**************************************************************************** Software Release: Secomea RDM 4.2 - public release Release Date: 2010-05-07 **************************************************************************** (c) Copyright 2010, Secomea A/S. All rights reserved. **************************************************************************** Scope and production information **************************************************************************** This is Secomea Remote Device Management release 4.2 build 10186. This release note describes changes since Release 4.1 build 9454, including the changes in interim release 4.1a build 10014. Please refer to the older release notes for further information. Products covered: --------------------------------------------------- SiteManager 2029 (Hardware with UMTS interface) SiteManager 2129 (Hardware with UMTS interface) SiteManager 2034 (Hardware with dual DEV interfaces) SiteManager 2134 (Hardware with dual DEV interfaces) SiteManager 3034 (Hardware with DIN mount and 4-port switch) SiteManager 3134 (Hardware with DIN mount and 4-port switch) SiteManager 6040 (Software version, external agent support) SiteManager 6240 (Software version, internal agent support) LinkManager 6041 (Software version) GateManager 8250 (Software version) Version and Build numbers: ------------------------------------------------------- SiteManager firmware version 4.2 build 10186 SiteManager Soft Installer version 4.2.0.10186 SiteManager PC Installers version 4.2.0.10186 LinkManager Installers version 4.2.0.10186 GateManager Server software version 4.2.10183.207 GateManager Console installer version 4.2.10183.207 GateManager Proxy software version 4.2.31 **************************************************************************** 1. Highlights of this release **************************************************************************** - LinkManager and SiteManager PC now support Windows 64-bit systems. - GateManager Console now works on Windows 7 with UAC enabled. Notice that once the GateManager Console 4.2 has been installed, the automatic update procedure has changed, so that the Console will no longer download and install future updates by itself. Instead, the GateManager Console will automatically open a web browser to download and install the latest version from Secomea's public FTP server. - GateManager Server has a new Alert Module which can send filtered Up and Down alerts in various formats. For example, only send down alerts for appliances which have been disconnected for more than 15 minutes. Setup via GateManager Administrator GUI [Alerts] button. (#3699) **************************************************************************** 2. New features and improvements. **************************************************************************** All Products ---------------------------------- - GateManager can now be configured with a custom logo image file that is automatically loaded onto all connecting SiteManagers and LinkManagers to be shown in the SiteManager GUI and the LinkManager Console. (#3896) Please see the relay.conf-sample file for details. - Improved end-to-end performance between LinkManager and SiteManager for multiple active high-volume data connections. [4.1a] (#3785) - Improved end-to-end performance between LinkManager and SiteManager for time-critical serial communication (#3895) All of LinkManager, SiteManager, and GateManager must be upgraded to release 4.2 or later to use these enhancements. GateManager ---------------------------------- - A GateManager Connectivity Test Tool is now available as an add-on for hosted and private GateManagers; this includes an ActiveX component which can be run automatically from Internet Explorer to test for basic connectivity from a remote location to the GateManager server. (#3687) Please contact Secomea Sales for more information. - GateManager now installs and runs on VMware virtual server. (#3842) A pre-built VMware image including CentOS 5 Linux system and GateManager software is available. Please contact Secomea Sales for more information. - GateManager now runs on Hyper-V virtual server. (#3891) Depending on the Hyper-V setup and the guest Linux OS, the Ethernet interface may be named either eth0 or seth0. To use the "seth0" interface, add the following line to the proxy.conf file: default_if = seth0 - The "Need Reboot" option is now checked by default on the Upgrade Firmware dialog. (#3756) - The GateManager database is now prepared for SQL querying (#3525) Please contact Secomea Support to discuss your potential needs. LinkManager ---------------------------------- - LinkManager Console is now opened automatically when starting the LinkManager. (#3948) - If LinkManager is already running, clicking on the "Start LinkManager" shortcut will open the LinkManager Console. This is convenient on Windows 7 which tends to hide the LinkManager Tray Icon. (#3948) - LinkManager Console "login page" now has a [Shutdown] button to terminate the LinkManager program - including the Tray Icon. (#3948) - When entering the [Setups] menu from the LinkManager Console for the first time, there is now a [Cancel] button to avoid enabling the use of multiple setups. (#3076) - When using a floating registration license, the LinkManager installation wizard will now inform that a connection will not be made until the user logs in on the LinkManager Console. (#3555) - LinkManager console now suggests to check if the certificate has been renewed and needs to be updated when login fails. (#3426) - When opening the LinkManager Console from the Tray Icon, it will now issue a warning if Internet Explorer is configured to use a web proxy, as this typically will not allow opening the LinkManager Console. (#3361) - It is now possible to select a specific COM port number for the Virtual COM port via the Options item on the Tray Icon menu. (#3861) - Show error message and cleanup properly if selected COM port is already in use. (#3965) - Improved "auto-search" for remote PLC devices. [4.1a] (#3786, #3790) - On Windows 7 and Vista, LinkManager does not require installation of the Secomea CA certificate to use the embedded virtual com port. It is still needed on older Windows versions. SiteManager ---------------------------------- - Web Proxy Relay (via GateManager) function enhancements: . Web Proxy Relay now works on all Device ports. (#3803) . Web Proxy Relay is now enabled by default on SiteManager hardware models listening on port 8080, a idle timeout of 300 seconds, and forwarding traffic to remote proxy target "WEBPROXY". (#3397) . On SiteManager hardware models Web Proxy Relay now supports DHCP and DNS based Web Proxy Auto Discovery (WPAD), allowing applications like Internet Explorer and Skype running on PCs on the Device segments to automatically use the SiteManager as web proxy. (#3050) Note: To enable DHCP based WPAD, the DHCP server on the Device LANs must be enabled, so the PC will get its IP address and WPAD information from the SiteManager. Note: For DNS based WPAD to function, the PC must be configured with a proper domain name, such as secomea.com. If the PC gets its IP address from the SiteManager DHCP server, a domain name can be configured under the DHCP settings on the SiteManager. - SiteManager may be configured to send keep-alive packets to GateManager with short intervals, in case the connection passes through a firewall or proxy which has a very short idle connection timeout. (#3914) - Added remote syslog support on SiteManager. [4.1a] (#3784) - DNS proxy enhancements: . It is now possible to have multiple static DNS entries for the same host name; all entries will be included in the response for the hostname in round robin order. (#3607) . By default, new static DNS entries will not be tied to a specific interface, no matter how the Static DNS page was entered. (#3607) . "Any" interface is now denoted by a blank field (rather than "ANY"). . DNS Proxy status (on Extended Status page) has been improved. Device Agents ---------------------------------- - New Vendor Agents: ABB Robotics - Ethernet Exop - UniOP HMI Fanuc Robotics - Ethernet GE IP - Serial Panasonic - Serial PLC Siemens - PPI/S7-200 - Enhanced Vendor Agents (improved operability): Beckhoff - PLC Beijer - Exter HMI ESA - Panel Omron - PLC Phoenix Contact - Ethernet Pro-Face - Panel Generic - PC agent now supports NetOp remote desktop service. **************************************************************************** 3. Bug Fixes. **************************************************************************** GateManager ---------------------------------- - GateManager Console no longer requires Administrator privileges to run. Installation still requires administrator rights. (#3946) - The GateManager Console no longer offers to "upgrade" to an older version. - When GateManager Console is connected to the private IP address of the GateManager server, using the Go To Appliance function will now return a URL using the private (internal) IP address when the request is made from a IP address in the private subnet or an IP address in one of the standard private IP subnets. (#3950) - You can now safely use a hostname as the GateManager Server address provided that a DNS lookup of hostname returns the external public IP address of the server. (#3950) - Restarting the proxy from the Administrator GUI page sometimes failed to restart the proxy after stopping it. (#3988) - The "Need Reboot" option was not shown in the "apply configuration" dialog after modifying a configuration profile. (#3229) - When a LinkManager disconnected from a SiteManager, the SiteManager and LinkManager - as well as some unrelated SiteManagers - could temporarily lose connection to the GateManager (due to excessive connection cleanup on the GateManager proxy). - Restarting the proxy would sometimes make a lot of noise about failure to bind local ports in the system log. (#3989) LinkManager ---------------------------------- - The Tray Icon Status message for a connected SiteManager was not shown correctly if it included national characters (#3731). - The virtual COM port was not always shutdown correctly when disconnecting from a remote serial device. (#3427, #3635) - Enable url credentials in Internet Explorer when installing LinkManager so Go To Appliance will work with implicit username and password. (#3954) SiteManager ----------------------------------- - On SiteManager Soft and SiteManager PC, the Tray Icon Status message now shows the correct information when a LinkManager is connected (#3731). - Active FTP connections would sometimes fail to be established [4.1a] (#3776). - SiteManager 3000 could hang on reboot if network is congested [4.1a] (#3760). - Speeded up warm reboot of SiteManager 2000 models produced since mid-2009. Those models still need up to a minute extra to become operational after power-on (due to changes to the flash memory configuration). (#3956) - Opening the Status > GateManager page while connecting to the GateManager would terminate the connection attempt. Repeatedly reloading the page to see a successful connection would have the opposite effect.(#3930) - When connecting to the GateManager server via the Uplink Interface, the SiteManager would sometimes use the wrong source IP address on some of the connection attempts. Certain Linksys routers would be confused by receiving multiple source IP addresses from the same MAC address, and block out the SiteManager from connecting to the GateManager. (#3863) - SiteManager 2x29 would sometimes reboot after losing UMTS connectivity instead of trying to reconnect. (#3104) - SiteManager Soft would sometimes fail to work properly when the VMware adapter was bridged to a Wireless adapter. (#3966) - Support for a number of out-dated and potentially vulnerable protocols and weak ciphers has been removed from the web server. (#3841) - If an attached LinkManager was shutdown without properly disconnecting from a SiteManager using the Auto Subnet Agent, LinkManagers could no longer connect to that SiteManager. (#3659) **************************************************************************** 4. Upgrade information. **************************************************************************** All Software Products ----------------------------------- - Please notice that all Software products - LinkManager, SiteManager Soft, SiteManager PC, and GateManager Console - must be upgraded by running the corresponding Installer program using an administrator account. LinkManager 6041 ----------------------------------- - LinkManager comes with its own virtual "LinkManager Adapter" network driver, which is installed and setup by the LinkManager Installer. On Windows XP, this driver is installed silently, but on Windows Vista and Windows 7 you will have to confirm the installation of the adapter. When upgrading a LinkManager 3.7 or older, the LinkManager Installer automatically migrates all configuration and certificates from the VMware based installation. Once upgraded to 4.0 or newer, you cannot downgrade the LinkManager to an older version. - First time you start LinkManager after the upgrade (or after a new installation), you may be prompted to accept the installation of Secomea's CA certificate as a trusted root certificate. You should allow this to prevent Windows from looking for new COM port drivers (it won't find any) each time you establish a serial connection. - The firmware file id for LinkManager has changed from v41 to v6041 to reflect the change from VMware based (v41) to non-VMware based (v6041). SiteManager PC 6240 ----------------------------------- - SiteManager PC comes with its own virtual "SiteManager Adapter" network driver, which is installed and setup by the SiteManager PC Installer. On Windows XP, this driver is installed silently, but on Windows Vista and Windows 7 you will have to confirm the installation of the adapter. SiteManager Soft 6040 ----------------------------------- - SiteManager Soft requires VMware to operate, also after the update. - To upgrade an existing SiteManager Soft, you must run the SiteManager Soft Installer program. Just upgrading the firmware file is not possible, as the firmware file id for SiteManager Soft has changed from v40 to v6040. SiteManager 2xxx ----------------------------------- - Due to changes to the flash memory handling on SiteManager 2xxx, it is only possible to downgrade from this firmware release to a firmware release 4.1 build 9454 or newer. Device Agents ----------------------------------- - Previously installed standard agents are automatically removed when you upgrade to this firmware which includes all of the standard agents. - This means that you will need to reinstall the agents if you downgrade to a firmware release older than 4.0. **************************************************************************** 5. Known issues or limitations **************************************************************************** - When LinkManager starts for the first time after installation, it sometimes does not make installed VNC or RDP services available on GateManager. Restart LinkManager to fix this issue. (#3430) - GateManager Console (Java application) may shutdown unexpectedly. This problem happens to several Java-based applications due to a conflict with a Samsung LCD monitor utility called Multiscreen. This utility supposedly hooks into the Windows display drivers in a non-complient way which can cause Java applications to fail when trying to update the display. If you encounter this type of error and you use the Samsung Multiscreen utility, disabling or exiting the Multiscreen utility (via its Tray icon) will resolve the issue. - Due to new restrictions on secure web-site certificate authentication, Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 3, or newer may prevent you from accessing https based services via the LinkManager's Go To Appliance functionality in the non-activated state (Domain view). This is because the Go To Appliance function uses a different IP address than the actual IP address of the remote device, so the browser suspects that the target device's certificate (typically self-signed) may be a forgery. There is no easy way to get around this problem, so you will have to follow the somewhat tedious procedure of your browser to bypass the warnings and connect to the device anyway. Note: You should not store the certificate permanently in Firefox 3. - SiteManager Soft currently does not run as a service under Windows 7 64 bit OS. Instead it must be started in User mode, by adding it to the Startup folder. **************************************************************************** 6. Special notes for GateManager Owners **************************************************************************** In the following table, the "Revision" field column is the text you must enter when you add a firmware file to the Appliance Products repository: Product Firmware file "Revision" field ---------------- ---------------------- ---------------------- SiteManager 2029 v29_10186.ffs oper:v29_10186 SiteManager 2129 v2129_10186.ffs oper:v2129_10186 SiteManager 2034 v34_10186.ffs oper:v34_10186 SiteManager 2134 v2134_10186.ffs oper:v2134_10186 SiteManager 3034 v3034_10186.ffs oper:v3034_10186 SiteManager 3134 v3134_10186.ffs oper:v3134_10186 SiteManager 6040 (*) oper:v6040_10186 SiteManager 6240 (*) oper:v6240_10186 LinkManager 6041 (*) oper:v6041_10186 Agents (**) agent:v09_xxxx_10186 (*) LinkManager and SiteManager Soft/PC cannot be upgraded from GateManager; to upgrade, run the relevant Installer program. (**) Agents are included in the base firmware, so there are no separate agent firmware files. Agent firmware versions shown in the "Revision" field follows the build number of the base firmware. **************************************************************************** END ****************************************************************************