Intralink 3.4 upgrades - the future's bright...

Since my post about Intralink 3.4 upgrades back in March (can't believe it's been so long!) - we've done quite a few upgrades here... and come across a whole range of issues. I realise we may be behind the cutting-edge Intralink population, since some companies have moved to PDMLink, but I still get the feeling that many companies continue to work with 3.x ... particularly after reading some of the posts on PTC/USER (brand new layout, forums, etc - worth a look)

In the interests of public service here are a few of the common errors with suggestions & workarounds:

OSA 2.0 F000 installer - problem with Java, messages about JavaVM, etc
Ensure you have Java version 1.4.2_xx in your PATH

After failed OSA install, blank screen is shown
Remove hidden folder @ Program Files\Zero G Registry (TPI 128563)

Errors connecting to 3.4 server using company scripts
Port Intralink uses has changed between 3.3 > 3.4 - from 1524 to 1521

Dataserver M040 upgrade shows error "attempting invalid upgrade"
This has been a common error for us, even on sparkling new machines...
The only solution to work for us was pretty brutal:

• Find working 3.4 server to act as DONOR (thankfully some of the upgrades worked!)
• dbshut both databases + zip DONOR dataserver folder (excluding .dbf files)
  
• Copy to the PATIENT server
• Move the dbf files to safe place
  
• Unzip to dataserver folder, re-instate dbf files
• Edit .ora files, to ensure they mention correct dataserver name
  
• Do some selective registry hacking, replacing M012 with M040
• dbstart databases and hold your breath...

All in all, this upgrade can be a hard road to travel - you're lucky if you only need to do it once, and by some miracle it works first time... You're in trouble if you come across issues, or have to repeat the process for different servers. In the original post I mentioned 8 production servers, there's 14 to do, with 5 already completed by our lovely in-house CAD people :-)

Along the way, I've been learning SQLPlus commands on the side, and this has come in handy for server clean-up, etc... I'll do an article about this sometime soon.

Novedge Blog: Interview with Robert Green

This interview is well worth a read - and Robert's new book is probably worth a look too... as ever he has a bunch of sound advice for CAD Managers. This is the kind of stuff I find it useful to read, particularly when in danger of getting carried away by day-to-day CAD, scripts, etc...

He makes a great point about trouble-shooting : Typically it is during the “why are you having the problem” phase where the light bulb goes on for most CAD managers.

Anyone for golf? Plus preview of upcoming...

Man, it feels like ages since writing on here... been busy working/travelling... and enjoying the Scottish summer - both days of it! Golfers from all over the world are here in my neck of the woods for the Open @ Carnoustie...

Also been trouble-shooting more Intralink 3.x upgrades + issues... will write more here eventually... got some more ideas for CADminTools 3.4 - adding 3.x tools. Even though PTC will officially retire Intralink 3.x next year, I've a feeling many of us will continue to use it for a while yet.

[Acronym warning!] CAE is another thing on my radar - FEA, CFD, CETOL, Mathcad all churning around... a couple of good things in Mathcad 14 worth mentioning.

And please post comments here: areas of particular interest to you in field of CAD + CADmin?? - I notice readership continues to grow steadily...

Catch you soon.

CAD Standards Presentation [Larry Pitts, PTC/USER 07]

Excellent presentation about CAD Standards - from Larry Pitts @ PTC/USER 07 - I highly recommend taking a look (and taking notes!)