Installing the PTF

You can apply the PTF to the GLOBAL-SITE Controller, version 1.1 or version 1.1.1 using the following process:

1. Connect to the F5 Networks FTP site (ftp.f5.com). 

   To find out how to download software from the F5 FTP site, see SOL167: Downloading software from F5 Networks.

2. Open the directory for this PTF.
   
   
3. Download the globalsite1.1.1ptf-1kit.tar file to the /var/tmp/ directory on the GLOBAL-SITE Controller.
4. Run the following command in the /var/tmp directory to install this PTF: 

   gtar -xvf globalsite1.1.1ptf-1kit.tar

5. While logged in as root, enter the following commands: 

   cd /

   /var/tmp/upgrade

6. Follow the instructions on the screen.
   
   

The checksums for this PTF are included in a file called sums which can be downloaded from the FTP site.

Software enhancements and fixes

This PTF contains the following enhancements and fixes:

Non-Archived Publications

• Non-archived publications allow retry during the copy phase (CR 9405 and CR 9406)
  The GLOBAL-SITE Controller, version 1.1.1 did not allow you to retry during the copy phase of a non-archived publication.  If an error occurred during this phase or if this phase was canceled, then your only option was to reset the publication.
  
  Now, if a non-archived publication has an error during its copy phase, or if its copy phase is canceled, you have a choice of either resetting the publication or retrying it.  For more information on resetting and retrying the publication, see the section on Non-archived publications retry.
• Cannot delete non-archived publications (CR 9445)
  Non-archived publications now work approximately the same way as archived publications.  When you delete a non-archived publication through the browser interface by clicking the Delete button  , the publication dependencies are also removed. 

File naming constraints

• Must allow backslash in username for NT domains  (CR 9407)
  In the browser interface, the User ID field for sections and subscribers was preventing the backslash ( \ ) character from being used.  Since this is both valid and necessary in order to specify users that are part of an NT domain space, the UI now allows the use of a domain\user pair as per NT domain practice.  This allows users to connect to off-domain servers that are not resolved by Wins or other means.
• Forward slash must be rejected  (CR 9408)
  In previous versions of the GLOBAL-SITE Controller, the Section Detail screen allowed a forward slash [ / ] in the User ID field.  However, the GLOBAL-SITE Controller does not accept that character, and responded with an error message ("Object has no write lock").  We have corrected the browser interface so that it now prevents the forward slash from being used in the user name.

Other

• Show system time does not show system time  (CR 9411)
  Previously, the System Settings screen displayed the system time as the time on the GLOBAL-SITE Controller, which was adjusted to the web browser's local time zone.  The System Settings screen still displays the time for the GLOBAL-SITE Controller, but it is not adjusted by any time zone difference. 
• SEGV when FTP directory fails  (CR 9063)
  Processes with FTP servers that could result in segmentation violation errors have been resolved. 
• Non recursive FTP or FTP Performance issues
  The GLOBAL-SITE Controller, version 1.1.1 would try to issue a recursive FTP command in its first attempt to retrieve file listings.  Some users' FTP servers did not exhibit normal behavior in response to this command.  In these cases, the result was that the GLOBAL-SITE Controller took a long time before it would switch to a non-recursive FTP command.
  
  In this PTF, we have switched the default FTP method back to non-recursive FTP, and added a configurable flag for recursive FTP.  You can choose to use recursive FTP mode if you are sure that your server can handle it correctly.  For more details, see Setting recursive FTP.

Configuring and using the updated software

This PTF does not require any configuration changes (either required or optional). 

Non-archived publications retry

For a non-archived publication that has an error during its copy phase, or if its copy phase is canceled, you now have a choice of either resetting the publication or retrying it.

• If the source material has changed since the publishing cycle started, you should reset the publication.  (Otherwise the new material may be inconsistently published with the old material.)
  
  
• If the source material has not changed, you should retry the publication.  The retried copy phase will start where the previous attempt failed or was canceled, and will not recopy files that have already been copied.

When the GLOBAL-SITE Controller retries a non-archived publication, it proceeds section by section, just as it did with the original publication.  When the retry first starts, if you have publications with multiple sections, you see inconsistent status on the Publishing Progress screen.  Sections that have been restarted display the correct status, and sections that have not yet been started display their old error or canceled status from before the retry.

After a source file has been deleted, you should not attempt a retry.  However, if a retry should occur in these circumstances, the copy phase will ignore the missing file, but that missing file may cause an error during the commit phase.  If this happens, you should retry the commit to complete the publication, which will also ignore the missing file.

Setting recursive FTP

You can set your GLOBAL-SITE Controller to use recursive FTP if you are sure that your server can handle it.  If you are not sure that your FTP server is handling recursive FTP requests correctly, check with your F5 support engineer before making this change. 

To turn on recursive FTP you must edit the /etc/inetd.conf file.

1. Log in as root.
   
   
2. Locate the file /etc/inetd.conf.
   
   
3. Find this entry, all on one line. If you have not edited the file, it will be the last line:
   
   f5-globalsite stream tcp nowait.600 gsite /usr/local/bin/in.gsited in.gsited  0 0 0
   
   
4. Switch the setting from 0 0 0 to 0 0 1, like this:
   
   f5-globalsite stream tcp nowait.600 gsite /usr/local/bin/in.gsited in.gsited  0 0 1
   
   
5. After editing the /etc/inetd.conf file, you must issue the following command at the shell prompt:
   
   killall -HUP inetd
   
   
6. Log out of root.

Known issues

There are characteristics of the GLOBAL-SITE Controller, version 1.1.1, that may affect your publishing.

• Non-archived publishing incorrectly reports an error after cancellation
  During the copy phase for non-archived publications, cancellation may interrupt the copying of files from the source server before the cancellation stops the copying of files to the subscribers.  This is most likely to occur on a distributor, where some or all of its paths will display the following message (in the browser interface, as status for the directory) instead of the customary cancellation message:
  
  File was not propagated to distributor during non-archived copy phase
  
  This may also occur on the primary GLOBAL-SITE Controller, where some or all of its paths will display the following message instead of the customary cancellation message:
  
  File was not fetched during non-archived copy phase
  
  If these messages do occur during cancellation, treat them as the cancellation message.
  
  
• Non-archived publishing ignores file names with an embedded linefeed character.
  Non-archived publications tolerate removing files during the publishing process.  However, they cannot parse a file name with an embedded line feed character.  When a non-archived publication encounters a file name with an embedded linefeed character, it treats that file as though the file has been removed, and successfully finishes the publishing without copying the file.  (Archived publications parse these file names correctly, but report an error if a file is removed during this parsing.)
  
  
• Non-archived publishing does not show updating section progress  
  For non-archived publications, the Publish Progress Display screen for the updating sections phase may not show the progress that is taking place.  During the update process, the File Listing and MB areas on the screen remain at zero until the process is complete.  Because the total elapsed time for non-archived delivery is much faster, this may not be a significant amount of time, but it could be noticeable if you are waiting for a sign of progress.
  
  
• "File no longer exists" 
  During the update process for archived publications, if a file is removed from a source server during the update, the publishing process fails, and you see an error message that says, "File no longer exists."  You may notice this when running a scheduled publication.  You can avoid this issue by not modifying or moving files once the publishing process has started.
  
  
• Cannot change path on subscriber you have already published to
  If you are working with a particular subscriber, that you have already published to, and try to change the server name, user name, and one of the paths, and save it, you get an error screen.  The GLOBAL-SITE Controller will get only part-way through the process.  The problem is in trying to change a path that you have already published to.
  
  
• Must run manual publishing cycle after adding new subscriber to a scheduled publication
  When adding a new subscriber to a scheduled publication, you must run a manual publishing cycle before returning the publication to a scheduled cycle.  The process is:
  1. Turn off the scheduler for the publication.  (Use the Pause Schedule button on the Publication Sections screen.)
  2. Add the new subscriber.
  3. Initiate a publishing cycle manually.
  4. Return the publication to its scheduled state, if preferred.
  
  
• NcFTPd incompatibility
  GLOBAL-SITE Controller version 1.1 has compatibility issues with the NcFTPd server.  Attempting the publishing process using the NcFTPd server may result in errors.
  
  
• Distributors
  
  • You cannot switch an existing subscriber to a new distributor that has not already published the same version that the subscriber has.  The subscriber and distributor must be in synch on a section-by-section basis.
    
    
  • For a particular BIG-IP Name (on the BIG-IP Detail screen), if you attempt to change a BIG-IP Distributor to one that is not associated with the BIG-IP Controller, it can take several minutes to receive the error message.
    
    
• BIG-IP Controller integration
  
  • You cannot remove a virtual server subscriber when a section is disabled.  The solution is simply to enable the section before deleting the virtual server subscriber. 
    
    
  • Each subscriber name must be unique, regardless of which system or distributor it goes through.  With virtual servers subscribers, the node names must also be unique, across the entire GLOBAL-SITE system.
  
  
• Section status can be confused with publication status. 
  For instance, when two sections are updated together, and one section completes, the Section Detail screen can report that the finished section is still updating.  This keeps configuration changes from being made for that section, and keeps you from using the section in another publication.  
  
  
• The GLOBAL-SITE Controller publishing process is constrained by the restrictions of your file system.
  For example: 
  
  • There are device names reserved for use by Windows NT®.  These include: AUX, CON, PRN, and NUL.
    
    
  • Be aware of issues with case-sensitivity on some file systems. For instance, on a UNIX server, you could have three different files:  mygoodfile, MyGoodFile, and MYGOODFILE.  If you published to an Windows NT® server, they would all be put to only one file, as NT is not case-sensitive.
    
    
  • If you have heterogeneous file systems, your file names must be able to work across the systems.
    
    
  • Be aware of the constraints on special characters in NT, and with Netscape.  NT does not allow some special characters, shown here in brackets [ \ / : * ? " < > # | ].
    
    
  • The only special characters that GLOBAL-SITE names can handle safely are the space and the underscore, shown in brackets [ ] and [ _ ].  Do not use other special characters in any GLOBAL-SITE publication, section, or subscriber names:  no double quotation marks, no apostrophes, no slashes, no question marks, no dashes.