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Release Notes


About this Jolt Release

Welcome to BEA Jolt, Version 1.1. This version of Jolt contains new features that add additional security, reliability and flexibility to your Jolt client application development. These Release Notes provide a brief overview of each new feature and contain essential information to get you up and running with BEA Jolt software.

Note: The BEA Jolt Release Notes present changes or updates to the standard documentation provided with your Jolt 1.1 product release. In all cases, these Release Notes contain the most up-to-date information for the Jolt 1.1 product.

Before you install BEA Jolt 1.1 software, read this document in conjunction with the installation section in the BEA Jolt User's Guide. You can browse the HTML version of the BEA Jolt User's Guide on your distribution medium and via the BEA Systems Web site at http://www.beasys.com/products/jolt/index.htm.


New Features in Release 1.1

The following sections describe the new features added for the BEA Jolt 1.1 software release.

Encryption

When you enable encryption support, Jolt 1.1 uses a combination of DES and RC4 encryption algorithms to encrypt all data that is transmitted between a Jolt client and a Jolt server. DES (56-bit) encryption is used for key exchange and authentication, and RC4 is used for all subsequent data exchanges. Jolt 1.1 features two versions of encryption support: one allows a 128-bit key for data encryption, the other allows a 40-bit key.

The 128-bit version generates a 128-bit RC4 session encryption key at logon time, and this session key is transmitted over the network in a message protected by 56-bit DES encryption. The temporary session key is then used to encrypt the session's data. The overall security level achieved is equivalent to 56-bit DES encryption, even though the data encryption is using a 128-bit key.

These two encryption versions of Jolt 1.1 (40-bit and 56/128-bit) are on separate CDs. All references in the BEA Jolt User's Guide to 128-bit encryption refer to the 56/128-bit capability as described in this paragraph.

Note: The 56/128-bit version of Jolt 1.1 cannot be used outside the United States without proper approval from the United States government.

The default for Jolt 1.1 is no encryption. The encryption feature can be turned on and off administratively using a Jolt Server Listener (JSL) command-line option in the UBBCONFIG file.

Internet Relay

The Jolt Internet Relay removes the need for the Jolt Servers to be installed on the same machine as the Web Server software. The Jolt Relay consists of two components, Jolt Relay (JRLY) and Jolt Relay Adapter (JRAD), that work as a pair and route client requests to the appropriate Jolt Server. The Jolt Relay is an optional component and is transparent to both the Jolt client and the Jolt Servers. The Jolt Server can concurrently have clients connected via a Jolt Relay and clients connected directly to the Server.

Event Subscriptions

Jolt 1.1 clients can subscribe to TUXEDO events and to unsolicited notifications from TUXEDO servers or clients. Jolt clients cannot post events or generate unsolicited notifications, they can only receive them.

A new API class, JoltUserEvent, has been added to support events and unsolicited notifications. The JoltSession class has been enhanced to provide an onReply method, which is invoked when events or notifications are received.

International Character Conversion Support

Jolt 1.1 allows for the use of strings containing 16-bit characters as parameters for TUXEDO services. The character conversion routine can be customized by application developers, using the dynamic library libjconv. The Jolt default version of libjconv supports 8-bit Latin-1 characters. To use 16-bit characters, you need a version of TUXEDO that supports 16-bit characters.

Repository Bulk Loader

The Jolt repository contains service definitions that you can add using the GUI-based Repository Editor. However, loading large numbers of service definitions can be time-consuming. Therefore, Jolt 1.1 also includes a repository bulk loader. The Jolt 1.1 bulk loader utility takes its input from a text file and bulk loads multiple service definitions into the Jolt repository.

New Features to Support TUXEDO 6.3

Jolt 1.1 works with TUXEDO 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3. All features of Jolt 1.1 are constant across all these releases of TUXEDO, except where new features have been added for TUXEDO 6.3. The new features of TUXEDO 6.3 supported by Jolt 1.1 are:


Upgrading to BEA Jolt 1.1

The BEA Jolt User's Guide contains complete Jolt 1.1 installation instructions. This section highlights steps required to upgrade an existing installation of Jolt 1.0 or 1.0.1 to Jolt 1.1.

Before You Start

Before you start any upgrades, make a backup of any existing Jolt installation that you have on your system. Table 1 lists the files/directories where Jolt files are typically installed. If you have a previous Jolt installation at these locations, you should do a backup.

Table 1 Jolt Directories for Previous Jolt Releases

Items Default Location Contains

JSL, JSH, JREPSVR

$TUXDIR/bin

Jolt Server and Jolt Repository server executables.

libjnwi

$TUXDIR/lib on UNIX systems

$TUXDIR/bin on Windows NT systems

Dynamic library for the Jolt server. The suffix of the library is either .so, .a, .sl or .dll, depending on the OS platform.

jrepository

$TUXDIR/misc

Default Jolt Repository file. This file is pointed to by the -P option to JREPSVR. This file may contain application service definitions. Do not delete it.

Jolt Class Library

[classes/bea/jolt|atm/*.class]

$TUXDIR/classes

Jolt client class library. The directory classes contain bea/jolt and bea/atm.

Jolt UNIX online documentation files

Jolt NT online documentation files

$TUXDIR/jolt/doc $TUXDIR/docs

Online HTML documentation.

jrep.f16

$TUXDIR/udataobj

FML field tables used in Jolt software.

Upgrading TUXEDO and Jolt

Jolt 1.1 is available for TUXEDO versions 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3. If you are upgrading both TUXEDO and Jolt: upgrade TUXEDO first; then, upgrade Jolt. For information about upgrading TUXEDO, refer to your BEA TUXEDO documentation.

Removing Jolt 1.0 Files and Directories

The Jolt 1.1 release uses different default installation locations for some Jolt components than previous Jolt versions. Table 2 shows these changes.

Table 2 Default Component Locations

Jolt Component Default Location for Prior Jolt Version Jolt 1.1 Default Location

Jolt Class Library

$TUXDIR/classes

$TUXDIR/udataobj/jolt/client/classes

Jolt Online Documentation

$TUXDIR/joltdoc (UNIX)

$TUXDIR/docs (NT)

$TUXDIR/udataobj/jolt/doc

$TUXDIR/udataobj/jolt/docs

Jolt Repository Template file (jrepository)

$TUXDIR/misc

$TUXDIR/misc

$TUXDIR/udataobj (UNIX)

$TUXDIR/udataobj/jolt/repository (NT)

After you have upgraded from a previous Jolt version to Jolt 1.1, locate and remove the Jolt directories shown in Table 2, Default Component Locations. The installation program on Windows NT systems should do this automatically, but the installation program on UNIX platforms will leave the original directories intact. The locations shown in the table are the default locations for these files-the actual location is dependent on the options selected when you installed your previous version of Jolt (E.A., 1.0, 1.0.1).

Note: Leaving these directories intact does not necessarily impact the performance of Jolt 1.1. However, it could be confusing for application administrators to have access to redundant files. If these files are accidentally used in place of the Jolt 1.1 files, you may receive an error (e.g, using Jolt 1.0 client classes instead of Jolt 1.1 client classes will render the client unable to logon).

File Ownership

When installing Jolt 1.1 on UNIX platforms, the owner and group attributes of the installed files are set to the user ID and group ID of the current user (i.e., the user you are logged in as when you run the installation program). Since the default installation location for files is in $TUXDIR, make sure that the current user has permission to write into this directory.

Upgrading to Jolt 1.1

When you have completed the pre-upgrade tasks, follow these steps to install Jolt 1.1:

  1. Shut down the Jolt Servers if they are running:
    tmshutdown -g <JOLT-SERVER-GROUP>
    or tmshutdown to shut down the complete application.

  2. Make a backup of your Jolt Repository file (jrepository).

  3. Remove files from previous Jolt installations, as described in Table 2.

  4. Mount the Jolt 1.1 CD.

  5. On Windows NT platforms, change to the appropriate directory depending on your hardware/OS version and TUXEDO version, then run setup.exe.

  6. On UNIX platforms, change to the unix directory on the CD and run install.sh.

  7. Restore your original Jolt Repository file (the one you backed up in step 2).

    Note: You may need to modify the UBBCONFIG file to match the new jrepository path.

  8. Restart the Jolt 1.1 Servers:
    tmboot -g <JOLT-SERVER-GROUP>
    or tmboot to boot the entire application.

  9. Use the Jolt 1.1 client classes. Jolt 1.0 clients cannot work with Jolt 1.1 servers and vice-versa.

    Note: If you are using the getOccurrenceCount() method, you need to recompile.

  10. Test the environment using the Jolt Repository Editor. You should be able to access the repository and read the definitions of all your original services.


Supported Platforms

Jolt 1.1 consists of several components that are available on various platforms. For the purpose of platform coverage the components are divided into:

Jolt Server

The Jolt Server consists of the Jolt Server Listener (JSL), the Jolt Server Handler (JSH), the Jolt Repository Server (JREPSVR) and associated libraries (libjnwi and libjconv).

The Jolt Server is available on the following platforms:

Jolt Relay

The Jolt Relay consists of the Jolt Relay front-end (JRLY) and back-end (JRAD).

The JRAD is dependent on TUXEDO and is available on the same platforms as the Jolt Server (see the previous list).

The JRLY is not dependent on TUXEDO and is available on the following platforms:

Jolt Client Classes

The Jolt client classes are compiled using the javac compiler from Java Developer's Kit (JDK) 1.0.2. These classes are available on all platforms that support JDK 1.0.2. The following considerations apply when using the Jolt class library:


Miscellaneous Issues

When installing and using the Jolt 1.1 release, you may encounter some of the following issues that can make Jolt or a Jolt component inoperable.

Table 3 describes these issues and provides a workaround.

Table 3 Jolt Troubleshooting Issues

1.

Jolt Repository utilities require connection-retained servers.

Problem

If you configure a JSL with the -c RECONNECT option, the Jolt Repository Editor and the Jolt Repository Bulk Loader cannot connect to the JSL because both utilities require a RETAINED connection.

Platform

All platforms.

Workaround

Do not configure the JSL with -c RECONNECT when using the Jolt Repository Editor or the Jolt Repository Bulk Loader.

2.

Using connectionless clients.

Problem

If a connectionless client is in a disconnected state (i.e., the network connection has been closed), and the client is terminated abnormally (e.g., the process is killed), the Jolt Server is not aware that the client is dead.

Platform

All platforms.

Workaround

When using connectionless clients, use the -T option with the Jolt Servers. The -T option specifies the maximum length of time a client can be inactive before the JSH automatically terminates the client session.

3.

Configuring "slow" clients.

Problem

During logon, once the JSL has assigned a JSH to a Jolt client, the JSL allows the client a specific time (60 seconds default) to contact the JSH. In slow environments (e.g., when using slow networks), 10 seconds might not be adequate and clients might not be allowed to complete their logon.

Platform

All platforms.

Workaround

When operating in environments where clients could take more than 10 seconds to contact a JSH, increase the default timeout by using the -I option on the JSL.

4.

Unable to read the Jolt installation program from the CD.

Problem

When mounting the Jolt CD on certain platforms, some operating system specific command-line options are required. If these are not specified, you cannot read the Jolt CD properly.

Platform

Digital UNIX, HP-UX

Workaround

Use the following command-line options when mounting the Jolt CD on the following platforms:

5.

Entering incorrect options in the CLOPT clause of the ubbconfig file can prevent JSL from starting.

Problem

The Jolt Server Listener (JSL) parses the CLOPT options that occur in the string CLOPT="-- optionletters" to get command-line options. The following problems can occur if you enter an incorrect option in the CLOPT line or if it already contains an incorrect option:

Platform

All platforms

Workaround

Make sure that you have constructed CLOPT correctly. The only legal options are: -H, -D, -M, -T, -d, -m, -n, -t, -I, -w, -x, -c, and -Z.

Check the TUXEDO user log for any warning messages on the JSL startup.

6.

The libgp.a file is required for BEA TUXEDO 6.1 RTK.

Problem

The libgp.a file is required for proper installation of BEA Jolt 1.1 software with the BEA TUXEDO 6.1 RTK.

Platform

All platforms.

Workaround

Before installing Jolt 1.1, either obtain the libgp.a file from BEA Technical Support or create a dummy libgp.a file in the $TUXDIR directory: $TUXDIR/libgp.a

After you install Jolt 1.1, remove the dummy file.

7.

The uninst.exe on NT only uninstalls the last component.

Problem

The uninst.exe on Windows NT platforms only uninstalls the last component.

Platform

Windows NT

Workaround

This is an Windows NT specific limitation. You may need to perform a manual uninstall of Jolt components on Windows NT systems.


Known Limitations

This section describes limitations in the current BEA Jolt 1.1 release and includes possible workarounds, where applicable.

Table 4 lists a CR (Change Request) number for each problem. Refer to this number to conveniently track the solution as the problems are resolved.

Please contact BEA Technical Support for assistance in tracking any unresolved problems. For contact information, see the section "Contacting BEA Technical Support."

Table 4 Jolt Change Requests

CR# 141

jrly might trim the last character of the last line in its configuration file.

Problem

If the last line in the JRLY configuration file does not end with a newline character, the jrly program will ignore the last character of the last line. Depending on what is in the last line of the configuration file, this might result in incorrect configuration.

Platform

All platforms.

Workaround

Make sure that the last line in the jrly configuration file ends with a newline character (ASCII 10 decimal).

CR# 010001

When upgrading from a previous Jolt release to Jolt 1.1 some directories are not removed.

Problem

When upgrading from previous Jolt releases , the directories $TUXDIR/classes and $TUXDIR/docs from Jolt 1.0 are not removed. The new classes and documentation are installed in $TUXDIR/udataobj/jolt.

Platform

All platforms.

Workaround

Remove these directories manually.

CR# 010003

Jolt Relay front-end (jrly) installed for Solaris 2.4 and 2.5.1.

Problem

The Jolt Relay Front-End (JRLY) has not been certified on Solaris 2.4 and 2.5.1. However, this component installs when the All option is selected during installation.

Platform

Solaris 2.4 and 2.5.1

Workaround

Remove this component manually following installation.

CR# 010008

JoltSession attributes TUXVERSION and JOLTVERSION are not supported.

Problem

The attributes TUXVERSION and JOLTVERSION in the class JoltSessionAttributes are not supported in Jolt 1.1. They still exist for compatibility reasons.

Platform

All platforms.

Workaround

Do not reference the values of these attributes. The attributes will be removed in a future version of Jolt. Remove references to these attributes in your existing applications.

CR# 010016

Existing Jolt-specific files in $TUXDIR/udataobj are deleted during installation.

Problem

The install.sh uses $TUXDIR as the temporary directory when copying files from the Jolt 1.1 CD. Any Jolt files in $TUXDIR/udataobj from any previous installations are automatically removed. The overwritten files are: jrep.f16, jwsladmin.f32, and the jolt directory.

Platform

UNIX platforms

Workaround

If you have a previous Jolt release installed and you want to preserve your existing Jolt files in $TUXDIR/udataobj, copy these files manually before installing Jolt 1.1.

CR# 010017

Installation program specifies TUXEDO 6.1 as option for AIX 4.2.

Problem

TUXEDO 6.1 is not available on AIX4.2; however, the Jolt installation program provides this as an option.

Platform

AIX 4.2

Workaround

Do not select this option. A release of TUXEDO 6.1 is not available for AIX 4.2.

CR# 010018

jrepository file is overwritten during installation.

Problem

If Jolt 1.1 is installed over an existing Jolt installation, the existing Jolt repository file (jrepository) is overwritten without being backed up to jrepository.bak.

Platform

Windows NT

Workaround

Make a backup of the Jolt repository file jrepository before performing the installation.

CR# 010020

Jolt 1.1 installation cannot overwrite existing installations of Jolt.

Problem

For previous Jolt releases, the online documentation directory is created with read-only permission. If you attempt to install Jolt 1.1 documentation files to the same location the installation program fails with an error indicating that some files cannot be copied. The error message is OS dependent, but will indicate that the copy command failed, for example:

cp: cannot create ...... Permission denied

Platform

All UNIX platforms

Workaround

If you have documentation for a previous Jolt release installed in $TUXDIR/udataobj/jolt, delete this directory manually before installing Jolt 1.1.

CR# 010021

jrepository file on UNIX platforms is installed in the $TUXDIR/udataobj directory.

Problem

The template Jolt repository file jrepository is installed in $TUXDIR/udataobj instead of $TUXDIR/udataobj/jolt/repository.

Platform

All UNIX platforms

Workaround

Create the $TUXDIR/udataobj/jolt/repository directory and move the jrepository file to the created directory.

CR# 010032

When the Jolt server encounters an internal error, the client gets an exception with TPEJOLT.

Problem

The client gets an exception with TPEJOLT and the ulog file has either a 1059, 1060 or 1535 error message, when the Jolt server has encountered an internal error.

Platform

All server platforms

Workaround

There is no workaround currently available. Contact the BEA Customer Support Center.

CR# 010033

JSH crashes after an error message 1060 is logged.

Problem

JSH crashes after logging the following error message in the ulog file:

1060 ERROR: Received message with context associated with a different connection.

On certain platforms, a core file is generated.

Platform

Workaround

Contact the BEA Customer Support Center and request a software patch to resolve CR# 010033.

CR# 010034

The client program may hang when calling JoltSession.endSession().

Problem

This error only applies to application development.

The client program may hang when calling JoltSession.endSession().

Platform

Solaris 2.4 and 2.5 with JDK 1.0.2

Workaround

Don't call a JoltSession.endSession(). Allow the Java garbage collection to call the Jolt endSession().

Note: In JDK 1.1, JavaSoft has fixed a socket bug that causes this error.

lc97-018801

Jolt Servers (JSL and JSH) may not accept new connections after processing many clients and may require a software patch (lc97-18801).

Problem

A single Jolt Server does not always recycle closed connections when accepting a new client connection. The number of new clients that a JSL can accept decreases over time, eventually reaching 0. When this occurs, Jolt clients cannot connect to the JSL. In the worst case, this may occur after 63 clients have been processed by the JSL.

Platform

Windows NT (Jolt 1.1 for TUXEDO 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3).

Workaround

  1. A software patch to fix the problem is available (see Action below).

  2. The following steps may help minimize the impact of this limitation:

Action

Contact the BEA Customer Support Center and request a software patch to resolve lc97-18801 (the TUXEDO Windows NT rolling patch).

Known Platform Networking Limitations

For Windows NT systems, there is a TUXEDO system limit of 64 network sockets per process. When configuring a JSL server on Windows NT systems, there is a limit of 63 for the -x multiplexing value.

When you configure a JRAD server on Windows NT systems as part of a Jolt Internet Relay, there is also a limit of 64 active network connections per JRAD server. One connection is used to communicate with the JRLY process, and a maximum of 63 active network connections are available for carrying client communications to the corresponding JSL and JSH processes.


Software Problems Fixed in Jolt 1.1

In the Jolt 1.1 release, we have fixed software problem that occurred in the Jolt 1.0 and Jolt 1.0.1 releases. Table 5 lists these fixes.

Table 5 Resolved Jolt Problems

ID Problem Comments

1.

Jolt STRING parameters cannot be greater than 64K in length.

STRINGS can now be up to 2Gb in length.

Note: The ability of an application to use large data sizes depends on hardware and OS capabilities.

2.

On Windows NT systems, JREPSVR reader server(s) cannot detect updates to the repository made by the JREPSVR writer server.

Fixed.

3.

The JREPSVR writer leaves temporary file lying around after the repository has been changed.

Fixed.

4.

The Jolt Repository does not support different input and output buffer types.

Fixed.

5.

The JoltRemoteService.getOccurence() method is misspelled.

Name changed to getOccurrenceCount().

6.

Jolt Client cannot read messages greater than ~40K.

The client can now read messages of any size.

7.

The JREPSVR cannot read service definitions that are greater than 1K in length.

Service definitions can be up to 16K in length.

8.

In a VIEW buffer, if a STRING field is not NULL-terminated, the following field is concatenated to the STRING field.

STRING fields are now truncated to the size of the field (as specified in the VIEW definition file).

9.

Jolt clients cannot use an application password with a length greater than 8 characters.

Fixed.

10.

The JSH requires FLDTBLDIR to explicitly include $TUXDIR/udataobj.

$TUXDIR/udataobj is included automatically by JSH.

11.

User Password cannot contain a NULL character

Fixed.

12.

Jolt clients could get RECVTIMEOUT errors when invoking long-running transactions.

When running a transaction, the RECVTIMEOUT value, for service calls related to the current transaction, is automatically set to be greater than the current transaction timeout.

13.

The Jolt Repository Editor does not support input or output data values for CARRAY fields.

CARRAY fields can now be read and written using hexadecimal data format (e.g., 0a8fde51).


Contacting BEA Technical Support

If you have any questions about this version of BEA Jolt, or if you have problems installing and running Jolt, contact BEA Technical Support at one of the following telephone numbers or use the email addresses:

North America Support Center
Sunnyvale, CA USA
M-F 5:00 am - 6:00 pm Pacific Time
1-888-232-7878
1-408-743-4070
1-408-743-4071 fax
email: support@beasys.com

European Support Center
Paris, France
M-F 9:00 am - 6:00 pm GMT +1
+33-1-41-45-7090
+33-1-41-45-7009 fax
email: support@beasys.fr

Asia Pacific Support Center
Brisbane, Australia
M-F 8:30 am - 5:30 pm
+61-7-3255-0506
+61-7-3255-0441 fax
email: support@beasys.com.au

Japan Support Center
Yokohama, Japan
M-F 9:00 am - 6:00 pm
+81-4-5224-1250
+81-4-5224-1251 fax
email: support@beasys.co.jp



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