Features Introduced in Verastream Host Integrator 7.0

  • 7021549
  • 20-Jul-2010
  • 02-Mar-2018

Environment

Verastream Host Integrator version 7.0

Situation

Verastream Host Integrator version 7.0.961 released in June 2010, and version 7.0.967 released in September 2010. This technical note describes product enhancements, fixes, and known issues. If you are using a previous version, it is recommended that you review this information before upgrading.

Note: Version 7.1 released in May 2011. For more information, see KB 7021577.

Resolution

What's New in Version 7.0

Key features in this release include:

  • Improved administration features, including session management and new Administrative Console
  • Support for .NET event handlers in models
  • New installers on Windows and UNIX/Linux platforms
  • Embedded web services automatically provided by session server
  • Improved LDAP support for authentication and authorization, including Microsoft Active Directory

The following sections describe the enhancements and fixes included in Verastream Host Integrator (VHI) version 7.0.

Session Management Features

  • Idle pooled session levels can be better controlled to optimize client and host performance. The following session pool properties are available:
    • Initial idle sessions (host sessions to preload and connect when the pool is started)
    • Minimum idle sessions (minimum idle host sessions to maintain at all times, to improve performance when clients connect)
    • Maximum idle sessions (maximum idle host sessions, to reduce impact on the host)
    • Maximum total concurrent sessions (includes idle, active, rogue/quarantined, and suspended; server global setting takes precedence)

In previous versions, you could configure only the minimum idle sessions "Count" and maximum total sessions. Note: Some session pool settings are not configured in Design Tool Deployment Options or the deploy_desc.xml file; they are configured in Administrative Console after deploying your model.

  • Throttling of host connections is improved. To avoid adverse host load performance impacts, you can adjust the maximum number of pending sessions simultaneously connecting to the host. This value can be configured for each session pool and the entire session server. In session pool properties, you can also set a throttle delay interval between host session connection activity.

In previous versions, session server configuration was limited to either connecting all sessions concurrently (infinite pending sessions, which can impact the host) or consecutively (one pending session, which causes slow startup of pooled sessions). Disabling "Create pooled sessions concurrently" is equivalent to configuring each session pool in version 7.0 for "Max pending sessions" of 1.

  • Host connections that fail are automatically retried. When the session server connects to the host, if the connection attempt fails, it is automatically re-attempted continuously, with the time between attempts automatically incrementing exponentially. Maximum backoff time between attempts is configurable on a per-server and per-pool basis.
  • Idle pooled sessions are better maintained for client requests. If a session with "idle" status becomes disconnected from the host, or cannot navigate to the home/startup entity, it is destroyed and replaced as needed to maintain the configured pool minimum idle sessions. Disconnects are typically detected immediately; entity checks are performed every two minutes. (If the session server is configured to Log All Messages, you may notice more logged messages for idle sessions. The periodic entity checks are logged as navigation from/to the startup entity.)

In previous versions, an idle session could be left disconnected from the host or not at the startup entity (such as after nightly host downtime), thus causing delays or errors for the first client connection to use the session. Because idle sessions could be disconnected, Administrative WebStation in previous versions also displayed Idle Sessions with a "Connected to host" status checkbox.

  • Session server has improved detection for disconnected host sessions. In a session pool, host sessions are automatically re-connected as appropriate (depending on the session pool status, configured minimum idle sessions, etc.). Also, if a host session network connection is ungracefully terminated (TCP RST), the disconnection is detected by the session server and the socket connection is closed.

In previous versions, this connection "reset" could cause high CPU utilization by the session server process.

  • Session pools can be independently stopped and started in Administrative Console. When a session pool is stopped, host sessions are disconnected and new client connections are refused. If a client attempts to connect to a session pool when it is stopped, an error ID 2637 is generated ("Session pool <name> is stopped."). In previous versions, all session pools started and stopped only in conjunction with the Session Server service.
  • Session pools can be scheduled to automatically stop and start for periods of expected host downtime. In Administrative Console, you can configure specific days and times for the session pool to stop gracefully (allow clients to complete activity in progress), stop immediately (abort any pending operations), start, and restart gracefully or immediately. Schedules are managed by the Management Server component.
  • Administrators can view sessions more flexibly and easily. In Administrative Console, you can view a list of all sessions (for a specific session pool or the entire session server) on one page, regardless of status. You can also filter the view to a single status (active, idle, rogue/quarantined, or suspended). In prior versions, sessions were only displayed on separate Active Sessions and Idle Sessions pages. Note: Sessions with "rogue" or "suspended" status are no longer displayed as "active," but still count against maximum concurrent session limits configured for the session pool and session server.
  • Administrators can configure columns displayed in the Sessions list (such as client IP address, total time, and current entity). To make changes, right-click a column heading, and then click Format Columns. Note: The VHI User ID is no longer displayed by default, but can be enabled.
  • Administrators have more control for disconnecting individual sessions. In Administrative Console, you can terminate a host session regardless of the session state, or disconnect a client from an active session. In session lists, you can also perform these actions on a multi-selection (Ctrl+click) to affect multiple sessions simultaneously.
  • Host activity is spread across pool idle sessions. When a client requests a pooled session, it is allocated an idle session on a rotating basis (least recently active). This behavior spreads activity across host logins (model variable list entries). In previous versions, sessions were allocated based on a static order, so the first model variable list entries were heavily used, resulting in lower performance or higher cost with certain outsourced managed host services.
  • Rogue session management works with connection failure situations. If rogue session management is enabled, and a pooled host session is unable to navigate to the home/startup entity, the session will be quarantined with a "rogue" status. The typical underlying cause is an expired host password in the session's model variable list entry. However, rogue session management now also applies when the initial network connection fails, which can be caused by a bad TN3270 Device Name in the model variable list entry. Note: If rogue session management is enabled, in the event of a complete host or network failure, all pooled sessions may become quarantined.

In previous versions, "rogue" handling applied after connecting only; in the event of a bad Device Name in a model variable list entry, the session was not quarantined, and repeated client connection attempts would continue to get errors.

Improvements for Virtual and Multi-Server Environments

  • More resilient design for load distribution and failover. Failover recovery and configuration replication are more reliable. For example, restored servers are automatically detected (it is no longer necessary to restart all servers to restore the normal environment), and it is not necessary to start servers in a particular order to avoid data corruption due to stale data replication.
  • More flexibility for changing system names, such as in virtual machine environments. Installation programs no longer prompt for a permanent AADS or session server names. The installation automatically uses system host names as default names for the session server, management server, and management server cluster. Names can be changed in Administrative Console. In previous versions, system name changes required product re-installation.
  • Easier to add failover capability without re-installing. A management server can be added to a "cluster" during install or post-install, and a DNS alias can be configured at any time (see also KB 7021563).

In previous versions, to add a second server for AADS failover, you were required to create a permanent DNS alias ("AADS common name" or "DNSMA") prior to installing the first server.

  • More flexibility for configuring load distribution domains. Within a load distribution domain, you can configure "weight" and "priority" values for each session server (for example, you can configure a session server for failover use only). Each session server can be added to more than one domain. Internal "domain server" functionality is performed by the management server component (instead of a session server as in previous versions). For more information, see KB 7021566.
  • Improved support for environments using DNS for redundancy or load distribution (multiple IP addresses, round robin, etc.). In previous versions, problems could occur when the DNS alias for the AADS common name did not consistently return IP addresses in the same order. See also KB 7021563.
  • More flexibility for removing systems from a multi-server installation environment. When uninstalling Session Server or Management Server components, it is no longer necessary to supply administrator credentials for unregistration. However, uninstall no longer automatically unregisters a component from remaining running servers. In Administrative Console, you can manually remove servers that are offline and no longer available.
  • Verastream Management Server replaces AADS in prior versions and extends functionality. This component provides support for Administrative Console, authentication including LDAP directory services, authorization, session server load distribution domains, session pool scheduling, and data replication with management server peers in a cluster.

To ensure high availability, Session Server may be able to run successfully if Management Server is not available. Note: Management Server must be running if security is enabled on the session server, if clients connect via a load distribution domain, for scheduled starting and stopping of session pools, or to view and change configuration in Administrative Console.

Administrative Console

  • New graphical interface for administration. Verastream Administrative Console is an Eclipse-based application which replaces the browser-based Administrative WebStation in prior versions. This improved interface is used to configure and monitor Session Server(s), and configure authentication and authorization security in Management Server(s). Improvements include:
    • Faster and more responsive. Many views refresh automatically.
    • More flexible and comprehensive views. You can drag tabs and panes to arrange as desired, or use default layouts (perspectives). In lists, columns support re-ordering, hiding, sorting, and width re-sizing.
    • Easier to use. The new console eliminates "config mode," its 15-minute idle timeout, configuration lock problems, and the multiple steps to submit and save batches of changes. Configuration changes are made immediately, and reflected across multiple Administrative Console instances that may be connected to the Management Server.

Note: Administrative Console can be installed and run only on Windows platforms. However, it is also used to manage Linux/UNIX servers.

  • Administrative access is secure by default. To connect Administrative Console to the management server, you must enter administrative credentials (see also Security Enhancements section below). For convenience, Administrative Console can cache the administrative credentials by selecting “Remember my credentials.” Note: Cached credentials are stored in encrypted format in a local disk file.
  • Session Monitor and Log Viewer functionality is embedded in Administrative Console. You no longer need to run separate applications. The separate LogExport command line tool is still included.
  • Host Emulator is configured in Administrative Console. In prior versions, there was a separate browser-based configuration launched from an installed shortcut.
  • Some Host Integrator services can be restarted or stopped in Administrative Console. For more information, see KB 7021352.

Development Features

  • Web services are automatically provided by Session Server (embedded SOAP stack). After a model is deployed, the WSDL is available immediately. It is no longer necessary to generate a web service project in Web Builder and deploy it to a server, and repeat this process when the model changes. Stateful web services, SSL encryption, WS-I compliance, and WSDL improvements are also supported.
  • Models support .NET event handlers for customizing session server behavior upon certain events. (In versions 5.5 through 6.6, only Java event handlers were supported.)
    • In Design Tool, you can choose either Java or .NET event handlers for your model. For .NET event handlers, Design Tool generates C# template code, and builds the assemblies without additional development tools.
    • Session Server on Windows runs the .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR) assemblies, so also supports use of other languages (such as VB.NET), third-party tools (such as Microsoft Visual Studio), and third-party assemblies.

Note the following:

    • Models using .NET event handlers cannot be deployed to session servers running on non-Windows platforms. Attempting to do so will result in error message ID 4338 "The .net script engine is not available on this platform."
    • In the .NET event handler API, the IRemoteHostSession interface is not available; the CreateHostSession() method will always return null. If you need to access an additional host session, instead open a separate client connector session connection.
  • You can build event handlers using a shell command line interface (outside Design Tool). This feature can be useful if you use third-party source control. For more information, see Technical Note 10109.

Security Enhancements

  • Administrative access is more secure by default. An administrative password must be created when performing a new installation. Blank administrative credentials are not supported. You no longer have to perform additional post-install configuration steps to enable administrative security. Note the following:
    • Make a note of the administrative password you set in the original installation. You must provide administrative credentials when Administrative Console connects to the management server, or when adding a server to an installation for load distribution and failover.
    • When prompted for administrative credentials, enter the user name "admin" with the administrative password. The "admin" user is the management server built-in account.
    • You can change the "admin" administrative password in Administrative Console (Perspective > Management > Servers > right-click Management Cluster > Change Admin Password).
    • In addition to the built-in "admin" user, you can add other users and groups from your directory servers (or local OS groups) to the Administrator authorization profile.
    • The "admin" administrative password is securely stored by the management server in encrypted format.
    • If administrative credentials are lost or forgotten, uninstall and re-install the product to set a new administrative password.
    • Only administrative access is secure by default. To secure connections for deployment tools and clients, you must enable security on your session server(s) in Administrative Console. For more information, see KB 7021567.
  • Improved support for non-root on Solaris, Linux, and AIX platforms. Due to improved LDAP support and the built-in administrative account, it is no longer necessary to run a VHI component with root privileges on UNIX platforms to accomplish authentication and authorization. Local OS Group support is disabled by default. For more information, see KB 7021354.
  • SSL/TLS encryption is used for administrative communication between the Administrative Console application and Management Server. In previous versions, communication between the web browser and Administrative WebStation service was not encrypted.
  • LDAP support for authentication and authorization works with complex directory structures, such as Microsoft Active Directory. In the Administrator, Developer, and User authorization profiles, you can add users and groups from any tree node level in your directory and from multiple directory services. Secure encrypted directory server connections are supported by adding a directory server certificate.

In previous versions, LDAP support worked with only simple directory structures and a single directory server.

  • Updates to FIPS 140-2 validated SSL, which is used by US government agencies to encrypt communications between the session server and host:
    • The Attachmate Cryptographic Module is installed to provide support for FIPS 140-2 SSL encryption in host communication. Note: On non-Windows platforms, both Verastream Host Integrator and Reflection for Secure IT (Attachmate SSH client and server) install this module to the /usr/lib directory. If you have both products installed on Linux/UNIX, uninstalling Reflection for Secure IT may require re-installing Verastream Host Integrator.
    • You can confirm FIPS 140-2 SSL encryption is enabled in Administrative Console and the session server log. For more information, see KB 7021544. Note: FIPS mode is not supported on the IBM AIX platform.
  • Privacy mode can be enabled to limit administrators' ability to use certain debugging tools that capture host communications. For more information, contact Technical Support at https://support.microfocus.com/contact.
  • International characters are supported in user IDs and passwords used in VHI authentication and authorization (LDAP directory server, local OS group, or "admin" administrative password). This improvement applies to credentials provided when Administrative Console connects to the management server, models are deployed using Design Tool or command line utilities, Web Builder retrieves model information, or client code makes connection method calls in the connector API.
  • Session server security changes take effect immediately. After enabling or disabling the session server security configuration in Administrative Console, the session server service does not need to be restarted.

New Platform Support and Installer Updates

  • Development Kit supports Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008. For more information on supported platforms, see KB 7021532.
  • Development Kit is easier to use with User Account Control (UAC) enabled on Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Vista:
    • Web Builder is automatically run as administrator. This change avoids certain errors such as when building and deploying .NET projects to IIS.
    • Design Tool is automatically run as administrator. This change avoids inadvertently saving models to the %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files folder. Only administrators can write to the models folder under \Program Files\Attachmate\Verastream\HostIntegrator.
  • Sun Java Development Kit (JDK) version 1.6.0_16 is installed on both Windows and UNIX. The JDK is installed to the attachmate/verastream/java subdirectory. Note the following:
    • On IBM AIX platforms, the JDK is not installed due to redistribution restrictions. Before installing VHI on AIX, you must install IBM's JDK 1.6 SR5 or higher. The VHI interactive installer will prompt for your JDK directory path. (If you are using the VHI unattended installation, you can set java_path in the install-input file.)
    • On Solaris and Linux platforms, the JDK is not installed if is already present from a prior Verastream Process Designer installation.
  • Interactive installation on UNIX is easier. The installer for Linux, Solaris, and AIX includes a convenient "typical" option for standalone server installation of all components and a "custom" option with menu-driven user interface.
  • "Custom" install is simplified with fewer steps than in previous versions. You can specify the target directory, file owner (on UNIX), components to install, and whether to join an existing installation (for load distribution and failover). You are no longer prompted for multiple server names, certificate values, or fingerprint verification. Note: In both Windows and UNIX installers, after selecting Typical or Custom, you cannot navigate back to change your selection. To change the installation type, you must exit and re-run the installer.
  • Automated (unattended) silent installation is supported. On Windows, edit the setup.ini file. On Linux, AIX, and Solaris platforms, specify options on the command line or edit the sample install-input file and include it on the command line. For example:
vhisrv-7.0.n-prod-platform --input /mydir/install-input --licenseagreed

For more information, see the Installation Guide at https://support.microfocus.com/manuals/vhi.html.

  • Installers on Windows use Microsoft Installer (MSI) which provides logging, rollback, and self-repair capabilities. Note: Setup installs Microsoft Windows Installer version 3.1 unless it (or a higher version) is already present.
  • On Windows, the installation creates fewer program shortcuts for easier navigation. Compared to prior versions, the following shortcuts are removed or changed because of available alternatives that accomplish the same actions:
    • Services: To manually restart, start, or stop services, alternatives are available in Administrative Console, Windows tools, or the command line. For more information, see KB 7021352.
    • Deploy Models: Most model deployment can be performed within Design Tool. To open a Command Prompt for running packagemodel, activatemodel, and deactivatemodel commands, run HostIntegrator\bin\deployCommandWindow.bat as administrator.
    • Log Viewer: This functionality is now available in the Administrative Console application (Perspective > Host Integrator > Logging).
    • Session Monitor: This functionality is now available in the Administrative Console application.
    • Host Emulator Configuration: This functionality is now available in the Administrative Console application (Perspective > Host Integrator > Host Emulator).
    • Help: All developer, administrative, and connector API help content can be accessed from the single Help shortcut. Subsets of the help can be accessed within the respective applications (Design Tool, Web Builder, or Administrative Console).
  • On Windows, Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 redistributable is installed if it is not detected. This component provides support for .NET event handlers in Design Tool and Session Server, and .NET web application generation in Web Builder. Note the following:
    • If you have .NET Framework 3.0 or 3.5 installed, it already includes .NET Framework 2.0 (version 2.0.50727).
    • Installation of .NET Framework (if necessary) is performed silently and can take significant time to complete.
    • On x64 platforms, the 64-bit .NET Framework is installed (if necessary).
    • Only .NET Framework is installed; the SDK is not installed.
  • The default installation directories have changed:
    • Windows: The default folder is C:\Program Files\Attachmate\Verastream with subfolders for HostIntegrator, ManagementServer, and AdministrativeConsole. The installer sets a VHI_ROOT system environment variable.

In previous releases, the default folder was C:\Program Files\VHI.

    • Linux/UNIX: The default directory is /opt/attachmate/verastream with subdirectories for hostintegrator, managementserver, and administrativeconsole.
    • In Setup, select a Custom install to specify a nondefault directory.
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 and Mozilla Firefox 3.x are supported web browsers for Web Builder projects. Web browsers are no longer used for help, administrative access, or Host Emulator configuration.
  • On Windows, you can modify, re-install, or repair an existing installation by clicking Change on the Host Integrator item in Add or Remove Programs (or re-run Setup.exe when the product is already installed). Note: If you use this functionality, either add or remove items on the Component Selection tab, or select an option on the Maintenance tab (Repair, Reinstall, or Remove). if you add a component using this method, it is not automatically configured as in a new installation; you must manually configure the component in Administrative Console.
  • On Windows, the Session Server service is installed with an appropriate dependency on the Log Manager service. When starting the Session Server service, the Log Manager service is normally automatically started if necessary. Note: When restarting the Session Server service with the installed restartall.bat file, the Log Manager service may not be started. To resolve this issue, see KB 7021352.

Additional Product Updates

The following sections describe additional fixes and changes in version 7.0.

Web Builder Updates

  • In a default new installation, some project types are no longer available. For more information, see the Web Builder Projects section in KB 7021552.
  • Web Builder successfully generates Java web applications for models containing international characters. With version 7.0, the project metadata.xml file is properly written with UTF-8 character encoding.

In prior versions, on some systems a "build failed" error would occur, such as the following:

com.wrq.vhi.wb.err.VHIMetaException: Unable to parse XML file, "...metadata.xml". Reason: org.xml.sax.SAXParseException: Invalid byte 2 of 4-byte UTF-8 sequence.
  • In Web Builder, if you create a project for a model with HP or VT host/terminal type, in the project properties with the Screens panel selected, you can no longer select Terminal in the Display drop-down list. This change avoids the possibility of generating a project that cannot run. By default, Unrecognized Screens uses a default Display option of Hide with a pre-populated message.
  • In the Web Builder project properties dialog, the Synchronization tab is no longer available. The "Wait for Host Silence" settings applied to only Java and .NET web applications created in versions 5.5 or 6.0.
  • When running a screen-based (rejuvenation) .NET or Java web application generated by prior versions of Web Builder, if function keys are pressed repeatedly (particularly in Internet Explorer 6.x), the user may be redirected to a "controllerServlet" page at the URL http://<server>:<port>/<project>/controller. This issue is resolved in applications generated by Web Builder version 7.0.

Other Updates

  • Many service port numbers have changed. For more information, see KB 7021229.
  • Help is improved (using Eclipse technology). New functionality includes bookmarks and enhanced search. Note: The first time you use search, the help content is indexed. To search help content for all components, open the Help shortcut installed with Development Kit (limited context-sensitive help is available within the Design Tool, Web Builder, or Administrative Console applications).
  • Management Server component includes a standard management API (JMX) for use with third-party consoles (such as JConsole).
  • After installing Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.0, when opening Help in the Design Tool, you no longer see an error such as "Cannot find 'file:/C:\Program Files\VHI\doc\../doc/help/dthelp.html'. Make sure the path or Internet address is correct."
  • Log Manager records messages from the session server component only (in the hostintegrator/etc/logs/server/message.dat file). Version 7.0 no longer uses AADS, so there are no AA or DS logs. The logexport command line utility no longer requires a -store parameter. For more information on logging, see also KB 7021303.
  • In Administrative Console, you can monitor and record the screens for a pooled session. In version 6.6.188 or earlier, if you used Session Monitor to view a pooled session before a client connection, it would result in an error "WCP Packet corruption detected:{0}" when the client connected.
  • In multiple-server installation environments with session server security enabled, token validity errors are less likely to occur due to an increased tolerance for clock drift. The token grace period can also be configured. For more information, see KB 7021564.
  • Session Server runs the Java event handler script server and web service embedded SOAP stack functionality "in process." Also, Design Tool runs the Java event handler script server as part of its process. In previous versions, a separate process was started for the script server JVM.
  • Session Server has new logged messages for errors due to stopped message pool (ID 2637), disabled session pool (ID 2635), and host session allocation failure (ID 2639).
  • Message ID 4306 ("The script manager is offline") is available for SNMP and e-mail notification. In earlier shipping releases, this message was only logged, so the administrator could not be informed if the event handler engine is offline and requires restart of the session server service.
  • The message text is improved for ID 2643. This error can occur when the connector is unable to connect via a load balancing domain. The "peak load" message in previous versions did not accurately reflect other possible causes (such as a session server being stopped or unreachable). The new message is "User <name> at <location> was refused a connection to <name>. No servers in domain <name> are able to provide a session because they are either busy or offline."
  • For troubleshooting some issues, several components use the log4j utility for logging and tracing. For more information, see KB 7021562.
  • If you have a model pattern using a regular expression, the "Screen properties not present" option now properly works (to enable a logical "not"). In previous versions, enabling this option had no effect with a regular expression.
  • If your model is configured to do an SSL encrypted connection to the host, and the handshake contains a server certificate only (not chained with CA issuer certificate), the Design Tool and Session Server successfully complete the SSL connection without certificate validation. In version 6.6.188 and earlier, the connection attempt would fail with the error "[VHI 3050] SSL Error - Could not complete SSL connection."
  • When you use a model originally created with Design Tool version 6.5.683 or earlier, the 6.5 Keyboard Lock Compatibility setting now defaults to Yes to preserve original timing behavior. (When the older model was used in versions 6.5.702 through 6.6.188, the 6.5 Keyboard Lock Compatibility setting defaulted to No.) For more information on compatibility settings, see the "Compatibility Settings for Host Integrator Upgrades" topic in the VHI User Guide. For example, in VHI 7.6, see http://docs2.attachmate.com/verastream/vhi/7.6/en/topic/com.attachmate.vhi.help/html/reference/compatibility_switches.xhtml.
  • TCP packet handling has been revised. In version 6.6.212 and earlier, an error which occurred when the TN3270E header crossed packet boundaries resulted in a standard "X PROG 750" error in the emulated 3270 session. Packet handling has been revised to accommodate such an overlap and reflect accurate bracket states in the 3270 conversation.
  • A mainframe host application is allowed to update the screen with Field Mark characters (EBCDIC 0x1e). In version 6.6.216 and earlier, this data would cause an "X PROG 753" error in the emulated 3270 session.
  • Development Kit supports creating a load distribution domain. In previous versions, you could only create a load balancing domain in a Server Kit, not Development Kit.
  • The SNMP MIB has changed. For more information, see the SNMP Changes section in KB 7021552.
  • The Java Message Service (JMS) XML demonstration example is no longer installed with Development Kit. To exchange XML data, web services are recommended (see KB 7021550).
  • Java EE Connector Architecture (JCA) Resource Adapter (RA), also known as the J2EE Connector, is no longer supported. To integrate host data into your application server (such as BEA WebLogic, IBM WebSphere, or Sun GlassFish Enterprise Server), web services are the recommended standard (see KB 7021550). Also, the Java connector (apptrieve.jar, vhiprop.jar, and wcp.jar) and JDBC are still supported.
  • Interface for Microsoft BizTalk Server is no longer supported. To integrate host data into a BizTalk orchestration, web services are recommended (see KB 7021550). Note: If you have any existing BizTalk projects using the Verastream BizTalk Interface, you must modify your projects before upgrading your session servers to version 7.0.

Updates in Version 7.0.967

As of September 2010, version 7.0.967 is available for new and upgrade installations. This release includes fixes for the following issues in the original version 7.0.961 (released June 2010):

  • Configuration security is now enabled independent of Session Server security for client connectors. For more information, see KB 7021567.
  • If you have an existing web service project created in Web Builder version 6.6.188 or earlier, it automatically displays after upgrading to Web Builder version 7.0.967. (To display the project in Web Builder version 7.0.961, the project.properties file needed to be manually edited to add a targetnamespace= line.)
  • On Windows systems, if Session Server encounters an unrecoverable error 3067 ("Property sheet processing error: 'Exception caught handling xml command method'"), the service is automatically gracefully restarted and a Windows minidump *.dmp file is generated for Technical Support. In version 7.0.961 (and 6.6.177 through 6.6.218), the service needed to be restarted manually.
  • In the Design Tool application, in the Model Debug Messages dialog, saving a *.vmr file is now successful.
  • When security is enabled in Session Server, and multiple clients are connecting concurrently, client connections no longer fail with the following errors:
- 3616: "Token is invalid"
- 3168: "The server failed to verify the token from the client."
- 3610: "Signature hash does not match token hash."
  • If you are using authentication and authorization security with the embedded web services SOAP stack (as described in KB 7021550), an HTTP 401 error is returned when HTTP basic authentication fails. (In version 7.0.961, an HTTP 404 error was returned.)
  • The embedded web services SOAP stack properly updates service endpoints when switching between secure and non-secure WSDL URLs.

Known Issues

  • If there is insufficient memory available when Design Tool or Session Server starts, you may see the error "[4300] The scripting manager failed to initialize." In version 7.0, to reduce the attempted memory allocation for the JVM container, set the environment variable vhi_embedded_xmx to a value such as -Xmx768m or -Xmx512m. In Windows, set this variable at Control Panel > System > Advanced > Environment Variables > System variables. When this environment variable is not set, the default value is -Xmx1024m (in versions 7.0.961 through 7.0.971) or -Xmx768m (in versions 7.0.980 and higher). See also KB 7021334.
  • If you run multiple instances of Administrative Console, Web Builder, and/or Help, they may be "stacked" in a single system taskbar button with the popup text "Java(TM) Platform SE Binary" and Java icon. To change this behavior, in your taskbar properties, disable the "Group similar taskbar buttons" option.
  • If the management server service fails to start, manually run the ManagementServer\bin\server.bat file to display exception output. You may see the following error:
Launching a JVM... 
Error occurred during initialization of VM 
Could not reserve enough space for object heap 
Could not create the Java virtual machine. 
JVM exited while loading the application. 
There were 5 failed launches in a row, each lasting less than 5 seconds. Giving up. 
There may be a configuration problem: please check the logs.

If you see the above error on a 64-bit Windows system, edit the ManagementServer\conf\container.conf file. Reduce the value of wrapper.java.maxmemory (from 1024) to 768 or 512.

Obtaining Your Product Upgrade

Customers with a current maintenance plan are eligible to download Verastream Host Integrator 7.0 from the Attachmate Download Library at https://download.attachmate.com/Upgrades/.

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

For more information on installing the upgrade, see KB 7021552 for Windows or KB 7021551 for Linux/UNIX.

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This article was originally published as Attachmate Technical Note 10091.