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Sandhya.ravindran@genesys.com

Documentation/Ponydocs/1.0/Library/syslevelguideprocesslib

New SOE Update Process

Key players: Product Manager, Product Writer,

Review and support: System-Level Guide writer

We all know that Supported Operating Environment Reference Guide is one of the top viewed documents on our site. To ensure that the information in the RNs match the information in the SOE, we have restructured the existing process of updating the SOE in such a way that product writers update the SOE when updating RNs with information on SOE type information. The new process will be:

  1. When the RN contains SOE related information, the writer updates the respective product's draft SOE page besides the RN, creates a project ticket, assigns it to the system-guide writer for format check. If the writer has questions to the system-guide writer, those can be mentioned on the same project ticket (involving system-guide writer is an initial requirement until writer gets the hang of handling the SOE updates)
  2. The system-guides writer reviews the information. If the information requires the addition of a new OS not elsewhere in the SOE, a new table, or a new page, the System-level Technical Writer forwards the request to Ramnath Soleswaran for approval.
  3. Once the approval is received, the System-level Technical Writer lets the writer know about assigning the ticket back to the writer.
  4. The writer updates the page as required and shares the draft page with the Product Manager on the same project ticket including a link to the draft page of the SOE in a Comment in the JIRA issue.
  5. Once the PM approves, and when the product is released (Software Delivery email), or when the PM comes up with a specific date, the writer publishes the approved draft pages to the customer-facing SOE, closes the JIRA ticket, and notifies the Product Manager accordingly.

Training Videos

  • The SOE draft page contains forms pertaining to Operating Systems, Browsers, Databases, Virtualization Support, IPv6 Support for Common Interfaces and Additional Interfaces, and Prerequisites.
  • To update each section, respective form needs to be updated with the relevant information. We have created the following nine videos that explain how to update these individual sections in detail:
    • Orientation
    • Updating OS
    • Updating Browsers
    • Updating DB
    • Updating Supported Virtualization Platforms
    • Updating IPV6 Support for Common Interfaces
    • Prerequisites
    • Form Changes
  • The video titled as Form Changes features the recent changes that were implemented in the Edit Forms in comparison with the old forms. Note that the other eight videos will be featuring old forms in the examples.

Watch the videos placed here to learn more about updating SOE sections in detail. These internal videos were created with the sheer purpose of training in the home ambience amidst varied distractions. Please ignore any imperfections in the audio and visuals.

Recent change in Documentation of Discontinued Support in SOE

The Updating OS video explains how we approach Discontinued Support and its convention with examples. It explains about using the date of the version with which discontinued support is in effect in Conditions. It also depicts that we use the release span of that particular OS in Release. However, after a recent discussion with Ramnath, we have decided to use the version number of Discontinued Support in Conditions and mention the release span if the product team requires to have it.

We have arrived at this decision because the the date in the RN must not be later than the date in the Discontinued Support page. To learn more about handling Discontinued Support documentation, see the instructions here.

Points to note

  1. If you’re not familiar with the SOE, all of the data is stored in one database. All of the data that appears in the OS, Browsers, Databases, and IPv6 tabs is taken from that database. Your product SOE page is the page through which you add the data specific to your product.
  2. The SOE owns the official naming convention for all SOE items. Your RN must use the same convention.
  3. If while updating the SOE page, you discover that your item, like database, OS, specific version number, is not there, include that information in the project ticket.
  4. There are two versions of the SOE, the draft version and the Current version. These wiki versions cover all supported releases that are of General or Update type. The SOE does not include information for restricted or pre-release versions. That information should go in the associated HTML release note or in the restricted documentation.
  5. The forms necessitate to fill in the release version details. If you do not find the release version that has to be mentioned per your PM's input, assign the project ticket to the system-guide writer with the details in the comments section. The system-level writer updates the necessary release version and assigns the ticket back to you. Also, we have restricted the usage of over 7-digit version number as it creates an endless list of multiple version numbers. In such cases, mention the highest level of release version in the Release field and specify the particular 7-digit version in the Conditions field.

Note the following example:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 for 9.0.002.06 +

In the above example, the release version that needs to be mentioned for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 support is 9.0.002.06. The recommended approach is:

    1. In the Release field, mention 9.0.0+
    2. In the Conditions field, mention ''Starting with 9.0.002.06''

It is critical to follow this approach when updating release versions in any SOE section.

Disqus comments

Moving forward, Disqus comments pertaining to SOE products will be handled by the respective writer. For any support, contact the system-level writer.

Gotchas

As the SOE forms are evolving, at times you may observe that the page does not respond the way it is supposed to. While these issues are planned to be resolved anytime soon, here is a lot of common issues that you may encounter with knick-knacks that could help in bringing the page back to track:

  • The new drop-down list on the form may require a number of clicks to populate the list. A simple solution is to perform the action of double-click to enable the drop-down list populate easily.
  • Sometimes when you click Add DB, the existing table may not be displayed. You may need to click Cancel a couple of times and revisit the form again.
  • The collapsible entries on the forms may not expand and respond. At such times, click Cancel and come out the specific SOE page. Again, revisit the page a few minutes later and try to expand the form. Most of the times this hack works.
  • At times, in particular the DB edit form may not display the existing table to edit at all. In this case, Cancel the changes, click Edit Source, simply click Save and go back to the regular form again. This hack brings the table back to display. If you still face issues, add entries using Edit Source. However, this option is not recommended and can be opted for only in case of emergency. Contact Barry and team for any help.

We will keep adding more content here to help one another. Finally, if you are facing continuous or any unknown issues, contact Barry and team copying the system-level writer.

This page was last edited on March 3, 2021, at 09:49.
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