EcoStruxure IT Data Center Expert 8.1.x Release Notes

[JLehr]

Part Numbers Affected

• AP9465
• AP9470
• AP9475
• AP94VMTRL

See the list of the server appliances (AP9465, AP9470, and AP9475) supported by DCE 7.9.x and newer:

See Data Center Expert 7.9.x and newer - server hardware requirements

Minimum system requirements

The Data Center Expert desktop client 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 2016 and 2019, 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: Microsoft Edge; Mozilla® Firefox®; Google Chrome™

Note: See Known Issues in DCE for details about support for Internet Explorer and Edge.

New features

The Data Center Expert 8.1.1 release introduces support for Hyper-V on Windows Server 2019 and 2022 for the DCE virtual appliance.

The Data Center Expert 8.1.0 release contains improvements including:

• Public REST API
  

  The public REST API is now available at https://<server_address>/isxg/rest

• Updated Data Center Expert Virtual Appliance OVA version
  

  The Data Center Expert Virtual Appliance OVA is now built on ESXi 6.7.

  Only E1000E and VMXNET3 network adapters are supported.

• Syslog forwarding
  

  Event log messages can now be forwarded to a Syslog server. Go to System > Server Administration Settings > Syslog Configuration to enable Syslog integration and configure settings.

• New event log messages
  

  The event log now includes:

  • Syslog configuration messages: Enable, Disable, and any changes that occur.
  • Threshold configuration messages when a user creates, deletes, or modifies a threshold.
  • Notification policy messages, including the policy name, when a user creates, deletes, or modifies a notification policy.
  • Device group messages when devices are moved from one group to another.
• AD/LDAP configurable timeout
  The timeout for AD/LDAP is now configurable up to 300 seconds; the default is 15 seconds.
  Go to System > Users and Device Group Access > Authentication Servers.
  Note: When you increase the authentication server timeout, also increase the timeout on the desktop client login screen.
• New alarm action macro
  

  There is a new $(SENSORVAL_NOLABEL) alarm action macro that does not include special characters.

  When you configure the Short Message Email alarm action, you can replace the default $(SENSORVAL) macro in the Subject and Message fields with $(SENSORVAL_NOLABEL) to display the sensor value without the label, for example, 81.2 rather than 81.2 ° F.

• New option to customize device labels      
  

  You can now customize device labels for SNMP and Modbus devices. Right click the device and select Device Label Settings.

• Available disk space check
  

  The Data Center Expert server now checks the available disk space before performing a software update and before restoring a backup.

• Backup list load time
  

  The loading time for the list of backups was optimized.

• Obsolete options removed
  

  Obsolete options were removed from the desktop client:

  • Customer Experience Program
  • ION Enterprise Settings
  • Remote Monitoring Service (RMS)
  • InfraStruxure Manager Migration Utility

Visit the EcoStruxure IT Help Center for more information.

Server operating system

Server OS: Proprietary Rocky Linux 8.9 (RHEL derivative)

Java version: OpenJDK-headless-11.0.22.0.7-2.el8

Windows desktop client

Java version: Adoptium 8u392-b08

Software vulnerabilities fixed in DCE 8.1.1

None

Software vulnerabilities fixed in DCE 8.1.0

• CVE-2023-4863 - Heap buffer overflow in WebP Codec
• CVE-2023-4911 - Heap buffer overflow in glibc

See the Data Center Expert Security section in the Help Center for more information.

Issues fixed

The following issues were fixed in DCE 8.1.1:

• Email notifications no longer identify the DCE version incorrectly.
• Non-admin users can now access dashboards and gadgets as expected.

The following issues were fixed in DCE 8.1.0:

• There are no longer additional attempts to authenticate after one AD/LDAP authentication attempt fails.
• Changing the security policy no longer causes an error; the server reboots as expected.
• SNMPv3 devices no longer lose connectivity after the credentials are modified.
• A typographical error in the Edit Credentials display for NetBotz Appliance Credentials was addressed.
• The error message displayed in the NetBotz Camera Communication Settings display when dashes or wildcards are used is now more informative.
• The test option in the E-mail Settings display now works as expected.
• The link to the release notes in the installer was updated.
• The text in the client installer in Korean is now displayed as expected.

Known issues

• Due to a change in authentication in DCE 8.1 and newer, the integration with EcoStruxure Building Operation no longer works after updating DCE 8.0 to 8.1 or 8.1.1. This will be addressed in DCE 8.2.2.

  Please see https://www.apc.com/us/en/faqs/FAQ000267255/

• When a path with a leading backslash (example: \mnt\pool\nfs) is entered into the Share field in the System > Server Administration Settings > Server Backup/Restore > Backup Share Settings display, and the Subdirectory field is blank, the test and the backup both fail.
  Replace the backslashes in the path with forward slashes to mitigate this issue.
• After updating DCE to version 8.1.0, display sensor values such as firmware revision, hardware revision, model number, and serial number may be reported as unplugged for some Galaxy VS, Symmetra LX, and Symmetra PX250 UPSs. Reboot the server to mitigate the issue.

Complete list of known issues in DCE

Release notes for older versions of Data Center Expert

Software update procedure

The following steps are necessary to update DCE 8.0.0 or 8.1.0 to DCE 8.1.1.

DCE must be at a minimum of 8.0.0 to update to DCE 8.1.1. If you are downloading DCE 8.1.1, you will need access to the Internet. 

You must have a valid software support contract to receive the DCE 8.1.1 update.  If you do not, then you will need to purchase one to receive the update.

The DCE software update files are available in 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.

IMPORTANT: Do not reboot the server during the update.

The DCE 8.1.1 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.

It is recommended that you perform the server update when you upload the upgrade file to your DCE server. The update will be performed automatically if the server reboots after the upgrade file is uploaded.

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. Log in to your DCE 8.0.0 or 8.1.0 server with full server access. Select Updates > Apply Server Update.
3. Click Import to import the upgrade.zip file.
   Note: DCE 8.0 and newer only accept the zipped upgrade file.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. When the update is complete, point a web browser to the DCE server, and select Download 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_8.1.1_b.zip

3. Open a command prompt to the temporary directory using the cd command. The command prompt working directory must be the same location as the extracted files.

4. Run mkDCExpertRestoreUsbKey.bat <iso image filename>.
   Example: mkDCExpertRestoreUsbKey.bat c:\tmp\restore.iso

5. 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_8.1.1_b.tar.gz

3. Open a command prompt to the temporary directory using the cd command. The command prompt working directory must be the same location as the extracted files.

4. Run mkDCExpertRestoreUsbKey.sh <iso image filename>.
   Example: mkDCExpertRestoreUsbKey.sh /tmp/restore.iso

5. 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