.DEF files upgd importance

[thebuffman]

I have not been in the habit of updating the .def files whenever I perform a HFA update. Does anyone know the importance of updating these files? I have never had a problem because they were not updated from the latest HFA.

Any insight is appreciated.

[northlandboy]

It depends.

*.def file changes are required for some specific fixes - e.g. there have been quite a few RTSP fixes that require changes. If you don't need the fix, then it doesn't really matter if you upgrade them or not.

If you've got any custom changes - e.g. for FTP - then you need to make the changes in the new files if you are upgrading them. That's the reason they don't do it automatically.

Be aware that if you do a major version upgrade, any custom changes are not carried forward. Can catch you out.

[thebuffman]

thanks northlandboy. 2nd question. in the documentation for applying hfa_04 there is a section on .def file upgrades. the first couple of sentences reference smartcenter .def file upgrades. they never mention .def file upgrades for enforcement modules. do enforcement modules not require .def file upgrades even though i see the new .def files present after installing hfa_04 on the enforcement module?

[northlandboy]

.def file upgrades are only done on the mgmt station. They're used in compiling policy, not in enforcing it - well, not directly, anyway.