10.2 Upgrade Guide

Summary

Before upgrading the platform and its add-on components, there are certain system changes that customers need to be aware of when moving to 10.2 from an earlier version. The list that follows may not be comprehensive; however, along with the full release note set, it provides a starting point for upgrade evaluation.

To see future updates and to find any software end-of-life notifications, customers should also read the Platform and Software Support Changes release note (here) and each individual release note for items that may not be listed below.

Details

Java 11 update

For security reasons, the Stibo Systems Enterprise Platform (STEP) has been upgraded to the latest Long Term Support version of Java, version 11, on both the server side and the workbench. The server will automatically perform the upgrade when it is patched with STEP 10.2. It will be available for STEP 10.2+ only.

./spot --apply=to:spot/7.0/latest.spr

As mentioned in previous release notes, if using Oracle Java, the support for Java WebStart is removed entirely with this release. If there is a property in the sharedconfig.properties file to enable the WebStart functionality, the property will need to be removed prior to starting your system upon upgrade to 10.2. If not removed, the system will not restart.

If using Oracle Java, also remember to upgrade the version to 11. STEP 10.2+ will not work with Java 8.

Stibo Systems will continue to support and release the OpenJDK upgrades for Java 8 in maintenance patches until STEP version 10.1 support ends on December 1, 2023.

Also, if upgrading to 10.2, it is recommended that customers upgrade their workbench launcher (the desktop-based software that allows the workbench to be started) if they encounter any issues when trying to enter a STEP UI for the first time post-upgrade. The link for downloading Workbench Launchers is accessible from your system's Start Page.

Most existing custom extensions should continue to work with the new version of STEP and Java 11. This is not the case if the extension contains code that reads or writes XML. If it does, the extension will have to be rewritten as the XML parsers that used to be part of the Java JDK have been removed, and external libraries will have to be brought into play instead. Also, if needing to alter an existing extension for any reason, or write a new one, this will require Java 11 to do so. More information about this can be found in the Extension API documentation accessible via the STEP API Documentation available at [system]/sdk or accessible from the system Start Page.

Note: Some systems may be impacted by system XML files upon making changes to the Web UI and in other circumstances. It is recommended that all customers take 10.2-MP1 to help circumvent these issues.

Support, platform, and system admin information

The following items are desupported or removed with the 10.2 release (unless indicated otherwise):

• Oracle 18c (all)
• macOS 10.13 High Sierra
• Adobe InDesign CC 2018 (Client and Server)
• Adobe InDesign CC 2019 (Client and Server) remains as an option within the STEP InDesign Plugins, although it is no longer supported by Adobe. It will be removed during a 10.2 maintenance patch or with the next feature release (Fall 2021). Customers upgrading to 10.2 should use the newest Stibo Systems-supported version of InDesign.
• Apache for the reverse proxy is not supported. Customers with Apache-related support issues, regardless of the STEP version they are on, will be asked to transition to the HAProxy-based solution.
• LibreOffice will no longer be installed as part of STEP, and to use the Asset Preview functionality for Microsoft Office documents and PDF previews, customers will need to do their own install of LibreOffice.
• Customers using unsupported Excel versions were advised in the 10.1 release notes to convert import and export files, older Smartsheet versions, translations, eCatalog files, etc., to a supported version and resave prior to upgrading to 10.2 (i.e., open XLS files and resave as XLSX files). With the 10.2 development, saved configurations that have not already been converted will work but will export as Excel 2007+ due to the removal of the Excel 97/2003 format options for exports and imports.
• Customers must transition off of MS Windows-based STEP Application and STEP Database Servers by the Spring 2022 feature release.

Important: Support for the 9.0 version of STEP ended on June 1, 2021, and support for the 9.1 version of STEP  ends on January 1, 2022.

Important change related to LDAP

When upgrading to newer Java (AdoptOpenJDK) versions, LDAP may give rise to problems with authentication. This is caused by the removal of support for the older, less secure encryption algorithms Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.0 and 1.1.

If using LDAP for authentication, user action may be required. If the LDAP server used does not support the newer TLS version 1.2, the STEP server will have to be altered to support it:

1. On the server, edit the file: [STEPHOME]/resources/jdk/[JDKVERSION]/jre/lib/security/java.security

2. Find the line defining the property jdk.tls.disabledAlgorithms and replace it with:

   jdk.tls.disabledAlgorithms=SSLv3, RC4, DES, MD5withRSA, DH keySize < 1024, EC keySize < 224, 3DES_EDE_CBC, anon, NULL, include jdk.disabled.namedCurves

3. Restart your system

Note: The new default for TLS is 1.2, rather than 1.0.

Customer MDM: D&B Migration

For customers using the D&B Direct 2.0 integration in release 10.1 or earlier, a mandatory migration to D&B Direct+ is required for those customers who wish to continue to use the functionality in 10.2. For more information, see the New Dun & Bradstreet Direct+ Connector release note in the 10.2 release note set here.

Web UI-specific information

The following changes are described further in the Web UI Enhancements and Changes release note here.

• Users who have the Custom Export Action component configured should be advised that the 'Export Current View' button that displays when the Custom Export button is clicked has been removed. The Export Current View functionality is now a standalone toolbar action called 'Export Current View Action' and allows users to quickly export table data to an Excel spreadsheet with no customization.

• The PDS Export Wizard Screen component in the Web UI designer has been removed, as it is no longer needed in order to display PDX channels available to receive published data from the Search Screen basket.

• If a Web UI was using custom colors prior to 10.2, they will be converted to the Stibo Systems default color scheme after upgrading.

General system updates

Users should also be aware of the update below; details can be found in the General Enhancements and Changes release note here.

The type of environment (i.e., Development, QA, Production, etc.) is identified by the 'System.Display.Type' configuration property that now displays in more areas of Web UI and workbench. Also, the configuration property 'System.Name' now also displays on the workbench title bar. Because the Web UI Title Parameter may be removed in the next feature or future release, careful attention should be paid to the IDs / names used for Web UIs so that they are clearly identifiable on the browser tab since, if this change is made, the environment will display on a Web UI login page but not the system name or a configurable Web UI title.

Stibo Systems' branding updates

Rebranding work that started with the 10.1 release has continued into 10.2 projects. See the Web UI Enhancements and Changes for details regarding changes to Web UI Designer changes, login page changes, and much more here.

PDS label and plugin rebranding title changes

With the recent name change of Product Data Syndication (PDS) to Product Data Exchange (PDX), label and plugin titles related to PDS have been changed to PDX. As an example, 'PDS Outbound Integration Endpoint' is now titled 'PDX Outbound Integration Endpoint.' More information regarding the PDS to PDX name change can be found in the PDS Rebranding and Enhancements release note here.

Online Help / documentation changes

With every release, documentation updates occur. In addition to documentation that was updated as part of 10.2 projects, the following documentation updates that users should be aware of when upgrading to 10.2 are listed below:

• Product MDM for Retail, located in the Solution Enablement section of the online help, has been updated and information about variants has been added.
• List Processing in Data Preparation has been reorganized and updated.
• The Matching, Merging, and Linking section of online help has been reorganized and updated and continues to be updated. Work will continue on this section after the 10.2 release, including the inclusion / updating of supporting images.
• Updates and corrections were made to the Machine Learning-Based Auto Classification documentation.
• 10.2 videos can be found in the Customer and Partner Communities. A specific 10.2 RELEASE page is available under RELEASE INFO. Videos are also accessible from the RESOURCES dropdown.
• Documentation was updated to remove information about unsupported versions.Product MDM for Automotive 9.0 release and maintenance patch notes were also removed and can be provided upon request.
• Documentation pertaining to data sufficiency scores has been moved from the Metrics section of online help to the Data Governance section of online help.

Important: Prior to upgrade, customers should be aware of any updates made in prior releases in maintenance patches. For example, the items below were covered in the maintenance patch notes for 10.1, which can be accessed via the 10.1 Release > 10.1. Maintenance Patch notes section of the documentation here.

New features incorporated via 10.1 maintenance patches

• New Elasticsearch publishing business condition
• Ability to restrict contexts and workspaces available in the Web UI
• New 'STEPXML Configuration Export' plugin
• Support for STEPXML export and import of Workflow Profiles and Asset Push Event Queues (also mentioned in the Enhancement Requests release note here)
• New Cloud Blob Storage Delivery for OIEPs and Export Manager
• New Revision Management Event Processor plugin option
• Data Sufficiency event processor multithreading support
• Added CSRF exclusion filter support
• Web UI Search Screen Includes Classifications and Respects Additional STEP Privilege Settings
• Updates to the Search Screen Basket 'Publish' to PDS (now PDX) option
• New cloud storage Asset Publisher Event Processor plugin (the information for this enhancement is repeated in the General Enhnacements and Changes release note here)