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.

Unified Messaging Desktop integration with Pega Platform

You can now use the Pega Unified Messaging Desktop™ customer service solution with a Pega Platform™ application so that customer service representatives (CSRs) and other users, such as managers, can respond to user requests more quickly and in a more consistent manner. With integrated Pega Unified Messaging Desktop, CSRs can escalate user requests from Pega Intelligent Virtual Assistants™ (IVAs) by using case processing and artificial intelligence alongside Pega Customer Service™

For more information, see Develop a single IVA channel to chat across different messaging platforms.

Terminate sessions for operators from outside the Pega 7 Platform

The newly added Users REST API allows an authorized administrator to terminate sessions for one or more operator IDs from outside the Pega^® 7 Platform. A typical use case for this API is to terminate a user’s session when the user's security credentials, which are stored externally, are known to have changed.

Access the Pega API by clicking Resources > Pega API.

Support for multiple custom mobile apps for a Pega Platform application

To enhance the user experience and provide support for native mobile components, you can create multiple custom mobile apps for a Pega Platform™ application. For each custom mobile app, you must create a different mobile channel interface. In addition, you can configure each custom mobile app to run only in a specific portal for an application. The custom mobile app uses this portal regardless of which default portal is defined for the access group.

For more information, see Selecting a portal for a custom mobile app.

Deploy in secured mode

Deploying the Pega 7 Platform in secured mode helps prevent unauthorized access to your system. By default, the Pega 7 Platform deploys in secured mode. For more information, see the Deployment Guide for your environment.

Client-server deployment of Hazelcast

Pega Platform™ now supports the client-server model for the Hazelcast service, which provides cluster communication and distributes Pega Platform features across nodes. This optional deployment model introduces independent scalability for both servers and clients in Pega Platform, improving stability for deployments that use a large number of nodes.

The Hazelcast client-server model is intended for select environments running Pega Platform 8.4 across a large number of nodes and should be deployed only when directed by Global Client Support.

Search indexes require rebuilding after upgrading from Pega Platform 7.1.7 through 7.2.1

Pega Platform™ now supports Elasticsearch 5.6.9. If you are upgrading from Pega 7.1.7 through 7.2.1, discard your existing indexes and build new indexes in a new empty index directory. Create the search indexes by using the Search landing page or the full text indexer. If you are upgrading from Pega Platform 7.2.2 or later, no action is required. You can continue to use your existing search indexes.

For more information, see Rebuilding search indexes and Batch creation and updating of Elasticsearch index files from the command line.

Disregard this startup error for Oracle Weblogic deployments

If you install, upgrade, or update your Oracle Weblogic application server to Pega 7.2.2, disregard the error stack that begins with text similar to the following:

ERROR - WebLogic Server 12.1.3.0.0 Wed May 21 18:53:34 PDT 2014 1604337 Oracle WebLogic Server Module Dependencies 12.1 Tue Mar 11 15:35:15 MDT 2014 WebLogic Jersey Server Integration 3.0 Fri Feb 21 10:55:11 UTC 2014 must use JDK 1.8+ with WebSocket
2016-11-07 06:13:01,690 [ WIN-L3EEURCNCP1] [ STANDARD] (pr.DefaultAsyncSupportResolver) ERROR - Real error: Unable to configure jsr356 at that stage. ServerContainer is null

This message appears because the Pega 7.2.2 real-time notification feature initially tries to use WebSocket and then falls back to long polling. The Pega 7 Platform does not support WebSocket for Oracle Weblogic servers, and instead uses long polling for real-time notifications.

Support for an external Elasticsearch cluster for on-premises deployments

On-premises customers can configure an Elasticsearch cluster that is external to the Pega Platform™ by using client-server mode. Using an external search configuration makes Elasticsearch more highly available and scalable. 

You can view the status of your external Elasticsearch service on the Search landing page. For more information, see link to Viewing the status of an external search service.

Mobile features deprecated in 8.4

Following the introduction of new functionalities for mobile apps, some features are reaching end of life. To avoid additional effort during updates to future releases, do not use deprecated features.

In the 8.4 release, the following features are no longer recommended:

• Mobile Client 7 is now deprecated and planned for removal in 8.5. Use Pega Infinity Mobile Client to meet the mobile needs of your business.
• The Reuse existing web portal functionality is deprecated and planned for removal in 8.5. For improved app performance and more efficient development, use the mobile app builder in the mobile channel. Also, you must convert existing projects to use separate channels for mobile and web portals before upgrading to 8.5.

In addition, the Pega Mobile Express app has been removed from app stores and replaced with the Pega Mobile Preview app.