ISM name, version number, and release number

This section includes the following:

• Initial values for the ISM name, version, and release
• ISM version and release numbers compared
• Upgrading the ISM version

Initial values for the ISM name, version, and release

The --new command creates a directory for the new ISM and specifies the internal base name of the ISM. For example, the following command creates the mystuff directory in the file system, sets the internal base name to mystuff, and sets the version number to 1.0.0.

ismtool --new mystuff

In most cases, you specify the version number with --new. The following command creates a directory named ntp-1.4.2, sets the internal base name to ntp, and sets the version number to 1.4.2:

ismtool --new ntp-1.4.2

To view the internal base name, version number, and release numbers, use the --info command:

ismtool --info ntp-1.4.2.

The output generated by the preceding command includes the following:

. . .
name: 		ntp
version: 	4.2.1
appRelease: 	0
. . .
ctlRelease: 	0
. . .

ISM version and release numbers compared

ISM version and release numbers differ in several ways. You may specify the version number with either the --new or --version commands. The ISMTool automatically generates the release numbers; you cannot specify them. The version number applies to the entire ISM. The application and control packages each have separate release numbers. The --build command increments the release numbers whenever it re-generates the packages. Because application and control packages can be built independently, the packages may have different release numbers.

The names of the application and control packages include the internal base name, version number, and release number. For example, the ntp-4.1.2-3.i386.rpm application package has a version number of 4.1.2 and a release number of 3. See Packages created by the --build command.

To display the version of the IDK (not the ISM), enter the following:

ismtool --myversion

Upgrading the ISM version

Although you may modify the internal base name (with --name) and the version number (with --version), this practice is not recommended because it does not automatically change the directory name. If you change the internal base name or version, to avoid confusion you should also rename the directory containing the ISM.

The recommended practice is to use a matching internal base name, version number, directory name, and software policy path. For example, to upgrade foo-1.2.7 to foo-1.2.8, you would follow these steps:

1. At the same directory level as foo-1.2.7, create a new ISM directory:
   ismtool --new foo-1.2.8
2. Copy archives to the foo-1.2.8/bar directory or specify passthru packages.
3. Set the path to the software policy at the same level as the previous version.
   
   Unix:
   ismtool --opswpath ‘MyFolder/{$NAME}/{$VERSION}’
   
   Windows:
   ismtool --opswpath "MyFolder/{$NAME}/{$VERSION}"
   
   The --opswpath command replaces the NAME variable with foo and the VERSION variable with 1.2.8. To see the current values of the variables, use the --info command. For more information on variable substitution, see ISMTool Variables.
4. Build and upload the foo-1.2.8 ISM with the ISMTool.
5. In the SA Client, detach the foo-1.2.7 policy from the managed servers.
6. (Optional) Remove the foo-1.2.7 policy.
7. Remediate managed servers against the new software policy.