Riva On-Premise 2.4.44 (2017.10.15): Release Notes

These release notes provide a quick overview of the major enhancements and fixes included in the following release:

Benefits of This Release

• Improved UI to manage the folder structure of Riva-created folders in email clients.

Other benefits consist in enhancements in the following areas:

• Preventing sync errors.
• Configuring the sync.
• Managing scalability.
• Customizing Riva.
• Upgrading Riva.
• Monitoring and logging.
• Syncing specific CRMs.
• Syncing specific email systems.

Improved UI to Manage the Folder Structure of Riva-Created Folders in Email Clients

• Background information: During the first Riva synchronization, folders are created in an email client.
• A new user interface makes it easier to adjust the default folder structure while configuring the policy.
• For more information, see Change the default folder structure.

Improved Sync Error Prevention

• Sync automatically prevented if transactions metadata is missing:
  • Background information: Transactions metadata includes IDs and various time stamps of previously synced items. It is used to help determine what to sync next. (It contains no information that could be used to reconstruct the contents of the synced items.) The transactions metadata resides in specific files in specific locations. If the files are missing, the integrity of the next sync is compromised.
  • Previously, it was possible to configure Riva to prevent the sync if the transactions metadata was not found where it was expected to be, to prevent potential issues.
  • Now, by default, the sync is automatically prevented if the transactions metadata is missing.

Sync Configuration Enhancements

• The organization (account) synchronization is now disabled by default:
  By default, the CRM account module is not synchronized.
  For more information, see Advanced: Disable account synchronization.

• Connection Groups: Introducing simple connection load balancing:
  It is now possible to randomize the execution order of the connections in a Connection Group.
  Benefit: randomization allows distributing the load over multiple connections.
  For instructions, see Test a connection group and configure other settings, and scroll down to step 7.

• New re-init options:
  What are re-init options?
  There are two new re-init options in Riva 2.4.44. Before using any of them, contact the Riva Success Team.
  • Force entity registry in destination. (Riva 2.4.44.35045 or higher.)
  • Limited Resync - A user-specific resync based on SystemId or SyncId. (Riva 2.4.44.36119 or higher.)

Enhanced Scalability Management

• Simpler way to enable sync statistics:
  Background information:
  • If enabled, sync statistics are displayed for resolved entities in the CRM Service Monitor, on the Remote Services tab.
  • For more information, see Resolved entities.
  In previous versions of Riva, sync statistics were enabled by applying an advanced option.
  Now, there is an easier way to enable them.
  For more information, see Configuring the Riva Service for remote management.

• New backup strategy for transactions metadata files:
  • When the synchronization is complete, it is possible to automatically back up the metadata files that have changed since the last backup (incremental backups). The backup frequency can be configured to meet the desired recovery point objective (RPO).
  • For more information, see Optimize backups of Riva On-Premise transactions metadata files.

• Controlling the number of new users to be assigned to the nodes in a multi-node deployment:
  • It is now possible to determine the Load Factor when distributing users within the cluster.
  • For more information, see Load factors for sync nodes.

• Riva Shared Service (RSS) - Automatic recovery in multi-node clustering:
  • In a clustered multi-node environment, it is now possible to automate the fail-over and fail-back.
    • Automated internal snapshots are generated. Snapshots can be configured to automatically replicate, becoming available on the fail-over node.
  • Snapshots can be scheduled or taken on demand.
  • While a snapshot is taking place on an RSS, the service is placed in maintenance mode.
  • For more information, see RSS maintenance and snapshots.

• Riva Shared Service (RSS) - List Service:
  • The List Service lists all the available services currently running on a cluster node.
  • The new service is visible in the Riva CRM Monitor, on the Remote Services tab.
  • For more information, see List Service.

More Efficient Customizations

• Field mapping customization now supports .NET C# code:
  Directives are used to create advanced field mappings. These directives can now be written in C# script, dynamically compiled and used by Riva. This functionality enables advanced field mappings in code form instead of XML.

Alternative Way to Upgrade Riva

The new AppUpdater.exe is an alternative way to upgrade Riva targeted for "devops" style automated deployment.

• This is especially useful for multi-node deployments when multiple nodes must be upgraded.
• The new versions and "app settings" are installed to the Riva\Application\RunTime\ folder.
• The version used before the upgrade and a copy of the current settings are retained in a versioned folder under Riva\Application\, for example Riva\Application\2.4.43.40359.

For more information, see Upgrade Riva with AppUpdater.exe.

Enhanced Monitoring and Logging

• Maximum number of displayed activity monitors:
  For greater performance in the CRM Service Monitor, the View All button has been removed. A new default limit of 200 users has been introduced. Up to 200 users can be actively monitored with the service monitor.
  Note: Diagnostic logs and sync activity history is still maintained for all users.
  For more information, see How to set the maximum number.

• CRM integration logs easier to tell apart for users who are on multiple sync policies:
  Now, by default, the Riva\CRM Integration Logs folder contains one folder per sync policy, and the user log folders are located in the policy-based folder. Users who appear on multiple sync policies have multiple log folders, one in each policy-based folder.
  Note: This new default affects only logs written after Riva has been upgraded to version 2.4.44. Logs written before that are still in the old locations, that is, in user log folders that are directly under the Riva\CRM Integration Logs folder.
  For more information, see Riva\CRM Integration Logs.

CRM-Specific Enhancements

Salesforce

• Syncing inactive users:
  The Salesforce connection can be configured to sync inactive users.
  For instructions, see Configure the connection options.

• Using the native Salesforce Created By audit field to record the syncing user's name instead of the Riva connection user name:
  By setting a Salesforce permission for Riva syncing users and selecting a check box in the Riva Manager application, the syncing user's name is entered in the built-in Salesforce Created By audit field.
  For more information, see Set the built-in Salesforce Created By field to the syncing user's name.

Email-Specific Enhancements

• IBM Notes.
• Google.

IBM Notes

The following are now synced in Riva On-Premise 2.4.44.38792 or higher:

• Events that span more than 24 hours but are not All Day events.

• Events that span more than one day and are All Day events.

For more information, see IBM Notes appointment durations.

Google

• Support for Google's web application OAuth:
  Individual users can now trust Riva with OAuth (without depending on the certificate).
  For instructions, see
  • Prepare Google for the web application client approach.
  • Create and test an OAuth-based Riva Google connection.
  If depending on the certificate is preferred, follow these instructions:
  • Prepare G Suite for Riva On-Premise.
  • Create and test a Riva Enterprise Google connection.