03/05/2007 -- Now Available: InfraStruXure Central 4.0
InfraStruXure Central 4.0 includes
significant new functionality, such as:
Device Support: Significant enhancements
to support far more APC and third-party devices
Device Scanner: New Device Scanner
support provides greatly enhances SNMP-device monitoring and management
Graphs/Reports View: Graph and Report
views have been enhanced, redesigned, and combined into the new Graphs/Reports
view.
Map View Enhancement - Change Icon: Users
can now select form a variety of icons to better represent individual device
in the Map view.
Map View Enhancement - Device Specific
Sensor Readings: In addition to specifying a default sensor value that is
displayed for all devices in the Map view, users can now configure sensor
displays for individual devices that will be shown instead of the default
sensor.
Manage more devices by default: Default
number of licensable devices increased from 15 to 25.
Internal DHCP LAN Support: Connect your
server to a private LAN and monitor and manage devices connected to that LAN.
If you wish to upgrade to InfraStruXure Central 4.0 please
contact APC Security & Environmental Product Support at 877-908-2688 (United
States) or +1-401-789-5735 for assistance.
BotzWare 2.6.1
In addition to additional performance improvements, BotzWare 2.6.1 introduced the following new features and enhancements:
In addition to additional performance improvements,
BotzWare 2.6.1 introduced the following new features and enhancements:
Updated Daylight Savings Time support: Includes updates
designed to address changes in the scheduling of Daylight Savings Time in the
United States. Beginning March 2007, the United States will extend its
Daylight Saving Time (DST) in accordance with the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Under the new law, DST begins on the second Sunday in March and ends the first
Sunday in November. This upgrade ensures that your NetBotz appliances will
adjust for Daylight Savings Time correctly.
Note: Be sure to apply any DST patches that are
available for your Advanced View console system’s operating system as well.
Support for APC Rack Access PX: Rack Access PX units
can be managed and monitored using the NetBotz appliance Pod Sharing
capabilities. Use the Pod Sharing task and IP address of the Rack Access PX to
connect the Rack Access PX as a shared pod.
Once connected, the Rack Access PX will provide the
following sensors:
Beacon
Beacon Status
Front Door
Front Door Open Timeout
Front Door Status
Front Handle
Front Handle Status
Front Lock
Front Lock Details
Front Lock Forced
Last Card ID
Last Card Status
Rear Door
Rear Door Open Timeout
Rear Door Status
Rear Handle
Rear Handle Status
Rear Lock
Rear Lock Details
Rear Lock Forced
You can also use the Set Switch Output State Alert
Action to configure output actions that turn the Rack Access PX’s beacon on or
off, and that locks or unlocks the front and back doors on the rack.
Note: When using a Set Switch Output State Alert
Action to unlock the front or rear doors, the door will remain unlocked for
from 1-10 seconds before the Rack Access PX automatically relocks the door.
The length of time for which the door will remain unlocked is determined by
the Auto-Relock value, specified in the Door Properties pane of the Rack
Access PX web-based configuration interface. For more information, please
refer to your Rack Access PX documentation.
Support for the following USB modems has been added:
Multi-Tech MultiModemGPRS
Option GlobeSurfer iCON
10/23/2006 -- Now Available: InfraStruXure Central 3.0.1
InfraStruXure Central version 3.0.1 is a maintenance release
of the powerful management platform from APC. This release includes no
significant new functionality. This release corrects the following previously
noted issues and limitations:
Corrects a variety of
issues that were encountered when migrating NetBotz Central data to the new
InfraStruXure Central platform, including:
Migration function taking
“too long” to migrate sensor data.
Migration failure if a
local LDAP server generates certain errors
Migration failure due to
a timeout with the NetBotz Central database>
Loss of small amounts of
Surveillance data during migration
Migration failure due to
primary key violations
Migration failing to
migrate "netbotz" user information
Map and table views now
show System/Status Sensors for Crawlers objects
Status "Sensor" no longer
reports status as “Online” on Crawler objects that are in fact offline
Status of a sensor in
Current Sensor Reading window now shows current value instead of two dashes
(“—“)
Setting a new time zone in
Time Settings will now save properly instead of reverting to the original
value after saving
InfraStruXure Central no
longer crashes after editing a CCTV Adapter Pod from Camera Capture Settings
screen
8/11/2006 -- Now Available: NetBotz Central Version 2.5.1
NetBotz Central 2.5.1 corrects a potentially serious security issue that has been found in NetBotz Central 2.4 and 2.5. Under certain circumstances, non-administrator user accounts are able to access the NetBotz Central servers running NetBotz Central 2.4 or 2.5 with full administrative privileges. This issue affects only NetBotz Central 2.4 and 2.5: InfraStruXure Central 3.0 and earlier versions of NetBotz Central are not affected by this issue.
NetBotz strongly urges NetBotz Central 2.4 and 2.5 users to upgrade their servers as soon as is convenient. To obtain NetBotz Central version 2.5.1, you must request it via the following the form:
BotzWare 2.6 includes a number of new features and functional enhancements including:
Support for InfraStruXure Central 3.0: This BotzWare release is specifically designed for use with InfraStruXure Central 3.0, the powerful new version of the NetBotz Central management platform from APC.
Pod Sharing and External Storage are now standard features on the NetBotz 500: The Pod Sharing task and the External Storage task, previously available for use on on NetBotz 500 appliances which had the BotzWare Premium Software Module installed are now standard features of BotzWare 2.6.
New NetBotz 420 feature: External Storage is now supported for use with NetBotz 420 devices.
Surveillance capabilities enhanced: Appliances that are licensed for use with InfraStruXure Central Surveillance can now post to two servers (instead of one), enhancing users ability to plan for disaster recovery by locating servers with duplicate surveillance data in two separate locations.
New wireless network adapter support: Added support for the Linksys 802.11b/g CF wireless network adapter.
New USB modem support: Added support for the MultiTech MultiMobileUSB.
New PC Card modem support: Added support for Sierra Wireless AirCard 860.
New Digital I/O Sensor Support: Added support for Sealevel SeaI/O 462U and SeaI/O 463U digital I/O devices, enabling you connect and monitor up to 96 dry contact sensors from a single appliance without requiring you to purchase and deploy a large number of Sensor Pod 120s.
These new features complement the additional features and functionality that have been delivered in the recent BotzWare 2.1, BotzWare 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.2, 2.2.1, 2.2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.4.1, 2.4.2, 2.5. and 2.5.1 releases.
4/18/2006 -- Now Available: BotzWare Version 2.5.1
BotzWare 2.5.1 includes a number of new features and functional enhancements including:
New Two-Way Audio Support: When using the Camera View on a NetBotz 500 appliance that has the Premium Software Module installed, you can now use a
microphone connected to your system to transmit audio to any Camera Pod connected to the remote appliance that has speakers. When used in conjunction with the
previously available streaming audio functionality, this enables two-way audio communication between the appliance location and the Advanced View user.
This is a list of previously noted issues and limitations that were corrected with the release of BotzWare 2.5.1:
NetBotz appliances will now correctly recognize APC 7900 Rack PDUs.
Corrected a problem that would cause, during installation, the default "LaunchAnywhere" icon to be used for newly created Advanced View icon in the Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs task.
When the user selects the Advanced View from the Add/Remove Programs task and then clicks Click Here for Support Information, the correct NetBotz Advanced View version is now displayed.
Corrected a problem that could cause alert notifications that were being sent using FTP to be significantly delayed on the appliance before delivery, even when the appliance wasn't under heavy load.
Users that rely on alert notification delivery via FTP should apply this update as soon as possible.
4/17/2006 -- Now Available: NetBotz Central Version 2.5:
NetBotz Central 2.5 includes significant new functionality. New and improved features in NetBotz Central 2.5 include support for a variety of BotzWare 2.5 and 2.5.1 functions, including:
Two-Way Audio Support: When using NetBotz Surveillance with NetBotz 500 appliances that have the Premium Software Module installed, you can now use a
microphone connected to your system to transmit audio to any Camera Pod connected to the remote appliance that has speakers. When used in conjunction with
the previously available streaming audio functionality, this enables two-way audio communication between the appliance location and the NetBotz Central user.
Play Custom Audio Alert Action: Used in conjunction with the Custom Audio Alerts task, this new alert action enables your NetBotz appliance to play customized, user-specified audio alerts.
Custom Audio Clips Configuration Task: Use this new task to upload custom audio clips to your NetBotz appliance, or to delete previously uploaded clips from the NetBotz appliance.
Once uploaded, audio clips can be used with the new Play Custom Audio alert action.
InfraStruXure Management Task: Use the InfraStruXure Management task to enable your NetBotz appliance to be discovered and managed by APC InfraStruXure Manager (ISX Manager) appliances.
The settings available within this task enable ISX Manager appliances to automatically discover NetBotz appliances, to remotely manage NetBotz appliances, and to interpret NetBotz appliance
alerts as they occur.
This is a list of previously noted issues and limitations that were corrected with the release of NetBotz Central 2.5:
With earlier versions of NetBotz Central, various port scanners found that SSH Version 1 was enabled on NetBotz Central systems. SSH Version 1 is now disabled by default.
Corrected a problem with the Surveillance Clip viewer that would cause the current date in the calendar control to be "grayed out" and unavailable, even if surveillance clips were available for viewing.
With previous versions of NetBotz Central, users accounts with Monitor Only or Surveillance View Only privileges were able to delete and edit tags on Surveillance clips and could also delete surveillance clips.
This has been changed to enable only user accounts with Write access to perform these tasks.
To obtain NetBotz Central version 2.5, you must request it via the following the form:
BotzWare 2.5 includes a number of new features
and functional enhancements including:
New Play Custom Audio Alert Action: Used in
conjunction with the Custom Audio Alerts task, this new alert action enables
your NetBotz appliance to play customized, user-specified audio alerts.
New Custom Audio Clips Configuration Task: Use
this new task to upload custom audio clips to your NetBotz appliance, or to
delete previously uploaded clips from the NetBotz appliance. Once uploaded,
audio clips can be used with the new Play Custom Audio alert action.
New InfraStruXure Management Task: Use the
InfraStruXure Management task to enable your NetBotz appliance to be
discovered and managed by APC InfraStruXure Manager (ISX Manager)
appliances. The settings available within this task enable ISX Manager
appliances to automatically discover NetBotz appliances, to remotely manage
NetBotz appliances, and to interpret NetBotz appliance alerts as they occur.
IPMI Devices Task Enhancements: The IPMI Devices
task has been enhanced to enable users to specify the type of IPMI control
buttons that are available when adding an IPMI device. Power switch, power
cycle button, CPU reset button, and soft power off button functions are
available. Note that these capabilities will only function on IPMI devices
that support the specific IPMI control option.
SNMP Settings Enhancements: Support for SNMP v3 is
now available.
Sensor Readings Enhancements: Sensor Readings that
are more than 6 months old can now be displayed.
Additional Hardware Support: Added support for
D-Link GigaExpress DGE-660TD and
Sierra Wireless Aircard 775 cards.
Ability to Select Default Network Route: Appliances that have multiple network interfaces (appliances that have a
wireless or gigabit Ethernet adapter installed, for example) installed can
now specify which network interface will be the default route used.
Multi-Selectable Sensor History Values: When
selecting sensor history values in the Advanced View, you can now select
multiple entries simultaneously.
New Threshold Support Added on NetBotz 320s: NetBotz 320 appliances now support the Rate of Increase, Rate of Decrease,
Alert State for Time, and State Mismatch alert threshold types. These
thresholds were previously available only on NetBotz 420 and 500 appliances.
Pre-Alert Picture Capture Support Added on NetBotz
320s: NetBotz 320s now support pre-alert picture captures. This
functionality was previously available only on NetBotz 420 and 500
appliances.
NetBotz 320 Maximum Alert Clip Size Increased to 4MB: NetBotz 320s can now support alert clips up to 4MB in size.
11/08/2005 -- Service Alert for EMEA Customers: Faulty Power Supplies Shipped with Some NetBotz 320/420 Appliances
Some customers have encountered problems with recently purchased NetBotz 320/420 appliances
where the appliance works normally for a short period of time (typically a day or so), after
which the appliance starts to reboot repeatedly without ever successfully returning to an online state.
The cause of this problem has been traced to the Universal Power Supply that is shipped with these units.
This problem occurs only with Universal Power Supplies with the date code "2505" branded into the plastic case,
and only when the power supply is connected to a 220V power source (actual voltage range that results in this problem
is 220-250V). This problem does not occur when the Universal Power Supply is used with a 110V power source.
If you are a NetBotz customer using 220V power and you have a NetBotz 320 or 420 with the "2505" date code branded
into the plastic please discontinue using your appliance and contact NetBotz support immediately to arrange for a
replacement Universal Power Supply.
11/08/2005 -- Now Available: BotzWare 2.4.1
In addition to additional hardware support and performance improvements, BotzWare 2.4.1 introduced the following new features and enhancements:
Enhanced SeaLink PIO-48 Support: NetBotz 500 appliances now support connection of up to 4 SeaLink
PIO-48 dry contact hub devices (increased from 2).
New CCTV Pod Configuration Options: CCTV Pod configuration settings now include settings
specifically designed for use with black and white CCTV cameras.
MTU Settings Support: Added support for specifying MTU settings on Ethernet and 802.11 network
interfaces.
BotzWare 2.4.1 also corrects the following issues:
Corrected a problem where the switching power supply on the 4-20mA Sensor Pod generated a small
power spike when the inductor switched off. Depending on the type
of sensor connected to the pod, this spike could have been large
enough to cause fluctuations in the sampling of the signal,
resulting in fluctuating sensor readings.
Corrected a problem where URLs that included custom HTTP port settings were missing the custom
HTTP port when they were returned by the WebService APIs.
Corrected a problem where, on some 320/420 units, the RTS line from the serial port would
oscillate and would potentially the Configuration Utility to fail.
Corrected a problem with sending wireless alerts where the appliance was unable to open the
wireless key. This problem was caused by an API behavior change in
gSOAP.
Corrected a problem where the Device Crawlers process running on the appliance could lock up in
certain situations, causing the Device Crawling process to cease.
Corrected a problem in Device Crawlers where editing a previously configured entry could cause
the Advanced View application to fail.
06/17/2005 -- Now Available: NetBotz Central 2.4
Overview
NetBotz Central 2.4 is now available
NetBotz Central 2.4 includes significant new functionality. New and improved
features in NetBotz Central 2.4 include improved LDAP compatability with MS
Active Directory servers, and support for a variety of BotzWare 2.4
functions, including:
IPMI Devices: Appliances that have the BotzWare Premium Software
Module 2.4 installed can use the IPMI Devices to add network-attached,
Intelligent Platform Management Interface-enabled devices to the list of
devices that are monitored by your NetBotz appliance.
Pod Sharing: NetBotz 500 appliances that have the BotzWare Premium
Software Module 2.4 installed can now connect with and receive data directly
from devices integrated with or connected to NetBotz 320, 420 or 500s in your
network. Once a pod has been shared with the NetBotz 500, it functions as
though it were connected directly to the appliance.
External Storage: NetBotz 500 appliances that have the BotzWare
Premium Software Module 2.4 installed can now use a network attached storage
device (a Windows share or an NFS mount) for External Storage functionality.
To obtain NetBotz Central version 2.4, you must request it via the following the form:
03/28/2005 -- Now Available: NetBotz Central 2.3.1
Overview
NetBotz Central 2.3.1 is now available.
However, much like version 2.3, this NetBotz Central upgrade package cannot be downloaded using the usual update procedure.
Please click here to request the NetBotz Central 2.3.1 upgrade package from the NetBotz support team. NetBotz Central 2.3.1 is a maintenance release and includes no significant new functionality. The link below is a list of previously noted issues and limitations that were corrected with the release of NetBotz Central 2.3.1.
However, this NetBotz Central upgrade package cannot be downloaded using the usual update procedure.
Please click here to request the NetBotz Central 2.3 upgrade package from the NetBotz support team.
Attention: The changes to NetBotz Surveillance 2.3 have significantly altered the program interfaces as well as the manner in which Surveillance is used. Therefore, users that are familiar with earlier versions of Surveillance may require retraining. Please be sure to review the updated NetBotz Central Version 2.3 User's Reference for complete information.
BotzWare 1.3.9, the latest
BotzWare release for use with 300/400 Series NetBotz appliances, is now
available. BotzWare 1.3.9 is a maintenance release that includes performance
improvements and minor bug fixes.
1/20/2004 -- NetBotz 300/400 Series Appliances Service Alert
NetBotz has discovered a software defect that affects our Series 300/400 appliances. This defect, which originates within the licensed operating system used by these appliances, can cause the appliance to become unresponsive on boot up. Series 300/400 owners should NOT reboot their appliances until the fix for this defect has been applied.
Appliance Models Affected
This defect affects the following appliances:
NetBotz 300, 300B, 310, 310C, 400, 400C
RackBotz 303, 310, 310C, 400, 400C
Note: NetBotz 500 appliances are not affected by this defect.
It appears that AT&T and T-Mobile (formerly Voicestream) have discontinued their support of the TAP paging service. If you currently use either of these service provides, you will need to reconfigure Last Call to use a custom TAP interface telephone number or switch to a different paging provider.
Please note that the included TAP interface telephone numbers included in the Last Call configuration program for AT&T and Voicestream are no longer valid. If your Last Call paging device is configured to use ether of these service providers, you will not receive any page notifications via Last Call.
For more information about TAP services from AT&T and T-Mobile, please contact AT&T or T-Mobile directly.
Regards,
NetBotz Technical Support
NetBotz Central Service Alert – October 27, 2003
A system defect discovered in NetBotz Central 2.x could potentially affect the performance of your NetBotz Central system. A defect has been found in NetBotz Central version 2.x that may prevent you from upgrading your NetBotz Central 2.x system via the internet. Furthermore, this defect could cause a large amount of free space on the data volume of your NetBotz Central to be consumed with a large temporary file.
To address this issue, NetBotz has released NetBotz Central 2.0.3. It is currently available from NetBotz. Since this defect affects the internet upgrade, you must upgrade your NetBotz Central using a CD. The NetBotz Central 2.0.3 Upgrade CD may be obtained by downloading the ISO CDROM image. Once the CDROM image is downloaded, a CD may then be burned for use in upgraded NetBotz Central. If you are unable burn CD’s from ISO CDROM images, NetBotz will be happy to ship you copy of the NetBotz Central 2.0.3 Upgrade CD.
It is very important that you upgrade your NetBotz Central to version 2.0.3 as soon as possible. Please contact NetBotz Technical Support for more information on obtaining the Upgrade CD’s. NetBotz Technical Support may be contacted via:
phone: 877.908.2688 or 512.439.5916
email: support@netbotz.com
Regards,
NetBotz Technical Support
Support Notes
Humidity Sensor Limitation in Some NetBotz Appliances
NetBotz has discovered a limitation in the built-in humidity sensors in some of our
NetBotz environmental monitoring appliances. This limitation affects the accuracy of
humidity sensor reading in environments where the relative humidity exceeds 60%.
Affected units read the relative humidity accurately and in spec up to
approximately 60%, but are not able to report humidity levels greater than 60%
accurately. You could be adversely affected by this limitation if you have deployed
your appliance in a high-humidity environment.
Does this limitation affect me?
This problem affects only some older NetBotz hardware versions. To
determine if your NetBotz appliance is affected by this limitation, use the About task to check the Hardware Revision of your appliance. No
currently shipping NetBotz appliances are affected by this issue.
Also, if you own a RackBotz 300, RackBotz 303, NetBotz 300B, or NetBotz
400C appliance, regardless of when it was manufactured or purchased, you are
not affected by this issue.
Only appliances that have the following Hardware Revisions are affected
by this limitation:
Appliance Model
Affected Hardware Revisions
NetBotz 300
A10-11
NetBotz 310
A04
NetBotz 400
A03
RackBotz 400
A03
In addition, if you use your appliances in any the following ways then you are NOT affected by this limitation:
You have your humidity sensor enabled, and your high humidity threshold
values are set anywhere in the 0% and 60% range. For most customers, setting
the high humidity threshold value below 60% is advisable (the EPA recommends
that indoor air humidity be kept below 60% to protect your health and
equipment)
You do not have your humidity sensor enabled (i.e. you do not use the
built-in humidity sensor to generate NetBotz alert notifications)
What do I do?
When this limitation was discovered, NetBotz released a BotzWare update (BotzWare 1.2.4) that contained a
software fix to ensure that users affected by this limitation are notified when humidity levels exceed 60%.
All versions of BotzWare released since then also contain this fix.
Because indoor relative humidity is best kept in the 30% to 60% range, this
solution should meet the needs of most NetBotz customers. If your installations
require humidity thresholds above 60% or if you have any other concerns, please
call NetBotz Support toll free at 1-877-908-2688 (or submit a problem report here) and the NetBotz Support Team
will work with you to determine a solution that meets your requirements.
NetBotz
and SNMP Vulnerabilities (Updated 3/11/02)
We have determined that, while we are not vulnerable to the vast majority of
the 10000+ tests in this test suite, appliances running versions of BotzWare
prior to 1.2.3 (released 3/7/02) are vulnerable to several denial-of-service
attacks using malformed packets. In one case, the appliance hangs and must be
rebooted. However, the PROTOS test suite has revealed no other security
exposures or vulnerabilities on NetBotz appliances related to this issue. For
example, our products are not vulnerable to attacks that would result in hackers
gaining administration privileges to NetBotz appliances, or using NetBotz
appliances to gain access to other resources in your network.
To close these security vulnerabilities use the Appliance Upgrade task (in
the BotzWare Advanced View or in NetBotz Central) to upgrade your appliances to
BotzWare 1.2.3.
Please note that SNMPv1 is, unfortunately, a fairly insecure protocol that if
improperly implemented can leave your networked resources vulnerable. A number
of steps can be taken to improve the security of systems of your NetBotz
appliances and other networked resources. Click
here for additional information that can help protect your networked
resources from malicious SNMP-based attacks.
Important
Technical Bulletin (11/13/01)
JRE 1.3.0 and 1.3.0_01 have a known problem (BugIDs 4357437, 4406748,
4485741, 4396720 and others discussed in the Java developer BugParade
forum at http://developer.java.sun.com/developer/bugParade/)
that causes the Java plugin to incorrectly process the certificates for
signed applets once the certificate has expired. The result of this is
that signed applets, such as the NetBotz Advanced View, will suddenly fail
to function correctly after the certificate expires.
For example, the NetBotz Advanced View applet v. 1.1.3-C included a
certificate which expired on 11/11/2001. After this date, users who have
JRE 1.3.0 or 1.3.0_01 installed on their systems became unable to run the
applet and received a Java Read Error message when attempting to start the
Advanced View.
The simplest way to correct this problem is simply to upgrade to JRE
1.3.1. JRE 1.3.1 contains bug fixes which correct this problem.
Windows Users:
NetBotz suggests that Windows users first uninstall JRE 1.3.0 (using
Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel), restart your system if
instructed to do so, and then download and install JRE 1.3.1_01 from Sun
at http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.3/jre/.
Once the upgrade is complete you should be able to use the Advanced View
without further difficulty.
Linux and Solaris Users:
Download and install JRE 1.3.1_01 from Sun at http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.3/jre/.
Once the upgrade is complete you should be able to use the Advanced View
without further difficulty.
We here at NetBotz apologize for any inconvenience this issue has
caused you. If you encounter any problems with this upgrade process, or if
you have any additional issues or concerns, please do not hesitate to
contact us at 877-908-2688.
