Data Center Expert 7.9.0 release notes

[EcoStruxureIT]

The upgrade from DCE 7.8.1 requires a fresh install of the software or a new VM. This upgrade requires more steps than previous versions.

See Software upgrade process for DCE 7.9.0

You must have a valid software support contract to receive the Data Center Expert 7.9.0 update file on the EcoStruxure IT Entitlements portal
Log in and then click Software Updates. More information...

If the DCE update files are not available in EcoStruxure IT Entitlements, contact your local technical support to verify your support contract and get access to the update file(s) you need.

See the list of the server appliances (AP9465, AP9470, and AP9475) supported by DCE 7.9.x:
Data Center Expert 7.9.0 server hardware requirements

The Data Center Expert 7.9.0 release updates the server operating system to Rocky Linux 8.4.

The DCE 7.9.0 release contains security updates and various fixes.

The current version of Data Center Expert is 7.9.0.196.
Some customers received DCE 7.9.0.192, 193, or 194. See Known issues

Part numbers affected

• AP9465
• AP9470
• AP9475
• AP94VMTRL

Minimum system requirements

The DCE console is a stand-alone Java application that runs on systems that meet the following requirements:

• A PC with a 1-GHz or better AMD/Intel processor running a 64-bit operating system: Microsoft® Windows® Server 2012 or 2016, Windows 10; CentOS 6

• At least 2 GB of RAM and 20 GB disk space

• Screen resolution should be set to at least 1024 x 768

• Web client supported browsers: Edge; Mozilla® Firefox®; Google Chrome™
  See Known issues for details about support for Internet Explorer and Edge

New features

SMBv2 and higher support

Server Message Block (SMB) v2 and v3 are supported in Data Center Expert 7.9.0 and newer.

Data Center Expert 7.8.1 and older do not support SMB versions higher than version 1.

IMPORTANT: To backup DCE 7.8.1 to restore on DCE 7.9.0, you must use SMBv1 or NFS.

Microsoft began disabling SMBv1 in Windows Updates. This can cause DCE 7.8.1 and older to be unable to back up to existing shares or mount new shares. More information about enabling SMBv1 

See How to perform a backup in DCE

Server access option changes

The SSL option in the Server Access > Web server tab was removed. Private proxy and web server SSL/TLS are now included in a security policy you select.

The System > Server Administration Settings > Server Access option now includes a Security Policy tab. You select one of the cryptographic policies supported by the Data Center Expert server:

• • Future: Experimental. Most restrictive to withstand near-term future attacks
  • Default: Secure settings for current threat models
  • Legacy: Least restrictive for maximum compatibility
  • DCE: Recommended. Custom policy, less restrictive than Default and more restrictive than Legacy

The DCE policy is selected by default. The DCE policy is similar to the LEGACY policy except that it does not allow any RC4 or 3DES based ciphers.

These policies are applied consistently to running services and are kept up-to-date as part of Data Center Expert software updates.

See the documentation for security policy definitions from Red Hat here.

Additional SNMPv3 device discovery options

SNMPv3 device discovery options now include additional authentication and encryption types:

• • Authentication types: None; MD5; SHA; SHA-224; SHA-256; SHA-384; SHA-512
  • Encryption types: DES; AES-128; AES-192; AES-256

UTF-8 character support for self-signed certificates

UTF-8 characters for self-signed certificates are now supported.

Software vulnerabilities fixed in DCE 7.9.0

• CVE-2012-2150 - Improper obfuscation of file data
• CVE-2015-9251 - Cross-site scripting
• CVE-2007-2379 - JSON data protection scheme
• CVE-2021-3156 - Heap-based buffer overflow
• CVE-2020-26217 - Remote code execution

• CVE-2021-21345 - XStream unsafe deserialization

• CVE-2021-39144 - XStream unsafe deserialization

• ZDI-CAN-13553, ISC-VU-172179 - Command Injection Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
• ZDI-CAN-13077, ISC-VU-786838 - Improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory

See Data Center Expert Security for more information.

Server operating system

Server OS: This release updates the proprietary DCE server OS to Rocky Linux 8.4 (RHEL derivative).

Java Version: 1.8.0_201-b09

Issues fixed

• Devices placed in maintenance mode prior to a software update can now be removed from maintenance mode after the update as expected.

• In the web client, scatter plot gadgets no longer disappear after the refresh interval expires.

Known issues

• Multiple versions of DCE 7.9.0

  The current version of Data Center Expert is 7.9.0.196. Some customers received DCE 7.9.0.192, 193, or 194.

  DCE 7.9.0.196 addresses the following issues in previous versions of the DCE 7.9.0 release:

  • Sensor data does not populate as expected.
  • Logs can overburden the system.
  • Return to normal emails are not sent.

To update a previous DCE 7.9.0 version to DCE 7.9.0.196, do one of the following:

Contact support to replace the necessary files. Allowing remote access to the DCE server is required.

OR

Back up the DCE 7.9.0.192, 193, or 194 server. Download DCE 7.9.0.196 at the link previously provided, deploy a new server, and restore from backup. There is no upgrade option between DCE 7.9.0 versions.

• All devices in a firmware update group are selected
  After searching for and selecting a device in the Apply Firmware Updates dialog, and then collapsing and expanding its firmware group, all the devices in the group are selected.

• Launch to NMC 1 devices using HTTPS on the private network only
  For NMC 1 devices using HTTPS, launch to the device works from the private network only.
  This applies to devices with NMC 1 (AP9617, AP9618, AP9619) and devices with an embedded NMC 1 including, but not limited to: Metered/Switched Rack PDUs (AP78XX, AP79XX); Rack Automatic Transfer Switches (AP77XX); Environmental Monitoring Units (AP9320, AP9340, NetBotz 200)

• Alarms do not load in the web client in Internet Explorer or Edge
  Alarms do not load when you access the web client from Internet Explorer 11 or Edge versions lower than 80.0. Alarms load as expected in Firefox and Chrome.
  Note: To update Edge to the latest version, go to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/edge

• Windows client does not restart after server change
  The Windows client does not restart after server change. After you change the server in the File > Change Server in the installed client, the client closes and does not restart. This only occurs in the Windows client. Linux client installs are not affected.

Complete list of DCE known issues

Software upgrade process for DCE 7.9.0

The Data Center Expert 7.9.0 release updates the server operating system to Rocky Linux 8.4. The upgrade from DCE 7.8.1 requires a fresh install of the software or a new VM.

This upgrade requires more steps than previous versions.

See Complete upgrade process for DCE 7.9.0

It is required that you contact support to verify you have a valid software support contract before you receive the Data Center Expert 7.9.0 upgrade file.

You must have a valid software support contract to receive the Data Center Expert 7.9.0 upgrade.  If you do not have a valid software support contract, then you will need to purchase one to receive the upgrade.

Data Center Expert must be at a minimum of version 7.8.1 to upgrade to Data Center Expert 7.9.0.

To upgrade from older DCE versions to 7.8.1, use the standard upgrade process.

DCE 7.9.0 does not support server appliances (AP9465, AP9470, and AP9475) manufactured before 2012. See Data Center Expert 7.9.0 server hardware requirements