Applying a Hotfix

Subscribers

A Hotfix is a fix or collection of fixes delivered between Updates (or between Fix Packs for versions before DXP 7.3 SP3) to address a customer’s confirmed critical DXP issues. You can request at Hotfix via a Help Center ticket. After receiving a Hotfix, you can install it using the Patching Tool.

warning

Always back up your database and installation before applying a Hotfix.

note

If you’re running DXP in a Docker container, please apply your Hotfix by following the instructions at Patching DXP in Docker.

Requesting a Hotfix

Here’s how to request a Hotfix:

1. Go to the Help Center
2. Submit a ticket.

The Liferay Support Team works with you to determine if the issue is with the product, and provides a fix for any unintended product behavior.

Configuring the Patching Tool

The Patching Tool applies Hotfixes. Here’s how to configure it:

1. If you deployed DXP as a .war file on your application server, unzip the .war to a temporary location for applying the Hotfix.

2. Locate the patching-tool.sh Patching Tool script in your Liferay Home or install the Patching Tool if the DXP installation doesn’t have it.

   • DXP Tomcat Bundle: [Liferay Home]/patching-tool/
   • DXP app server installation: Install the Patching Tool on the server host.

3. Configure the Patching Tool for the DXP installation.

   DXP Tomcat Bundle: Configure the tool automatically be running the auto-discovery command.

   ./patching-tool.sh auto-discovery
   

   DXP app server installation: Configure the Patching Tool manually, including setting the Patching Tool’s war.path property (e.g., in default.properties) to your unzipped DXP .war location.

Installing a Hotfix

1. Download the patch from your Help Center ticket to your patching-tool/patches folder—don’t unzip the patch.

2. Shut down your application server.

   Reasons:

   • On Unix-style systems, you can usually replace files that are running, but the old ones reside in memory.
   • On Windows systems, files in use are locked and can’t be patched.

3. Install the patch by running the Patching Tool’s install command from the patching-tool folder:

   cd patching-tool
   ./patching-tool.sh install
   

4. Verify that the patch installed by executing the info command and checking the information on the currently installed patches:

   ./patching-tool.sh info
   

5. Clean up all DXP cache.

   Delete the [Liferay Home]/osgi/state folder.

   cd [Liferay Home]
   rm -rf osgi/state
   

   Empty the [Liferay Home]/work folder.

   rm -rf work/*
   

   Delete the application server cache. Please consult the application server vendor’s documentation on where where to find the cache.

   note

   If a module’s changes are only internal, the changes are invisible to the OSGi framework, the module stays installed, and the module’s state persists. Clearing the OSGi bundle state information before the next DXP startup ensures that such modules reinstall with the appropriate state.

6. If you are installing DXP back onto an application server, ZIP the patched DXP application from its temporary location back into a .war file and copy the file into your application server. Refer to the DXP installation instructions for your application server.

7. Start the application server again.

Congratulations! You applied a Hotfix to your DXP installation.

Related Topics

• Patching DXP in Docker
• Getting Patch Information
• Uninstalling Patches