Published Release Notes

Pega 7 Platform startup fails with an evaluateWhen-Exception after upgrade

If the batch requestor, Data-Admin-Requestor.BATCH, does not have access to the PRPC:Agent access group, the Pega 7 Platform fails to start up after an upgrade. The checkSecurity step fails with an evaluateWhen-Exception while evaluating access to the Data-Admin-System-Settings.pzSharedTenant when rule.

To resolve this issue, follow these steps:

1. On the pre-upgraded environment, grant the Data-Admin-Requestor.BATCH access to the PRPC:Agents access group. See the online help for information about granting access to access groups.
2. Move the database table record that corresponds to the batch requestor type from the pr_data_admin table of the pre-upgraded environment to the pr_data_admin table on the upgraded environment. See the online help for information about moving database table records.

Support for OAuth 2.0 authorization in Pega Platform REST services

Pega^® Platform REST services now support OAuth 2.0 authorization that uses federated authentication with SAML 2.0-compliant identity providers (IDPs). The OAuth 2.0-based authorization can be configured to use the SAML2-bearer grant type with a SAML token profile. This configuration is used when a resource requestor is authenticated by using a SAML2.0-compliant IDP.

For more information, see Security rules and data.

View the configuration settings for Pega Platform nodes in Designer Studio

On the new Configuration Settings landing page, you can view a list of the configuration settings for a specific node, current or remote, or for an entire cluster. From this landing page you can diagnose settings issues, determine whether settings are loaded correctly, and review the settings' purposes. You can also download the prconfig.xml file for any node in a cluster to modify the settings. The ability to view settings for all nodes in the Cluster from a single landing page makes diagnosing configuration issues across the cluster simpler and easier than logging on to each node individually to view its system settings. For example, if a started agent does not run, you can check if agents are enabled on your system; or if some of your caches are too big, you can check the setting for the cache size. You can also determine if settings are loaded correctly, and identify discrepancies in the settings across the nodes.

For more information, see Viewing the current configuration settings of a node or the whole cluster, Downloading and viewing the prconfig.xml file for a specific node, REST APIs for viewing the configuration settings for Pega Platform.

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.

BIX ruleset is now included with Pega Platform

The Pega Business Intelligence Exchange™ (BIX) ruleset is now included with Pega Platform™, which eliminates the need for additional provisioning for Pega Cloud customers and for a separate BIX installation for on-premises customers. To add BIX to your application, add the Pega-BIX:<version> ruleset to your application rulesets.

For more information, see Data extraction.

Upgrade impact

After a successful upgrade, the BIX ruleset is available within Pega Platform. You should synchronize the BIX ruleset and Pega rules to avoid extraction errors.

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

After the upgrade is complete, change the ruleset version for Pega Platform and BIX to use the same, latest version.

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.

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.

CRM core data types included in Pega Platform

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) core data types are now included with Pega^® Platform, making it easier to bring your data into your Pega application. You can either import your data into the data tables for the CRM data types or use integration to communicate with your own system of record. The database tables for these data types are non-Pega formatted, which gives you better performance and more control over your data.

For information about the database tables, see CRM data types in Pega Platform.

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.

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.