Published Release Notes

Remove JVM settings from prior installations

JVM memory settings ​defined in the setupDatabase.properties file to support a prior installation need to be removed. 

Memory settings are now handled by the installation program. Duplicating these settings may cause installation or upgrade failures. 

Required DB2 settings for LUW and z/OS

Installations on DB2 databases for LUW and z/OS require a minimum logging file size (4096) and a default table space page size (32K).

To set the table space page size to 32K:

1. Stop the system.
2. Rename one table (“TableX”) to backup (“TableXBackup”).
3. Create a new table space that uses a 32K page size.
4. Copy “TableXBackup” to “TableX” in the new table space.
5. Restart the system and test to verify there are no issues.
6. Drop the backup table (or keep it for future reference).

Additional information is available in the "Adjusting the log space size in upgraded databases" article: https://pic.dhe.ibm.com/infocenter/db2luw/v9r7/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.ibm.db2.luw.qb.upgrade.doc%2Fdoc%2Ft0023289.html

No direct upgrade to multitenant setup

It is not possible to upgrade directly to a multi-tenant setup. A Pega 7 application may be exported and then imported into a multi-tenant system, with the administrator making the decision as to whether this then becomes a tenant system or a shared system.

Applications developed in versions prior to Pega 7 must be upgraded to a Pega 7 standard system, and then exported and imported into a multi-tenant system. See the Multitenancy Administration Guide for full details.

Upgrade changes system name

As of Pega 7.1.7, the following renaming behavior no longer occurs.

The upgrade process renames your system to “PRPC” and modifies any custom requestor rules in your application to use this name. After the upgrade completes, you must apply these changes to revert your system:

1. Identify all custom requestor rules (browser, batch, app, portal) with access groups that point to prior versions of PRPC.
2. Open the relevant access groups (for example, PRPC:Unauthenticated and PRPC:Agents) and update the name and version fields to point to the current PegaRULES application.
3. Reset your system name to its original value. You can set the Dynamic System Setting prconfig/identification/systemName/default or use the Designer Studio > System > Settings > System Name landing page.
4. Restart the system.

Run cleanup.bat/sh script only before upgrading

Prior to upgrading the rulebase, you can optionally run the cleanup.bat/sh script to remove older rules from the database.

Run this script before you upgrade your rulebase, or the script may delete needed rulesets. For more information about running the cleanup.bat/sh script, refer to the Upgrade Guide specific to your release version.

New JWT access token format: Authorized Access Token

Pega Platform™ is changing from using opaque tokens to using JSON Web (JWT) tokens and the JWT access token format: Authorized Access Token (AAT). An AAT enables a client application to validate the server for user permissions and authorizes a specific application to access specific parts of a user’s data.

The major benefits to using the JWT format are:

• The JWT is a self-contained token that has authentication information, expire time information, and other user-defined claims digitally signed.
• A single token can be used with multiple applications.
• The tokens are short-lived and can minimize damage if transport security is compromised, as the token signature is verified.
• As the token is verified with the signature, there is no need to verify against a database, thus reducing latency (usually important for Web APIs).

For more information, see Understanding authorized access tokens.

Improving basic access control

Pega Platform™ has implemented a new basic access control (BAC) to protect your application from unauthorized server calls from otherwise authenticated users.

For more information, see Access Control Checks.

Upgrade impact

After you upgrade to Pega 8.5, all the functionality in the model configurations that use auto-generated controls and actions continues to work as before. However, you must secure any customized JavaScript in your application layer that makes AJAX (server) calls  by using registration or encryption mechanisms.

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

After upgrade, to migrate custom JavaScript functionality, see Access Control Checks.