Should i use Update Delete to remove ESU/ASU ?

Hi everyone,
I would like to hear your opinions whether or not I should delete the ESUs and ASUs that were successfully applied and tested.

Over the years, we have applied many ESUs and ASUs. Some of them are really old. I want to remove them to save space on the deployment server. However, I’m afraid that it will cause problems when I apply Updates in the future.

Here are my questions:
1. Should I delete old ESU’s and ASUs ?

2. If they can be removed, what practice do you use to remove them?

3. Technical Best Practice SoftWare Updates Under The Covers Document said that I could use Row Exit Update Delete to remove an ESU. Has anyone done this before? Any gotchas ?

4. Could you share your practice in managing old ESUs /ASUs?


Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

OneWorld Xe, SP18, Update 5
ES = RS6000, Oracle 8.1.7
DS = Windows NT

I'd suggest using the update cleanup option (in the Row exit). This will remove the ESU from the planner subdirectory but keep the system aware that the ESU was installed.

XE SP20_Q1; DS Win2k; ES AS400 V5R1 DB2

I would first off, agree with Matthew's post, you probably don't wish to remove the changes in the A/ESU's, you just don't want them in the list anymore. I'd say that you'd want your last Update, ASU, and any ESU's you've applied since the last ASU, as well as any baseline and the last planner ESU to appear in your list. All the others can be removed. As for cleaning off space, I always recommend making a backup of the downloaded files (anyone who's tried to obtain a outdated SP or E/ASU download knows this pain) you've got so you can get at them should you need them, then those files can be removed from the DS. Then, again, keepijng in mind the Update/E and ASU's still in the list, you can get rid of the old directory structures that may exist on the DS.

Now, if your intent is to remove the E/ASU's from the list as well as the changes associated with each...different ball of wax alltogether (can hear all the Airplane fans murmuring "different ball of wax). In many installations I've seen, ESU's especially have been applied to DV or PY and never put into production for one reason or another. In that case, there's a much larger and more intricate project on your hands.

In either case, make sure you have a good backup (or two, if possible) of the DS OW structure and the system tables.

Regards,

Jim