Published Release Notes

Split schema upgrade instructions missing properties

If you upgraded from 5.x, 6.x, or 7.x using the instructions in previous versions of the upgrade guide, you may have neglected to set the properties below in your migrateSystem.properties file when you migrated your upgraded schema to the source system:

pega.rules.objects.generate=true

pega.rules.objects.apply=true

If these properties were not set during an upgrade that splits the schema, your environment does not have the indexes, triggers, and primary keys on the rules tables.

To check for this issue, see if the pr4_base and pr4_rule rules tables in your existing rules schema are missing primary keys. If they are, use the SQL scripts in the ResourceKit\MigrationRecoveryScripts directory of the release to cleanup duplicate rules that were created due to this issue. Follow the steps below to run the scripts.

To run the scripts on Microsoft SQL, Oracle, or PostgreSLQ

1. Take down any app servers using the affected schema.
2. Backup your database.
3. Replace all instances of @RULES_SCHEMA in <database>_cleanDups.sql with the name of the schema that contains the pr4_base table.
4. Run the <database>_cleanDups.sql script on the database with vendor tools (sqlPlus, SQL Server Management Studio, etc).
5. Replace all instances of @RULES_SCHEMA in <database>_fix_vw_table.sql with the name of the schema that contains the pr4_base table.
6. Run the <database>_fix_vw_table.sql script on the database with vendor tools (sqlPlus, SQL Server Management Studio, etc).
7. Generate and apply the ddl using the command line generateDDL command. Check the installation guide for your database or the upgrade guide for details about how to use the generateDDL command line script.
8. Rebuild the indexes for the tables in your rules schema using vendor tools. This is necessary so that your system runs at an optimum speed.
9. Optionally upgrade to the latest release, at this point your database is ready to be upgraded or used depending on your needs.

To run the scripts on DB2 for LUW or z/OS

1. Take down any app servers using the affected schema.
2. Backup your database.
3. Run the <database>_cleanDups.sql script on the database with vendor tools (UDB CLP, Data Studio, etc) to create the CLEANSE_RULES_DUPS stored procedure.
4. Run the query Call CLEANSE_RULES_DUPS(‘<rulesSchema>’); where <rulesSchema> is the name of schema that contains the pr4_base table.
5. After the previous step is complete drop the CLEANSE_RULES_DUPS procedure.
6. Replace all instances of @RULES_SCHEMA in <database>_fix_vw_table.sql with the name of the schema that contains the pr4_base table.
7. Run the <database>_fix_vw_table.sql script on the database with vendor tools (UDB CLP, Data Studio, etc).
8. Generate and apply the ddl using the command line generateDDL command. Check the installation guide for your database or the upgrade guide for details about how to use the generateDDL command line script.
9. Rebuild the indexes for the tables in your rules schema using vendor tools. This is necessary so that your system runs at an optimum speed.
10. Optionally upgrade to the latest release. At this point your database is ready to be upgraded or used depending on your needs.

Updated Word merge support with Microsoft Silverlight plug-in

Starting in this release, Pega 7 features that integrate with the Word merge capability are now cross-browser. ActiveX controls (which are only compatible with Internet Explorer) have been replaced with Microsoft Silverlight. This plug-in must be downloaded separately from Microsoft because it is not shipped with Pega 7.

Common features that are affected by this change include the Specification form and Case Type landing page.

Prior to using these features, see the release note Word merge support with Microsoft Silverlight plug-in for more information about setting up their client systems.

Addition of Servlet Management

Pega Platform™ now has Servlet Management in Pega Cloud® Services, which provides a simple and secure way to make changes to Pega Platform servlet definitions.

Servlet Management provides Pega Cloud Service clients with solutions to manage servlet configurations with self-service options. This reduces the cycle time for delivering configuration changes in Pega Cloud Service installations while also improving upgrade reliability. 

For more information, see Servlet management.

Upgrade impact

Clients with no application servlet customizations will not experience an impact. If you upgrade from Pega Platform version 8.5 or earlier and, prior to the upgrade, the Pega Cloud team provided your application servlet customizations, then following the upgrade, you must manually add, remove, or modify your servlet customizations in your upgraded application using this servlet management landing page in Pega Platform.

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

To manually move your pre-upgrade servlet customizations as appropriate or add new ones to your upgraded application using the new servlet management landing page, follow the steps in Adding a servlet.

Upgraded selected third-party JAR files to support Pega Platform functionalities

Pega Platform™ 8.6 now provides upgraded versions of the JAR files that support various functionalities within the Platform, such as generating documents or PPTX files.

Upgrade impact

If you have custom implementations and use any classes from the upgraded JAR files directly in your code or through JAR APIs, after your upgrade to Pega Platform 8.6, your application might experience unexpected run-time behavior if the upgraded JAR version lacks any elements from the previous version. For example, custom implementations can typically include activities, functions, or non-autogenerated sections. Unexpected run-time behavior might also occur when you use a third-party library that has dependencies on the upgraded JAR files. If you use only default Pega Platform functionalities without any customizations, the JAR files continue to work correctly without any additional actions.

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

If you have any JAR customizations, ensure that you test the upgraded JAR files for compatibility and upgrade impact. The following table lists the upgraded JAR files that might impact your application:

For more information, refer to the documentation of  your JAR provider.

Text predictions simplify the configuration of text analytics for conversational channels

Enable text analytics for your conversational channels, such as email and chatbot, by configuring text predictions that manage the text models for your channels. This new type of prediction in Prediction Studio consolidates the AI for analyzing the messages in your conversational channels in one place and replaces the text analyzer rule in Dev Studio.

Through text predictions, you can efficiently configure the outcomes that you want to predict by analyzing the text in your channels:

• Topics (ticket booking, subscription cancellation, support request)
• Sentiments (positive, neutral, negative)
• Entities (people, organizations, airport codes)
• Languages

You can train and build the models that predict these outcomes through an intuitive process, and then monitor the outcomes through user-friendly charts.

For more information, see Predict customer needs and behaviors by using text predictions in your conversational channels.

Upgrade impact

Channels that you configured with text analyzers in the previous version of your system continue to work in the same manner after the upgrade to the current version. When you edit and save the configuration of an existing channel, the text analyzer rule is automatically upgraded to a text prediction. The associated text prediction is now an object where you can manage and monitor the text analytics for your channel. When you create a new channel in the upgraded system, the system automatically creates a text prediction for that channel.

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

1. Enable the asynchronous model building and reporting in text predictions through job schedulers that use the System Runtime Context (SRC) by adding your application to the SRC.
   For more information, see Automating the runtime context management of background processes.
2. Enable model building in text predictions by configuring background processing nodes.
   For more information, see Assigning decision management node types to Pega Platform nodes.

Deprecation of EAR deployments in Pega Platform 8.6

Starting with Pega Platform 8.6, EAR deployments of Pega Platform are deprecated. In the upcoming 8.7 release, EAR deployments will not be supported. The following rules that require EAR deployments will also be deprecated and no longer supported in Pega Platform 8.7:

• Connect EJB
• Connect JCA
• JCA Resource Adapter
• JMS MDB Listener
• Service EJB

With this deprecation, you can use the latest tools and keep your application up to date. 

Upgrade impact

In Pega Platform 8.6, you can still create rules that require EAR deployments and update existing rules. However, after an upgrade to Pega Platform 8.7, rules that require EAR deployments are no longer supported.

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

To prepare your application for this change well in advance of the Pega Platform 8.7 release, see the following table for a list of alternative rules and for guidance on modernizing your application.

For information on the supported platforms that are affected by this deprecation, see Pega Platform 8.6 Support Guide.

Upgrading to Hazelcast 4.x requires downtime during upgrades to Pega Infinity 8.6

Upgrade impact statement

On-premises upgrades of Pega Infinity release 8.4.2 and later to version 8.5.1 or later on Tomcat and PostgreSQL are completed with near-zero downtime. However, upgrading to Hazelcast 4.x requires that you shut down and restart your application server.

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

Hazelcast 3.x is enabled by default. For near-zero downtime upgrades, you do not need to perform any action.

For instructions about upgrading to Hazelcast 4.x, see one of the following topics:

• For near-zero downtime upgrades from Pega Infinity release 8.4.2 or later on Tomcat and PostgreSQL, see "Optional: upgrading to Pega Platform version 8.6: Upgrading to Hazelcast 4.x" in Near-zero downtime Upgrade Guide for Pega Platform version 8.4.2 and later for Tomcat and PostgreSQL.
• For all other upgrades, see "Optional: upgrading to Hazelcast 4.x" in the appropriate upgrade guide.

External data flow rules are removed

In previous versions of Pega Platform™, you could configure data flows to run in an external Hadoop environment. The external data flows functionality was deprecated and hidden from view in Pega Platform 8.5. The functionality has been now removed and is no longer available in Pega Platform 8.6.

For more information, see External data flow rules are deprecated.

Legacy Parse XML rule configurations must be upgraded to edit them

If your application has Parse XML rules that use the legacy configuration from Pega Platform™ 5.x, you cannot edit these rules after you upgrade to Pega Platform 8.6 until after you upgrade them to use tree-based parse rule configuration.

You must upgrade a Parse XML rule that you want to edit if it shows the following warning when you open it in Dev Studio.

This type of Parse XML rule is deprecated. An upgrade should be performed.

An option to upgrade also displays below the message.

Upgrade impact

Parse XML rules with the legacy configuration do not map data to the clipboard, and the rule definition is empty. After you upgrade to Pega Platform 8.6, you cannot edit Parse XML rules that you created in Pega Platform 5.x or earlier until you upgrade them to use tree-based parse rule configuration.

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

Update legacy Parse XML rules to use tree-based parse rule configuration before you edit them in Pega Platform 8.6. Using tree-based parse rules is considered a best practice.

1. Open the legacy Parse XML rule.
2. On the Mapping tab, click Upgrade.
   Result: The Allow tree editing? check box is displayed and is automatically selected. You can add attributes and elements to the tree structure, or delete them.
3. Save the upgraded rule configuration.

For more information, see Parse XML rules.

Insights from 8.5 require additional configuration after upgrade

Upgrade impact

After you upgrade Pega Platform™ version 8.5 to 8.6, the Explore Data landing page might not include insights that come from the earlier version of the product.

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

Run the pxUpgrade85Insights activity to make all insights from version 8.5 accessible for you in 8.6. By running this activity, you upgrade insights with new metadata that is required in version 8.6. For example, the pxUpgrade85Insights activity provides you with the option to set the visibility of insights to private, public or shared.

For more information about insights, see Visualizing data with insights.