Summary
The following information applies to the v11 release of Neverfail Continuity Engine.
Neverfail Continuity Engine 11
What's New
Automated Split-Brain Avoidance Configuration
- Continuity Engine 11 monitors the management identity configuration and will automatically configure a set of ping routes which will be used to avoid potential split-brain situations when failover is initiated as a consequence of channel loss. The automatic configuration of split-brain avoidance requires a minimum of one management IP address defined on each Primary and Secondary nodes. Split-brain avoidance works by pinging from the passive server to the active server across the client network. If the active server responds, the passive does not failover, even if the channel connection is lost. Ping routing configuration means defining ping routes between Primary and Secondary instances using existing/defined management IP addresses.
- This feature is enabled by the updated version of Neverfail System Plug-in bundled with Continuity Engine 11.
More Secure
SCOPE Security enhancements
OpenJDK and Apache Tomcat version updated to latest
Continuity Engine's objective is to keep your systems up, running, protected, and safe. Having the latest security updates, fixes and patches for the used open-source software is critical.
Better User Experience
Continuity Engine Service Optimization
- Service heap space usage optimizations
Bundled Plugins Visibility
Patching Downtime Reduction with Passive Management Name
New Supported Versions
New or Updated Plugins
VMware vCenter Server and VMware vCenter Converter Support
- Supported - Neverfail Engine Management Service API Support for deployment using the latest versions of VMware vCenter Server 7.0 and VMware vCenter Converter 6.2.
- Supported - Neverfail for vSphere Integration Plug-in Support for interoping with the latest versions of VMware vCenter Server 7.0
- Coming soon - Neverfail Engine Management Service API Support for deployment using the latest versions of VMware vCenter Server 8.0 and VMware vCenter Converter 6.3.
- Coming soon - Neverfail for vSphere Integration Plug-in Support for interoping with the latest versions of VMware vCenter Server 8.0
Licensing Updates
Software Subscription Payment Awareness (since v11)
- Starting with Continuity Engine v11, the software subscription licensing mechanism is changed to be aware of software subscription's payment status. The changes are summarized in the below section extracted from Neverfail End-User Software Subscription License Agreement.
Term Software Subscription is ready to be consumed immediately upon fulfilment. Depending on the payment status, the right to use may or may not be limited a follows: (a) if the payment is pending when software subscription is being activated (consumed), a limited forty-five (45) days license key counted from the term software subscription start date will be generated; as soon as the payment is confirmed, the full term software subscription period is unlocked; relicensing with a full term license key will be performed automatically for online licensing; (b) if the payment is confirmed when software subscription is being activated (consumed) a full term license key will be generated. Similar payment status usability rules apply also in the case of license term software subscription renewal. - Continuity Engine 11 licensing model is built on top of v9.0 model which transitioned Engine from a perpetual model to a software subscription term and rental model. Engine Licensing Service (ELS) enables call-home features that power our software subscription based licensing. The new cloud service is free but is required for Term and Rental deployments. For more information on how the licensing works and upgrade notes please read Continuity Engine Licensing Model.
Backward Compatibility
Neverfail Continuity Engine 11 Management Service is compatible with older versions of Continuity Engine (i.e. EMS 11.0 manages correctly CE 9.x/10.x).
- If I upgrade to Continuity Engine 11, will my perpetual license cease? Yes! You are accepting software subscription's requirements outlined in the new EULA for Term and Rental. Neverfail will generate new software subscriptions expiring the same day as the support was paid through. This means you will need to pay for support to continue software operations yearly or monthly depending on the type of subscription.
- Can I upgrade using the Upgrade Wizard from older versions to Continuity Engine 11? Yes, the upgrade wizard is still supported. Keep in mind that Continuity Engine 6.7, 7.x and 8.x are currently End-of-Life (EOL). To ensure organization continued support, you must upgrade to the latest Continuity Engine version.
When will Continuity Engine EOL? Check End of Life Policy for Neverfail Continuity Engine/
Can I stay on previous versions of Continuity Engine? Yes, however, previous versions will eventually EOL and you will not be able to take full advantage of the new features of Continuity Engine v11. And evenly important, your systems will be more exposed to cyberattacks. Fpr example:
Supported Deployment Infrastructure
Neverfail Engine Plug-ins
Note: Detailed information about each plug-in is contained in the plug-in's knowledgebase file that is available by clicking on the link.
Neverfail plug-ins provide protection for specific installed application configuration data, services, and application data files.
The following plug-ins are included in this release of Neverfail Continuity Engine and are installed automatically if the application is present:
Plugin Installation
Initial installations of Neverfail Continuity Engine Plug-ins must be performed using the Engine Management Service. Subsequent plug-in re-installations and upgrades may be performed using the Applications: Plug-ins tab of the Neverfail Advanced Client. However, Neverfail recommends that any subsequent plug-in repair installations or upgrades to be performed using Engine Management Service.
To manually install a Neverfail Continuity Engine Plugin follow the How to install a Neverfail Continuity Engine Plugin using Advanced Management Client procedure.
Fixed Issues
- [EN-6024]: [LogCollector] - LogCollector crashes when attempting to collect logs locally.
- [EN-6012]: [CE10 UI]> Dashboard> Global catalog > Review number of total/protected nodes displayed.
Known Limitations
Known Issues
Engine Management Service
- With SQL Plug-in + SQL 2014 & In-Memory Tables may result in an OFFLINE DB state during "In Recovery" state (EN-329).
- Trying to add a 6.7 pair/trio in EMS UI protected servers list fails with an error.
Workaround: Restart Neverfail Web Services on the active server. (EN-1354) - Virtual Bytes rule triggered at every check (EN-859).
- The Engine Management Service MSI repair mode fails to operate properly (EN-1389).
- If the Engine is running, a new license is added to the list of licenses. If the Engine is stopped, it replaces the list of licenses (EN-902).
Install/Uninstall
Administration
- LogCollector - The process was terminated due to an unhandled exception (EN-2011).
Applies To
Neverfail Continuity Engine v11