Updating HCL Commerce overview
Releases and implementation lifecycles
HCL Commerce is provided in major, mod pack, and fix pack releases.
Typically, as you increase the time between HCL Commerce implementations, updates to HCL Commerce will become more difficult to implement. Jumps between major releases require migration, and more consideration with regards to tradeoffs and limitations between older and newer features, customizations, and solutions.
Inversely, smaller jumps between updates to HCL Commerce, such as between fix packs or mod packs, contain fewer challenges. These updates generally only include important fixes and improvements to functions that are specifically tailored to users of newer site features and solutions. Consequently, the update path for smaller updates is also much less intensive, requiring you to only rebuild your custom Docker images on newer base images before deploying them.
Release type | Representation example | Description |
---|---|---|
Major release | Version 9.1 | A major release of HCL Commerce contains
new site solutions. Older features and solutions that you might
rely on in previous releases can be supported, deprecated, or
require some level of modification to continue using with a
major release. Major releases often include significant changes to deployment, architectural structure, and customization paradigms that require careful consideration to plan and perform. To upgrade from one major release to another you must plan and perform a site migration. For more information, see Migrating from a previous version of HCL Commerce. Important: Any previous customizations to your site
must be re-applied once migrated, as some site files might
be overwritten outside of the scope of the migration
documentation. It is a best practice to fully test any site
customization post-migration to ensure it is both fully
functional and performant in comparison to the previous
environment. |
Mod pack release | Version 9.1.10.0 | A mod pack release of HCL Commerce contains new site
features and builds upon the introduced major release solutions. In
addition, mod packs contain functional, performance, and
security-related fixes to HCL Commerce and relied upon
third party solutions. Colloquially these are referred to as releases, as they are delivered on a quarterly, or semi-annual basis. Updates from one mod pack to another are intended to be far less intensive than between major releases. However, some changes to site functionality do exist between mod releases, and can break site functionality if they are not considered. It is therefore required to review each mod release (Important changes) release notes to ensure that your site remains functioning as expected. For more information on each mod pack release, see HCL Commerce releases. To upgrade your site from one mod pack or fix
pack release to another mod pack or fix pack release, see: |
Fix pack release | Version 9.1.13.2 | HCL Commerce fix packs include defect fixes, and are made
available between major releases, beginning with 9.1.13.1. It is recommended to
upgrade to the latest fix pack as it becomes available. Only certain images
within the release are updated for fix pack releases. These updated containers,
with modified fix pack file names, are intended to be used with the remaining
original containers of the same release. To upgrade your site from one mod pack or fix
pack release to another mod pack or fix pack release, see: |
Downtime considerations
You must review your environment upgrade plan and consider the required downtime for upgrading your production environments and this impact on the availability of your live site.
A significant site upgrade generally involves bringing down an active deployment, upgrading the database schema, re-deploying the environment with updated custom docker images, as well as building new or modifying existing search indexes. The sum of these processes will typically result in some level of downtime for the production environment. To minimize this downtime, and to avoid disruption to live site traffic, production environment upgrades must be planned carefully. You must consider various factors, such as the method of deployment, the deployment configuration, and the current CI/CD pipelines for deploying the updated custom docker images on the production environment.
Updating HCL Commerce
Updates for HCL Commerce Version 9.1 environments are delivered as new Docker images in HCL Commerce releases. Updated Docker images include code fixes, security fixes, new features, and other enhancements.
To update HCL Commerce production environments, use the new HCL provided Docker images as a base. Build custom Docker images with your custom code and then deploy new containers. For more detailed information and steps, review the following topics.
- Delivered as Docker images, available from HCL License and Delivery portal.
- Each new mod pack and fix pack release is an accumulation of the previous updates, plus new fixes and enhancements. For example, HCL Commerce 9.1.3.0 contains all changes from 9.1.1.0 and 9.1.2.0.
- Fixes to co-requisite software (WebSphere Application Server, WebSphere Application Server V8.5.5 Liberty, and IBM HTTP Server) and other open source software and libraries are included as part of the Docker images.
- A mod pack or fix pack release is the only mechanism that HCL uses to deliver features and fixes. Interim fixes are not provided.
- HCL intends to release updates quarterly, or more frequently if security vulnerabilities are identified. The timing and frequency is not guaranteed and can change without notice at the sole discretion of HCL.
- New features, or enhancements to existing features, that can affect your custom code are disabled by default.
- HCL Commerce reference storefronts, SDKs, and Store REST services can be updated in releases of HCL Commerce. Changes that are made are not guaranteed by HCL to be backwards compatible with previous versions. You must therefore vigorously test and update your custom storefronts to ensure that they remain functional with updated HCL Commerce software.