========================================== AlarmPoint Integration Agent Release Notes ========================================== February 10, 2010 Version 4.1.0 Copyright AlarmPoint Systems, Inc. 1994-2010 -------- CONTENTS -------- 1. PRODUCT DESCRIPTION 2. INSTALLING 3. UPGRADING 4. ENHANCEMENTS 5. BUG FIXES 6. KNOWN ISSUES 7. TECHNICAL SUPPORT, FEEDBACK, & TRAINING ----------------------- 1. PRODUCT DESCRIPTION ----------------------- The AlarmPoint Integration Agent provides a new method for interacting with AlarmPoint components. Through its support for industry standard Web Services, the Integration Agent provides the following benefits: - Standardized communication protocol - SOAP/XML results in simpler implementation and reduced training requirements - Can be deployed using standard corporate tools for load balancing and resiliency - Provides a scripting environment (JavaScript) that can be used to perform any number of activities (command line execution, JDBC connections, file read/write, etc.). This makes the Integration Agent a flexible processing engine supplying information/services for the requesting systems. - Provides integrated Management Systems the ability to initiate AlarmPoint events and respond to requests from AlarmPoint Action Script. For full details, refer to the "AlarmPoint Integration Agent Guide". -------------- 2. INSTALLING -------------- For detailed system requirements and installation information, refer to the "AlarmPoint Integration Agent Guide". NOTE: If you are installing the AlarmPoint Integration Agent on an Intel Itanium -based server running HP-UX, refer to the following article for important post-installation steps (available on the AlarmPoint Connect web site): "Installing the AlarmPoint Integration Agent on an Intel Itanium-based server running HP-UX". ------------- 3. UPGRADING ------------- The following instructions assume familiarity with the AlarmPoint Integration Agent Installer (for full installation steps and details, refer to the "AlarmPoint Integration Agent Guide"). Windows (GUI) ------------- 1. Start the Windows installer. 2. On the Introduction page, click Next. 3. Accept the License Agreement and click Next. 4. Type your serial number and click Next. 5. When prompted for the installation location, specify the path to your existing installation, and then click Next. 6. When asked whether you want to upgrade, click Yes. 7. Review the Pre-Installation Summary and click Install. - The existing install directory is renamed to .x, where x is an integer. A new copy of the Integration Agent is installed at . The following are copied from the previous install to the new install: configuration files, the integrationservices directory, and the lib\integrationservices directory. 8. To exit the installer, click Done. UNIX (console) -------------- 1. Start the installer (./apia4XX_install.bin -i console). 2. At the Introduction screen, press Enter . 3. Accept the License Agreement and press Enter. 4. Type your serial number and press Enter. 5. When prompted for the installation location, specify the path to your existing installation, and then press Enter. 6. When asked whether you want to upgrade, select "1- Yes", and then press Enter. 7. Review the Pre-Installation Summary and press Enter. - The existing install directory is renamed to .x, where x is an integer. A new copy of the Integration Agent is installed at . The following are copied from the previous install to the new install: configuration files, the integrationservices directory, and the lib/integrationservices directory. 8. To exit the installer, press Enter. ---------------- 4. ENHANCEMENTS ---------------- The following items represent selected enhancements for the indicated version: For version 4.1.0: None For version 4.0.0: 1. The Integration Agent can now accept requests (e.g., to create an AlarmPoint event), from Management Systems that use APClient.bin, which is the same client used to communicate with AlarmPoint JavaClient. 2. The Integration Agent can now automatically failover to a secondary AlarmPoint deployment and autorecover to the primary AlarmPoint deployment after a specified duration. 3. The Integration Agent now persists data even when it becomes disconnected from AlarmPoint. All requests are persisted until a reconnection occurs, and all submitted messages will be processed. A new “iadmin purge” command allows deletion of these persisted messages. 4. The Integration Agent now provides a Service API that can be used by an Integration Service’s JavaScript implementation to perform the following operations: - logging: An Integration Service can write log messages to the Integration Agent’s log file using any of the Log4j priorities (e.g., DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERROR); this logging is configurable via the Integration Agent’s Log4j configuration file. - Integration Service Requests: An Integration Agent can issue a local or remote Integration Service Request to any Integration Service that is available in the AlarmPoint deployment; this allows Management Systems to exchange data with each other. - AlarmPoint interaction: An Integration Service can send commands to AlarmPoint (e.g., add event), and respond to requests from AlarmPoint in order to integrate a Management Systems with an AlarmPoint deployment. 5. The Integration Agent now allows for the creation of an access password. The password will be used to check APClient.bin and Web Service submissions to determine whether they carry the proper permission to access the Integration Agent; failed submissions produce a log entry. 6. The Integration Agent now includes priority queues for more efficient request handling. Each Integration Service has a high and low priory inbound queue for requests from APClient.bin and the Node. The thread pool is configurable and separate thread pools prevents a high volume of requests from one queue from affecting the performance of another queue. 7. The Integration Agent now includes versioning information in each log file as it is rolled over. ------------- 5. BUG FIXES ------------- The following items represent selected bug fixes for the indicated version: For version 4.1.0: - An AlarmPoint Webserver fronted by Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) can now be properly contacted by the Integration Agent. Previously, connection issues were caused by the chunking support added to the IIS server plugin (i.e., isapi_redirect.dll v. 1.2.28.0.). For version 4.0.0: - When "Use SSL to Connect to Service" is selected during a console install (i.e. -i console), the related attribute in the Integration Agent configuration file (IAConfig.xml) is no longer still "false" rather than "true". - The log4j.xml file appender paths no longer need to use "/" as the path separator on both Unix AND Windows; additionally, the file name must have an extension (e.g., .txt). - Action Scripts can now use ExternalServiceRequest2::send() to send requests to an Integration Agent when the agent has the following configuration (i.e., in the IAConfig.xml file): (Previously, under this configuration, attempts to send requests failed.) ---------------- 6. KNOWN ISSUES ---------------- - Due to a java.sql.DriverManager class limitation, JDBC drivers cannot be on an Integration Service's custom classpath. JDBC drivers must be in a library folder that is loaded by the Integration Agent at startup and available to all Integration Services. The most appropriate location is / lib/integrationservices/, which is copied during an upgrade. This means that an Integration Service can be guaranteed that any libraries it places in this folder will be preserved during an upgrade. However, note that it is possible for the shared folder to contain multiple versions of the same database driver (e.g., Integration Service A installs jtds-1.2.2.jar and Integration Service B installs jtds-1.2.1.jar), which can result in unexpected behavior. Note that the installer place JDBC drivers (jtds-1.2.jar and ojdbc14.jar) for SQL Server and Oracle in /lib/integrationservices. - On Windows, if the Integration Agent is installed in a deeply-nested directory, running IAdmin.bat can result in the following error: "Input line is too long". This occurs because some versions of Windows limit the maximum length of a console command. The IAdmin tool uses an autogenerated classpath parameter that can exceed Window's length limitation. The only known solution is to install the Integration Agent in a directory that is 'shallower' (i.e., that has a shorter path). - Because some databases use null termination for strings, a stack trace is generated in the Integration Agent when such data is serialized for transport to the AlarmPoint Mobile Gateway. To avoid this, such data can be trimmed prior to serialization in the integration JavaScript using: return resultSet().getObject("STRING_COLUMN").toString().trim(); - When installing the AlarmPoint Integration Agent on HP-UX, you may receive an "Insert New Media" message. Ignore this message and press ENTER to complete the installation. - The Integration Agent logs a stack trace every time "iadmin reload all" is executed. - Shutting down the Integration Agent may produce a null pointer exception in the logs. - APClient.bin is not delivered during an Integration Agent installation on an Itanium platform. ------------------------------------------- 7. TECHNICAL SUPPORT, FEEDBACK, & TRAINING ------------------------------------------- If you require technical assistance, would like to provide feedback, or want information about training, contact AlarmPoint Customer Support: Email: support@alarmpoint.com Web: www.alarmpoint.com Phone: (925) 226-0300 (option 2) Mail: AlarmPoint Systems 4457 Willow Road, Suite 220 Pleasanton, CA 94588 END OF FILE