Mobile Upgrade Console 

Purpose

This is a deployment tool that enables you to package a customized or upgraded application and deploy it to mobile clients (laptops). You can modify the standard mobile client application delivered by SAP to suit specific project and business requirements. So, even if SAP ships CDs containing installation programs that install the standard application, you require a tool to upgrade the standard application with the customized application and deploy this upgrade to mobile clients. To enable such an upgrade with a minimum overhead, SAP provides you with the Mobile Upgrade Console. 

Implementation Considerations

You can use the Mobile Upgrade Console when you need to carry out:

·        An initial deployment of the customized application to mobile clients

·        A subsequent upgrade of an application to mobile clients. After deploying the customized application, to all mobile clients, you may receive a support package that contains the latest version of the application from SAP. In such a case, you must create and send an upgrade to apply the support package on all mobile clients.

Integration

The following table describes components that are related to the Mobile Upgrade Console.

Component	Description
Client Upgrade Service	This component is available as an Operating System Service on all mobile clients running Microsoft Windows NT and Microsoft Windows 2000. It supports the Mobile Upgrade Deployer in performing the upgrade, even if the laptop user does not have administrative rights.
Mobile Upgrade Deployer	This is available on all mobile clients and is used to deploy the upgrade.

Features

·        Upgrade Units

The Mobile Upgrade Console allows you to package information into specific parts called Upgrade Units. Each Upgrade Unit contains files and folders (collection of files) that will be deployed to mobile clients. Furthermore, the tool allows you to run commands on mobile clients and includes built-in support for tasks like creating/deleting registry keys, running scripts on databases, triggering a reboot or executing exe and batch files. You have the added advantage of defining the order of execution of upgrade units and individual commands within a unit. This is defined when sending the upgrade.

·        Standard Units

Standard Units are predefined units shipped by SAP. These units contain instructions to upgrade mobile clients on User Interface (UI), database, Business Object Layer (BOL) and Message changes. For more information, see Standard Units.

·        Multiple modes support

The 'Unit’ mode allows you to create/modify/delete an Upgrade Unit.  The 'Upgrade’ mode allows you to add/remove units to/from an upgrade. Additionally, you can set properties for the upgrade.

·        Upgrade specification storage

Settings that you make for different kinds of upgrades can be stored in Upgrade Units, in the application repository. This information can be reused when sending the next upgrade of a similar type.

To simplify the process of sending upgrades, SAP ships standard Upgrade Units for different types of upgrades with each release. Customers can use these standard Upgrade Units as a template to send their upgrades. 

·        Filter based upgrade distribution

You can distribute upgrades based on a language dependent attribute. This enables you to choose a selected target for an upgrade based on the language of files and folders. The CRM Middleware subscription mechanism can distinguish the different mobile clients as upgrade targets based on the language.

·        Self upgrade support

You can use this tool to upgrade its own components on the mobile client. This is achieved by a mechanism of queuing files in use for replacement, and then triggering a reboot.  

·        Queue block support

CRM Middlewareoffers the feature of blocking the in-bound queue of mobile clients until an upgrade is completely processed. This ensures that data in the new structures is processed after the laptop is upgraded with new structures.

·        Checkpoint restart support

If the upgrade is interrupted (due to a power failure or an abnormal abort of the process by the application user, before completion), the tool can detect where the process last stopped when the laptop is restarted. This saves time and avoids repetitive Upgrade Units being processed.

·        Offline upgrade support

You can send large volumes of data via an offline channel. For example, you can send installation programs via CDs. In order to synchronize this information with application data, the offline upgrade can only be started by an upgrade sent via the normal online channel (via the CRM Server). When the online upgrade is received at the mobile client, it prompts the user to insert the CD containing the offline upgrade, thus enabling a complete upgrade process.

·        Elevated privilege support

The tool can handle upgrades on the mobile client even if the sales representative does not have administrator rights on the laptop. This is done through the means of an Operating System Service that runs on the local system account and hence has full rights over the local machine.

·        File based upgrade

The tool allows you to deploy upgrades via the file system. This is particularly useful when you initially deploy the customized application and when the mobile client is not connected to the CRM Server (as in the case of a WorkGroup client).

·        Unattended upgrade

You can run the upgrade in an 'Unattended Mode' where there is no user interaction required and all status messages are put into a log file.

·        Status monitoring

After an upgrade is complete, the tool sends the status of the upgrade of each mobile client back to the CRM Server, where the status can be read.

·        Single package upgrade

When you create a package using the Mobile Upgrade Console the output is a file name with the extension mup (Mobile Upgrade Package). This package contains upgrade data (files and folders) and meta data (upgrade properties, commands and so on).

·        Selective deployment

You can view the contents of a Mobile Upgrade Package. The package contents are grouped in upgrade units. You can further view details of each unit. When viewing package contents, you can select specific units that you want deployed. The option of making this selection is defined when creating the package. Only selected Upgrade Units get deployed.

·        Built-in commands

The Mobile Upgrade Console includes new built-in commands to support basic tasks. You can specify an executable or batch file, along with parameters, that should be run. Furthermore, you can indicate commands to copy, move or delete files or folders.