Determining RU and Patch Level via HIS file
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Determining RU and Patch Level via HIS file

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Article ID: 427138

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Updated On:

Products

CA Service Desk Manager CA Service Management - Service Desk Manager

Issue/Introduction

The HIS file serves as a primary log record to determine installed patch levels and identify files modified during a Rollup (RU) or patch installation. This article describes how to locate and interpret the HIS file to validate the current state of a Service Desk Manager (SDM) environment.

Environment

All releases of Service Desk

Resolution

The HIS file name is derived from the server name: [SERVERNAME].HIS.

  • Windows: C:\Program Files (x86)\CA\Service Desk Manager (Default)
  • Linux: $NX_ROOT or /opt/CA/ServiceDeskManager

Consider the HIS file to also be a log record of a given patch or Roll Up fix and the files that were modified as a result of the install.  For instance, the first few lines of a given HIS file may read as:

[Tue Oct 08 18:09:16 2024] - PTF Wizard created this history file.
[Tue Oct 08 18:09:36 2024] - PTF Wizard installed GOL-78_CUM_C (USRD)
RELEASE=17.4
GENLEVEL=0000
COMPONENT=USRD-CMN
PREREQS=
MPREREQS=
COREQS=
MCOREQS=
SUPERSEDE=
INSTALLEDFILE=C:\Program Files (x86)\CA\Service Desk Manager\doc\Deliverable_List_in_Cumulatives_for_Windows.txt,TIME=Thu Jun 22 10:37:41 2023

INSTALLEDFILE=C:\Program Files (x86)\CA\Service Desk Manager\doc\Deliverable_List_in_Cumulatives_for_Windows.html,TIME=Thu Jun 22 10:37:41 2023

INSTALLEDFILE=C:\Program Files (x86)\CA\Service Desk Manager\bin\CatalogSync.jar,TIME=Thu Jun 22 10:16:53 2023

INSTALLEDFILE=C:\Program Files (x86)\CA\Service Desk Manager\bin\GRLoader.exe,TIME=Thu Jun 22 10:26:49 2023

....

To determine the patch level, locate the line in the HIS file indicating "PTF Wizard installed". Each Rollup installation typically generates three distinct entries:

  1. CUM_C: Indicates the installed binaries.
  2. LANGCOMBO: Indicates the language combo patch.
  3. Language Specific (e.g., EN_US): Indicates the localized patch for the specific instance language.

Command Line Verification To quickly list all installed patches, run the following command from the Service Desk install directory: findstr "PTF Wizard" [SERVERNAME].HIS

Example Output:

C:\PROGRA~2\CA\SERVIC~1>findstr "PTF Wizard" [SERVERNAME].HIS
[Tue Oct 08 18:09:16 2024] - PTF Wizard created this history file.
[Tue Oct 08 18:09:36 2024] - PTF Wizard installed GOL-78_CUM_C (USRD)
[Tue Oct 08 18:20:32 2024] - PTF Wizard installed GOL-78_LANGCOMBO (USRD)
[Tue Oct 08 18:24:47 2024] - PTF Wizard installed GOL-78_EN_US (USRD)
[Thu Jan 09 18:28:59 2025] - PTF Wizard installed GOL-230_CUM_C (USRD)
[Thu Jan 09 18:40:05 2025] - PTF Wizard installed GOL-230_LANGCOMBO (USRD)
[Thu Jan 09 18:43:48 2025] - PTF Wizard installed GOL-230_EN_US (USRD)

There may be gaps between releases when reading a given HIS file.  In the above example, 17.4 GA (GOL-78) was installed on Oct, 2024, which is the baseline install.  However, 17.4 RU3 (GOL-230) was installed on Jan, 2025, which appears to bypass 17.4 RU1 and 17.4 RU2. The intervening RU entries are not included in the HIS file because RU fixes are cumulative and contain all prior fixes that had been published.  

Additional Information

Version Prefix Codes:

  • GOL: 17.4
  • HYD: 17.3
  • LEH: 17.2
  • GOA: 17.0 and 17.1

The numeric value following the code is an identifier for the actual RU that is in place.  The following chart matches the given SDM 17.4 release with the corresponding code value found in the HIS file.

ReleaseCode
17.4 GAGOL-78
17.4 RU1GOL-94
17.4 RU2GOL-168
17.4 RU3GOL-230
17.4 RU4GOL-310
17.4 RU5GOL-351

Releases prior to 17.4 GA are omitted in the above chart as they are all EOS releases of Service Desk.

Note on Cumulative Updates: Rollup fixes are cumulative. If your HIS file shows a jump (e.g., GOL-78 to GOL-230), the intervening RU entries (RU1, RU2) will not be listed individually. This is normal behavior as the latest RU contains all prior fixes.

Specialized Patches:

  • T-Prefix (e.g., T5UG123): Indicates a test or one-off patch issued by Development.
  • R/Q-Prefix: Applicable only to legacy versions (11.x, 12.x, 14.x) and should not appear in 17.x environments.

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