Java 7 announcement

OSG community:

To help OSG admins migrate from the now-unsupported free edition of Oracle
JDK 1.6, the OSG Software team has prepared and tested new builds of all
Java packages using Java version 7 (specifically, using OpenJDK 7). Today,
we announce that the new packages are available in (Upcoming) production
and that we are seeking volunteers to be the first to deploy them.

DEPLOYMENT PLAN

The Java 7 packages are available now in the Upcoming area. Eventually, we
will incorporate these updates back into the main OSG Software 3.1 area, so
that they become the default packages for all users. The timeline for this
transition is as follows:

* now - 30 August 2013: Early adopters use packages from Upcoming
* 13 August 2013: Fix remaining known issues in Upcoming (see below)
* 10 September 2013: Release Java 7 packages in main OSG Software 3.1 area

Of course, if a number of issues arise, we may elect to delay the release
until the planned 8 October release.

Please let us know soon if you want and are able to be an early adopter of
the Java 7 packages. We would like your feedback on how the packages are
working for you and how the upgrade process goes. Contact information is
below.

HOW TO INSTALL JAVA 7 PACKAGES

Because sites may not want to install the Java 7 packages right away, they
are available from the Upcoming area, described here:

https://www.opensciencegrid.org/bin/view/Documentation/Release3/InstallOsgUpcomingSoftware

Specific installation instructions for the Java 7 packages are here:

https://www.opensciencegrid.org/bin/view/Documentation/Release3/InstallSoftwareWithOpenJDK7

KNOWN ISSUES TODAY

Today, there are a few known issues with the Java 7 packages in Upcoming:

* The jGlobus package (used by BeStMan 2) needs bug fix updates
* HDFS 2 installs fail due to a missing bigtop-utils package

Both issues are expected to be fixed in OSG 3.1.22 on 13 August 2013.

BACKGROUND

The main software components affected by this project are:

* BeStMan 2
* dCache and BeStMan SRM clients
* GUMS
* Gratia service
* HDFS (aka hadoop-0.20)
* Pegasus
* VOMS (specifically, VOMS Admin)

For earlier information about our migration project, see:

https://www.opensciencegrid.org/bin/view/Documentation/Release3/Java6Migration

CONTACT US

We welcome feedback on issues you encounter with the new packages at
osg-software@opensciencegrid.org or goc@opensciencegrid.org