Help/Systems SEQUEL Software PowerTech Skybot Software
Help/Systems
The World's Leader in IBM iSeries Software Solutions
Home › Support › Help/FACTS › Converting from Robot/CONSOLE Version 4 to Version 5

Converting from Robot/CONSOLE Version 4 to Version 5

Product: 
Robot/CONSOLE: iSeries Message Management Software

Before You Begin

  • The conversion process calls a Help/Systems program to create or change the two Help/Systems user profiles, RBTUSER and RBTADMIN. The RBTUSER and RBTADMIN profiles were created for the following reasons:
    • They satisfy requests from corporate auditors that our objects be owned differently from IBM objects.
    • They allow us to build a secure product for your environment.
    • They isolate Help/Systems products from IBM changes to the QPGMR or QSECOFR profile defaults.
  • If you have any network security products, be be aware that the GUI version of Robot/CONSOLE uses the following servers and exit points:
    Servers Exit Points
    RMTCMD QIBM_QZRC_RMT
    SIGNON QIBM_QZSO_SIGNONSRV
    DATABASE QIBM_QZDA_SQL1 and QIBM_QZDA_SQL2
    FILE QIBM_QPWFS_FILE_SERV

    We recommend that all the exit points listed above be open to RBTUSER, RBTADMIN, and the user logging into the Robot/CONSOLE Explorer.

    These exit points are for Robot/CONSOLE standalone connections only. For Host mode, refer to the exit points for your version of Robot/NETWORK.

    Note: If you have made any manual changes to the RBTUSER or RBTADMIN user profiles and their authorities, these changes will be lost with any product installation or conversion.

  • Read through the following table of questions. If you answer “yes” to a question in the first column, read the instructions in the second column. If you answer “no” to a question, skip the question.
If you answer Yes... Read this...

Is the version of Robot/CONSOLE currently installed on your system below R04M00?

If the version of Robot/CONSOLE on your system is below this minimum level, you must update Robot/CONSOLE to this level before continuing with the conversion. To do so, you cannot use the Web site—you must perform the conversion from CD.

Contact your Regional Sales Manager to request the CDs for Robot/CONSOLE 4. These CDs contain the software and instructions you need to convert from Robot/CONSOLE 3 to Robot/CONSOLE 4.

Do you have data you don’t want to lose?

Use the following command to make a backup copy of the RBTCONLIB library before continuing:

SAVLIB LIB(RBTCONLIB) DEV(TAP01) VOL(*MOUNTED)

Note: Make sure that all of the objects in the library are saved.

Have you placed objects or
data in your Robot/CONSOLE
version 4 library?

The conversion will not copy or move objects you have placed in RBTCONLIB. Save these objects before starting the conversion.

Do you import or export message sets to other systems?

No data in RBCMRGLIB is converted. Complete any import or export of Robot/CONSOLE message sets before converting. You cannot transfer files from version 4 to version 5.

Do you use other Help/Systems products in addition to Robot/
CONSOLE?

For other Help/Systems products to work properly with Robot/CONSOLE Version 5, they must be at the following release/modification levels or higher:

  • RBTSYSLIB
    • R01M97 080828
  • Robot/NETWORK
    • Host R10M11, Node R09M62 or R10M10
    • You must update Robot/NETWORK to the versions shown on all systems before continuing the conversion.

Note: Convert Robot/CONSOLE on your Robot/NETWORK Host and alternate Host systems first. Then, convert Robot/CONSOLE on the Node systems to provide full cross-system redirection. If you use the Robot/CONSOLE Network Product Master, be sure to make a backup copy of the library RBNRBCMST on the Host system before upgrading.

  • Robot/ALERT
    • R05M10
    • Note: If you want Robot/CONSOLE to receive message replies from a two-way device, you must install Robot/ALERT 5.0.
  • Robot/TRAPPER
    • R01M05

Are you retaining large amounts of history?

We recommend that you purge Robot/CONSOLE 4.0 history records to 14 days before proceeding with the conversion. See the Robot/CONSOLE User Guide, for complete information.

Do you use Robot/NETWORK and is this the Host system?

We recommend that you purge Robot/CONSOLE history from Robot/NETWORK using the following command:

RBNDLTSTS FRSY(*ALL) PRNM(CONSOLE) DAYS(007)

End the Robot/NETWORK host by using the following command, before you start the conversion:

RBTNETLIB/RBENDHOST

Do you have RBTCONLIB or RBCMRGLIB in the system value QSYSLIBL or QUSRLIBL?

Remove them. Enter these commands to see if any jobs have a lock on RBTCONLIB or RBCMRGLIB:

WRKOBJLCK RBTCONLIB *LIB
 WRKOBJLCK RBCMRGLIB *LIB

End all jobs that have a lock on either library and then restart them.

Do you plan to use Robot/
CONSOLE log monitoring
(FTP, QHST, and/or security
audit journal)?

Robot/CONSOLE writes a history record for every message it processes. Log monitoring can significantly increase the amount of disk space used for message history. We recommend that you delete message history records regularly to prevent disk space problems. See Selecting Message History Records to Purge, in the Message History section of the Robot/CONSOLE User Guide, for complete information on deleting message history.

Do you monitor message queues from a third-party software
vendor?

Check the authority for the message queues being monitored before converting to Robot/CONSOLE 5.0. *PUBLIC or RBTUSER must have *CHANGE authority to the message queues.

 

Converting Robot/CONSOLE From the Web Site

  1. Go the Help/Systems downloads area and select Conversions.
  2. Perform the following tasks if you have not already done so:
    1. Download, print, and read the Read Me instructions: How to Download and Install Software from the Help/Systems Web Site.
    2. Download and install the Product Maintenance Wizard to a PC.
  3. Download the Robot/CONSOLE System i file, RBTCONLIBC.hs, to a PC.
  4. Download the Robot/CONSOLE PC executable file, setupconsole5.exe, to a PC.

    5. Note: You also can download the Robot/CONSOLE 5 User Guide and other Robot/CONSOLE documentation.

  5. Use the Product Maintenance Wizard to copy the new version of Robot/CONSOLE to your System i.
  6. Sign on to the System i under a user profile that is a member of the user class *SECOFR and has at least the following special authorities: *ALLOBJ, *SECADM, *JOBCTL, and *IOSYSCFG. The user profile should have Limit capabilities set to *NO. Make sure no users are signed on to the product you are converting.
  7. Remove RBTCONLIB from all library lists. There should be no object locks on the RBTCONLIB library.
  8. Enter the following command to display the Maintain Help/Systems Products menu:

    9. RBTCDRLIB/HLPCDMENU DEV(*SAVF) SAVFLIB(HSSAVF)

  9. Before converting Robot/CONSOLE, you have the option of running a pre-conversion check to help determine whether the conversion will complete successfully.
    • To run the checker utility, select option 5 and enter the following special code: HLPSCON05
    • To convert the software, select option 4 from the Maintain Help/Systems Products menu and enter the following conversion code: hlpccon05
  10. Follow the prompts that display.
  11. When the System i portion of the conversion completes successfully, the following message displays on the System i:

    12. Total Success converting Robot/CONSOLE

    The conversion process creates a job log and places it in the output queue where your System i job logs are stored. When the conversion completes, enter the WRKSPLF command and check the conversion spooled files and job log for errors. You can use the job log to help you identify and resolve any problems that might have occurred during the conversion. Call Help/Systems Technical Support if you have any questions.

  12. Restart the RBTSLEEPER subsystem.
  13. After you have finished the System i portion of the conversion, install Robot/CONSOLE 5.0 on every PC that you will use to view message centers and answer messages. Close all Windows applications and double-click the setupconsole5.exe file that you downloaded to your PC. When the process starts, follow the instructions that display.

    14. Note: If you quit the PC portion of the conversion process prematurely, a partial conversion will have occurred. To resolve this, just restart the conversion process from Step 13. All existing files will be replaced and Robot/CONSOLE will be correctly converted on the PC.

  14. When the PC portion of the conversion process completes, view the README file to see any special information about the product.
  15. Start the Robot/CONSOLE Explorer from the PC (refer to the Robot/CONSOLE User Guide for more information).

After You Are Done

  • If you decide to remove Robot/CONSOLE 4 from your PC, you must perform the process manually—the conversion process does not remove Robot/CONSOLE 4 from your PC.

    • Note: Both Robot/CONSOLE 4 and Robot/CONSOLE 5 can be installed on a PC at the same time. You may need both versions of Robot/CONSOLE if you use the PC to run different versions of Robot/CONSOLE on the System i.

  • When you run Robot/CONSOLE on your PC, you can view help text directly from the PC by pressing the F1 key, or by selecting a help option from the Robot/CONSOLE Explorer Help menu.
  • After you have successfully converted Robot/CONSOLE and are satisfied the product is running well, you can delete the following libraries:
    • RBTCONV4
    • RBCMRGV4

Updated Jan. 10, 2012