How to be informed about new SQL Anywhere EBFs/SPs?

[VolkerBarth]

In former Sybase times, it was quite easy to be informed about freshly released EBFs:

• You could get a daily or weekly mail notification when configured that way within the MySybase account.
• You could quite easily check the Sybase EBF download page for new entries.
• Breck has maintained the very easily accessable "Latest EBFs" overview on his blog.

What are my options nowadays?

It seems that

• relying on the builtin Update Checker within Interactive SQL / Sybase Central may or may not tell you about updates - for example, there's a newer 12.0.1 EBF available than 12.0.1.4155 but the Update Checker does tell the opposite
• Breck has given up the maintenance of the "Latest EBFs" page for understandable reasons - it is no more possible (or at least rather difficult) to link to the downloads
• checking the new "permament links" to the current SQL Anywhere EBF readme's does not work reliably - cf. the comments from that FAQ.
• and that I'm finally too dumb to find out how to register for a mail notification within the SAP marketplace or support space - I sure do get much more SAP notifications than desired but not related to EBFs.

Please tell me I have overseen the obvious choice.

[Vlad]

This is not a complete answer, and I do not know how to get notifications either. However, I usually use direct links to patches that you can steal from IE. E.g. this link works in FF (private mode) - https://service.sap.com/sap/bc/bsp/spn/download_basket/download.htm?objid=012002523100018280622014D&... (EBF 23745: 16.0.0 SP26 Build 2038)
Maybe this will help Breck to maintain the blog further.

[Breck_Carter]

So... do folks think the EBF blog posts were useful?

[VolkerBarth]

YES.

(That's a big yes.)

(That's not to say your other blog posts were less useful - please keep on...)

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BTW: Your question would be an appropriate "poll" on this forum, wouldn't it? (Though I might add an "rhetorical-question" tag:))

[Vlad]

Yes, why not? I read the pages from time to time. My RSS reader is subscribed to your blog.

[former_SQLA_member1694873]

A related question: Is anyone else using the free SA16 Developer Edition? I have 16.0.0.1948. Does anyone know if there is a later EBF, and how to get it?

[VolkerBarth]

Any official answer would be appreciated...

[jeff_albion · Accepted solution]

Hi Volker,

You are correct in that the EBF update mechanisms have changed by moving into the SAP support area. Here is the current status of these various mechanisms:

• The old Sybase 'Subscribe to Updates' e-mail feature does not currently exist in the SAP landscape, so unfortunately that has been eliminated as an option for now. We will bring this up with the other product organizations in SAP to see if this is something that can be implemented for the future.

• You can still check the individual SAP Support Portal Support Package download pages manually. Remember to scroll to the very bottom of the window listing for the latest updates (Note: SQL Anywhere 12 and 16 are the only versions currently receiving updates from SQL Anywhere development):

  • SQL Anywhere 9
  • SQL Anywhere 10
  • SQL Anywhere 11
  • SQL Anywhere 12
  • SQL Anywhere 16

• We are maintaining updated README SAP Notes here, but yes, there might be a slight delay with the released update:

  • SQL Anywhere 9 Release Notes
  • SQL Anywhere 10 Release Notes
  • SQL Anywhere 11 Release Notes
  • SQL Anywhere 12 Release Notes
  • SQL Anywhere 16 Release Notes

• The update checker from Interactive SQL / Sybase Central is currently being moved into the SAP landscape, so that mechanism should be functional (and kept up to date) once the systems are in place. We will advise once this mechanism should be up and running once again.

[VolkerBarth · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the clarification, as usual it's helpful to know about the current status, the migration hurdles and the planned steps for improvements. (And I'm aware that you certainly would prefer to be able to announce that all previous Sybase facilities would have been replaced with working counterparts in the SAP world...)

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For the time being, I feel I will not yet consider that an "accepted" answer as it still requires "active polling". I hope Breck will continue to use his blog to notify others...

[VolkerBarth · Accepted solution]

Jeff, has there been improvements in the meantime?

I guess I still have to check for updates manually (i.e. look for new SPs in the SAP Support Portal), which is certainly do-able but not really efficient...

And neither the Update Checker (see below, altough in German) nor any other means seem to be available to tell me that there have been three new SPs in the meantime (SPs 88-90, EBFs 4231, 4266 and 4278).

(And sadly, Breck has stopped has valuable overview.)