Before you begin
Read Overview of migration, coexistence, and interoperability and Premigration considerations. For resources to help you plan and perform
your migration, visit Knowledge Collection: Migration planning for WebSphere Application Server.
Interoperability applies to WebSphere administrative
actions, administrative communication and to application client requests. WebSphere Application Server Version 7.0 is generally interoperable
with Version 5.1.x and Version 6.x. However, there are specific requirements
to address for each version. In general, you should be at the most
recent group PTF level to support interoperability.
You can upgrade a portion of the nodes in a cell to
WebSphere Application Server Version 7.0 while leaving others
at the older release level. This means that, for a period of time,
you might be administering servers that are at the current release
and servers that are running the newer release in the same cell.
Restrictions on using mixed-release cells:
- A mixed-release environment where some members are at an older
release level might have some restrictions. For details, read the
"Creating application servers" article in the information center.
- A WebSphere Application Server, Network Deployment cell can contain
mixed releases of Version 5.1.x or Version 6.x nodes, but there is
no mixed-node management support for Version 6.0.0.x and Version 6.0.1.x.
The
Version 7.0 migration
tools still migrate these nodes during deployment-manager migration,
but they issue a warning message that the nodes cannot be managed
by the
Version 7.0 deployment
manager. You can then do one of the following based on your needs:
- Upgrade all Version 6.0.0.x and Version 6.0.1.x nodes to at least
Version 6.0.2. This will allow them to be administered by a Version 7.0 deployment manager.
- Migrate these nodes to Version 7.0.
- If you want to interoperate Version 7.0 with Version 5.1.x,
you must be at or above the Version 5.1.1.1 level. Older levels of
Version 5.1 do not support interoperability with Version 7.0.
- You cannot add a Version 5.1.x node to an existing cell managed
by a Version 7.0 deployment
manager. You can only include a Version 5.1.x node in a Version 7.0 mixed-release cell
through migration. First, migrate the Version 5.1.x deployment manager
to Version 7.0; and then
either keep the nodes at Version 5.1.x or migrate them to Version 7.0.
For web application clients, interoperability
is provided by employing the HTTP server plug-in at the highest version
of all of the application servers in the cell. For example, a cell
comprised of WebSphere Application Server Version 7.0 and Version
6.1 application servers would use a supported HTTP server with a Version
7.0 plug-in. Refer to the TechnoteWeb server plug-in policy for WebSphere Application
Server for more information.