Verastream Host Integrator 7.6 Features, Fixes, and Release Notes

This technical note describes product enhancements and fixes for Verastream Host Integrator (VHI) version 7.6.42, which released December 2013. If you are using a previous version, we recommend that you review this information before upgrading.

Note: A newer version of this product, Verastream Host Integrator 7.6 Service Pack 1, released June 2014. For details, see KB 7021310.

What's New in Version 7.6?

This release includes the previous 7.5 SP1 updates (described in KB 7021325), plus the following new updates:

Key Features

• Design Tool visual style updated: The Design Tool application has new toolbar icons and controls, new fonts, and standard Open and Save As dialogs.
• Support for 64-bit UNIX/Linux: Host Integrator now runs as pure 64-bit programs on non-Windows platforms (in addition to 64-bit Windows support introduced in version 7.5).
• Command line rebuild for Web Builder projects: You can rebuild your Web Builder project using a command line utility instead of the Web Builder application. For instructions, see http://docs2.attachmate.com/verastream/vhi/7.6/en/topic/com.attachmate.vhi.webbuilder.help/html/reference/h_dlg_build_project.xhtml.

Security Updates

• Session server security vulnerability has been addressed. For additional information, see https://support.microfocus.com/security/.
• Java 7 Update 45 is installed which addresses multiple Java security issues. For more information, see https://support.microfocus.com/security/.
• Cryptographic library version 3.2 has been introduced for all platforms, which meets FIPS 140-2 standards on Windows, Solaris, and Linux. For more information, see KB 7021285.
• In the management server, stronger password hash algorithms have been implemented.
• In Web Builder project properties, “Require encrypted connection to VHI server” (previously “Require secure connection”) is enabled by default. This option affects the communication between the client connector (called by web application or data object) and session server. Note: Encryption processing can adversely impact performance, especially in heavy load scenarios.
• On UNIX/Linux platforms, the installer sets more appropriate directory and file permissions.

Session Server Updates

• Resolved truncated pointer issues on 64-bit Windows platforms. In versions 7.5.70 through 7.5.1030, crashes can occur on 64-bit Windows due to access violations (for example, Windows Event Viewer may report “Host Integrator component Verastream Host Integrator Session Server restarting. Reason: Exit code = -1073741819”).
• Resolved an issue with pooled sessions when session server is running on a multi-processor core system. In earlier 7.x versions, after a session disconnection, subsequent clients may fail to connect.
• Message ID 3070 "No current entity" has changed from an error to a warning. This message will no longer be repetitively logged when using the built-in Terminal3270 to Terminal5250 web applications (with the session server default logging configuration, errors only).

Web Builder and Web Application Updates

• Performance and usability improvements in the built-in “zero footprint emulator” Terminal3270 or Terminal5250 applications, and HTML5 Web Application projects generated by Web Builder:
  • Login form is automatically repopulated with user input if unable to proceed: When an error message displays, the fields are not cleared (except password) so values don’t have to be re-entered.
  • On an iPad, when accessing a web application that displays terminal screens with operation buttons, you no longer have to scroll down to see all the buttons.
  • If a screen operation takes longer than 2 seconds, a loading indicator appears in the top left.
  • Tap response time is improved on iPad by eliminating a 300ms click event delay.
  • Performance is improved with less calls between the web application and session server.
  • You can toggle a light pen checkbox state or move the cursor by clicking or tapping its associated text hotspot (rather than the checkbox control itself).
  • Project properties can be configured to enable table procedure output data to be returned as JSON. For more information, contact Support https://support.microfocus.com/contact.
  • Where terminal screens are displayed, read-only attributes have their own separate name and ID to facilitate programmatic use of DOM elements through JavaScript.
• Web Builder no longer fails to build a legacy Java web application when the LOCALAPPDATA environment variable contains international characters.
• If your Web Builder web application project properties are configured to disconnect on error, the HTTP session is now properly cleared. In versions 7.5.x, unexpected errors could display at runtime if a user reconnected after the disconnect.
• In the Terminal3270 web application, the National Character Set drop-down list includes “Swedish (1143 Euro).”
• If you have a legacy .NET Web Application generated by Web Builder that displays terminal screens, the displayed or hidden state of the aid keys is now maintained through screen transitions.

Design Tool Updates

• After using Design Tool to deploy a model as a session pool, the minimum idle host sessions and initial idle host sessions are configured in the session server (in addition to the minimum total sessions). These settings were introduced in Administrative Console in version 7.0 and are supported in deployment descriptors in version 7.1 and higher, but are not directly configurable in Design Tool Deployment Options.
• In Design Tool, after deploying a model as a session pool, the Test button will start Web Services Explorer with a session pool WSDL URL. In previous versions 7.1 through 7.5 SP1, the Test button always used the non-pooled WSDL.
• In Design Tool, after deploying a model that contains no table procedures, the Test button is no longer displayed. In versions 7.1 through 7.5 SP1, clicking the Test button would cause Web Services Explorer to call a non-existent WSDL (and display an error “WSDL Exception: faultCode=OTHER_ERROR: Server returned HTTP response code: 500”) since SOAP web services are not generated for models without procedures.
• Design Tool successfully displays host screens when a connection is negotiated as “Basic TN3270E.”
• You can open multiple Design Tool instances with models that have Java event handlers. In version 7.5, after attempting to open a second model that uses Java event handlers, the Design Tool application would close.
• In Design Tool, if you create a new model entity by right clicking in Model Debug Messages, the snapshot is properly saved. In previous versions, when you re-open the model and work offline, you would see an error “[3712] Snapshot not found for entity ‘entity name’.”

Administrative Console Fixes

• In Administrative Console, the Sessions view no longer displays Last Used dates of 31-Dec-1969 or 01-Jan-1970 under certain circumstances (such as terminating sessions after creating a new pool with idle sessions).
• In Administrative Console, resolved a java.lang.ClassCastException that could occur when changing logging configuration during execution of a log query.
• In Administrative Console, if you are monitoring multiple active sessions, the correct host screens are displayed. In previous 7.x versions, after host session activity, all session monitor views would display the same host session.
• Resolved a null pointer exception that could occur when disconnecting Administrative Console when a Session Monitor view is active.

Installer Updates

• When installing VHI on UNIX/Linux systems, if the temporary directory (typically /tmp) does not have sufficient space available to unpack files, an appropriate error message is displayed. Also, a new --tmpdir command line argument is now supported to specify a different temporary directory. Typically at least 330 MB of temporary space is required.

Obtaining Your Product Update

Customers with a current maintenance plan are eligible to download Verastream Host Integrator 7.6 from the Attachmate Download Library at https://download.attachmate.com/Upgrades/.

For more information on using the Download Library, see KB 7021965.

Note: The product download is a full product package that can be used for new installations or to upgrade existing installations.

Installing Your Product Update

For more information about installing the update on an existing installation, refer to the appropriate Technical Note:

• From version 7.x on Windows: 10121
• From version 6.x on Windows: 10095
• From version 7.1.x on Linux or Solaris: 10129
• From version 7.0 on Linux, Solaris, or AIX: 10122
• From version 6.x on Linux, Solaris, or AIX: 10094

Known Issues with Upgrades

• On AIX, installing version 7.6 over a previous version may result in session server core dumps (caused by management cluster certificates originally generated by version 7.1.x).

• After upgrading your server, users accessing web applications should clear web browser caches to avoid unexpected issues. (This recommendation especially applies to users running Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox to access the built-in Terminal3270 or Terminal5250 web applications, or an HTML5 Web Application generated by Web Builder that displays terminal screens.)

Legacy KB ID

This document was originally published as Attachmate Technical Note 10154.