Published Release Notes

Naming pattern changed for file data sets

File data sets are used to import from and export data to a file repository. In case of data export, prior to version 8.6.3, the first file exported had the same file name that was provided by the user in the data set, and any subsequent file exported to the repository had a unique identifier appended to it. Starting in Pega Platform version 8.6.3, each file has a unique identifier, automatically generated based on the data flow node, thread ID, and timestamp.

Upgrade impact

If your process to consume output files expects files with a specific name, it may not be able to process the resulting files correctly.

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

If you have configured the process before updating to Pega Platform version 8.6.3, but the exported files are no longer recognized by downstream processing logic after the upgrade, ensure that the downstream tool is configured to recognize the files by a pattern rather than the full name. For example, when referring to files exported to the repository, use the * character to indicate a pattern instead of using the full file name. For example, use Export*.csv to refer to the files.

Disregard this Comet support error at startup

Pega 7.2.2 introduced real-time notifications using Comet technologies like WebSocket and long polling. WebSocket provides the best results, but both WebSocket and non-blocking long polling must be supported by your application server. If your application server does not support WebSocket and non-blocking long polling, you might see an error stack that begins with text similar to the following:

ERROR - If you have more than one Connector enabled, make sure they both use the same protocol, e.g NIO/APR or HTTP for all. If not, org.atmosphere.container.BlockingIOCometSupport will be used and cannot be changed. java.lang.IllegalStateException: Tomcat failed to detect this is a Comet application because context.xml is missing or the Http11NioProtocol Connector is not enabled. You must use the atmosphere-native-runtime dependency in order to use native Comet Support

You can disregard this message.

However, to take advantage of the improvements to real-time notifications, enable WebSocket support:

• For IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty Core, see your deployment guide for instructions on configuring the application server.
• For Red Hat JBoss, see your deployment guide for instructions on enabling WebSocket support.
• For Apache Tomcat application servers, consider upgrading to Tomcat 7.0.53 or later which supports WebSocket.

Disregard this Java script console message

Pega 7.2.2 introduced real-time notifications by using Comet technologies such as WebSocket and long polling. WebSocket provides the best results, but both WebSocket and non-blocking long polling must be supported by your application server. If your application server does not support WebSocket, you might see a JavaScript error that begins with text that is similar to the following text:

WebSocket connection to 'ws://vnbamdevapp01:8080/prweb/PRPushServlet/... Error during WebSocket handshake: Unexpected response code: 501_getWebSocket @ pzpega_ui_messaging_1802554968!!.js:1195 pzpega_ui_messaging_1802554968!!.js:3265 Websocket closed, reason: Connection was closed abnormally (that is, with no close frame being sent). - wasClean: falselog @ pzpega_ui_messaging_1802554968!!.js:3265 pzpega_ui_messaging_1802554968!!.js:3265 Websocket failed on first connection attempt. Downgrading to long-polling and resending

You can disregard this message.

However, to take advantage of the improvements to real-time notifications, enable support for WebSocket:

• For IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty Core, see your deployment guide for instructions on configuring the application server.
• For Red Hat JBoss, see your deployment guide for instructions on enabling WebSocket support.
• For Apache Tomcat application servers, consider upgrading to Apache Tomcat 7.0.53 or later which supports WebSocket.

New alerts for the Apache Ignite cluster

New Pega^® Platform alerts identify issues with Apache Ignite cluster members (nodes) that operate either in client mode or server mode. Refer to these alerts to diagnose problems with the Apache Ignite cluster and to protect against hard-drive failures or loss of data.

The new alerts are:

• PEGA0088: Client node unexpectedly disconnected from the cluster
• PEGA0089: A node left the cluster
• PEGA0090: Cluster segmentation causes subclusters to form
• PEGA0091: Data stored in one or more cluster caches is lost
• PEGA0092: Number of servers in the cluster falls below the recommended settings

For more information about alerts, see Performance alerts, security alerts, and Autonomic Event Services.

Condition builder enhancements

To enhance the precision of condition builder in both App Studio and Dev Studio, the new instances include comparator helps you specify the number of field group and field group list instances to which a when rule applies. In addition, a search option that returns results on keypress helps you easily look for existing values.

For more information, see Create conditions in an enhanced condition builder (8.5), Defining conditions in the condition builder.

Association of incoming emails with triage cases

Customer service representatives (CSRs) can now associate an email triage case with existing business cases or service requests. As a result, CSRs can respond more quickly to information about the same issue reported by customers several times. The system displays a list of related service cases for the same customer that CSRs can then associate or disassociate from the open email triage case in the Email Manager or Case Manager portal.

For more information, see Associating service requests with a triage case and Keep related incoming emails together for a triage case.

Enhanced activity feed for Pulse displays messages

The activity feed for Pulse has been enhanced to display replies to messages that you have posted, messages on cases that you are following, messages in which you are referenced, messages posted on your user profile, messages by users that you are following, and messages that you have bookmarked. You can filter the activity feed to display the messages that you want to view.

For information about Pulse enhancements, see:

• Pega Express 7.3.1 – Communicating with Pulse
• Pega Platform 7.3.1 – Pulse enhancements for social collaboration

Activity feed displays application messages

The activity feed for Pulse now displays messages within the context of the application of the logged-in user. If a user posts messages within the context of the application, all the users of the application can view the messages in their activity feed. Users can select the filter for application messages to view only these messages. For example, application messages can be used for release announcements.

For more information, see:

• Pega^® Express 7.4 – Communicating with Pulse
• Pega Platform 7.4 – Pulse enhancements for social collaboration

Use repositories as sources for File data sets

You can configure remote repositories, such as Amazon S3 or JFrog Artifactory, or a local repository, as data sources for File data sets. By referencing an external repository from a File data set, you enable a parallel load from multiple CSV or JSON files, which removes the need for a relational database for transferring data to Pega Platform™ in the cloud.

For more information, see Creating a File data set record for files on repositories and Configuring a remote repository as a source for a File data set.

Create configurable node types with purpose-specific names

To meet your specific business needs, you can now configure your own node types that you can segregate by purpose, and also define their behavior. Pega Platform™ supports node types that you can associate with multiple resources, like agents or job schedulers. For ease of use, apply meaningful names to your node types.

For more information, see Node classification, Creating configurable node types.