Published Release Notes

MBeans deprecated in favor of Pega API

The use of MBeans for cluster management has been deprecated, although MBeans will continue to function for legacy deployments. The recommended best practice for automating system management is to use the Pega API. For more information, see Pega API.

WSDL generation error prevents invocation of SOAP services

Status

A Known Issue was introduced in the 8.4.2 Pega Platform patch release, which impacts both upgrades and new installations of that version.

Description

Due to changes introduced in the SOAP functionality for the case-mismatch error in SR-D98509/INC-119725, the WSDL is being generated for SOAP services with an incorrectly-capitalized element, which prevents the service from being invoked.  The element should be “name” instead of “Name”.

Workaround

Clients must perform the following workaround after they define a new SOAP connector in Pega Platform:

1. To download the WSDL from Pega Platform:
   1. After using the SOAP Wizard (Dev Studio > Configure > Integration > Services > Service Wizard) the WSDL URL is shown at the bottom right of the Dev Studio screen.
   2. Click the URL to display the XML.
   3. Save the WSDL file to your local system.
2. In the text editor of your choice, modify "Name" to "name" in every <element “name” = … > tag in the WDSL.
3. Save your changes to the local file.
4. To reload the WSDL into Pega Platform:
   1. In Dev Studio, open the Configure menu.
   2. Select Integration > Connectors > Create SOAP Integration.
   3. In the New SOAP integration wizard, select Upload WSDL from File.
   4. Complete the upload using the wizard prompts.

This is a design-time issue, not a run-time issue; therefore, clients only have to perform this workaround process once. Existing SOAP services should not be impacted; however, if clients modify an existing SOAP service definition by re-running the wizard, clients must reapply the workaround for Pega Platform to recognize the SOAP definition changes.  

Resolution

This issue will be addressed in the Pega Platform Patch Release 8.4.3.  Clients who upgrade to that version or later should not see this issue.

Upgrading to the secure threading mechanism for email bots

In Pega Platform™ version 8.6, Pega Email Bot™ includes a more secure threading mechanism to help track emails from customers and other stakeholders in separate threads for an email triage case.

Upgrade impact

If you upgrade from Pega Platform version 8.5 or earlier, in which you configured an Email channel, perform the following steps to ensure that your system uses the new secure threading mechanism:

• Update the service email rule that the system uses to send an email reply as the initial acknowledgment.
• Update the email reply template in the data transform rule that the system uses when a customer service representative (CSR) sends the reply.

For more information about creating an initial acknowledgment email and email reply template, see Creating outbound email templates. For more information about the secure threading mechanism, see Use a secure threading mechanism in emails.

What steps are required to update the application to be compatible with this change?

For the initial acknowledgment email used by your email bot, update the service method for your email listener rule. On the Response tab for this service email rule, expand the Message contents section. In the Message data section, you specify the rule that defines the structure of the content of the email body. In Pega Platform version 8.6, you use for this purpose the pyEmailAcknowledgement correspondence rule that takes into account the selected built-in template. This template includes the security code tag that the system uses for the secure threading mechanism. If your application uses a different rule in the Message data section, update this definition to match one of the built-in correspondence template rules, for example, EmailAckTemplate_Clear.

The pySetEmailBotReplyTemplate data transform rule sets the name of the email correspondence rule that the system uses as the email reply template. If you do not want to use the default approach using the Classic, Cobalt, or Clear outbound email template themes, override this data transform rule to set the email correspondence rule name for the Param.ReplyTemplate target in the Source column field.

For more information about how to update the service email rule and the data transform rule to ensure that your system uses the secure threading mechanism, see Upgrading to the threading mechanism available in the 8.6 version.

View status of custom search indexes

Custom search indexes are special purpose indexes that are created and managed outside of Pega Platform™. You can view the status of custom search indexes on the Search landing page to see whether they are complete. This information is useful for troubleshooting and can help you determine whether to rebuild the index.

For more information, see Checking search index status.

Job Scheduler and Queue Processor rules replace agents

The Job Scheduler rule and the Queue Processor rule replace agents and improve background processing. The Job Scheduler rule is used for recurring or scheduled tasks, such as sending summary emails on weekdays. This rule can be run on all nodes or on specific node types according to your customized pattern. The Queue Processor rule is used for tasks with no recurrence-based pattern. It provides scalability and capability for immediate or delayed message processing, such as submitting status changes to an external system. You can use a standard queue processor or a dedicated queue processor, depending on your processing needs.

Pega Platform™ provides a set of default queue processors and job schedulers. Corresponding agents are no longer available.

For more information about Job Scheduler and Queue Processor rules, see Job Scheduler, Replacing an agent with a Job Scheduler rule, Queue Processor, Replacing an agent with a Queue Processor rule.

Improve application test coverage by running multiple sessions

You can improve the test coverage of your application by using a new test coverage method - Application Coverage. Multiple users can perform coverage sessions which are aggregated into a single report. By using report metrics that show the number of rules that are covered and are not covered by tests, developers can identify which areas of the application need more test coverage.

For more information, see the Test Coverage landing page.

Security fields in JFrog Artifactory repository rule form removed

The fields in the Security section of the JFrog Artifactory repository rule form, including the Secure protocol field, the Truststore field, and the Keystore field, were not functional in Pega Platform™ 7.3, 7.3.1, and 7.4. This section has been removed from the JFrog Artifactory repository rule form in Pega Platform 8.1.

Support for OAuth 2.0 authorization code grant type

Pega Platform™ now supports the OAuth 2.0 authorization code grant type, which allows Pega Platform to act as an OAuth 2.0 access token provider for native applications on mobile and other devices. By using the authorization code grant type for mobile clients, you no longer need to implement a variety of standards for various authentication providers. The authorization code grant type also supports the Proof Key for Code Exchange standard (PKCE) for securing public clients.

For more information, see Creating and configuring an OAuth 2.0 client registration.

Use client-based access control to support EU GDPR requirements

You can use client-based access control (CBAC) to satisfy the data privacy requirements of the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and similar regulations. By using client-based access control, you can identify the personal data of clients and automatically process requests to view, update, or remove the data in a secure manner. You can also enforce restrictions on the use of this data in application functions.

For more information, see Client-based access control.

REST APIs added for management of agents and requestors

You can use new REST APIs to download a module version report or manage requestors and agents in Pega Platform™. For example, you can use a requestor REST API to end a requestor process, and you can use an agent REST API to start or stop an agent. These APIs allow external systems to report and manage Pega resources.

For more information, see Pega API for Pega Platform and Pega API.