New Features and Enhancements

Owned by Kevin Wu
Last updated: Oct 16, 2024 by Yeok Hong Ng (Deactivated)
7 min read

In this section, you can see information about the new features and functionality in this release.

New Features

Authentication and Access

The following new features to support OAuth2, additional IDP setups and increased security have been implemented:

Authorization Server

Ref: XE-11425

The Authorization Server is a service provider that generates an OAuth2 based access token to be used for calling REST APIs hosted on the HTTP/2 Server agent that requires the OAuth2 authorization process.

The Authorization Server uses a platform to run and can be configured to store provisioned scopes and registered clients either in file-based storage or database storage. Currently, only Oracle and PostgreSQL databases are supported for database storage, see Authorization Server User's Guide.

Access Controller - Access Group Name

Ref: XE-12026

To support additional IDP setups, we have now added the possibility to use a dot (.) in the Access Group name. The valid characters are A-Z, a-z, 0-9, '-', '.' and '_', see https://infozone.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MD92/pages/111807285.

HTTP/2 Client Agent Supports Additional Access Token Request

Ref: XE-10640, XE-10736

To comply with 3GPP Release 17, additional properties for OAuth2 access token requests have been added to the HTTP/2 Client Agent. This enhancement is applicable when users select the Nnrf Access Token as the Authentication Type in the Authentication tab.

The available access token properties include Requester PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network), SNPN (Standalone Non-Public Network), and Requester S-NSSAI, see HTTP/2 Client Agent Configuration.

Support for 2-way Authentication for Web Services Agents and Profiles

Ref: XE-11677

The Web Services agents and profiles now have the option to use mutual TLS for enhanced security, see Web Service Profile and Web Service Agents.

MariaDB Support

Support for using MariaDB has now been added in a couple of areas.

MariaDB in Database Profile

Ref: XE-12098, XE-12206

The MariaDB database type can be used with Reference Data Management. In order to use this database type, a database driver is required to connect to the MariaDB database. This driver must be stored in the platform container see https://infozone.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MD92/pages/177733986.

Reference Data Management Supports MariaDB

Ref: XE-12206

The Reference Data profile allows you to select the tables to be available for querying and editing via the Reference Data Management dashboard or RESTful interface. You can now select MariaDB in the Reference Data profile configuration, see Reference Data Profile.

APL Functions

APL has now been complimented with the following functionality:

New APL function: mailNotifyHtml

Ref: XE-11412

A new APL function among the Log and Notification Functions called mailNotifyHtml is now available.

The mailNotifyHtml function is similar to the existing mailNotify function with the difference that it supports the standard HTML format in the message field, allowing you to send emails in HTML format, see Log and Notification Functions.

Database Table to Support tableGetMetaInfo Function

Ref: XE-11719, XE-11756

The database table now supports the tableGetMetaInfo function. This function returns the column name, column type and index status for a given table object in a given table, see Database Table Functions for more information.

New Connectors

FTP EWSD Agent

Ref: XE-11680, XE-11682

The FTP EWSD agent is now available. With this agent you can collect cyclic files from the Siemens EWSD switches and forward into a workflow using the FTP protocol, see https://infozone.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MD92/pages/112268204.

Netia FTP Agent

Ref: XE-11802, XE-11277

The Netia FTP agent is now available which is a collection agent for batch workflow configurations. With the Netia FTP agent you can collect files from remote file systems and forward into a workflow using the standard FTP (RFC 959) protocol, see Netia FTP Agent.

Integration

Avro Encoding and Decoding

Ref: XE-11767

New built-in decoders and encoders have been added for decoding and encoding messages encoded in Avro using a schema registry, replacing the need to write a static Ultra definition, see Decoder Agent Configuration or Encoder Agent for decoder or encoder-specific information. Additionally, several limitations on supported Avro schema types in the existing Ultra support have been removed, see Avro Support.

Support of Amazon S3 and Git in System Importer and System Exporter

Issue number(s): XE-10996, XE-12129

The system importer and exporter has now been enhanced to support integration with Amazon S3 and Git using Desktop. You can import and export data and configurations from and to Amazon S3 and Git repositories as shown below:

sysimporter.png
Importing from Amazon S3

See File System Profile, System Exporter, and System Importer for more information.

HTTP/2 Server Agent Supports Proxy During Registration in NRF

Ref: XE-10866

The HTTP/2 Server agent can now use HTTP proxy if required to reach NRF servers, see HTTP/2 Server Agent.

REST Client Agent Supports Proxy

Ref: XE-8083

The REST Client agent can now use HTTP proxy if required, see https://infozone.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MD92/pages/111876901.

Amazon S3 Agent Supports Proxy

Ref: XE-10008

The Amazon S3 agents can now use HTTP proxy if required, see https://infozone.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MD92/pages/111872860.

Log Files UI

Ref: XE-11759, XE-12299

You can now view the following log files in Desktop:

  • Pico

  • Debug

  • APL

  • Error

 

See https://infozone.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MD92/pages/156074001 for details about the Log Files view.

Enhancements

Usability

MZSH Command For Shutting Down Desktop and Legacy Desktop

Ref: XE-11515

With the, mzsh desktopadmin command you can shut down all Deskops and Legacy Desktops connected to the Platform, see desktopadmin.

Download Page for Desktop Launcher

Ref: XE-10621

A new dialog with downloadable items have now been added to make it easier to download the Desktop Launcher and DevKit.

You can open the dialog from the User Settings menu, see https://infozone.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MD92/pages/111870786.

Pico Management and System Monitor in the Desktop Online

Ref: XE-9292 and XE-6090

Functionality for viewing details of picos and managing them that was previously found in the Pico View and System Monitor in the Legacy Desktop have now been ported to Desktop Online and can be found in the Manage view, see https://infozone.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MD92/pages/111839306.

Operations REST Interface for Workflows and Workflow Groups

Ref: XE-11668

The Operations REST API is now available for workflows and workflow groups. Users can access http(s)://<platform server>:<platform port>/ops/mz/wf/v1/api-docs for workflows and http(s)://<platform server>:<platform port>/ops/mz/wfg/v1/api-docs for workflow groups on any given running system Platform, see https://infozone.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MD92/pages/165773313for more information.

5G Profile Support

5G Profile Supports 3GPP Rel-17

Ref: XE-10640

The 5G profile has been enhanced to support 3GPP version 17. You can select the version from the Version Select drop-down field and additional NF types are added along with this new version support, see 5G Profile.

5G Profile Supports Multiple Primary NRF Address in HTTP/2 Server Agent

Ref: XE-10646

When using the 5G profile in HTTP/2 Server agent, you can enter one or more primary NRF addresses in the NRF Address (Primary) table, see HTTP/2 Server Agent Configuration.

5G Profile Allows Retry for Failed Connections to Multiple NRF Address in HTTP/2 Server Agent

Ref: XE-12222

When multiple NRF addresses are used in 5G profile in HTTP/2 Server agent, users can configure the number of retries and interval for a failed NRF address before the agent proceed to connect to the next available address. This can be done by selecting the new Enable Registration Retry option in the 5G tab.

See HTTP/2 Server Agent Configuration for more information.

Elimination of Disk Dependency

Removed dependencies on the file system provides you with more flexibility for deployment, and backup and restore is simplified by having all data in databases.

Database Support in Inter Workflow

Issue number(s): XE-11765

You can now use Inter Workflow without using a filesystem and Inter Workflow also supports SAP HANA.
You can choose between the storage types FileSystem or Database. If you select Database as storage type, you get the corresponding database SQL scripts for creating the required tables in the database and also have the possibility to recover in case of a filesystem crash.

See Inter Workflow for more information.

Duplicate UDR Supports SAP HANA Database

Ref: XE-10794

When using Duplicate UDR you can now select between file system or database for storing information pertaining to Duplicate UDRs, such as the metadata and the contents of the duplicated UDRs when configuring the Duplicate UDR profile, see https://infozone.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MD92/pages/111842029 for more information.

Compliance

Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 Support

Ref: XE-11087

Since ADLS Gen 1 will be retired on February 29th, 2024. Our Azure Data Lake Storage (ADLS) agents now support ADLS Gen 2, see https://infozone.atlassian.net/wiki/x/jg2qBg.

Support for Python 3.12

Ref: XE-10571

Support for Python 3.12 has now been added when using the Python Agents.

Extended Functionality

SFTP Supports Bind Address

Issue numbers(s): XE-11413

You can now configure the SFTP agents to use the bind address when establishing a client connection. In order to do so, you must select the Enable Bind Address option to bind a specific virtual network IP as the source of the SFTP agent's connection and enter the IP address in the Bind Address field, see SFTP Collection Agent and https://infozone.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MD92/pages/111813080. 

Data Veracity Supports SAP HANA Database

Ref: XE-11751

Data Veracity now allows you to store all Data Veracity records and metadata in SAP HANA. You can now select Database profiles configured with SAP HANA on the Data Veracity profile.

Data Veracity agents will also now be able to connect to SAP HANA to manipulate any Data Veracity records stored on the database, see https://infozone.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MD92/pages/111775928.

Kafka Agents Support mTLS

Ref: XE-11721

You can now configure to use mTLS in Kafka agents, see https://docs.cloudera.com/documentation/kafka/latest/topics/kafka_security.html for more information.

Duplicate UDR Supports PostgreSQL Database

Ref: XE-13526

When using Duplicate UDR you can now select between file system or database for storing information pertaining to Duplicate UDRs, such as the metadata and the contents of the duplicated UDRs when configuring the Duplicate UDR profile, see https://infozone.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/MD92/pages/111809403 for more information.

Configurable Maximum Response Size for HTTP/2 Client

Ref: XE-13740

Users can now set a maximum size limit for responses received by the HTTP/2 Client. To configure the maximum response size, use the Max Response Content Length field introduced in the Client tab of HTTP/2 Client agent configuration.

See HTTP/2 Client Agent Configuration for more information.

Data Type Conversion Property for SAP JCo ABAP Type P

Ref: XE-14878

A new property is introduced to define the data type used for converting values when mapping to SAP JCo ABAP Type P (Binary Coded Decimal). The saprfc.bcd.double property provides flexibility to users in handling data types.

See Execution Container Properties for more information.