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Universal Agent 8.0.0.0 Release Notes

Universal Agent release 8.0.0.0 contains the following high-level features. For a complete list of all the included features and fixes please refer to the Universal Agent 8.0.x Maintenance list.

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Universal Agent 7.9.x is the last version that will support AIX 7.1. Starting with Universal Agent 8.0.0.0, the minimum supported version of AIX will be 7.2 TL5. AIX 7.3 TL0 and higher will also be supported.

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USAP for z/OS contains a significant update in this release. We have made every effort to make the upgrade process transparent, but please be sure to review the details of this change outlined below.

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Please review the notes in the 8.0.0.0 maintenance list for important changes regarding D-15559 for z/OS SystemSSL support. The fixes provided for this defect may require you to specify options to encrypt your Universal Command and Universal Data Mover data sessions.

IBMz Enhancements

Update z/OS to support TLS 1.3 sessions

Backlog

Title

Description

B-14810

Add TLS 1.3 connection support when Universal Agent components on z/OS are configured to use SystemSSL.

B-22268

Add ability to filter Agent File Monitor tasks by job name

Add the ability to apply a jobname filter to Universal Agent File Monitor tasks that execute on z/OS.

If dataset activity is performed via TSO, this same jobname filter will accept a TSO user ID.

B-22672

Add SAP SNC connection support to USAP for z/OS

Add the ability to create SNC connections to an SAP server using USAP for z/OS. To implement this feature, support for the SAP Netweaver RFC libaries was also added to USAP for z/OS.

See the SNC_MODE and SNC_QOP configuration options for information about how to configure this new feature.

Note This change provides a significant update to USAP for z/OS. Prior versions still rely on the legacy SAP RFC libraries. The versioning for USAP on z/OS was back-leveled to reflect this lack of contemporary RFC library support. This USAP that is now provided for z/OS has partity with the USAP provided for Unix and Windows.

To implement this change required porting USAP for z/OS to a 64-bit module. This means the 64-bit C runtimes will be needed on your z/OS system. This should not be a problem, but it is an updated platform requirement.

With this change, the LIBRFC shared object module previously installed with the Agent on z/OS is no longer provided. The SAP Netweaver RFC libraries must be available on your z/OS system in order for USAP to run. The libraries' location can be set using the LIBPATH configuration option.

Finally, a copy of the sample RFC INI member (USPRFC00) installed to &HLQ..UNV.SUNVSAMP is no longer placed in &HLQ..UNV.UNVCONF during the install. You may use the sample USPRFC00 provided as a reference, but the file itself must reside on the USS file system. This location is set with the USAP_RFC_INI_DIR configuration option.

This feature also changes the USPPRC JCL procedure installed to &HLQ..UNV.SUNVSAMP. The DD statement that pointed to the USPRFC00 member is no longer needed. While no REGION statement is provided by the sample JCL procedure, this updated version of USAP has different runtime requirements than the back-leveled version. It may be necessary to add a REGION statement to USPPRC or to your job cards to accomodate these newer requirements. :::

B-23362

Certify z/OS 3.2

Certify Universal Agent 8.0.0.0 for z/OS 3.2.

Platform Support

Backlog

Title

Description

B-20755

Update AIX build platform

Migrate the AIX build platform to AIX 7.2.

This effectively updates the mininum supported version for the Universal Agent 8.0.0.0 release to AIX 7.2 TL5 and higher. AIX 7.3 TL0 and higher is also supported.

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Note

This change required a change to the AIX distribution file name to include the 7.2 build platform. For example, the UA 7.9.0.0 distribution for AIX was sb-7.9.0.0-aix-7.1-ppc64.tar.gz. The UA 8.0.0.0 distribution file name is sb-8.0.0.0-aix-7.2-ppc64.tar.gz.

Security

Backlog

Title

Description

B-23143

Update OpenSSL 3pp vendor library to OpenSSL 3.5.5

Upgrade the OpenSSL 3pp vendor library used by Universal Agent to OpenSSL 3.5.5 to ensure continued maintainability of OpenSSL updates and fixes.

Virtually all Universal Agent components use OpenSSL for cryptographic functions. Not all components have user-facing visibility, but for practical purposes, a change to OpenSSL is a change to all Universal Agent components.

Workload Automation Features

Backlog

Title

Description

B-18370

IBM i Virtual Terminal support

Add support for executing scripted IBM i Virtual Terminal sessions from a Universal Agent batch environment. This is required to support the scenario of automating work that must be run from an interactive session, which may involve interaction with menu panels for a command or application.

Support for this feature will include the following enhancements:

  • The introduction of a new command (UNVVTSND) to facilitate interaction with a virtual terminal session.
  • The introduction of a new command (UNVVT) to provide enhanced CL script processing capabilities, along with dedicated functionality to facilitate scripting Virtual Terminal sessions with UNVVTSND.

B-22140

Remove network file share requirement for OMS Server

Add support for OMS Message Database replication via the Raft protocol provided by the NuRaft library.

This feature removes the requirement to have the OMS Message Database reside on a NFS-mounted, shared filesystem. That architecture will continue to be supported, however, and is still the default.

For information on this new feature and how to configure it, see the following:

B-23006

Add joblog retrieval support for IBM i tasks

Store the joblog for all IBM i tasks that execute from the Controller in the UAG Server cache. This makes it possible to retrieve the joblog from the Controller upon request.

B-23529

Add support for OMS Server IP address refresh

Ensure that UAG Server refreshes the IP address of any hosts specified in its OMS_SERVERS list, to support DNS updates without having to cycle the Agent.

B-23685

Enhance security of Broker service interface with peer authentication

Enhance security for the Universal Broker's external service interface by adding peer authentication support.

When the new AUTHENTICATE_PEER configuration option is set to yes, the Universal Broker will require that any client that tries to connect to its external service interface provide a valid client certificate. This will ensure that only trusted clients can connect to the Universal Broker.