SCU Files and the Upgrade

By following the upgrade process, iFIX installs to same folder where your previous version existed. For example, if you have iFIX installed to the C:\Dynamics folder, when you upgrade, the newer version of iFIX installs to the C:\Dynamics folder. After the iFIX upgrade completes and you restart iFIX, your SCU file is upgraded automatically, and the original file is backed up with a .^CU extension.

NOTE: Direct upgrades from iFIX 3.5 to the latest version of iFIX are not supported. To upgrade your SCU, upgrade the SCU to 5.8 first and then upgrade to the latest version.

If you choose not to upgrade and install iFIX to another path, such as the default: C:\Program Files (x86)\GE\iFIX, there are a few extra steps you need to perform before you can start the older version SCU file in the latest version of iFIX. First, you must rename the older version SCU file, so that the name is different than the default iFIX SCU file. For instance, if you try to start an iFIX 4.0 SCU file in the latest version of iFIX, when the names of both SCU files are the same, an error message appears instead. So, be sure to rename your iFIX 4.0 SCU file to something other than the startup default file name before opening it in the upgraded iFIX System Configuration Utility. After launching the SCU application, open the older SCU file. Now you can manually update the information in it, as described in the steps below.

Be aware that if you have a Custom Backup available of your node with the previous version installed, you also can use that file to upgrade your SCU. During the restore, make sure you select the Use SCU File from Archive check box. If the SCU file name you are upgrading is the same as the iFIX default SCU file name in the latest version, you need to change the path configuration at this point. Click on the View Project Path Configuration button to check the current paths. In the Project Path edit box, enter the iFIX install path. This upgrades your SCU file automatically, however you still have to manually update other SCU information in the System Configuration Utility, as described in the steps below. For more information on the restore process, refer to the Overview of the Restore Process section.

IMPORTANT:

  • You do not need to use a Full Backup from a previous release of iFIX if you are just upgrading the SCU file. Instead, use a Custom Backup. Make sure that you back up the SCU only in the .fbk file and restore it only in the latest version of iFIX. If you do a Custom Backup, click “NO TO ALL” other files when restoring just the SCU file. Do not use a Full Backup between iFIX versions. Issues can occur with upgrade paths, and possibly other files.
  • During a restore, use caution in restoring other configuration files. For instance, if you overwrite the .INI files in your iFIX Local folder, you lose all of iFIX .INI settings from the latest version. After that is done, there may be issues that cause iFIX or certain features not to work properly. For instance, if you overwrite the FIX.ini file with a 3.5 one, you need to remove or comment out the RUN=REGISTERHELPFILES line in order to start the latest version of iFIX with this file.
  • Be sure check the default iFIX path configurations in the SCU in each of your iFIX projects after you upgrade or restore a project. For example, if you installed the latest version of iFIX to a 64-bit path (C:\Program Files (x86)\GE\iFIX), and your previous picture files were installed to a 32-bit path (C:\Program Files\GE\iFIX), you will need to make sure you update these paths to 64-bit.

To update the SCU information manually:

NOTE: The following steps describe how to modify an SCU file with a path outside the install path, so that you run it in iFIX.

  1. Shut down iFIX.
  2. On the Start menu, point to Programs, iFIX, and then System Configuration to open the SCU.
  3. From the SCU Configure menu, click Paths.
  4. In the Path Configuration dialog box, change the base path and NLS path to point to the local install path. Change the project path to point to the project destination folder, if it does not already do so.
  5. From the SCU Configure menu, click Tasks.
  6. In the Task Configuration dialog box, change the path of the configured tasks to the local install path, make sure that you include the same command line options.
  7. From the SCU Configure menu, click Network.
  8. In the Network Configuration dialog box, confirm the information is correct and make changes if necessary.
  9. From the SCU Configure menu, click SQL, and then click Configure SQL Tasks.
  10. In the SQL Task Configuration dialog box, make sure that the Primary and Backup paths are correct, if used.
  11. From the SCU Configure menu, click Local Startup Paths.
  12. In the Local Startup Definition dialog box, change the path to the folder you copied the project to with the get command.
  13. From the SCU File menu, click Save. Save it as the default startup SCU file name or indicate that this is the SCU you want to use on startup.
  14. Restart iFIX.

 

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