Release Notes for Software Asset and Service Management 9.0 Update 1
About this Release
Matrix42 Software Asset & Service Management 9.0 Update 1 provides many new and improved features that have been implemented.
Please find the launch kit of this version on Matrix42 Marketplace.
System requirements, instructions for installation and update as well as for basic configuration are available in the Matrix42 Online Manual.
Browser Cache Clearance with Unified User Experience (UUX)
If you are using Unified User Experience (UUX) you are not required to clear local browser cache anymore with this version and future releases.
Volume License Agreement Auto-Migration
Please note that with upgrading your environment to this version, existing volume license agreements of following types are automatically migrated to CI “Volume License Agreement”:
- Microsoft Enterprise Agreement
- Microsoft Select Agreement
- Microsoft Enterprise Enrollment
- Microsoft Select Enrollment
- Adobe CLP Agreement
- General Volume License Agreement
Please make sure to review chapter “Breaking Changes” on page 12 with details about this migration prior to updating an existing instance of this software.
Compatibility and Maintenance
Please note that since version 9.0:
- Maintenance for “Workspace Management 8.0” has expired
- SQL Server 2008 R2 is no longer supported
Please make sure to review chapter “Breaking Changes” on page 12 and “Database Changes” on page 14 prior to updating an existing instance of this software.
New E-Mail Designer and Engine
UUX E-Mail Designer and Engine are a technical preview only and should not be used for productive purposes!
With this release we are delivering a technical preview for the new way for designing e-mails on UUX and the engine which handles them. The new approach allows to use the whole power of the SolutionBuilder designing easily e-mails of any complexities. The sending of the designed e-mail can be triggered either from Compliance Rule or manually from the UI action.
With next release (9.0 Update 2) this technology will be finalized, replacing step-by-step outdated alerting engine and Send-Email Compliance Rule Action.
Minimum System Requirements
Hardware Sizing
Prerequisites
This document provides information based on live installations and experiences from a variety of sources. It gives a clue about the system requirements that are needed to run the applications smoothly. We always recommend evaluating the system requirements in a project when it is clear which Matrix42 applications will be used and how they are used.
Most likely there will be additional needs, such as customizing, various kinds of usage (besides the standard usage), and/or special configurations. In any case, the additional requirements should be evaluated and added to the calculation of the provided system requirements in this document. Almost every installation is different and needs special treatment.
User Workstation
The minimum requirements for a client computer are following for all server sizes:
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| CPU | 2 GHz |
| Cores | 2 |
| Chipset | 32bit / 64bit |
| RAM | 4 GB / 1333 MHz |
| HD Size | 50 MB (if using Workflow Studio) |
| Display | 1,366 x 768 1,680 x 1,020 (if using Workflow Studio) |
| Network | 100 MBit |
Deployment Scenarios
Overview
The following deployments scenarios are supported:
| Scenario | Description |
|---|---|
| All-in-One | Software Asset & Service Management and SQL Server running on the same machine (recommended only for small companies) |
| Distributed (1 Application) | Software Asset & Service Management and SQL Server running on different machines |
| Distributed (2 Applications) | Software Asset & Service Management and Empirum, installed on the same machine while SQL Server for both applications runs on another machine |
Finding the Right Size
According to the number of managed users or systems (whatever is the greater value) and users that are concurrently accessing and using the application following sizing is required:
| Scenario/Sizing | All-in-One | Distributed 1 Application | Distributed 2 Applications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 500 managed users/systems and less than 25 concurrent application users |
Small | Small | Mid-Size |
| 500 to 5,000 managed users/systems or 25 - 100 concurrent application users |
not supported | Mid-Size | Large |
| 5,000 to 15,000 managed users/systems or more than 100 concurrent application users |
not supported | Large | Enterprise |
| More than 15,000 managed users/systems or more than 150 concurrent application users |
not supported | Enterprise | not supported |
We highly recommend always using a dedicated SQL instance for the application databases. In addition we recommend to set SQL Server processor affinity for half of the
processors. This will eliminate processor reloads and reduce thread migration across processors.
Influencing Aspects
Following questions may have an impact on the system requirements:
- Which products do I plan to install on the system?
- How will I install the products? (all-in-one or distributed)
- Which backup/recovery scenario will be chosen?
- Which SQL logging method (recovery model) will be used?
- How long will the backups be stored on the database server?
- How many users will simultaneously work with the Console/Portal?
- How will my company grow in the future?
- Which backup/security methods will be used (Raid, local backups, etc.)?
APPLICATION ALL-IN-ONE
....
Microsoft SQL Server
Please note that support for SQL Server 2008 R2 is discontinued with this release.
Software Asset & Service Management now supports following versions of Microsoft SQL Server:
- SQL Server 2012
- SQL Server 2014
- SQL Server 2016
- SQL Server 2016 SP1
- SQL Server 2017 (on Windows only)
SQL Server Analysis Services needs to be configured to run in “Multidimensional” mode to avoid update or installation issues. For more information how to determine if “Tabular” or “Multidimensional” mode is configured review this external page from Microsoft.
Microsoft .Net Framework
Very Important: As this version has been compiled with .Net Framework 4.5.1, all installed customizations must be migrated to .Net Framework 4.5.1 as well. Please make sure that new versions of your installed customizations are available before you initialize the update.
Microsoft PowerShell
Microsoft PowerShell 3.0 is required. Please make sure that new versions of your installed customizations are available before you initialize the update.
Unattended Setup
Unattended Setup
Provides the possibility of installation, update, or configuration of Matrix42 Workspace Management in unattended mode by using PowerShell. Default templates are available, which can be configured individually to perform an unattended installation or update of the environment.
Unattended Installation of Prerequisites
Registered users can download the free redistributable software components (REDIST.zip) from Matrix42 Marketplace. After you unpack the archive, you will see that the file names are already numbered in the correct sequence for your convenience. You should always install the components in the given sequence, as the components depend on each other.
It is also possible to install all of these components automatically by using the PowerShell script:
- Update the execution policy by using the
Set-ExecutionPolicy.ps1file, i.e. copy the command from this file, paste it to the PowerShell Console and run as administrator. - Run either
Redistribution_SQL_2008.ps1orRedistribution_SQL_2012.ps1, depending on your SQL Server version.
All three files are available in your REDIST folder as well.
Update from Previous Versions
Supported Versions
The Full Installer can be used to update existing installations of product version 8.0.2 or higher.
Local Cache Clearance
If you work with “Classic User Interface” we strongly recommend clearing your local browser cache to ensure best experience with this version.
This is not required anymore with new Unified User Experience (UUX).
Updating from version 8.1.0.1649
If you have already installed build 8.1.0.1649, you have to remove following files from installation folder: root/web/bin
Extensibility.dllupdate4u.Templates.VS2010.Addin.Workflows.dllupdate4u.Templates.VS2010.Core.dll
Breaking Changes
Auto-Migration of Volume License Agreements
Please note that with upgrading your environment to this version, existing volume license agreements of following types are automatically migrated to CI “Volume License Agreement”:
- Microsoft Enterprise Agreement
- Microsoft Enterprise Enrollment
- Microsoft Select Agreement
- Microsoft Select Enrollment
- Adobe CLP Agreement
- General Volume License Agreement
Automatic migration will not copy data records, but just change the type (Configuration Item). Object-ID and any other data remains untouched.
In case obsolete Configuration Items from above have been customized, having added Data Definitions to them, make sure that these Data Definitions are also present in CI “Volume License Agreements” prior to updating. Otherwise migration will fail for those records.
SQL Server 2008 R2 not supported anymore (9.0)
With product version 9.0 we do not support SQL Server 2008 R2 anymore. If you operate your environment on this SQL Server make sure you update your SQL Server to one of the supported versions prior to updating your environment to this product version.
See chapter Microsoft SQL Server to see which versions are supported.
Workflow Activity "UpdateObjects" (8.1.7)
Implementation of workflow activity "UpdateObjects" was changed. Parameters validation becomes stricter so custom workflows that use this activity may fail in case of passed "Object IDs" is not related to specified "CI Type". Please review your custom workflows before updating to version 8.1.7 or higher