We released FrameFlow 2018.5 last week and it includes a number of new options and improvements that we would like to tell you about.
We’ve added a new event monitor that checks Linux systems for pending updates. It supports any Linux distro that uses the command "yum" to download and install updates. What is "yum"? It’s short for Yellowdog Updater, Modified, and it’s a package manager for RPM-based Linux systems including CentOS, RHEL, and Amazon Linux.
The event monitor alerts if the system being monitored has any updates pending and it also has an option to include a list of those updates for your review. The Linux/SSH YUM Update event monitor is available in FrameFlow 2018.5. It’s marked as "beta" but we’ve been using it on our internal networks and also to monitor our fleet of Amazon AWS instances and it has been working very well. We’re looking forward to hearing your feedback on it.
Did you know that FrameFlow keeps automated daily backups of your configuration so you can restore parts or, all of it, if you need to? Your lists of network devices, event monitors, dashboards, profiles and more are stored in the "Sites" folder found under the main FrameFlow installation folder. Around midnight FrameFlow makes a backup of each configuration file, adds the current date to it, and stores it in a subfolder called "Backups". For example, tonight’s backup for the "eventmonitors.dat" file will be called "eventmonitors-2018-07-31.bak".
Previous versions of FrameFlow kept five days of backups. Starting with FrameFlow 2018.5 we now keep 30 days of backups, giving you a larger recovery window in case you need it.
How do you restore a backup? It’s mostly a matter of stopping the FrameFlow services, finding the backup file that you need based on its name and date then replacing the current version with the backup. We’re working on a technical article which will explain the process in detail and we’ll let you know when it is available.
FrameFlow 2018.5 also includes many other new options and improvements. There’s better handling for device detection in environments where name resolution produces duplicates. We added a new extended scan option to the integrated SNMP browser. Our VMware event monitors now support TLS 1.2 connections, required by recent updates to VMware. We added new search options in the logbook section of the interface and we added new options to the Linux/SSH Process event monitor. For the full list of updates see our change log.
Earlier this year we introduced our new support portal where you can submit tickets, follow their status and get answers to your questions. As usual, you can also contact us by email at support@frameflow.com or through the chat f acility on our website. This month we’re introducing a new option to book a support call online. Just head to our support page, select the "Book a Support Meeting" option and then choose the time slot that works best for you. We’re available to help with technical issues, configuration optimization, tips, techniques or anything else related to your FrameFlow installations.
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