Alert Central Upgrade Info

Hello! You're probably here because Alert Central told you there's a newer version available. This document will let you know what's new, where to download, and how to upgrade.

The current version of Alert Central is: 1.1.5, released on April 15, 2014.

The previous 1.1 versions of Alert Central are:

• 1.1.4, released on March 13, 2014
• 1.1.3, released on January 28, 2014
• 1.1.2, released on January 7, 2014
• 1.1.1, released on December 10, 2013

What's New in Alert Central Version 1.1.5?

Alert Central v1.1.5 is a smaller release that includes ongoing feature development and (as always) fixes. Included:

• Addition of the "Subscribe" feature to the UI - subscribe yourself or another user to receive updates to an alert as they occur. Subscribed users can unsubscribe themselves from alerts after being subscribed (both from the UI and command line).
• A potentially significant fix to Exchange Web Services that might be related to the many Thwack threads on the subject (including: Single email is generating two alerts, Initial email setup with EWS fails, Exchange EWS Issues, Setting up Alert Central Email, and Alert Central Microsoft EWS setup problem.).
• Resolution of a reported issue where a single email was generating two alerts (Single email is generating two alerts).
• Addition of a 'remember' feature when your session times out, so you're returned to the same page you were on when you got logged out, rather than the main alerts screen; and resolution of another discovered session timeout issue.
• Cleanup of another location where bare HTML code was being displayed in an alert instead of the text contents.
• Resolution of 'send confirmation on reply' being enabled by default after upgrade unexpectedly (for people upgrading from earlier versions).
• Resolution of an issue with alert summaries being cut off when sent via SMS templates.
• Fix for the reported issue where the inline alert source edit/test button not working as it used to (Re: alert edit/test not working v1.1.4.642).
• Update to address the on call notification not showing the right timezone if "My Timezone" is selected in the on call calendar. (Note: we're aware of a lot of weirdness with "My Timezone" vs. "System Timezone" when configuring and viewing On Call, but we're looking into the best ways to address these.)
• Fix for a user showing validated but not actually being validated if their notification type changes in their user profile.

What's New in Alert Central Version 1.1.4?

Alert Central v1.1.4 includes a great blend of handy new features and fixes.

• A huge improvement to the recurring calendar creation - we heard you (thanks to those who participated in our On Call discussions a while back) and made some significant changes. There will be more to come in on call scheduling downstream.
  • We also fixed a few issues related to the on call dialog that have been reported here.
• Preservation of clickable links from original emails/alerts, so that when an alert comes in with links back to monitoring systems or hosts, you can click directly on them  - Retain embedded links from alert sources in SWAC alert
• The first part of a new subscription/CC option that will allow a secondary user (other than the assignee) to monitor progress on alerts - for now, you can add subscribers and remove yourself as a subscriber from emails if interested, and we're wiring up the UI for our next release. CC another group or user - FAQ great idea (just one part, more to come!)
• A new option to include the original email/alert with your outbound alert notifications (to make it easier to get back to your original alert, in case some details aren't sent along).  Escalation Option to Include Original Email
• A new option to reply with confirmation of actions, to know that your acknowledgement (et al) was received and acted on. Affirmative response on email actions
• Resolution to issues related to capturing more than one line of text (Alert Central Bug: Alert corruption /w fun)
• Resolution to issues with extra spaces (Re: Is there a way to space the text that is captured in the body of an email when it is displayed an alert central notification?)
• Resolution to issues regarding SMS replies not working correctly (splitting alerts, not being processed - several thwack threads)

What's New in Alert Central Version 1.1.3?

Alert Central v1.1.3 was released primarily to address issues with Office 365 connectivity, but also includes a few additional items. This release addresses:

• Addition of the ability to automatically upgrade Alert Central, so you don't have to manually upgrade each cycle - for instructions, scroll down
• Issues connecting Alert Central to Office 365 (addresses Alert Central using Office 365, may address Exchange EWS Error - in the case of Office 365, possibly other Thwack posts)
• A couple of inconsistencies with alerts received from Orion - emails not sent after alert reactivation, incorrect history items related to Orion alerts (no reports on Thwack, but you might have noticed)
• Incorrect/confusing history item when someone refuses/declines an alert (not reported on Thwack, but you may have noticed)

What's New in Alert Central Version 1.1.2?

Several customers on Thwack reported issues with processing alert emails with 1.1.1, which prompted us to release a quick turnaround fix in Alert Central version 1.1.2. This release addresses:

• Emails are not processed in v1.1.1 without proper well-formatted return_path in message header, which turned out to not always be the case. Likely the cause of: After update to 1.1.1.591, AC does not react to Close e-mail. (and possibly other Thwack threads related to replies not processing after 1.1.1 update).

What's New in Alert Central Version 1.1.1?

Alert Central v1.1.1 is primarily a cleanup release, with minor updates and resolutions to issues found here on thwack and internal testing.

• Support for deploying Alert Central to Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V
• Updated Alert Central OS and underlying software
• Making sure blue screen (with product support key and other information) shows up on virtual appliance after upgrade.
• Active Directory loading indicator might show in "Add Users" even after users/groups are loaded.
• On Call calendar gets updated incorrectly when calendars or groups are deleted/recreated (Reported here:Re: On Call Now weirdness)
• SMS messages contained the bare text $noteUser.getName()... doh. (Reported here: $noteUser.getName() in SMS message)
• Active Directory group renames were not carried forward to Alert Central (Reported here: Re: Group Modification Fails)
• Selecting certain dates/ranges in the on call calendar show a neverending "Loading..." indicator
• Selecting the same from/to time in On Call calendars (produced an ugly error, now better validated).
• Unexpected occurrences of On Call events giving error "No actual scheduled occurrences are possible with this configuration."
• Not possible to clear location field after entering a location.
• Reassigning an alert to a nonexistent user with plaintext emails sent an email including the text "${BAD_USER}" instead of the actual text.
• Adding an email address twice to the escalation policy required two manual validation steps instead of one.

• Timestamp formats from Orion to Alert Central caused alerts to appear with incorrect timestamps (Reported here:

  Re: Time stamp of emails from Alert Central is off)
• Gmail email addresses somehow automatically validated if validation email was sent twice.
• Issues with checkbox states when selecting a set of alerts and attempting to perform an action on them (e.g. close a set of acknowledged alerts). (Reported here: Re: Bug: Select all in alert overview does not work)
• Email alert routing rules showed "Orion Alert Message" "Orion Object Name" and "Orion Severity" instead of "Captured Summary" "Captured Object" and "Captured Severity"
• Alerts grid sometimes changes position (scrolls down) after auto-refresh.
• If an alert is closed by Alert Central due to escalation policy, history text doesn't indicate it clearly.
• Reassigning an alert to a group may not be reflected clearly in history text.
• If delivery of a notification fails, a useless note may be added to history text ("text for the alert").
• HTML from original email displayed as source instead of empty text if description is empty.
• Using "Test Connectivity" and "Cancel" didn't actually cancel changes.
• Updated error messages for EWS connectivity.
• Forwarded emails may be discarded rather than creating alerts.
• Nested multipart messages may be discarded rather than creating alerts.

For full gory (or glorious) details, check out the Release Notes.

Where are the Release Notes?

I'm glad you asked. Here's a link to the release notes, which contain more information about what items were fixed or new, links to historical notes for older versions, and additional info on caveats.

Any Caveats or Issues I Should be Aware of?

• We've discovered that the Incoming/Outgoing Port values in the email server settings appear to reset to default values if you changed them to other values. We're looking into the fix.

Uh, I JUST Upgraded to the Latest - Why Am I Getting This?

Did you upgrade from the beta of v1.1.0 by chance? There's an issue where it'll pop up the notification, due to cached data. Just dismiss the warning and it'll fix itself.

Where Can I Download the Upgrade?

You can download the upgrade directly from right here. Easy!

If you need to deploy a new appliance, click here for the VMware download and herefor the Hyper-V download.

NOTE: As of Alert Central v1.1.2, the download links are the same for all versions. The contained installers/files will reflect the version after download.

How Do I Upgrade?

There's an upgrade guide included in the download that has way more detail, but here's the basics (shamelessly borrowed from the Alert Central Frequently Asked Questions):

1. Mount the upgrade ISO to the virtual appliance in your virtualization management software
2. Navigate to the virtual appliance management interface for your appliance (https://virtual-appliance-ip-or-hostname:5480 with admin/admin).
3. Click on "Update", scan for an update, then install it.

How Do I Enable Automatic Upgrades?

If you're running Alert Central v1.1.3 or later, you can have the virtual appliance not only perform the nightly check, but automatically install the upgrade. We've provided the default settings on upgrade, but it is not enabled by default. To enable:

1. Navigate to the virtual appliance management interface for your appliance (https://virtual-appliance-ip-or-hostname:5480 with admin/admin)
2. Click on "Update" then "Settings"
3. Under "Update Settings", select "Automatically check and install updates" and specify the time in "Schedule a frequency for the updates" (e.g. every night at 4am)
4. Save your changes.

When you allow automatic upgrades they will be downloaded and installed on the schedule you provide. You'll be notified in the Alert Central console that an update was installed, with a link to these upgrade notes.

HELP, I Need Help! Who/Where Do I Go?

Don't panic, get your towel, we can help! Simply go to the Alert Central forum and post your question. One of our development, QA, or product management team members will help.

Be sure to check out our office hours schedule, too, for a chance to get help in real time! Hey, Listen! Alert Central Office Hours Schedule & Transcripts

I'm Sad: I Came Here Looking for Something I Didn't Find.

Don't see something you think should be in the release notes or on this page that would help you when you're upgrading? Just let us know - comment on this document, message me directly (nicole pauls), or post in our thwack forum (Alert Central). Alert Central is powered by your feedback!