Upgrade to Maximo 7.6.1

On July 27th, IBM officially released Maximo Asset Management V7.6.1.0. This release is a significant update to the Maximo Asset Management. Thiran Technologies has upgraded our demo environment from Maximo 7.6.0 to 7.6.1 and has started to explore the new features and capabilities. This blog details the new features that are available in Maximo 7.6.1 and the upgrade steps for Maximo 7.6.0 to 7.6.1.

What is new in Maximo 7.6.1?

• WAS Liberty support for Maximo Asset Management 7.6.1: Maximo 7.6.1 has a new set of configuration and command line tools to create bundles from the Maximo that can be easily deployed into a WebSphere Application Server Liberty environment. Refer this link for how to build, deploy and run Maximo 7.6.1 in an IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty environment.
• New user interface skin: Modernized user interface (IoT18). This skin improves usability by increasing spacing in the user interface views and is responsive to the size of the screen. Labels for each field dynamically adjust position as the interface increases in size.
• Technical updates with extended automation scripts, improvements to Rest APIs and an upgrade to JDK 1.8. Supporting program updates – Java 8, WAS 9 / WAS Liberty / DB2 11.1 (AWSE)/MMI. Support for handling virtual MBO in the REST API and MIF. This helps the API to reuse the existing code for actions like changeStatus.
• SAP ERP Adapter support for S/4 HANA
• Dynamic positioning of labels:  Label positioning is controlled by the mxe.webclient.verticalLabels system property and is set to 2 for dynamic positioning of field labels.
• Enhancements in the People application include the ability to remove personal information from people records to support GDPR compliance.
• Some of the new Functionalities & Improvements in Work Supervision, Work Execution & Work Inspection:
  • Technicians can now report failures, enter downtime, enter meter readings, review related record information for assets and locations, and create follow up work orders in Work Execution.
  • Supervisors can review and respond to service requests, expand Work Progress sections, select multiple records to perform actions, create and review follow-up work orders, associate job plans, and easily report time on work in Work Supervision.
  • Ability to search for locations near your present location when using mobile (or GPS-capable) devices.
  • Toggle between a card format and a list format for work orders.
  • Conduct an inspection on your mobile device by using speech to text capabilities. After you answer all questions on the inspection form, review the recorded responses and complete the inspection.
• Integration to IBM’s recently released Equipment Maintenance Assistant – leveraging the power of Watson and AI and putting that information into your technician’s hands to fix repairs right the first time.
• Cognos 11.0.11 on premise Entitlement now bundled with license for understanding your Maximo data with BI.
• New MMI work center has been created to give you insight into your Maximo environment, from hardware specifications to software versions, to cron task results, to java queue statuses, everything is all in one place.
• Turning on admin mode pauses or cancels functions that access the database. MDB is paused when the admin mode is turned on and resumes when it is turned off. Displays all the active cron task list when the admin mode is turned on. Prevents from running the report when the admin mode is turned on and any reports currently running are cancelled.

 Upgrade Process

You can upgrade from Maximo 7.6.0 to Maximo 7.6.1 by using the Maximo 7.6.1 installation and configuration programs.

Most industry solutions and add-ons can be deployed with Maximo 7.6.1. To confirm if your industry solution and add-ons are compatible with Maximo 7.6.1, check the upgrade requirement matrix .

You may have to update several hardware and software components when you upgrade to Maximo 7.6.1. Please refer this link for Maximo 7.6.1 system requirements.

If your current Maximo version was deployed on WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment, the Maximo 7.6.1 upgrade requires WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment v9.0.0.7 and the Java Development Kit 1.8.

If Maximo version was deployed on Oracle WebLogic Server, the Maximo 7.6.1 upgrade requires Oracle WebLogic Server 12c R2.

Note: If you are currently on Maximo 7.5 and planning to upgrade to 7.6.1, your Maximo 7.5 will need to be at the Maximo fix pack 7.5.0.11 level or can be at any 7.6.0 feature pack level before upgrading to version 7.6.1.  If you are on Maximo v7.5, the current upgrade path is 7.5>7.5.0.11>7.6.1.

Upgrading Maximo 7.6.1 involves 3 scenarios

1. Install and configure WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment v9.0.0.7 on a new server.
2. Migrate the existing WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment configuration to WebSphere .Application Server Network Deployment v9.0.0.7.
3. Upgrade to Oracle Weblogic server..

Scenario 1:

Ensure that the following prerequisites are completed before you start the upgrade process.

1. Stop all the Maximo 7.6.0 application servers.
2. Backup the existing Maximo 7.6.0 database.
3. Backup the Maximo 7.6.0 installation folder and deployment engine.
4. Backup all the application xml where changes has been made.
5. Make sure there are no pending database configuration changes.
6. Remove temporary tables (tables that start with xx), if any.
7. Disable custom triggers, if any.

The below diagram shows the steps involved to upgrade to Maximo 7.6.1.

1. Run Maximo Integrity Checker on Maximo 7.6.0 database.
2. Install WebSphere Application Server Network Deployment v9.0.0.7 and DB2 10.5.
3. Configure WebSphere using Configuration program.
4. Import the Maximo 7.6.0 database into the DB2 10.5 instance created during the installation.
5. Install Maximo 7.6.1.
6. Run the updateDB from IBM\SMP\tools\maximo. Optionally you can also use the “Configure the existing environment for upgrade” option available in configuration program to upgrade the existing 7.6.0 database to 7.6.1.
7. Run the integrity checker on Maximo 7.6.1 DB.
8. Migrate Customizations: Migrate any customization that you made in your Maximo Asset Management version 7.6.0 deployment over to the Maximo Asset Management version 7.6.1 administrative workstation.
   • Copy custom Java source files from the Maximo Asset Management 7.6.0 administrative workstation to the Maximo Asset Management version 7.6.1 administrative workstation.
   • Compile source into Java class files by using Java Development Kit 1.8.
   • Move re-compiled class files into the appropriate Maximo Asset Management version 7.6.1 directory.
   • Copy or move any custom JSP, XML, HTML, CSS, or XSLT files.
   • Copy or move the webclient.properties file to the \maximo\applications\ maximo\properties\product.
9. Build and Deploy the ear.
10. Review the upgraded screens & domains.
11. Regenerate the request pages for all your reports.
12. Run the update statistics from database configuration application.

In Part 2 of this series we will discuss on the scenario 2 & 3. If you have any questions related to the topic, or on the configuration above please comment below.

If you’re ready to upgrade to Maximo 7.6.1 but require assistance, contact THIRAN. No matter what version of Maximo you are on, THIRAN has the experience to help you plan and upgrade to the latest Maximo release.

Call us and we’ll build an upgrade plan specific to your needs and budget.