OASIS Auto Update

Overview

Prior to V2.7, updates to OASIS were sent to users as self-extracting files that essentially over-wrote parts of the application that were updated. This works great for updating one PC. But what about 60? What about a terminal server with over 100 users? What about varying operating systems?

Now there is a better way, and it’s automatic!

The Standard Process

What do you need to do? If you have Admin rights, just answer a few questions. Users with Admin rights to the “Software” application in OASIS will receive a balloon at the lower right corner of their screen showing OASIS is checking for updates. If a new update is found on the Ingen Software deployment server, the following balloon will appear next:

While downloading software, the user is able to use all functions of OASIS. Depending upon the size of the update, network speed, and other variables, it may take 5 to 10 minutes for the update to download. Once the download has finished, the following question will appear:

Press “Yes” if you would like to deploy the update to all users. Otherwise, just press “No” (see below on how to manually select which release of OASIS you would like to deploy).

The next time a user logs in, the update is automatically copied to their PC. Currently, an old-style listing of each file being updated shows (this screen will likely be replaced in the future):

When the update is ready, the following message is displayed:

Launch OASIS again to work with the new update:

Manually Managing Updates

The software updates may be manually updated from the software application. Click on the “File” then “Configure Software Version”:

The window lists the versions that are available locally. Just click “Active” beside a release to activate that release:

To manually check for updates, click on the “Configure” tab and click “Receive Update”:

The window will disappear while the updates are being received. If an update is found, the “Software Download” balloon will appear. Otherwise, the “Download Complete” message appears without the corresponding request to activate the new download:

How it works – For the Technologists

The following details are mostly for internal use at Ingen Software. However, the information will likely help advanced users with large or complicated networks.

The Download Process

When a request is made (automatically or manually) to download an update, the following steps are performed:

1. The server www.OasisSalesSoftware.com is contacted to identify various Ingen Software Servers on the Internet. (Protocol HTTP on port 80.)
2. The Ingen Software License server is contacted with the local license information. The license server uses this information to ensure maintenance fees are current for the customer and to identify what version and customizations should be downloaded. (Protocol HTTP on port 80 or 8080.)
3. The download process is then forwarded to the appropriate deployment server where files are downloaded and stored in the local database.

Clicking on the OASIS icon in the system tray (where the point of the balloon originates) will show the progress:

It is important to note the path shown during the download. The example shows /beta/tree/General. If you do not receive the proper version of OASIS, contact the Ingen Software help desk with the path, and they will update the license server to download the proper OASIS version. (This user will receive a beta release of the General version of the software – no special connectivity or custom plug-ins.)

Updating Users

User updates are now managed using the user’s profile (or home directory in the case of Linux or Macintosh). The installed software is not altered – unless Java or a Windows DLL is updated.

The directory “.oasis” is created and contains two sub-directories:

-          Lib – contains the current software update

-          Logs – contains the runtime oasis logs, sometimes required by our support staff.

When the user starts OASIS, the version of the software installed in their profile is compared with the active version in the database. If they differ, the contents of the lib directory are replaced with the contents of the version in the database. Currently, OASIS must then terminate and require the user to restart OASIS.

For servers, there is a benefit and a cost associated with this approach.

-          The benefit: each user is updated independently and their profile is updated rather than the server is updated. Administrators are no longer required to kick all users off the server to deploy a new update.

-          The cost: disk space. The current release is about 30 MB in size, making the cost small, but for a server supporting 100 users, the cost will be 3GB! There is no free lunch.

Installing on New PCs or Servers

The new update process really takes shape when a new PC or server is to be installed. All one is required to have is the current setup program (setup27h.exe is current as of this writing), oasis.db, and oasis.log. With these files, one is able to recover from a complete system failure. Here is the process:

-          Follow the instructions to setup the PC or server (basically run setup27h.exe and select the PC type).

-          If the database is to be run on the machine being updated, then configure the database and copy the oasis.db and oasis.log files to a local hard drive.

-          Start OASIS – the auto update process will ensure the version of the software stored in oasis.db is copied to the current user’s profile.

Pit-Falls

As we uncover issues with the auto update process, these issues (and workaround) will be added here.