Graydon,
Yes we are working on the code release process and it will be much less confusing in the future.
We are also working on making a tool available on NOW to compare releases and answer the exact question you are asking...."are all bugs in the x.x.xDxx release fixed in release x.x.x?" Our plans are to have this tool available in November.
As for your access to certain releases on the NOW account. We are checking "entitlement" based on service agreements associated with your products. If you feel NetApp is in error, please let tech support know this and they will have our contracts group rectify the problem.
We are also making changes to Bugs Online. No promises on a date here yet but we are working on internal processes to allow the release in which a bug was fixed to be visible and accurate. This way you can follow a specific bug # and know what release it was fixed in.
FYI....Watch for new UI and "real time" case update capability on the NOW site coming on 10/4/99.
-----Original Message----- From: Graydon Dodson [mailto:grdodson@lexmark.com] Sent: Friday, September 24, 1999 1:32 PM To: toasters@mathworks.com Cc: Private_User@lexmark.com Subject: Code Release confusion
I know that NetApp has been working on making the code release process easier to understand but I am still having problems. Any work NetApp can make to clean this up would be appreciated.
I need to upgrade from 5.2.1P2 to a 5.3* release. My problem is finding the "correct" 5.3* release for my needs. I want something stable, we have had some bad experiences in the past. I also need support for the Legato Networker client. Legato states that 5.3D11 is the minimum supported release. Obviously I probably want something newer & more stable like 5.3.2R1
So I do a bit of research on NOW, and things just get more confusing.
5.3: No way to tell if this contains all the bug fixes in 5.2.1P1
5.3D*: The "D" releases (5.3D10 5.3D11) seem to have been built from 5.3 and may therefore not include all the fixes from the previous "D" release.
5.3.1: Again no way to tell if 5.3.1 includes all the bug fixes in 5.3D11
5.3.1D*: The first "D" releases (5.3.1D2 5.3.1D4 5.3.1D6) are built from 5.3.1
But later "D" releases (5.3.1D8 5.3.1D10 5.3.1D11 ...) are built from their preceding "D" release so their fixes ARE cumulative, unlike the earlier 5.3.1D* releases.
5.3.2: The NOW webserver refuses my NOW account access to this release I can get no data on it except the limited stuff in the pubs.
5.3.2R1: This is the release that Tech Support has told me for over a month now will become "recommended later this week". Still there is no way to tell what bugs are fixed in this release, all the documentation talks about is bugs fixed in 5.3.2, not 5.3.2R1.
Of course what is important to me is if all the bugs fixed in 5.3D11 are also included in 5.3.2R1. I have found no way to verify this.
5.3.2D*: These "D" releases are built upon the previous "D" release so their fixes should be cumulative. There is no way to tell (unless you want to trust the file dates) if these releases are "newer" that the "R" release or if they contain the same fixes as the "R" release.
Using "Bugs Online" is hopeless, most of the bugs I try to look up (11002, 13087, 10733, ...) return "not found", and when they are found, there is no info about which "R" release they are in. (if any)
What I REALLY need to know is if all the 5.3D11 fixes are in 5.3.2R1 and the 5.3.2D* releases. It is impossible to determine this from NOW. If NetApp wants to help lower calls to the help line making this information available online would help.
Graydon Dodson grdodson@lexmark.com Lexmark International Inc.