ActiveXperts Network Monitor 2016 Release Notes

ACTIVEXPERTS NETWORK MONITOR 2016
Release Date: January 11 2016

  Introduction
  Download
  What's new in ActiveXperts Network Monitor 2016
  Installation and Upgrade

INTRODUCTION

ActiveXperts Network Monitor 2016 is the latest version of the ActiveXperts Network Monitor product.
The mission of the product is to maximize the reliability of your production servers and applications through the automatic detection and correction of problems and issues.
The product runs as a service on Windows 2016/2012(R2)/2008(R2)/2003/10/8/7/Vista/XP x86/x64 platforms.
The ActiveXperts Network Monitor 2016 can import any configuration database created with a previous version of the product.

DOWNLOAD

Click on the link below to download ActiveXperts Network Monitor 2016. It offers a 64-bit installation (AxMonitorSetup64.exe) and a 32-bit installation (AxMonitorSetup32.exe). Download here:
www.activexperts.com/download

WHAT'S NEW IN ACTIVEXPERTS NETWORK MONITOR 2016

- Compatible with Windows Server 2016 -

ActiveXperts Network Monitor 2016 meets Microsoft standards for compatibility and recommended practices with the Windows Server 2016 operating system.

- Installation -

Program data are not stored in the Program Files directory anymore. In previous versions of Network Monitor, Program data and program files were installed in the 'Program Files' directory by default. Now, program data is installed in the 'ProgramData' directory by default. Program files are still installed in the 'Program Files' directory;
Each time the program is launched, a directory consistency check is performed to check whether program/data directories exists or not and permissions are sufficient. This applies to the Network Monitor Manager application, the Network Monitor service and all Network Monitor utilities;
FIX: The installer now prompts for an Administrator account in case it is launched by a non-administrator user. In previous versions, the installer quit with an error message;

- Network Monitor Engine -

The multi-threaded engine has been optimized to run more sub-processes (so called 'threads') than before:

HTTP threads: maximum 32 threads (used to be 16)
ICMP threads: maximum 32 threads (used to be 24)
Win32 threads: maximum 32 threads (used to be 16). Win32 threads are used to monitor the following Windows items: directories, files, diskspace and registry;
WMI threads: maximum 32 threads (used to be 16). WMI threads are used to monitor the following Windows items: CPU, event logs, memory, message queues, performance counters, printers, processes and WMI counters.

- Manager -

Access to configuration of ActiveXperts Network Monitor can be controlled by Operator Roles. You can allow any user to have full control on all configuration aspects, or allow only predefined operators to access the configuration and associate permissions to those operators;
A program data consistency check is performed each time the Manager is launched. In case there's a directory inaccessible or missing, the program quits;
You can now customize the toolbar. You can select small or large icons on the toolbar, including text descriptions;
Improved Backup/Restore wizard;
FIX: In previous versions of Network Monitor, there was no error message when the program failed to save the Performance Settings (i.e. number of threads) in the registry. Now, an error message is prompted telling you to restart the Manager with Administrator priviledges (i.e. Run As Administrator);
FIX: On Windows 10 platforms, all URL's in Property Pages of the Manager had a grey background instead of white. This has been fixed.

- Antivirus and Internet Security Suite updates 2016 -

ActiveXperts Network Monitor 2016 supports the latest 2016 Antivirus- and Internet Security Suites, including avast! Premier 2016, avast! Internet Security 2016, AVG Internet Security 2016, AVG Anti-Virus 2016, Avira Antivirus Pro 2016, BitDefender Total Security 2016, BitDefender Internet Security 2016, BitDefender AntiVirus Plus 2016, BullGuard Internet Security 2016, BullGuard Anti-Virus 2016, ESET Smart Security 8 (2016 Edition), ESET NOD32 Antivirus 8 (2016 Edition), G Data Total Protection 2016, G Data Internet Security 2016, Kaspersky Total Security 2016, Kaspersky Internet Security 2016, Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2016, McAfee Internet Security 2016, McAfee Total Protection 2016, McAfee Anti-Virus Plus 2016, Panda Global Protection 2016, Panda Internet Security 2016, Panda Antivirus Pro 2016, Trend Micro Maximum Security 2016, Trend Micro Internet Security 2016, Trend Micro Antivirus Plus 2016, VIPRE Internet Security 2016, VIPRE Antivirus 2016, ZoneAlarm Extreme Security 2016, ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 2016 and ZoneAlarm Antivirus+Firewall 2016.

- Directory check -

You can now add a filter (including wildcards) in the Directory check.

- Event Log check -

FIX: ActiveXperts Network Monitor 2015 failed not monitor Event Logs on Windows 2003 servers. In older versions (v.8 and lower) it was working fine. This has been fixed.
FIX: In previous versions of ActiveXperts Network Monitor, the Event Log configuration form didn't show the actual data in the situation where the remote computer was not accessible. This has been fixed.

- HTTPs check -

You can now specifiy which TLS version of SSL will be allowed to connect to remote HTTPs sites. In previous version of Network Monitor, only TLS1.0 was allowed. Now, you can allow TLS1.1 and TLS1.2. SSL2 and SSL3 are still supported.

- MS Dynamics CRM check -

You can now monitor the latest version of MS Dynamics CRM - version 2016 - using the new Dynamics CRM 20156check. This check also has a VBScript and PowerShell equivalent, so it can be fully customized. Dynamics CRM 2015, Dynamics CRM 2013, 2011 and 4.0 are still supported.

- MS Dynamics NAV check -

You can now monitor the latest version of MS Dynamics NAV - version 2016 - using the new Dynamics NAV 2016 check. This check also has a VBScript and PowerShell equivalent, so it can be fully customized. NAV 2015, NAV 2013 and 2009 are still supported.

- MS Exchange Server check -

You can now monitor the latest version of MS Exchange Server - version 2016. This check also has a VBScript and PowerShell equivalent, so it can be fully customized. Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2010, Exchange Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2003 are still supported.

- MS IIS Server check -

You can now monitor the latest version of MS Iinternet Information Server - version 10. This check also has a VBScript and PowerShell equivalent, so it can be fully customized. IIS 10 is part of Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016. IIS 8.5, IIS 8.0. IIS 7.5, IIS 7.0, IIS 6 and IIS 5 are still supported.

- MS SQL Server check -

You can now monitor the latest version of MS SQL Server - version 2016. This check also has a VBScript and PowerShell equivalent, so it can be fully customized. SQL Server 2014, SQL Server 2012, SQL Server 2008, SQL Server 2005, SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server Epxress are still supported.

- SMPP check -

The SMPP check now has two extra configurable parameters: bind-type and SMPP version. Supported bind-types are: Transmitter, Receiver and Transceiver; supported SMPP versions are: v.3.3, v.3.4 and v.5.0.

- Virtual Bridges VERDE check -

The Virtual Bridges VERDE check has been renamed into NIMBOXX VERDE check, as a result of the acquisition of the Virtual Bridges VERDE VDI Business by NIMBOXX.

- SMS Notifications -

ActiveXperts Network Monitor 2016 is compatible with the latest version of ActiveXperts SMS Messaging Server 5.6 (released in January 2016), to allow SMS Notifications can be sent out through this software. ActiveXperts SMS Messaging Server 5.5 is also supported;
ActiveXperts SMS Messaging Server HTTP Channels are now supported. In previous versions, only GSM and SMPP channels were supported.

- Web Interface -

FIX: When an ActiveXperts virtual directory was created or removed in IIS using the Web Interface Configurator Tool, the window was not refreshed. The tool had to be restarted in order to see the changes. This has been fixed;
FIX: In previous versions, Web Interface Configurator Tool could only create the ActiveXperts virtual directory in IIS' default web site. This has been fixed; you can now select under which web site the virtual directory should be created.
FIX: With Google Chrome, the Web Interface showed a blank page when the web interface was not published through a virtual directory. Now, a warning is displayed saying that local frames are not supported in Chrome, and that the web directory must be published as a virtual directory.

- Reports -

FIX: In previous versions of Network Monitor, the 'Schedule Immediate Cleanup' function in the 'Reports and Graphs Configurator' program sometimes did not work. Reason was a lack of permissions in the Registry. This has been fixed.

- Diagnostic Tools -

FIX: In a few Diagnostic Tools, a change to the Log File location was not applies. The initial default Log File was used no matter what Log File was selected. This has been fixed; The fix applies to the following Diagnostic Tools: 'CPUc Diagnostic', 'MS Message Queue Diagnostic', 'Performance Borwser Diagnostic', 'Process Diagnostic', 'Service Diagnostic', 'Event Log Diagnostic' and 'WMI Browser Diagnostic'.

- Database -

Tables created in MySQL do not use the MyISAM storage type specification anymore. MyISAM was the default storage engine until MySQL 5.5.

INSTALLATION AND UPGRADE

- Installation -

To learn more about installing the product for the first time, please read our manual.

- Upgrade -

Upgrading from a previous version should be done in the following way:

Make a backup of the current configuration - although not really necessary, it's a good practice to do so. Use the Manager's Export command to make the backup;
Make a backup of all custom VBScript scripts - if any. Use the Windows Explorer to make the backup;
Uninstall all 'ActiveXperts Network Monitor Manager' application on the PCs that have the Manager application installed. Use the 'Add/Remove Programs' applet in the Control Panel to start the Uninstall;
Uninstall the 'ActiveXperts Network Monitor' software on the monitoring server. Use the 'Add/Remove Programs' applet in the Control Panel to start the Uninstall;
Reboot the monitoring server;
Install the 'ActiveXperts Network Monitor' software on the monitoring server;
Launch the Manager application, and choose 'Restore Configuration' from the 'File menu'. Select the version of the previous configuration file, and then select the configuration file (named CONFIG.SDF, CONFIG.MDB or CONFIG.AMF);
Optionally, install the 'ActiveXperts Network Monitor Manager' application on the PCs of the operators.