Slimming Down Patched Installations
Subscribers
In Liferay DXP 7.2, patch information is retained in Patch Files in the installation by default. This facilitates restoring DXP to a previous patch level. Patch files, however, can take up lots of space. Here you’ll learn both how to slim down your installation by separating Patch Files from it and how to restore Patch Files when you need them for patching activities.
A patched installation is large because the patch files (files used for meta data, verification, and validation) are stored inside the web application’s WEB-INF folder by default. The Patching Tool requires these files for installing new patches and restoring previous patch levels; so you must hold on to them. You can reduce your DXP installation size, however, by extracting the patch files out of the installation. When you’re ready to install new patches or restore a previous patch level, you can safely restore the patch files.
These patch files are only used in Liferay DXP 7.2 and earlier. Patch file separation is not needed in DXP 7.3+.
Here are the installation slimming topics:
Separating Patch Files from the Installation
The Patching Tool’s separate command extracts the patch files from the default location (the web application’s WEB-INF folder) and packages them in a ZIP file. Here’s the command:
./patching-tool.sh separate [separation_name]
The command moves the patch files from the patch file default location into a liferay-patching-files-[separation-name].zip file in the Patching Tool’s patches folder. Store the ZIP file elsewhere to reduce your installation’s size.
WARNING: If DXP is separated from its patches in this way, only the following Patching Tool commands can be used:
auto-discoveryinfosetup
All other commands return this:
This installation does not include data for patching. Please copy the
liferay-patching-files-[separation-name].zip file into the 'patches' directory
and run patching-tool setup.
Restoring Separated Patch Files
When you need to patch DXP again, you must restore the separated patch files.
-
Copy the
liferay-patching-files-[separation-name].zipback to the Patching Tool’spatchesfolder -
Run this command:
./patching-tool.sh setup
The patch files are restored to the installations patch file default location. All of the Patching Tool commands are available.
You now know how to store patch files so that your DXP installation doesn’t take up unnecessary space. And you know how to restore the patch files so that you can install new patches.