Published Release Notes

EAR support for JBoss EAP 6

PRPC deployment in JBoss EAP 6 as an EAR archive is now supported. 

If you need to deploy the JBoss EAR file, go to My Support Portal and submit a Support Request. GCS can assist you with the procedure.

Small distribution kit

A new “small” release distribution format for Maintenance Levels (ML) is now available, designed to significantly increase adoption via: 

• Minimal package size and faster download time
• Minimal install time via tactical changes to the upgrade implementation and process

This kit contains streamlined installers (both UI and command-line installers) and specialized error handling for ML updates (for example, a “small” kit will only work if an existing version of the same release is already installed). 

The kit assembly has also been automated, which includes the construction of a PRPC_Rules.jar archive containing cumulative rules since the GA release. 

A “small” kit will work for any prior ML release within a major release (for example, the “small” ML5 distribution kit will update any customer on 7.1 ML1 through 7.1 ML4).

Improved data page performance

Improvements have been made with queueing and processing of asynchronously-loaded data pages to reduce the number of calls to the database and avoid generating performance problems because of unneeded asynchronous requests.

Restricted SMA access

System Management Application (SMA) remote connections are not supported on JBoss EAP 6.x. This means SMA users may only monitor locally connected systems. Ensure that the "Local JVM Connection..." option is selected when configuring PRPC nodes:

DB2-LUW database logfile size increase

To avoid running out of logfile space due to large transaction sets during the rule base load of a Pega 7.1.x install, upgrade, or maintenance level update, systems supported by a DB2-LUW database platform should increase the LOGFILSIZ parameter to at least 4096 pages from the default size of 1000 pages.

After the size has been increased, restart the database to ensure that the new setting is loaded into the database correctly.

Need to run script before updating Multitenant systems

When updating or upgrading a Multitenant system from Pega 7.1.5 or 7.1.6 to Pega 7.1.7, if that system uses either an Oracle or a PostgreSQL database, you may encounter the error:

“Table must be empty to add column.”

The Multitenant architecture requires an additional column on a number of the PRPC database tables (“pzTenantID”). In Pega 7.1.7, two additional PRPC tables were tenant-qualified: pc_schedule_task and pr_index_schedule_task. The Multitenant column is added to these tables by the update/upgrade process. However, Oracle and PostgreSQL do not allow the addition of a non-null column to an existing table unless the table is empty, so updating or upgrading systems on those databases displays the error detailed above.

To avoid this error, before beginning the update or upgrade, it is necessary to run a script:

• Oracle — OracleMTupgrade.sql
• PostgreSQL — PostgresMTupgrade.sql

For updates, these scripts are located in the /scripts/ddl directory.

For upgrades, these scripts are located in the /Resourcekit/AdditionalUpgradeScripts directory.

Enhanced date circumstancing option

The date range and as-of date circumstancing features have been merged into a single feature called date circumstancing. Accordingly, the new Property and Date circumstancing option provides more flexibility when you circumstance a rule. For more information, see Specializing a rule.

Renaming a system creates the required data requestors

When you rename a system, either from the System Name landing page or by updating the prconfig.xml file, any missing data requestors are automatically created by the Pega 7 Platform. The Data Admin System Setting is also created, if it is missing.

Configure Elasticsearch index nodes to ensure availability of index files

You can now configure Elasticsearch index host nodes in a Pega cluster outside of the Search landing page. This change ensures that search index files are always available by eliminating the need for manual configuration on the Search landing page. Use the new index.directory=<index_directory> command-line setting during JVM startup to indicate that this node is an index host node and to specify the directory where the index files will be hosted.

In addition, offline Elasticsearch index nodes can now be removed by using a new prpcUtils command-line option. For more information, see Managing Elasticsearch index host nodes outside of the Search landing page.

New Schema Tools and Query Inspector landing pages for Pega Cloud

Two landing pages have been added for advanced database administration tasks for Pega Cloud customers who use a Pega-hosted instance. These landing pages minimize the operations that need to be performed outside of the Pega 7 Platform. They are available only for customers who use a Postgres database.

From the new Schema Tools landing page, you can view PegaRULES and PegaDATA database schemas, increase the size of a column, add a composite or function index, update database statistics for a table, and defragment a table.

From the new Query Inspector landing page, you can enter an SQL query and generate an explain plan.

To use these landing pages, you must have the new PegaRULES:DatabaseAdministrator role. You access the landing pages by clicking Designer Studio > System > Database > Schema Tools or by clicking Designer Studio > System > Database > Query Inspector. The individual features that you can access are determined by the privileges that are assigned to you.

For more information, see Schema Tools and Query Inspector landing pages for tuning and maintaining databases in the Pega Cloud.