Automatically update dependent applications to use the latest versions of built-on applications
Valid from Pega Version 8.5
You can now automatically update dependent applications to use the latest versions of built-on applications. When you import an archive that you created from a product rule, you can update all dependent applications to be built on the latest application versions in the archive.
For more information, see Updating dependent applications with the latest versions of built-on applications.
Alerts for long-running queue processor and job scheduler activities
Valid from Pega Version 8.5
Pega Platform™ now saves an alert in the performance alert log when a queue processor activity or a scheduled job runs longer than the configured threshold value. Use the alerts to identify potential performance issues with long-running processes.
The alerts are enabled by default. You can change the alerts for dedicated queue processors and job schedulers at the rules level. For standard queue processors, you can also set the threshold value for the Queue-For-Processing command in an activity. You disable the alerts in dynamic system settings.
For more information, see:
- PEGA0117 alert: Long-running queue processor activity
- PEGA0118 alert: Long-running job scheduler activity
Introduction of Search and Reporting Service
Valid from Pega Version 8.5
Pega Platform™ now uses Search and Reporting Service, which is an independent microservice. The new enhancement provides a convenient way to manage your application data, and is easier to maintain. For example, because of the cloud-based architecture of Search and Reporting Service, any bug fixes and performance improvements occur seamlessly, and have no impact on your overall experience in Pega Platform.
For more information, see Search and Reporting overview.
Ability to restrict access to the Import wizard
Valid from Pega Version 8.5
You can now restrict access to the Import wizard so that users implement an automated pipeline to deploy changes between environments such as staging and production. Deployment Manager is one method by which to create pipelines. By using pipelines to propagate changes, users can apply a standardized and automated deployment process for migrating their applications.
For more information, see:
- Ensuring that users migrate applications with a pipeline by restricting the Import wizard
- Understanding model-driven DevOps with Deployment Manager
Optimized data schema upgrade
Valid from Pega Version 8.5
Several improvements have been made to optimize the speed of the data schema upgrade to help you experience minimal downtime during upgrade to Pega Platform 8.5™. The data schema upgrade process optimizations include the following improvements:
- Optimized database index creation during upgrade
- Optimized synchronization process to detect duplicate rules during the application import process
- A new upgrade setting for Pega Cloud® Services operators that reduces the time to upgrade clients that run large Pega applications, such as the CRM Suite
For more information, see Limit upgrade downtime with data schema upgrade improvements (8.5).
Support for hotfix file verification
Valid from Pega Version 8.5
Pega Platform hotfix files are now digitally signed so that they can be verified and authenticated. If your Pega Platform™ instance allows outbound URL connections, hotfix files are verified automatically during installation. If your Pega Platform instance does not allow outbound URL connections, you can verify the files manually by using third-party tools. Alternatively, if your Pega Platform instance does not allow outbound URL connections and you do not use third-party tools to verify hotfix files, you can import a certificate revocation list (CRL) for Pega Platform to use when checking the files to see if they have been revoked.
For more information, see Verifying the authenticity of hotfix files.
Supported JDBC drivers
Valid from Pega Version 7.1.1
Pega 7.1.1 supports Java 6 and Java 7 SDKs only. Ensure that the JDBC driver you are using supports those versions of Java. See your database installation or upgrade documentation for additional information.
| Database | Java 6 | Java 7 |
|---|---|---|
| Oracle | ojdbc6.jar | ojdbc7.jar |
| MSQL | sqljdbc4.jar | sqljdbc4.jar |
| DB2 LUW | db2jcc4.jar | db2jcc4.jar |
| DB2 z/OS* | db2jcc4.jar or jdb2jcc.jar** | db2jcc4.jar |
| PostgreSQL | postgresql-9.1-903.jdbc4.jar*** | postgresql-9.1-903.jdbc4.jar |
* JDBC drivers are only available from the DB2 for z/OS product. Additionally, you need db2jcc_license_cisuz.jar in the same directory as db2jcc4.jar.
** The db2jcc.jar has been deprecated and may not be supported in future releases.
*** This .jar file is required for PostgreSQL version 9.1.x.
Adaptive Decision Manager installation changes to support delayed learning
Valid from Pega Version 7.1.7
To support delayed adaptive learning, Adaptive Decision Manager (ADM) has been enhanced with database schema changes and no longer relies on Hibernate. This change has an impact in the way ADM is set up in the Decision Management service layer: the jdbc/admDataSource resource is now superseded by jdbc/adm7DataSource.
Additionally, Pega 7.1.7 further simplifies the ADM deployment by providing a single enterprise application or web archive:
- Single EAR deployment archive that can used when deploying ADM on IBM WebSphere and Oracle WebLogic
- Single WAR deployment archive that can be used when deploying ADM on Tomcat and JBoss
Improved full text search
Valid from Pega Version 7.1.7
In Pega 7.1.7, Elasticsearch is used to provide full-text search functionality for rules, work, and data content, replacing the existing Lucene search functionality. In addition to providing search results two to five times more quickly than with Lucene Search, Elasticsearch is more scalable: with multi-threaded bulk and incremental indexing, it provides enhanced information about the search queue, the ability to host index files on multiple nodes, a more robust and expressive search parser, the ability to configure thresholds for alerts and search query time-outs, and automatic handling of replication and failover.
The search management user interface, where you can see length of queue and age of entries, which node hosts the search index, and where it is located.
After upgrading to Pega 7.1.7, the system administrator must manually migrate search functionality from Lucene Search to Elasticsearch. Note that during the switch-over and until the indexes are rebuilt, Lucene search continues to function and there is no interruption in search functions. For more information, see the Pega 7.1.7 Upgrade Guide.
View agent activity and status more efficiently
Valid from Pega Version 7.1.7
The menu has been updated with several additional tabs detailing system information pertinent to an active server node running on a system, along with its requestors, log utilities, and purge/archive utilities. The link to the System Management Application tool has also been moved to the menu in this release.
Previously, to understand your system, you had to access every node on your system individually. With this update, the information available on these tabs allows you to view all agents across a cluster to determine if an agent is active and in-depth details about the agent in a more efficient manner.
The System: Operations page displays agent information and status on a system
Access this menu by selecting . For more information, see the System Operations landing page.