So you want to apply all the right FixPaks to your OS/2 system, but you don't know where to start. This page is intended to help you figure out where you need to go, and how to get there.
First of all, you need to know exactly which OS/2 product you'll be updating. An OS/2 system consists of several products (or components), and each of them has its own FixPaks:
- Base Operating System
- The core files that make up the OS/2 operating system itself.
- Base Device Drivers
- Common drivers for standard devices.
- MPTS Adapters and Protocol Services
- The core networking subsystem – network protocol drivers, APIs, NIC drivers, and a management framework that ties it all together.
- TCP/IP Services
- Applications for use with TCP/IP networks such as the Internet.
- LAN Services
- Several related software products for accessing and sharing devices on a LAN.
These pages describe the latest service levels and FixPaks for each of these products, running under OS/2 Warp version 3 and higher.
Reading the Diagrams
The diagrams on each page show the following information:
- The name, version number, and initial service level of the product in question.
- The version of OS/2 which normally includes the above.
- The latest available FixPak(s) for that version of the product (on that version of OS/2).
The diagrams should be fairly easy to read. Start by identifying the version of the product that you have, and the version of OS/2 that you're running it on. (The OS/2 SYSLEVEL command can help you if you're not sure.) Then, simply follow the arrows to find the latest applicable FixPak.
Some points to keep in mind:
- You can only follow the diagrams in the direction the arrows are pointing.
- Sometimes, you have a choice of FixPaks. For the most part, the diagrams only show the latest available FixPak for each product, however in a few cases there are alternatives shown. A choice is indicated by a small black circle where the arrow lines branch out.
- If a line is completely interrupted by a FixPak bubble (with no 'detour' around it), it indicates that the FixPak must be installed before you can install any later updates.
In most cases, I've chosen to only show the very latest available FixPak for each product. There are a few exceptions, in which case you might have a choice of FixPaks (this should be clear from the diagram).
I also don't bother showing minor interim single-APAR patches (like the various MPTS stack fixes, or the standalone LVM updates), partly because it's just too complicated, and partly because they almost always get incorporated into the next full FixPak anyways.
I should note, as well, that these diagrams are all based on the (US) English language version of OS/2. While other language versions (generally) use the same numbering scheme, non-English versions frequently do not have the latest FixPak(s) available.
Finally, the diagrams use a few conventions which you should note:
- If the service level number is shown in blue, it indicates that the product will be "Year 2000 compatible" at that service level. If the number is in black, then that service service level is not guaranteed to be Year 2000 compatible.
- If the service level number is shown in bold text, it indicates that the "FixPak" is actually a complete product replacement, and not an incremental service update.