Intralink 3.4 upgrades and CAD Management styles

Things have been pretty quiet round here for a while... been busy on other stuff (eg: Intralink 3.4, DIY, another website, blog, etc) - so here's a mammoth post for the comeback...

Intralink 3.4
You would have thought an upgrade like Intralink 3.3 >> 3.4 would be a simple affair, after all they're virtually the same system aren't they? The client sees no change, and improvements are simply tidy-up from 3.3... eg: our main reason is Wildfire 3 on a supported platform (even though 3.3 seems to work OK with WF3). Plus it will be a LONG spell before PDMLink 8,9,10 reaches our happy CAD users... so let's get as up-to-date as possible meantime.

Since we've to do this upgrade on 8 production servers, I reckoned it'd be worthwhile posting a summary, plus others will maybe benefit too. Post comments if you've anything to add... I'll first explain my steps, then give you a shortcut to a method that should work first time (not 5th time like me!!)

• First find a test server similar to your production server, and get a dump file from your production database.
  
• I checked PTC KDB for information about the upgrade (this was when it started getting confusing : there are several suggested techniques...
  [later I spoke to a tech support guy: he agreed it was confusing, so I asked why they don't remove the misleading articles. He said it's a complicated task, and isn't the same for everyone, though the method he advised would probably suit everyone....]
• onwards with preparation: got my hands on installers for each required step: Pro/I 3.4 F001 (not actually required), the Oracle installer (3 CDs worth), software assistant, patch 40, patch 50, patch 70, plus Pro/I 3.4 M011 + M040. Initially I started requesting CDs, but finding all these extra requirements (and some of them relatively small files) I downloaded most direct from PTC.com
• PTC KDB recommended MIGRATION - and indeed there was a migration folder on the CD, with instructions for taking a backup of the database, creating migrate folder, deleting 3.3, installing 3.4, importing the migration files. But the migration didn't work. I thought maybe I'd made a mistake, so I wiped it + tried again... still no joy.
• Back to the drawing board, and an article that suggested importing a 3.3 dump file direct to 3.4 M011. Tech support concurred, so it was off to work... just needed to run patches after upgrade - this seemed much simpler, like how it should be.
• As far as I know, the fileserver can be upgraded anytime, it's a simple program that doesn't seem to interfere with the dataserver... no real need to upgrade it step-by-step - just go straight to the latest version.
• The main new thing in 3.4 is the Oracle installation - "unbundled" I think they call it... Software DJ'ing I call it, with 9CDs to switch on your virtual turntable...
  

As you see from the image, the upgrade path is littered with CDs, patches and things to remember (hence this post) - hopefully this will help you pick your way through. I'd highly recommend testing it a couple of times start to finish to iron out any issues. I know I'll be looking for a way to make it simpler, seeing as we have to repeat the process several times.

CAD Management
While I'm here, may as well tell you about Mark Kiker's insightful series of posts about CAD Management styles - including a range of personalities and systems you're bound to recognise! Despot, Ethereal, Chaotic - any takers? Well worth a read.

That's all for now, been doing a lot of scripting + server monitoring lately, will tell soon.
Cheers