ActiveXperts Network Monitor 8.2 Release Notes

ACTIVEXPERTS NETWORK MONITOR 8.2
Release Date: May 1 2014

  Introduction
  Download
  What's new in ActiveXperts Network Monitor 8.2
  What's new in ActiveXperts Network Monitor 8.1
  Installation and Upgrade

INTRODUCTION

ActiveXperts Network Monitor 8.2 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 2012/2008/2003/8/7/Vista/XP x86/x64 platforms.
The ActiveXperts Network Monitor 8.2 can import any configuration database created with a previous version of the product.

DOWNLOAD

Click on the link below to download ActiveXperts Network Monitor 8.2. 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 8.2

- 64-bit version -

ActiveXperts Network Monitor 8.2 is the second release of v.8, and is available as a true 64-bit edition and a 32-bit edition. There are two installation files available: AxMonitorSetup64.exe (for 64-bit Windows operating systems only) and AxMonitorSetup32.exe (primary for 32-bit Windows operating systems, but can also be used on 64-bit Windows operating systems).

- Configuration -

FIX: In v.8.1 32-bit, old v.5 and v.6 configurations could not be imported. This does not apply to the 64-bit version. This has been fixed.

- Database check -

FIX: For connection strings that have spaces around the password 'pwd' tag (e.g. Driver={SQL Server};Server=a;Database=b;UID=c; pwd = d), the password field was not masked in all notifications. This has been fixed.
FIX: Oracle Connection Strings with a 'Data Source' tag inside were always treated as monited as 'Failed', e.g. 'Provider=OraOLEDB.Oracle;Data Source=wildhog;User Id=myadmin;Password=myadminpasswd'. This has been fixed.

- Diagnostic Tools -

New Database Client tool included to allow troubleshooting database monitoring checks.

- HTTP check -

Timeout value for web sites is now in milliseconds instead of seconds, to allow more precise monitoring of response times of web sites.

- MS BizTalk -

You can now monitor the latest version of MS BizTalk - version 2013 - using the new BizTalk 2013 check. This check also has a VBScript and PowerShell equivalent, so it can be fully customized. BizTalk 2010 and 2009 are still supported.

- MS Dynamics CRM -

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

- MS SharePoint -

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

- Oracle -

ActiveXperts now installs Microsoft runtime libraries MSVCR100.DLL and MSVCP100.dll if these files are missing. The files are required to load the Oracle v.12 Client API. For some reason, Oracle does not distribute these libraries. As a result, the Oracle v.12 OCCI drivers cannot be loaded after the Oracle Client Setup has completed. ActiveXperts fixes this by installing the runtimes if missing.

- PowerShell check -

PowerShell scripts have been rewritten from scratch.
PowerShell scripts now make use of a common Import module called 'activexperts.ps1', to share common code among the scripts.
PowerShell scripts can have 8 parameters. In previous versions, only 6 paramters could be passed.
FIX: The 32-bit PowerShell interpreter was invoked for configurations that were originally created with a 32-bit version of Network Monitor. This has been fixed.
FIX: The 'DATA' keyword was ignored in the result formatting string if the string contained another instance of the word 'data' (e.g.: 'database'). As a result, a graph could not be made of the check, because no data was reported. This has been fixed.

- Process check -

You can now specify the type of memory you want to monitor for each process. This can be 'Private Working Set', 'Commit Size', 'Working Set', 'Peak Working Set', 'Paged Pool' or 'Non-Paged Pool'. In previous versions of Network Monitor, only 'Private Working Set' was supported.
You can now monitor the handle usage of a process.

- SNMP check -

Support for SNMP v3. This allows you to monitor servers and devices using the secure SNMP v.3 protocol. SNMP v1 and SNMPv2 are still supported.

- VBScript -

VBScript scripts have been rewritten from scratch.
EventLog.vbs now supports Microsoft latest .EVTX Event Logs. In previous versions, this .EVTX format was only supported in the built-in (non-scripted) check.
Performance.vbs is a new script to allow custom Performance Counter checking. In previous versions, Performance Counters could only be checked using the built-in Performance Counter check.
FIX: The VBScript debugger component ('ActiveXperts.VbDebugger') crashed on string holding a '%' character. This has been fixed.

- Virus Scanners -

Support for latest (2014) anti-virus scanners.

- WMI -

FIX: The WMI dialog did not allow WMI classes and WMI instances longer that 52 characters. This has been fixed.

- GUI -

ComboxBoxes for services and Performance/WMI were too small for longer names and didn't allow typing. At the end, you couldn't select the proper item. This has been fixed.
FIX: ActiveXperts Network Monitor Service dialog did not show the service credentials on some operating systems due to a permissions problem. This has been fixed.

- Notifications -

Support for SNMP v3 trap notifications. This allows you to notify using the secure SNMP v.3 protocol. SNMP v1 and SNMPv2 are still supported.
FIX: Custom (per Check) SNMP trap lists were not saved. This has been fixed.

- Statistical Database -

There's a new option in the Statistical Database settings called 'Restore Original Database', to allow customers to start with an empty SQL Compact Statistical Database.
FIX: 'Change Database Manually' in the Statistical Database tab of the 'ActiveXperts Reports and Graphs Configurator' was not working: new settings were not changed. This has been fixed.
FIX: For Statistical Databases of type SQL Compact Edition, a maximum size of 256MB was used in some rare occasions. This has been fixed and set to 4G, the maximum for SQL Compact Edition files.

- Logging Database -

There's a new option in the Logging Database settings called 'Restore Original Database', to allow customers to start with an empty SQL Compact Logging Database.

WHAT'S NEW IN ACTIVEXPERTS NETWORK MONITOR 8.1

- 64-bit version -

ActiveXperts Network Monitor 8.1 is the first true 64-bit edition of the product. The product is still available as a 32-bit edition. There are two installation files available: AxMonitorSetup64.exe (for 64-bit Windows operating systems only) and AxMonitorSetup32.exe (primary for 32-bit Windows operating systems, but can also be used on 64-bit Windows operating systems).

- Configuration database -

The configuration information is stored in an MS SQL Server Compact Edition database (Config.sdf). No separate installation of MS SQL Server Compact Edition is required. Previous versions of the software stored its configuration information in an MS Access compliant database (Config.mdb).
With version 8, You can import any .mdb configuration file created by previous versions of Network Monitor; the configuration data will be converted to the SQL Server Compact Edition (.sdf) format.
Use SQL Server Manager (part of MS SQL Server) to view or edit the .sdf file.

- Statistical Database -

Statistical database is now stored in an SQL Compact Server (.sdf) database. In previous versions, is was stored in an MS Access (.mdb) database. As with previous versions, it is still possible to migrate the statistical data to a true MS SQL Server database or MySQL database.

- Connect ot other Network Monitor instances -

You can now use the Manager to connect to other (remote) Network Monitor insntances. If you have multiple Network Monitor engines running in your network, you can use a single Manager installation to manage all configurations, see the results and create reports and graphs.

- CPU check -

You can now configure a time interval (in milliseconds), used to measure CPU usage. You can also configure an inbetween delay (in milliseconds) between measurements. As a result, CPU monitoring is much more accurate than before.

- Environmental checks (Temperature, Humidity, and more) -

There's no dedicated logging anymore for Environmental checks. Standard Statistical Database logging - used for all other checks - is used instead. This allows you to generate reports and graphs based on environmental checks, just like all other checks.

- Event Log check -

You can now use regular expressions to search for a pattern in Event Log descriptions.

- File check -

You can now use regular expressions to search for a pattern in a file.

- FTP check -

You can now use regular expressions to search for a pattern in a file downloaded from an FTP server.

- HTTP check -

You can now use regular expressions to search for a pattern in an HTML file.

- Memory check -

FIX: Memory Usage monitoring was limited to 2GB. This has been fixed.

- Message Queue check -

FIX: In Network Monitor 7.4, the Manager did not allow you to set the condition 'Maximum Queue Length: 0'. Value 0 was not allowed. This has been fixed.

- Oracle check -

The Oracle check does not need a full Oracle to be installed anymore. It now works with the Oracle Instant Client, a lightweight Oracle client that can be downloaded from the Oracle web site for free.

- Process check -

You can now monitor the CPU usage of a specific process. In previous versions, it was only possible the memory usage of a process.
FIX: Process Memory Usage monitoring was limited to 2GB. This has been fixed.

- Remote Command check -

FIX: In Network Monitor 7.4, the remote command check sometimes failed to work because of a mallworking DNS name lookup routine. This has been fixed.

- Registry check -

You can now monitor the presence of a specific registry value. In previous versions, it was only possible to match a registry value against predefined data.

- SFTP check -

You can now use regular expressions to search for a pattern in a file downloaded from an SFTP server.
The SFTP check now has a working sample. This sample connects to an SFTP server in the ActiveXperts lab network.

- SNMP check -

The SNMP check does NOT require the Windows SNMP Service to be installed and running. This makes the SNMP check easier to configure.
FIX: In Network Monitor 7.4, selecting an OID from a MIB tree in the Manager showed an error message saying 'Evaluation has expired', even when a valid license key was entered. This has been fixed.
FIX: The SNMP sample check didn't match with FQDN hosts. This has been fixed.

- SNMP Traps -

The SNMP Traps receiver check does NOT require the Windows SNMP Service to be installed and running. This makes SNMP Trap Receiver checks easier to configure.

- TFTP check -

The TFTP check now has a working sample. This sample connects to an TFTP server in the ActiveXperts lab network.
You can now use regular expressions to search for a pattern in a file downloaded from an TFTP server.

- WMI Counter check -

Fix: the WMI Counter check did not store alternate credentials. This has been fixed.

- Reports -

You can now generate reports in PDF format. Before, only HTML, CSV and XML were supported.
FIX: Host-field is added to the reports, so you can use the name of the host in your reports.

- Web Interface -

FIX: When the web interface pages were refreshed in the browser while the pages were being refreshed, the browser showed a syntax error and stopped refreshing its pages. This has been fixed.
FIX: Changes to the Web Interface configuration were only effective after a restart of the service. This has been fixed.
FIX: When an XSL stylesheet was missing, an unformatted web view was shown. This has been fixed; a proper error message is being generated now.

- GUI -

FIX: The Manager application's Activity View cut off lines longer than 260 characters. This has been fixed.

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 'Import Configuration' from the 'File menu'. Select the version of the previous configuration file, and then select the configuration file (named CONFIG.MDB);
Optionally, install the 'ActiveXperts Network Monitor Manager' application on the PCs of the operators.