object will be called ‘All Updates’, and it will look like this.

 

To add the ‘All Updates’ object, follow these steps.  Please refer to the screen shots below the written directions for clarification, if needed.

 

  1. From the menu at the top of the Powerlink screen, click on ‘Customize’, and then ‘Cards’ in the dropdown.

 

  1. Select the ‘Product Updates’ card from the ‘Application Cards’ window that will pop up, and then click on the pencil icon at right to change.

 

  1. On the ‘Application Card’ window, click on the ‘Environment Updates’ object in the left pane, and then click on the double-arrow symbol between the panes to move that object to the right pane. When you do this, a small window will pop up called ‘Application Card Attribute Definition’.  Change the ‘Label’ field in that window to ‘All Updates’, and then click the ‘Continue’ button.

 

  1. Verify that a new ‘Environment Updates’ object has been added to the right pane, with a Label of ‘All Updates’. Click the ‘Apply’ button, followed by the ‘Save’ button.

 

The ‘All Updates’ icon will now appear on the ‘Product Updates’ Card.  When you open it, you should see PCMs and PTFs from both XA versions.  If one of the databases is still missing, then consider whether both were loaded to your system.  Note that it is not a problem to load the 690 PUI Database to a 692 Environment.

Now that PUI is set up, you have completed step one in perfecting your XA Environment!

 

In the second article in this series, you will learn how to perform a PUI Analysis.

 

 

Sharon Foster

Senior Programmer/Analyst with Information Systems Engineering, Inc.

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