Uniprint 9.1 Service Pack 2 Release Notes

Overview

Service Pack 2 consists of consolidated package updates available as a single download. It includes updates to the following Pharos components:

• Database Schema

• Database Service

• Print Service

• Secure Release Service (4.18)

• EDI Service

• LPD Service

• Pharos Administrator (ships with the updated Pharos Help, Remote installer, SignUp client, PopupModule.exe, and Pharos Station installer)

• Pharos Print Center (v4.8)

• Updater Service

• License Service

• Popup Service

What’s in Uniprint 9.1 SP2?

This section details improvements and bug fixes included in Uniprint 9.1 Service Pack 2.

Print Center Updates (v4.8)

This update includes previously released updates plus the following improvements and bug fixes:

• Maximum password length increased for users and guest users.

• Improved SSO support

• Printer selection on Android devices

• Improved error message for unsupported HTML

• Improved namespace support when loading metadata for SSO

For more information, refer to the Print Center 4.8 Release Notes in the Pharos Community.

Pharos Administrator Updates

The following lists changes to the Pharos Administrator for Service Pack 2:

SNMP Version 3 Support

Uniprint 9.1 Service Pack 2 adds support for SNMP v3. Uniprint uses SNMP to retrieve the Make and Model of a device and to check if a device is “online” before printing. Support for v3 provides additional security for querying devices using SNMP by providing authentication, encryption, and access control.

The addition of SNMP v3 introduces changes to the Pharos Administrator and the Uniprint system in general.

In the Output Management > Devices context, the Network Information category includes the new SNMP Version property. This setting allows you to specify the version of SNMP supported by a device. The two options are: SNMP Version 1 and SNMP Version 3.

When you select SNMP Version 3, you’ll need to enter the following details:

• SNMP Context

• SNMP Username

• SNMP Authentication Protocol

• SNMP Authentication Password

• SNMP Privacy Protocol

• SNMP Privacy Password

Notes:

• When creating a new device, the default setting is SNMP Version 1. You’ll need to make sure that the SNMP setting on the device is the same as the SNMP setting on Pharos Administrator.

• When you Run Online State Check on multiple devices, it does not tell you which of the devices failed. You’ll get the message “Some of the selected Devices are reporting an Offline State and will not be used for printing”.

• To set the SNMP settings for multiple devices, you can multi-select devices and then set up the SNMP settings across several devices at once. For example, multiple HP devices sharing the same SNMP credentials.

Increased the maximum length of passwords

Starting with Uniprint 9.1 SP2, the maximum password length has been updated from 32 to 255 characters for the following Pharos components:

• User passwords when setting them in the Users > Accounts context.

• The maximum value of the Length property for password-type questions (e.g. Job Name, String, Job Password Questions) in the Output Management > Popup Questions context.

Limitations:

• Batch Loader enforces a limit of 32 characters when settings users’ passwords.

• Legacy Pharos Station allows 255 chars for logging on to the Pharos Station but only 32 characters for setting a user password.

Improved SSO metadata namespace handling in Pharos Administrator

Improved namespace support when loading metadata for SSO. Entity IDs for sites with namespaces in the federation metadata will now be correctly listed in the System > Settings > Print Center context.

Pharos Help

This update replaces the Pharos Help files in the \Pharos\Help directory.

Print Service

Added support for SNMPv3.

Database Service

Update to the Database Service to support the database schema changes in 9.1 Service Pack 2.

Database Schema Update

Updated the Pharos database to support SNMPv3.

Popup Service

Improved robustness of the Popup Service to support environments with load balancing.

Pharos Clients Updates

Uniprint 9.1 Service Pack 2 updates the Pharos Remote and the Pharos Station. You can find details about the fixes and updates to the Pharos clients in the Pharos Community.

Installing the Service Pack

Before you begin

• Read the Impact of the Service Pack topic. It summarizes the potential impacts this Service Pack may have as you update.

• Back up your database. For information about backups, please refer to this document.

• Consider this Service Pack as if it were a major upgrade because of updates to the Database schema and the Database Service.

• We recommend installing the Service Pack during off-peak hours to minimize disruption of printing services.

• This Service Pack can be installed on all active servers simultaneously or one server at a time.

Download and Install Service Pack 2

Note: The Updater Service requires an internet connection to download updates from the Pharos Cloud (hosted within Amazon Web Services). If your Pharos servers are not connected to the internet, you can update your system by manually downloading the Updater Service and the update packages. Please refer to the document "Technote - UP9.1 Service Pack 2 - Instructions for non-Internet servers" that outlines instructions for offline servers.

To install the Service Pack:

1. In the Updater Service (Host) drop-down box, select ALL to view the Service Pack 2 package.

2. Click the Download button next to the Service Pack 2 package to open the Service Pack installation management wizard.

3. Follow the on-screen instructions on the installation management wizard.

   1. Check Packages. The wizard performs a preliminary check to verify that the Service Pack can be applied. It checks previously installed packages, compares the packages against the repository, and determines the packages for installation. Click Next to continue.

   2. Backup. Backup Pharos Database and snapshot server instances. It’s important to back up your Pharos Database and ensure that the backup is usable. If the update fails, you may need to restore the Pharos Database from this backup.

   3. Server Selection. Select the server(s) on which to install the Service Pack. The Principal Server (i.e. the server with the Uniprint Database) will be automatically selected because the Database Schema and the Database Service must be updated as the first step in installing the Service Pack. Check the boxes next to server names to install updates on those servers and click Download.

   4. Download. Depending on the components installed on each server, the relevant components are downloaded on the server(s) selected. Use the Selection button to get back to the Server Selection page and select other server(s) to run download or install on.

   5. Click Install to install Service Pack 2 on the selected server(s). The wizard will attempt to install the Service Pack on all the selected servers.

   6. Click Proceed to install Service Pack 2. We recommend installing the Service Pack during off-peak hours because the Service Pack install will stop Uniprint Services and can disrupt some Uniprint functionality.

   7. Install. The Install screen shows the components installed on the selected servers.

4. The following dialog box opens. Click OK to apply changes to Administrator.

5. Re-open Pharos Administrator.

6. Verify that the Service Pack and its components have been installed on your servers by checking the Installed Packages section of the Updater Service context. The following components should have been updated to 9.1.9600.xxx.

   • Service Pack 2

   • Administrator

   • License Service

   • EDI Service

   • LPD Service

   • Print Service

   • Database Service

   • Pharos Systems Updater Service

   • Database Schema

   • Popup Service

   The following services should have also been updated:

   • Print Center API and Web Services (4.8)

   • Secure Release Service (4.18)

Post-update Checklist

After applying Service Pack 2, review and complete all the necessary tasks on the following checklist when applicable.

• Check that the following client installers (in Packages > Client Installers context) have been updated to 9.1.9600.xxx.

  • Pharos Remote Installer

  • Pharos Station Installer

  • SignUp Client

• If you are using a standalone Pharos Remote application, run the new installer (RemoteInstaller.exe) in the Packages > Client Installers to update Pharos Remote.

Note: If both the Pharos Administrator and the Pharos Remote applications are installed on the same machine, applying the Administrator update (as part of the SP2 update) will automatically update the Pharos Remote application as well.

Using the Updater Service with 2008 Failover Clusters

The Updater service has minimal cluster-specific support. By default, it does not automatically update both nodes of a cluster. It is possible to configure the Pharos Database to allow this, or you can update the cluster nodes individually.

Updating a cluster one node at a time

Using Pharos Administrator in a default cluster installation, you will see only one entry for updates, using the name of the cluster resource. Updates can be downloaded and installed using the appropriate action buttons. Once the resource group is moved to another node, these updates will be shown once again as available to download.

You can copy the packages from C:\ProgramData\PharosSystems\UpdaterService\cache-v2.0 from one node to another to avoid having to download the same items again. Do NOT copy the entire package store folder; doing so will overwrite important information in the config and/or tasks file. Note that the package will show as available for download in Pharos Administrator, but the package will be retrieved and processed from the cache folder.

Configuring the Pharos Database for multiple nodes

If the database contains server entries for the individual nodes, the Updater service on each node can download and apply updates separately. When the Updater detects that it is running on a failover cluster, it will take services offline before updating them. Therefore, it may be more desirable to update one or more inactive nodes first, and then failover the cluster before updating the original active node.

To configure this, you will need to insert one server and one service record for each node in the cluster. We recommend running the following stored procedures in the Pharos database:

exec server_insert 'NODENAME'

exec service_insert 'NODENAME', 'PSUpdaterService'

For every node in the cluster, replace NODENAME with the hostname of that node in both commands, and then run them against your Pharos database. If you are unsure about how to do this, please contact Pharos Technical Support.

Note: While it is also possible to configure the Updater to use a shared storage location, it is not currently supported or recommended to have multiple Updater instances pointing to the same shared location. This will interfere with the current package tracking mechanisms.

Known Issues

The following lists known issues when applying Service Pack 2. Updating to the latest version of the Administrator and Updater Service will resolve some of these issues.

1. It is possible for the Updater Service context to show a connection error during a package install, this is likely because the Updater Service is restarting and is temporarily unavailable. Please manually Refresh the context.

2. Check that all servers are listed in the Updater Service. If all Servers are not listed in the Updater Service context, updates cannot be applied to unlisted servers.

3. The Administrator update is applied once the Administrator is closed and reopened. If the Administrator has not completely closed (MMC application ended) before it is reopened, the update will not be applied because the files are still in use. A message will be displayed to advise that the old version will still be used. If this happens, close the Administrator again and allow a moment for the MMC snap-in to be fully unloaded before reopening Administrator.

4. The components that the current version of the Updater Service will report as installed, if found on the server, are:

• Updater Service

• Database Service

• Database Schema

• License Service

• Print Service

• Secure Release Service

• LPD Service

• EDI Service

• Print Center API and/or Web Service

• Administrator

This version of the Updater Service does not currently catalog Reports.

Impact of the Service Pack

This section details potential impacts that Service Pack 2 may have on your Uniprint system. It endeavors to answer the following questions:

• Does the Updater Service restart any of the Windows Services?

• Will users be able to continue printing while the Service Pack is being installed?

• Will the Service Pack disrupt any services?

Applying the Service Pack will have an impact on the following Pharos components:

• Database Service

• Database Schema

• Print Services

• Secure Release Service

• Print Center Web Services and API

• EDI Service

• License Service

The following table describes the potential impacts of each Pharos component update to the Uniprint system.