Chapter 3. Patching and Upgrading JBoss EAP 6
3.1. About Patches and Upgrades
A major upgrade or migration is required when an application is moved from one major release to another, for example, from JBoss EAP 5 to JBoss EAP 6. This type of migration is not addressed in this guide. For instructions on how to migrate from previous releases of JBoss EAP, see the Migration Guide for JBoss EAP 6 located on the Customer Portal at https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_jboss_enterprise_application_platform/?version=6.4.
JBoss EAP periodically provides point releases, which are minor updates that include bug fixes, security fixes, and new features. Minor updates are not applied via patching. If you plan to migrate from one JBoss EAP point release to another, for example, from JBoss EAP 6.3 to JBoss EAP 6.4, code changes should not be required for applications that follow the Java EE specification and do not use any private, unsupported, or tech preview modules. Before you upgrade your JBoss EAP installation, be sure to review Section 3.3.1, “Prepare for the Upgrade” to avoid potential upgrade issues.
JBoss EAP also periodically provides individual or cumulative patches that contain bug and security fixes. Cumulative patches increment the minor release version by the last digit, for example from 6.4.1 to 6.4.2. These patches do not require migration and should not impact the server configuration files. The CLI patch feature can also rollback the patch and the configuration if desired. The patching process is covered in detail in the following sections of this chapter.
