Data Center Expert 7.9.2 release notes

[EcoStruxureIT]

You must have a valid software support contract to receive the Data Center Expert 7.9.2 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.

Part Numbers Affected

• AP9465
• AP9470
• AP9475
• AP94VMTRL

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

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 and 11

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

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

• Supported browsers: Edge; Mozilla® Firefox®; Google Chrome™
  See Known issues in DCE for details about support for Internet Explorer and Edge

New features

The Data Center Expert 7.9.2 release updates the server operating system to Rocky Linux 8.6.

Enhancements

• Support for UEFI boot
  The DCE server appliance supports UEFI boot required by new Dell server appliances.

• Updated Linux restore script
  The Linux restore script was updated to use 64-bit packages.

• Optimized logging
  Web server connection debug logging was optimized.

• Certificates
  Improved serialization of certificates between clients and the DCE server.

Server operating system

Server OS: Proprietary Rocky Linux 8.6 (RHEL derivative)

Java version: OpenJDK-headless-1.8.0.342

PostgreSQL: JDBC driver updated to 42.2.26

U-boot was removed.

Windows desktop client

Java version: Adoptium 8u345b01

Software vulnerabilities fixed in DCE 7.9.2

• CVE-2021-44790 – Apache HTTP server
• CVE-2021-34798 – Apache HTTP server

• CVE-2021-34798 – httpd: NULL pointer dereference via malformed requests

• CVE-2021-44224 – httpd: possible NULL dereference or SSRF in forward proxy

• CVE-2022-31197 – PostgreSQL JDBC driver
• CVE-2022-21724 – PostgreSQL JDBC driver

See Data Center Expert Security for more information.

Issues Fixed

• USB restore for DCE server appliances now works as expected.

• Password complexity rules for the apcsetup account were updated to match other accounts.

Known Issues

• An Unable to set the security policy error occurs when setting the Default security policy to DCE in the System > Server Administration > Server access > Security policy option. Restart the server for the security policy change to take effect.

• Once the email settings have been tested in the System > Server Administration > Email settings option, the SMTP server password must be reentered to perform subsequent tests.

• A purge warning email is not sent when Use Remote Storage Only is selected on the System > Server Administration Settings > Storage Settings > Repositories tab.

Complete list of DCE known issues

Software update procedure

The following steps are necessary to update DCE 7.9.1 to DCE 7.9.2.

You must have a valid software support contract to receive the DCE 7.9.2 update.  If you do not, then you will need to purchase one to receive the update.

DCE must be at a minimum of 7.9.1 to update to DCE 7.9.2.  If you are downloading DCE 7.9.2, you will need access to the Internet. 

IMPORTANT: Do not reboot the server during the update.

The DCE 7.9.2 update performs a data migration that takes under an hour for most systems. The data migration can take longer if the system has thousands of devices and years of history, and varies based on several factors:

• Number of devices

• Number of sensors connected to those devices

• Polling interval

• Frequency at which sensor values change. For example, input voltage to UPSs can fluctuate throughout the day vs. temperature sensors in a strictly controlled environment that almost always report the same value.

You can see the status of the update on the Data Center Expert web client Home page.

NOTICE: Before beginning an update, remember to run a full backup on your DCE by going to System > Server Administration Settings > Server Backup/Restore, create a backup entry and then click Start.

1. Download the upgrade.zip file, or contact Technical Support for assistance.
   Note: The restore.iso file may be needed for later use if a re-installation is required. See Restoring using ISO Format for instructions for restoring your data from a restore.iso file from the ISO format.

2. Extract/expand the upgrade zip file into a separate directory on the hard drive of the system that will be running the DCE Console.

3. Login to your DCE v7.9.1 server with full server access. Now select Updates from the menu bar then Apply Server Update.

4. Click Import and look into the subdirectory where extracted files are placed. The structure of the extracted fields should contain two folders, "BW" and "NBCCore", and an index file, "nbcpkg.lst"

5. Select the "nbcpkg.lst" file and click "Open".

6. The Upgrade/New Packages table will update indicating there is an update available for the DCE server. Check the "Install/Upgrade" option for the package(s) you want to upgrade. Click the Install Selected button to start the upgrade for the selected package(s). You will be prompted to confirm you want to proceed with the update. Click Install Update to start the update process. Do not reboot the server during the update process.

7. When the file transfer completes, DCE will restart and disconnect your console connection. You can point a web browser to the DCE server for status.

8. When the update is complete, point a web browser to the DCE server, and select Install DCE Client.

Restoring Data Center Expert using ISO Format

Warning: Only perform the steps in this section if directed to do so by a Technical Support technician.

Before You Restore:  A system restore will erase all data and restore the DCE hardware server to its factory default settings. Make sure you have a copy of all installed license keys and network settings prior to restore.

1. Download the restore.iso file to create a bootable USB key, or contact Technical Support for assistance.

   For a USB Key, follow the instructions provided in Creating a bootable USB Key (Windows or Linux machine).

2. Place the USB key in the USB port of your DCE appliance.

3. Reboot DCE.

4. When the appliance restarts the system restore process begins automatically. This process takes approximately 10 minutes for the 1U DCE Basic, 15 minutes for 1U DCE Standard or 25 minutes for 2U DCE Enterprise.
   When the restore is complete, you will be prompted to remove the USB key and hit enter to reboot the server.
   Note: If the system boots into the existing DCE version, reboot the server and access the BIOS settings. Adjust the boot sequence to boot from USB first.

5. Once DCE has restarted, configure the DCE network settings.

Migrating a Data Center Expert hardware server to a virtual appliance

Before You Migrate: To migrate a DCE hardware server to a virtual appliance, you must purchase and apply an activation key.  Additionally, you must contact APC Support for new node license keys and application license keys for the virtual appliance.

1. Perform a back up of the DCE hardware server, using the Server Backup/Restore option, accessed from the Server Administration Settings option in the System menu.

2. Deploy the demo version OVA, and configure it using the hardware equivalents for the DCE Basic, Standard, or Enterprise server from which you are migrating. The available disk space for the virtual appliance must be greater than the disk space used by the hardware server. You cannot restore to a virtual appliance with fewer CPU, fewer network adapters, less RAM, or less available disk space than the hardware server. See help for Deploying and configuring a DCE virtual appliance, and DCE virtual appliance equivalent configurations.

3. Perform a restore on the virtual appliance, using the Server Backup/Restore option, accessed from the Server Administration Settings option in the System menu. You cannot restore to a virtual machine other than the DCE virtual appliance.

4. Apply the activation key to the virtual appliance.

5. Log in to the DCE client. In the "License Keys" display, accessed from the Server Administration Settings option in the System menu, apply the new node license keys and application license keys you received from APC Support.

Creating a bootable USB Key (Windows or Linux machine)

Instructions for a Windows machine:

1. InsertUSBkey (no larger than 4GB) into your system.

2. Extract the following file to a temporary directory:
   DCExpertUsbFlashRestore_Win_7.9.2_b.zip

3. Open a command prompt to the temporary directory and run mkDCExpertRestoreUsbKey.bat <iso image filename>. For example: mkDCExpertRestoreUsbKey.bat c:\tmp\restore.iso

4. Answer the prompts as appropriate.

Instructions for a Linux machine:

1. Insert a 2GB (or larger) USB key into your system.

2. Extract the following file to a temporary directory: 
   DCExpertUsbFlashRestore_Linux_7.9.2_b.tar.gz

3. Open a command prompt to the temporary directory and run mkDCExpertRestoreUsbKey.sh <iso image filename>. For example: mkDCExpertRestoreUsbKey.sh /tmp/restore.iso

4. Answer the prompts as appropriate.

Third-party USB key scripts:

The scripts used to create USB keys use the following software:

Software	URL	Windows	Linux
Syslinux	http://syslinux.zytor.com/	X	X
7-zip	http://www.7-zip.org	X
GNU sed	http://unxutils.sourceforge.net	X

You can now choose to compress a backup. The compressed backup is a single tar.gz file with a .dce file extension for easier filename filtering. More..