{"id":1558332,"date":"2022-05-02T08:00:51","date_gmt":"2022-05-02T15:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=1558332"},"modified":"2023-02-21T16:33:47","modified_gmt":"2023-02-22T00:33:47","slug":"patch-and-release-you-dont-have-to-fish-for-those-arcgis-enterprise-updates","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/administration\/administration\/patch-and-release-you-dont-have-to-fish-for-those-arcgis-enterprise-updates","title":{"rendered":"Patch and release – you don\u2019t have to fish for those ArcGIS Enterprise updates"},"author":10222,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[37501],"tags":[43671,42301,23241,35731,30141],"industry":[],"product":[36571],"class_list":["post-1558332","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-administration","tag-administration","tag-arcgis-enterprise","tag-best-practices","tag-patches","tag-security-patch","product-arcgis-enterprise"],"acf":{"authors":[{"ID":10222,"user_firstname":"Jill","user_lastname":"Edstrom-Shoemaker","nickname":"Jill Edstrom-Shoemaker","user_nicename":"jedstrom","display_name":"Jill Edstrom-Shoemaker","user_email":"JEdstrom@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2019-11-22 17:01:50","user_description":"Jill leads the ArcGIS Enterprise and data management product management teams. She focuses her time on enabling customers to get the most they can out of their ArcGIS software by aligning product strategy with real world implementation needs. Outside of work, Jill is working her way through visiting all the U.S. national parks, though she is more often found reading a good book with her dog by her side.","user_avatar":""},{"ID":240912,"user_firstname":"Jon","user_lastname":"Emch","nickname":"Jon Emch","user_nicename":"jemch","display_name":"Jon Emch","user_email":"JEmch@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2021-06-16 14:52:09","user_description":"Jon Emch is a Senior Technical Lead for ArcGIS Enterprise in Technical Support. He has been working at Esri for seven years, specializing in networking with many product teams with the goal of building common understanding and knowledge. \r\nBe Brief, Be Bold, Be Gone","user_avatar":""}],"short_description":"It's a best practice to keep ArcGIS Enterprise up to date with patches. Read more about what this means for you and your organization.","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

As a best practice, ArcGIS Enterprise should be kept up to date with released patches.\u00a0 But, how many ArcGIS Enterprise administrators really keep their organizations up to date with patches?\u00a0 It\u2019s kind of like flossing your teeth.\u00a0 You know you should do it, but you may think it\u2019s tedious and there isn\u2019t any instant gratification.<\/p>\n

Even if you consider it tedious and without instant gratification, we encourage you keep ArcGIS Enterprise up to date with patches.\u00a0 It\u2019s key to a successful ArcGIS Enterprise deployment.<\/p>\n

Here we\u2019re going to cover what patches are exactly, where to find ArcGIS Enterprise patches, how to install a patch, and why should keep up to date with patches.\u00a0 It may not sound glamorous, but you\u2019ll be thanking us by the end of this blog.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","content":"

Jump to a category<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is a patch?<\/a> | Where to find ArcGIS Enterprise patches<\/a> | How to install ArcGIS Enterprise patches<\/a> | Why install ArcGIS Enterprise patches?<\/a><\/p>\n","image_reference":false,"layout":"standard","image_reference_figure":"","snippet":"","spotlight_name":"","section_title":"","position":"Center","spotlight_image":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

What is a patch?<\/h1>\n

When thinking of a patch, it\u2019s not unusual for you to think of something you\u2019d use to cover a hole in your favorite pair of jeans.\u00a0 A software patch really isn\u2019t that different; it is a set of changes designed to fix something within the software.\u00a0 This \u201csomething\u201d is often a security vulnerability or a functional defect found within the software.\u00a0 It should be noted that not all defects will be fixed in patches. The decision to fix a specific defect in a patch is based on the severity and how pervasive the issue is across all customers.<\/p>\n

Patches and ArcGIS Enterprise<\/h2>\n

When it comes to ArcGIS Enterprise, patches do not introduce new functionality into the product.\u00a0 For example, ArcGIS Enterprise 10.9.1 introduced the ability to share map services from cloud data warehouses.\u00a0 No matter how many patches are released for ArcGIS Enterprise 10.8.1, this functionality will never be introduced into this older release.\u00a0 These patches will only address an issue in the software which produces incorrect or unexpected results.<\/p>\n

ArcGIS Enterprise patches are often built for different operating systems and versions of the software.\u00a0 This is all closely tied to the product life cycle<\/a>.\u00a0 ArcGIS Enterprise versions in general availability and extended support are eligible to have patches created for them.\u00a0 For short-term support releases, this will be for the first 18 months after initial release.\u00a0 For long-term support releases, this will be the four years following initial release.\u00a0 For more information on ArcGIS Enterprise short-term and long-term support releases, see our blog on Updates to the ArcGIS Enterprise Product Lifecycle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Where to find ArcGIS Enterprise patches<\/h1>\n

When patches are finished being developed and thoroughly tested, Esri releases them on the Esri Support website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

ArcGIS Enterprise on Windows and Linux is comprised of the following main components: ArcGIS Server, Portal for ArcGIS, ArcGIS Data Store, and ArcGIS Web Adaptor.\u00a0 Each component has its own landing page where, in addition to downloading patches, you can view other details about the component.\u00a0 This includes its current lifecycle stage and links to the Knowledge Base.\u00a0 Selecting downloads reveals a comprehensive list of patches available for the selected release of the ArcGIS Enterprise component in question.<\/p>\n

Patches for ArcGIS Enterprise on Kubernetes will be delivered as updates to software container images.\u00a0 When an update is available, it will appear within the ArcGIS Enterprise Manager interface, and can be applied from there through the Administrator API. For more on how we provide updates using ArcGIS Enterprise on Kubernetes, see Understanding updates and upgrades<\/a> in our product documentation.\u00a0 The rest of this blog will focus on patches specific to ArcGIS Enterprise on Windows and Linux environments.<\/p>\n

Selecting a patch from the list navigates you to an information page that contains the summary of the patch, any prerequisite software configurations or patches that have to be installed before applying this patch, the download link to the patch, and the Checksum information which confirms the validity and authenticity of the download.\u00a0 Below this information are explicit instructions on how to install the patch as well as an \u201cIssues addressed\u201d section.<\/p>\n

In addition to the Esri Support website, administrators can use the patchnotification<\/em> utility that\u2019s installed with each component of ArcGIS Enterprise on Windows and Linux.\u00a0 The benefit of this utility is that it reports information on relevant ArcGIS Enterprise components based on your installed version automatically. For this utility to report available patches, the machine where each component is installed must have network access to https:\/\/downloads.esri.com\/patch_notification\/patches.json<\/a>.\u00a0 It should be noted that if you’re working in a disconnected environment, with no internet access, the patches will need to be downloaded and installed directly from the Esri Support website.<\/p>\n

For the utility to download patches as necessary, the following sites to also be accessible to the machine where each component is installed:<\/p>\n