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How to upgrade from 15.1 to 16.5?

Former Member
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Hi Everyone,

I was given the task to upgrade our current PowerDesigner Studio Enterprise from 15.1 to its latest version. As far as I found out, that would be 16.5 SP05.

Unfortunately I found little to no information on any necessary steps needed to perform such an upgrade. In addition it was also not me who set up 15.1 many years ago in the first place and I have no real go-to person within the company.

Therefore I am looking for all sorts of help / hints & tips on how to do this properly and in which sequence.

I have a few general questions upfront which I hope someone can answer for me:

  • What are the main advantages when upgrading from 15.1 to 16.5?

I have read the release notes - however it would be great if so. could boil it down to a few major selling points maybe

  • When is version 17 coming out + what features are expected and why has it been overdue for such a long time?

Now a few questions specifically in regards to upgrading to 16.5 SP05

  • Is there some sort of guide which can be followed for this process?
  • Is it possible to "patch" the existing PD installations or is a clean re-install on client machines necessary?
  • What is needed to upgrade the existing repository based on an Oracle 11g database?
    • e.g. can it easily be moved to a new server without losing content?
    • can it be accessed without issues through a 16.5 client after the upgrade?
    • ...
  • What needs to happen to the licenses which seem to be lying on yet another server?

               (we currently have a 10 FL model)

In case you come to think of anything additional that might be worth mentioning, I would be very thankful!

Thanks in advance for your response

Looking forward to every hint I can get!

Cheers

Chris Dettmann

Accepted Solutions (1)

Accepted Solutions (1)

Former Member
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Hi Chris,

We are currently working on upgrading our PD clients and Oracle 11g repository from 15.3 to 16.5.  I would be happy to share our experience with you.

Cheers,

John

Former Member
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Hi John,

thanks for your post.

That would actually be phenomenal! I would then send you a PM to clarify how to best stay in contact.. To allow me to send you a PM please "follow me" via my profile page.

Once the upgrade has been performed I will probably also share my experience via a blog post or the likes.

Cheers

Chris

Answers (1)

Answers (1)

Former Member
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Hi Chris,

I have tried to answer your questions below.  Please let me know if you need further information.

  • What are the main advantages when upgrading from 15.1 to 16.5?

SAP PowerDesigner has been enhanced in a number of ways that increase productivity, such as:

New Web UI and Web Editing of Business Processes (Maps and BPMN)

New ways to collect metadata (Excel, XML and Visio importers)

New reporting capabilities

Repository Branch, Workflow, security and Performance enhancements

New XML Modeling

SAP Applications and Solutions Integration including SAP HANA Platform

Enhanced and Updated Data Modeling (latest RDBMS, EDW and Movement support)

  • When is version 17 coming out + what features are expected and why has it been overdue for such a long time?

SAP PowerDesigner is being invested in on an innovation track, and at SAP we have decided to use the Service Pack release mechanism to deliver this innovation faster to the market.  With each service pack, net new innovation is included with significant new capability added.  As a result, we have not been increasing version numbers.  So while a version 17 specifically numbered SAP PowerDesigner is not announced at this time, we have released a service pack with capability that would, at Sybase, have been deemed appropriate to deliver in a major or minor release number.  As a result, we do not consider a V17 to be overdue in any way, instead we inform customers that the innovations they are waiting for are available in market now in a service pack release vehicle, for the convenience of faster delivery to the market.

  • Is there some sort of guide which can be followed for this process?

The installation guide covers the main points of a migration.

  • Is it possible to "patch" the existing PD installations or is a clean re-install on client machines necessary?

Yes, V15 to V16 is a direct upgrade path so the installer will support patching up to the latest release from any V15 installation.  We do recommend backups of all models and the repository database before beginning an upgrade as a precautionary measure, as you should for any major change to any production system.

  • What is needed to upgrade the existing repository based on an Oracle 11g database?
    • e.g. can it easily be moved to a new server without losing content?

Yes - we have a tool that will migrate repository content from one database to another, even across RDBMS host types (ex: Oracle to SAP HANA).  You can also just update the current repository in place my connecting the updated client to the server as an administrator, and running the update script.

    • can it be accessed without issues through a 16.5 client after the upgrade?

Once the repository database is upgraded to a newer release, the older releases can no longer connect.  there is a tight correlation between the client version and the repository schema version so any changes will require all clients connecting to be updated as well.

  • What needs to happen to the licenses which seem to be lying on yet another server?

V16.5 requires licenses at the V16.5 release level (we have changed many things in the code that require license file and entitlement updates as well). You will have to go to SAP Service Marketplace and generate new licenses and serve them.  You may also take this opportunity to update the version of SySAM that is used with the licenses, however, you should be able to serve them from your existing server if needed.

Former Member
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Hi David,

thanks you so much for this elaborate reply!

The information you put forward will certainly help me throughout the process..

Very much appreciated!

Cheers

Chris