Improved performance for work ID generation
Valid from Pega Version 8.3
Work IDs are now generated in batches and managed with dynamic system settings. Batch-based ID generation improves performance and scalability, which reduces the time that it takes to migrate data to a Pega Platform™ application.
For more information, see Default dynamic system settings data instances.
Upgrade impact
In a multi-node environment, the new ID generation method can assign IDs that are not as sequential as in the previous method.
For example, in a 2-node cluster, the IDs could come in from each node in batches of 1000, resulting in successive Work objects having IDs that differ by 1000 (such as 1, 1001, 2,1002, 3, 1003). As more Work objects are created the gaps can get filled. However, there might still be gaps left in the generated IDs. For example, if a node crashes or shuts down, some IDs would be missing, or if a node has given out 600 IDs from a batch of 1000 IDs, then 400 IDs would remain unused. In most situations, this should not be an issue.
What steps are required to update the application to be compatible with this change?
If you must have nearly sequential IDs or cannot accept gaps in IDs (and do not need the performance improvement), then you can change the dynamic system setting to disable the new ID generation method.
The dynamic system setting for this feature is idGenerator/defaultBatchSize. The feature is enabled by default with a defaultBatchSize of 1000. To disable the feature, set the value to 1.
New alert for distinct values query
Valid from Pega Version 7.3.1
The PEGA0093 alert identifies performance issues when a distinct values query from virtual reports or the getDistinctValuesForProperty API take longer than the threshold. For more information, see PEGA0093: Distinct values query took more than the threshold.
No direct upgrade to multitenant setup
Valid from Pega Version 7.1.1
It is not possible to upgrade directly to a multi-tenant setup. A Pega 7 application may be exported and then imported into a multi-tenant system, with the administrator making the decision as to whether this then becomes a tenant system or a shared system.
Applications developed in versions prior to Pega 7 must be upgraded to a Pega 7 standard system, and then exported and imported into a multi-tenant system. See the Multitenancy Administration Guide for full details.
Improvements to support Kibana log viewing
Pega® Cloud resolved a known infrastructure error that prevented customers in AP-southeast-2 region from properly viewing their log messages in Kibana.
Pega Cloud introduced this enhancement as of QI 2018.
Service responses in HTTP and REST connectors are no longer modified
Valid from Pega Version 7.1.7
The Pega 7.1.8 release correctly leaves form service responses for HTTP and REST connectors unmodified. Upgrade to this release if you experience a problem in Pega 7.1.7 where service responses for HTTP and REST connectors are modified when the declared type in the Content-Type header is application/x-www-form-urlencoded. In this case, the responses were modified to a base 64 representation of the bytes in the string. In Pega 7.1.8, responses of type application/x-www-form-urlencoded are mapped to the property designated on the Connector record.
Data encryption across search nodes
Valid from Pega Version 7.3
You can now encrypt communication among search nodes. Encryption secures the data that is transferred across nodes so that it cannot be accessed by unauthorized hosts. Encryption is enabled by default for new installations and upgrades from Pega® 7.1.6 or earlier to Pega 7.3. Encryption is not enabled by default for upgrades from Pega 7.1.7 or later to Pega 7.3. You can enable and disable search encryption from the Search landing page or by using the indexing/distributed/enable_inter_node_encryption Dynamic System Setting.
For more information, see Enabling and disabling encryption for communication among search nodes.
New form of the HBase rule
Valid from Pega Version 7.1.8
There is a new form of the HBase rule. While you cannot create any new instances of the Pega 7.1.7 HBase rule, legacy instances in your application remain functional. You can still use the Pega 7.1.7 instances of the HBase rule, but you cannot make changes to them.
Support for Java 8
Support for building apps as Android App Bundles
Valid from Pega Version 8.6.1
As of August 2021, Google Play Store requires that you submit new apps in the Android App Bundle publishing format instead of the APK format. You can now build Pega mobile apps in the Android App Bundle format so that they comply with this new requirement.
For more information about generating installation packages for Pega mobile apps, see Generating installation packages. For more information about the Android App Bundle publishing format, see the Android for Developers documentation.
Support for building apps as Android App Bundles
Valid from Pega Version 8.5.5
As of August 2021, Google Play Store requires that you submit new apps in the Android App Bundle publishing format instead of the APK format. You can now build Pega mobile apps in the Android App Bundle format so that they comply with this new requirement.
For more information about generating installation packages for Pega mobile apps, see Generating installation packages. For more information about the Android App Bundle publishing format, see the Android for Developers documentation.