Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.

Release Notes

Alloy Software released a new version of Alloy Navigator 6 Suite, an enterprise-level IT infrastructure management suite that includes Alloy Navigator 6 (AN6) and Alloy Discovery 6 (AD6). This article provides considerations for upgrading to Alloy Navigator 6.5.1 and Alloy Discovery 6.5.1 from version 6.5.0 and guides you through the upgrade process. Make sure to read the Upgrade Considerations and Upgrade Instructions sections in full before proceeding with the upgrade. Version 6.5.1 is a maintenance release, and it provides several fixes for the issues identified in the previous 6.5.0 version. The most significant changes are described in the Whats new in this version - Bug fixes on page 19. This is a cumulative update. If your version of Alloy Navigator 6 Suite is earlier than 6.5.0, you can also use this 6.5.1 installation package and follow the Upgrade Instructions to upgrade to version 6.5.1. However, the Upgrade Considerations and Whats new in this version - Bug fixes sections apply only to version 6.5.0. For intermediate changes from version to version, see the appropriate version of the Release Notes for Alloy Navigator 6 Suite in the Alloy Software Support Portal.

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installer

Download the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installer from the Downloads & Updates section of the Alloy Software Support Portal. The installation package includes installers for the following modules:

Alloy Navigator 6.5.1 Alloy Navigator Technician Web Portal 6.5.1 Alloy Navigator Self Service Portal 6.5.1 Alloy Discovery 6.5.1

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Components

Alloy Navigator6 Suite is an integrated software suite consisting of the following components: Alloy Navigator 6 Alloy Navigator 6 (AN6) provides access to computer, hardware and software inventory, help desk, contact management, reporting, administrative operations. AN6 includes the following modules:

Main Console AN6 Main Console is the primary interface to AN6 components and functions.
1

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

Administrative Settings AN6 Administrative Settings is an administrative console that allows you to perform various administrative tasks such as configuring workflow, creating user accounts, configuring the e-mail and Active Directory integration, accessing log files, etc. It also provides you with the tools to customize AN6's general appearance and behavior, and tailor AN6 to the needs of your organization. Automation Server Alloy Automation Server is a Windows service that runs automated tasks and scheduled events for AN6. Technician Web Portal AN6 Technician Web Portal is a Web interface for your technicians to all AN6 components and functions. Self Service Portal AN6 Self Service Portal is a Web interface for end users (referred to as SSP customers) to the AN6 Service Support module.

Alloy Discovery 6 Alloy Discovery 6 (AD6) is included and tightly integrated with AN6 to provide you with the tools for the automated discovery and audit of hardware and software configurations of computers and network devices. AD6 includes the following modules:

Main Console AD6 Main Console is a user interface to AD6. The console provides you with all the tools you need to configure, deploy, and run the audit. It also provides analytical and reporting tools to analyze and interpret audit results. Administrative Settings AD6 Administrative Settings console is the administrative tool that allows you to perform different AD6's administrative tasks such as create user accounts, configure alerts, customize field labels, resolve conflicts, access log files, etc. Inventory Server Alloy Inventory Server is a Windows service that runs automated tasks for AD6.

Available Documentation
Alloy Software offers a collection of product documentation to help you get the most out of Alloy Navigator 6 Suite. Guide
Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installation Guide

Description This guide describes system requirements and installation procedures, including installing Alloy Navigator 6 and Alloy Discovery 6, creating a database, migrating from a previous version configuring the server components. Once Alloy Navigator 6 is installed, this guide can be accessed from the Windows Start menu (Start > All Programs > Alloy Software > Alloy Navigator 6 > Documentation > Installation Guide). Additionally, the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installation Guide is available for download in the Alloy Software Support Portal, in the Documentation section.

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

Guide
Alloy Navigator 6 Evaluation Guide

Description This document provides a quick guided tour of Alloy Navigator 6 and shows you a few examples of how the product can address some of the challenges IT departments face daily. If you have installed the Evaluation Installation of Alloy Navigator 6 Suite, this guide can be accessed from the Windows Start menu (Start > All Programs > Alloy Software > Alloy Navigator 6 > Documentation > Evaluation Guide). Additionally, the Alloy Navigator 6 Evaluation Guide is available for download in the Alloy Software Support Portal, in the Documentation section.

Alloy Navigator 6 Administration Guide

This guide describes the principles and steps of the initial configuration of the Alloy Navigator 6 system. It includes detailed walkthroughs on how to perform the initial setup of each module and an explanation of the most common customization tasks. Once Alloy Navigator 6 is installed, this guide can be accessed from the Windows Start menu (Start > All Programs > Alloy Software > Alloy Navigator 6 > Documentation > Administration Guide). Additionally, the Alloy Navigator 6 Administration Guide is available for download in the Alloy Software Support Portal, in the Documentation section.

Alloy Navigator 6 QuickStart Reference Guide

This guide contains information about the QuickStart, a combination of workflow and other various configuration data for Alloy Navigator 6, and shows you how to use if effectively. This guide is available for download in the Alloy Software Support Portal, in the Documentation section.

Alloy Discovery 6 Administration Guide

This guide explains how to work with Alloy Discovery 6 the Network Inventory module for automated discovery and audit of hardware and software configurations of networked and standalone computers. Once Alloy Navigator 6 Suite is installed, this guide can be accessed from the Windows Start menu (Start > All Programs > Alloy Software > Alloy Discovery 6 > Documentation > Administration Guide). Additionally, the Alloy Discovery 6 Administration Guide is available for download in the Alloy Software Support Portal, in the Documentation section.

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

Guide
Online Help

Description This feature is an integral part of both Alloy Navigator 6 and Alloy Discovery 6. You can use the Contents, Index, or Search tab to quickly find information you need. The Help System can be accessed by pressing the F1 key, and contains specific information about your current location (context-sensitive help). There may be tips about using the current dialog window or details about the functions and buttons in that window. You may also access the Help System by clicking Help > Help Contents from within either the applications main menu.

Upgrade Considerations
Database Changes
The 6.5.1 version includes changes to the database structure. Both your AN6 and AD6 databases will have to be upgraded. However, no data fields or tables were renamed or deleted; therefore the upgrade will not affect any custom SQL queries you may have. For details on the structure of AN6 and AD6 database tables and fields, see the Alloy Navigator 6 Database Reference Guide and the Alloy Discovery 6 Database Reference Guide.

System Requirements
The architecture of the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite gives you the flexibility to install the application using different deployment scenarios. Whether your organization is small, medium, or large, our software suite is designed to meet your business requirements. The system requirements for Alloy Navigator 6 Suite depend on the deployment scenario. For details on different deployment scenarios and system requirements for each scenario, see the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installation Guide: Planning the Installation.

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

Version 6.5.1 of the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite introduces several changes to system requirements from those for the previous version. For the system requirements, see the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite

Installation Guide: Planning the Installation System Requirements.

The presence of all required components is checked automatically by the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installer when checking prerequisites. Do not continue with the upgrade until all prerequisites are satisfied.

New Prerequisites for the Technician Web Portal

IIS Components
The Technician Web Portal requires that Internet Information Services (IIS), an optional component of Windows operating system, is installed and properly configured so that Web sites and virtual directories can be created. The set of required IIS components slightly differs for the new version of the Technician Web Portal. Before upgrading the portal, the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installer automatically checks the state of IIS, along with other prerequisites. The information is shown in the Internet Information Services state row of the Check Prerequisites window. If the test fails, the Check Prerequisites window displays a warning message along with a hyperlink. Click the hyperlink to open the Details window, where you can view missing components. You must install all listed IIS components manually, then recheck the prerequisites and proceed with the upgrade. For details on IIS requirements and instructions on how to install them, see the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installation Guide: Planning the Installation > Internet Information Services (IIS) Requirements.

Microsoft .NET Framework 4

Earlier versions of the Technician Web Portal required Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0. The new Technician Web Portal requires Microsoft .NET Framework 4, just as the Self Service Portal, so that all of Alloy Navigator 6 Suite components no longer require .NET Framework 2.0. Before upgrading the Technician Web Portal, the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installer automatically checks the presence of Microsoft .NET Framework 4, along with other prerequisites. The information is shown in the Microsoft .NET Framework 4 row of the Check Prerequisites window. If the test fails, the Check Prerequisites window displays a warning message along with a hyperlink. Click the hyperlink to open the Details window, where you can view additional information. You must install Microsoft .NET Framework 4 by clicking Install, then recheck the prerequisites and proceed with the upgrade For details, see the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installation Guide: Planning

the Installation > Microsoft .NET Framework 4.

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

Support for Microsoft Internet Explorer 10

If your Web server is running a Windows version that is earlier than Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012 (Windows XP Professional SP3, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2), you will need to install the Microsoft hotfix KB 2600088 on the Web server to provide support for Microsoft Internet Explorer 10. There is a known compatibility issue between ASP.NET 4 and Internet Explorer 10 which may cause ASP.NET web applications to display or work incorrectly in Internet Explorer 10. Your Technician Web Portal and Self Service Portal users might be unable to sign in to a Web portal, or some functionality might be missing without the hotfix installed. To download the hotfix for the ASP.NET browser definition files in the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 from Microsoft Support Center, go to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2600088. For details, see the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installation Guide: Planning the Installation > Hotfix for ASP.NET Browser Definition Files in .NET 4.0.

Customizations to Web Portal Localization Files

During the upgrade, you will be prompted to back up your existing Web portal files. We highly recommend doing so if you have made any customizations to your localization files in the Technician Web Portal or Self Service Portal. This will save all your existing localization files and merge them with new text resources that version 6.5.1 has. After the upgrade, you can open your localization files, review and optionally change new text strings that were added in version 6.5.1, and save the changes. If you do not back up your Web portal files, the upgrade will replace all existing localization files with the default ones.

New Report Format in Alloy Discovery

Alloy Navigator and Alloy Discovery are integrated with SAP Crystal Reports, the de facto standard in reporting, to deliver a rich set of standard reports and charts for general use. The new version of Alloy Discovery also supports Microsofts Report Definition Language (RDL) reporting format, which allows you to use Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) as an alternative to Crystal Reports. In order to allow AD6 users to view and print reports designed using Microsoft reporting technology, you must install the Microsoft Report Viewer component on their workstations. The AD6 installation package includes the Microsoft Report Viewer 2012 Runtime redistributable package. You will need to install this component manually after the upgrade. Microsoft Report Viewer 2012 Runtime requires Microsoft System CLR Types for SQL Server 2012 as a prerequisite. During the upgrade, the installer will prompt you to install this prerequisite.

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

Upgrade Instructions
We recommend that no users access Alloy Navigator 6 and Alloy Discovery 6 until you have completed the upgrade process. Perform the following steps to upgrade: 1. Stop the Automation Server 2. Stop the Inventory Server 3. Upgrade Alloy Navigator 6 1) Upgrade AN6 on the administrators workstation 2) Upgrade your AN6 database 3) Upgrade AN6 server components on the Automation Server computer 4) Upgrade AN6 Web portals on the Web Server computer(s) 5) Upgrade the Technician Web Portal Upgrade the Self Service Portal

Upgrade AN6 Main Console installations

4. Upgrade Alloy Discovery 6: 1) Upgrade AD6 on the administrators workstation 2) Upgrade your AD6 database 3) Upgrade AD6 server components on the Inventory Server computer(s) 4) Upgrade AD6 Main Console installations 5) Optional: Install Microsoft Report Viewer 5. Upgrade AN6 server components on the Automation Server computer 6. Start the Inventory Server 7. Start the Automation Server

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

1. Stop the Automation Server

On the computer hosting the Alloy Navigator 6 Automation Server, stop the Automation Server using the Alloy Automation Server Manager: 1. From the Windows Start menu, run the Alloy Automation Server Manager (Start > All Programs > Alloy Software > Alloy Navigator 6 > Tools > Alloy Automation Server Manager). 2. Enter the name or IP address of the SQL server that hosts your AN6 database, provide your AN6 administrative credentials, and select the database name. 3. Click Stop. 4. Click OK to exit the Alloy Automation Server Manager.

2. Stop the Inventory Server

On the computer hosting the Alloy Discovery 6 Inventory Server, stop the Inventory Server using the Alloy Inventory Server Manager: 1. From the Windows Start menu, run the Alloy Inventory Server Manager (Start > All Programs > Alloy Software > Alloy Discovery 6 > Tools > Alloy Inventory Server Manager). 2. Enter the name or IP address of the SQL server that hosts your AD6 database, provide your AD6 administrative credentials, and select the database name. 3. Click Stop. 4. Click OK to exit the Alloy Inventory Server Manager. If you have several Inventory Server instances for your AD6 database, you must stop every instance.

3. Upgrade Alloy Navigator 6

Upgrade AN6 on the administrators workstation
Run the Alloy Navigator 6 installer on your AN6 administrators workstation. This will upgrade your local installation to version 6.5.1 and give you access to the administrative tools used later in the upgrade process. 1. Run the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installer. 2. By default, the installer extracts its temporary files to the C:\AlloyNavigator651.cd folder. If the folder does not exist, the installation wizard will create it for you. If you want to change the destination folder, click Browse and make a new temporary folder for installation files.

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

If no longer needed, this folder and its content can be manually removed after the upgrade has finished. When you are installing Alloy Navigator 6 Suite components across multiple computers, you may want to copy this folder to a network share and then run the SetupShell.exe file from there. 3. Click Extract. When the files are extracted, the Welcome page appears. 4. Click Advanced Installation. The Advanced Installation page opens. 5. Click Install Alloy Navigator 6.5.1. The installation wizard will analyze your computer and test for prerequisites. If any of the tests fail, the wizard displays a warning message along with a hyperlink, which shows additional information about the encountered issue. You can make the necessary changes and then recheck the prerequisites by clicking Recheck. 6. Click Install to start the Alloy Navigator 6.5.1 setup wizard. The Welcome... page opens. 7. When prompted to upgrade your Alloy Navigator 6.5.0, click Next.

8. Complete the setup wizard. On the Completed... page, leave the Run the Database Management Wizard to upgrade the existing Alloy Navigator database check box selected and click Finish. The Database Management Wizard starts. If you do not want to upgrade your database right now, clear the Run the Database Management Wizard to upgrade the existing Alloy Navigator database check box before clicking Finish.

Upgrade your AN6 database

Run the Database Management Wizard and choose the Upgrade an Alloy Navigator 6.x database to the latest version option on the wizards Choose an action to perform page. This will upgrade your Alloy Navigator 6.5.0 database to version 6.5.1. If the database is involved in replication please make sure to disable it before proceeding with the database upgrade. Active replication may cause a failure during the upgrade and database corruption. For instructions, see the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installation Guide: Advanced Installation - Migrating to the Latest Version of Alloy Navigator > Upgrading the Alloy Navigator 6.x database.

Upgrade AN6 server components on the Automation Server computer

Run the Alloy Navigator 6 installer on the computer hosting Alloy Navigator 6 Automation Server. This will upgrade your AN6 server components to version 6.5.1.

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

1. Run the Alloy Navigator 6 Installer. 2. By default, the installer extracts its temporary files to the C:\AlloyNavigator651.cd\ folder. If the folder does not exist, the installation wizard will create it for you. If you want to change the destination folder, click Browse and make a new temporary folder for installation files.

If no longer needed, this folder and its content can be manually removed after the upgrade has finished.

3. Click Extract to start the installation. When the files are extracted, the Welcome page appears. 4. Click Advanced Installation. The Advanced Installation page opens. 5. Click Install Alloy Navigator 6.5.1. The installation wizard will analyze your computer and test for prerequisites. If any of the tests fail, the wizard displays a warning message along with a hyperlink, which shows additional information about the encountered issue. You can make the necessary changes and then recheck the prerequisites by clicking Recheck. 6. Click Install to start the Alloy Navigator 6.5.1 setup wizard. The Welcome... page opens. 7. When prompted to upgrade your Alloy Navigator 6.5.0, click Next.

8. Complete the setup wizard. On the Completed... page, clear the Run the Database Management Wizard to upgrade the existing Alloy Navigator check box, because you have already upgraded your database (see Upgrade your AN6 database on page 9). Click Finish to complete the installation process.

Upgrade AN6 Web portals on the Web Server computer(s)

When you have a single Web server hosting both Web portals (the Technician Web Portal and the Self Service Portal), you will need to run the Technician Web Portal 6.5.1 installer and the Self Service Portal 6.5.1 installer on the Web server to upgrade your portals one by one in any order. When your Web portals are installed on separate computers, run the appropriate installer on each computer.

Upgrade the Technician Web Portal

Run the Technician Web Portal 6.5.1 installer on the Web server hosting Technician Web Portal 6.5. This will upgrade your Technician Web Portal components to version 6.5.1. 1. Run the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installer.

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

10

2. By default, the installer extracts its temporary files to the C:\AlloyNavigator651.cd\ folder. If the folder does not exist, the installation wizard will create it for you. If you want to change the destination folder, click Browse and make a new temporary folder for installation files.

If no longer needed, this folder and its content can be manually removed after the upgrade has finished.

3. Click Extract to start the installation. When the files are extracted, the Welcome page appears. 4. Click Advanced Installation. The Advanced Installation page opens. 5. Click Install Alloy Navigator Technician Web Portal 6.5.1. The installation wizard will analyze your computer and test for prerequisites. If any of the tests fail, the wizard displays a warning message along with a hyperlink, which shows additional information about the encountered issue. You can make the necessary changes and then recheck the prerequisites by clicking Recheck. Do not continue with the upgrade until all prerequisites are satisfied. For details, see New Prerequisites for the Technician Web Portal on page 5. 6. Click Install to start the Alloy Navigator Technician Web Portal 6.5.1 setup wizard. The Welcome... page opens. 7. When prompted to upgrade your Technician Web Portal 6.5.0, click Next. The Files Backup page opens.

8. Leave the Enable backup check box selected and click Next. If you want to back up your Technician Web Portal files to a different folder, click Change, browse to choose the backup folder, click OK to return to the wizard page, and click Next.

Backing up will save any customizations that you have made to the Tech Portal localization file. For details, see Customizations to Web Portal Localization Files on page 6. 9. Complete the setup wizard. On the Completed... page, click Finish to complete the upgrade process.

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

11

The Technician Web Portal should now be upgraded and ready to run using your configuration settings from version 6.5.0. During the upgrade, the installer additionally creates the default Tech Portal localization file in your Alloy Navigator 6 installation folder (\Program Files\Alloy Software\Alloy Navigator 6\WebPortal\Config\English.default). This file contains the default text resources for the Technician Web Portal version 6.5.1. You can always use this if you need to revert your changes to the localization file. If you have backed up your 6.5.0 Technician Web Portal files, the installer saved your existing localization file English.xml and merged it with new text resources included with version 6.5.1.

Upgrade the Self Service Portal

Run the Alloy Navigator Self Service Portal 6.5.1 installer on the Web server hosting Self Service Portal 6.5. This will upgrade your Self Service Portal components to version 6.5.1. You will be given the opportunity to back up your existing SSP files. If you have made any customizations, you must back up your files because the upgrade will replace all SSP files with new ones. For details, see the Customizations to Web Portal Localization Files on page 6. 1. Run the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installer. 2. By default, the installer extracts its temporary files to the C:\AlloyNavigator651.cd\ folder. If the folder does not exist, the installation wizard will create it for you. If you want to change the destination folder, click Browse and make a new temporary folder for installation files.

If no longer needed, this folder and its content can be manually removed after the upgrade has finished.

3. Click Extract to start the installation. When the files are extracted, the Welcome page appears. 4. Click Advanced Installation. The Advanced Installation page opens. 5. Click Install Alloy Navigator Self Service Portal 6.5.1. The installation wizard will analyze your computer and test for prerequisites. If any of the tests fail, the wizard displays a warning message along with a hyperlink, which shows additional information about the encountered issue. You can make the necessary changes and then recheck the prerequisites by clicking Recheck. 6. Click Install to start the Alloy Navigator Self Service Portal 6.5.1 setup wizard. The Welcome... page opens.
Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes
12

7.

When prompted to upgrade your Alloy Navigator Self Service Portal 6.5.0, click Next.

8. On the Files Backup page, leave the Enable backup check box selected and click Next. If you want to change the destination folder, click Change, select the desired location, and click Next.

Backing up will save any customizations that you have made to the SSP localization files. For details, see Customizations to Web Portal Localization Files on page 6. 9. When the wizard is ready to install Alloy Navigator Self Service Portal 6.5.1, click Install to start the upgrade. 10. Complete the installation wizard. On the Completed page, click Finish to complete the upgrade process. The Self Service Portal is now upgraded and ready to run using your configuration settings from version 6.5.0. If you had made any customizations to the SSP source files in version 6.5.0 (for example, customized the Home page using the WelcomePage.config file), all you changes were imported in the new version. During the upgrade, the installer additionally creates default SSP configuration files in your AN6 SSP installation folder (such as WelcomePage.config.default for the Home page file, es-ES.default for the Spanish localization file, and others). These .default files contain the default configuration of the Self Service Portal version 6.5.1. You can always use this if you need to revert your changes to SSP configuration or localization files. If you backed up your 6.5.0 SSP files during the upgrade, the installer saved your existing localization files and merged them with new text resources that version 6.5.1 has.

Upgrade AN6 Main Console installations

Run the Alloy Navigator 6 installer on each computer (such as administrators and technicians workstations) where Alloy Navigator 6.5 is installed. This will upgrade your local installations to version 6.5.1. 1. Run the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installer. 2. By default, the installer extracts its temporary files to the C:\AlloyNavigator651.cd\ folder. If the folder does not exist, the installation wizard will create it for you. If you want to change the destination folder, click Browse and make a new temporary folder for installation files.

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

13

If no longer needed, this folder and its content can be manually removed after the upgrade has finished.

3. Click Extract to start the installation. When the files are extracted, the Welcome page is displayed. 4. Click Advanced Installation. The Advanced Installation page opens. 5. Click Install Alloy Navigator 6.5.1. The installation wizard will analyze your computer and test for prerequisites. If any of the tests fail, the wizard displays a warning message along with a hyperlink, which shows additional information about the encountered issue. You can make the necessary changes and then recheck the prerequisites by clicking Recheck. 6. Click Install to start the Alloy Navigator 6.5.1 setup wizard. The Welcome... page opens. 7. When prompted to upgrade your Alloy Navigator 6.5.0, click Next.

8. Complete the setup wizard. 9. On the Completed... page, clear the Run the Database Management Wizard to upgrade the Alloy Navigator database check box, because you have already upgraded your database (see Upgrade your AN6 database on page 9). Click Finish to complete the upgrade process.

4. Upgrade Alloy Discovery 6

Upgrade AD6 on the administrators workstation
Run the Alloy Discovery 6 installer on your administrators workstation. This will upgrade your local installation to version 6.5.1 and give you access to the 6.5.1 administrative tools used later in the upgrade process. 1. Run the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installer. 2. By default, the installer extracts its temporary files to the C:\AlloyNavigator651.cd\ folder. If the folder does not exist, the installation wizard will create it for you. If you want to change the destination folder, click Browse and make a new temporary folder for installation files.

If no longer needed, this folder and its content can be manually removed after the upgrade has finished. If you are planning to enable the AD6 administrator to view and print reports designed using Microsoft reporting technology, do not delete this folder and its content after the installation. You will need these files for installing the Microsoft Report Viewer.

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

14

3. Click Extract to start the installation. When the files are extracted, the Welcome page appears. 4. Click Advanced Installation. The Advanced Installation page opens. 5. Click Install Alloy Discovery 6.5.1. The installation wizard will analyze your computer and test for prerequisites. If any of the tests fail, the wizard displays a warning message along with a hyperlink, which shows additional information about the encountered issue. You can make the necessary changes and then recheck the prerequisites by clicking Recheck. The installer may report that Microsoft System CLR Types for SQL Server 2012 is missing. This prerequisite is necessary for the Microsoft Report Viewer. If you are planning to install the Microsoft Report Viewer on this computer, click the warning message to bring up the Details window and then click Install to install the missing component. After the installation is complete, recheck the prerequisites by clicking Recheck. If you are not going to install the Microsoft Report Viewer on this computer, ignore the warning and proceed with the upgrade. 6. Click Install to start the Alloy Discovery 6.5.1 setup wizard. The Welcome... page opens. 7. When prompted to upgrade your Alloy Discovery 6.5.0, click Next.

8. Complete the setup wizard. 9. On the Completed page, leave the Run the Database Management Wizard to upgrade the existing Alloy Discovery database check box selected and click Finish. The Database Management Wizard for Alloy Discovery starts. If you do not want to upgrade your database right now, clear the Run the Database Management Wizard to upgrade the existing Alloy Discovery database check box before clicking Finish.

Upgrade your AD6 database

Run the Database Management Wizard for Alloy Discovery and choose the Upgrade the Alloy Discovery 6.x database to the latest version option on the wizards Choose an action to perform page. This will upgrade your Alloy Discovery 6.5.0 database to version 6.5.1. If the database is involved in replication please make sure to disable it before proceeding with the database upgrade. Active replication may cause a failure during the upgrade and database corruption. For instructions, see the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installation Guide: Advanced Installation - Migrating to the Latest Version of Alloy Discovery > Upgrading the Alloy Discovery 6.x database.

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

15

Upgrade AD6 server components on the Inventory Server computer(s)

Run the Alloy Discovery 6 installer on the computer hosting Alloy Discovery 6 Inventory Server. This will upgrade your server components to version 6.5.1. If you have several Inventory Server instances, you must run the Alloy Discovery 6 installer on each computer hosting the Inventory Server. 1. Run the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installer. 2. By default, the installer extracts its temporary files to the C:\AlloyNavigator651.cd\ folder. If the folder does not exist, the installation wizard will create it for you. If you want to change the destination folder, click Browse and make a new temporary folder for installation files.

If no longer needed, this folder and its content can be manually removed after the upgrade has finished.

3. Click Extract to start the installation. When the files are extracted, the Welcome page appears. 4. Click Advanced Installation. The Advanced Installation page opens. 5. Click Install Alloy Discovery 6.5.1. The installation wizard will analyze your computer and test for prerequisites. If any of the tests fail, the wizard displays a warning message along with a hyperlink, which shows additional information about the encountered issue. You can make the necessary changes and then recheck the prerequisites by clicking Recheck. The installer may report that Microsoft System CLR Types for SQL Server 2012 is missing. This prerequisite is necessary for the Microsoft Report Viewer. Typically, you do not need the Microsoft Report Viewer on the computer hosting the Inventory Server; so you can ignore the warning and proceed with the upgrade. 6. Click Install to start the Alloy Discovery 6.5.1 setup wizard. The Welcome... page opens. 7. When prompted to upgrade your Alloy Discovery 6.5.0, click Next.

8. Complete the setup wizard. 9. On the Completed page, clear the Run the Database Management Wizard to upgrade the existing Alloy Discovery check box, because you have already upgraded your database (see Upgrade your AD6 database on page 15). Click Finish to complete the upgrade process.

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

16

Upgrade AD6 Main Console installations

Run the Alloy Discovery 6 installer on each computer (such as administrator's and technician's workstations) where the Alloy Discovery 6.5 is installed. This will upgrade your local installations to version 6.5.1. 1. Run the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installer on an AD6 technicians workstation. 2. By default, the installer extracts its temporary files to the C:\AlloyNavigator651.cd\ folder. If the folder does not exist, the installation wizard will create it for you. If you want to change the destination folder, click Browse and make a new temporary folder for installation files.

If no longer needed, this folder and its content can be manually removed after the upgrade has finished. If you are planning to enable the technician or administrator to view and print reports designed using Microsoft reporting technology, do not delete this folder and its content after the installation. You will need these files for installing the Microsoft Report Viewer. 3. Click Extract to start the installation. When the files are extracted, the Welcome page appears. 4. Click Advanced Installation. The Advanced Installation page opens. 5. Click Install Alloy Discovery 6.5.1. The installation wizard will analyze your computer and test for prerequisites. If any of the tests fail, the wizard displays a warning message along with a hyperlink, which shows additional information about the encountered issue. You can make the necessary changes and then recheck the prerequisites by clicking Recheck. 6. Click Install to start the Alloy Discovery 6.5.1 setup wizard. the Welcome... page opens. 7. When prompted to upgrade your Alloy Discovery 6.5.0, click Next.

8. Complete the setup wizard. 9. On the Completed page, clear the Run the Database Management Wizard to upgrade the Alloy Discovery database check box, because you have already upgraded your database (Upgrade your AD6 database on page 15). Click Finish to complete the upgrade process. The new version includes Alloy Audit Tools version 5.4.0, which was packaged with the previous version of Alloy Discovery. Therefore, the new version does not introduce any changes to audit agents and you do not have to re-deploy your Inventory Analyzer packages.

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

17

Install Microsoft Report Viewer

If you want to enable AD6 users to view and print reports designed using Microsoft reporting technology, install the Microsoft Report Viewer on their computers. This component is included in the Microsoft Report Viewer 2012 Runtime redistributable package, which is shipped together with Alloy Discovery 6 version 6.5.1. 1. Open the destination folder where the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installer has extracted its temporary files (by default, it is the C:\AlloyNavigator651.cd folder). 2. Open the Alloy Software sub-folder and run the ReportViewer2012.msi package. Microsoft Report Viewer 2012 Runtime requires Microsoft System CLR Types for SQL Server 2012 as a prerequisite. The Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installer may prompt you to install this component when checking prerequisites for the Alloy Discovery 6 installation. Redistributable packages for Microsoft System CLR Types for SQL Server 2012 are available in the Redist folder under the destination folder where the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installer has extracted its temporary files:

x64 Package: SQLSysClrTypes_x64.msi x86 Package: SQLSysClrTypes_x86.msi

3. Complete the setup wizard.

5. Start the Inventory Server

When the upgrade is completed, run the Alloy Inventory Server Manager on each computer hosting the Inventory Server: 1. From the Windows Start menu, run the Alloy Inventory Server Manager (Start > All Programs > Alloy Software > Alloy Discovery 6 > Tools > Alloy Inventory Server Manager). 2. Enter the name or IP address of the SQL server that hosts your AD6 database, provide your AD6 administrative credentials, and select the database name. 3. Under Startup Account, view the current startup account. We recommend that the Inventory Server runs under the Network Service built-in account. To change the startup account, click Change Account, click Network Service account in the Select Account window, and click OK. 4. Click Start to start the Inventory Server. 5. Click OK to exit the Alloy Inventory Server Manager.

6. Start the Automation Server

When the upgrade is completed, start the Automation Server on the computer hosting the Automation Server: 1. From the Windows Start menu, run the Alloy Automation Server Manager (Start > All Programs > Alloy Software > Alloy Navigator 6 > Tools > Alloy Automation Server Manager).

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

18

2. Enter the name or IP address of the SQL server that hosts your AN6 database, provide your AN6 administrative credentials, and select the database name. 3. Click Start. 4. Click OK to exit the Alloy Automation Server Manager.

Whats new in this version - Bug fixes

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installer
The new installation package includes Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2 Express Edition instead of Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition, which was packaged with earlier versions of the product. Unlike SQL Server 2005, this version of SQL Server is supported on Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8. If you are planning to migrate your environment to Windows 8 or Windows Server 2012 and do not have a SQL backend for hosting the AN6 and AD6 databases, you can use the Install Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Express SP2 option of the Alloy Navigator 6 Suite Installer to install Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Express with Service Pack 2 (Runtime Only). Note that this edition includes only the SQL Database Engine. However, this change does not affect your existing SQL Server instances and you do not have to upgrade from SQL Server 2000, SQL Server 2005, or SQL Server 2008 to SQL Server 2008 R2.

Alloy Navigator
Workflow Management
Version 6.5.0 did not allow you to synchronize images stored in the Active Directory with images assigned to Person records in Alloy Navigator. Now you can map Active Directory attributes containing images (thumbnailPhoto and jpegPhoto) to the Persons Picture field. Alloy Navigator 6.5.0 did not allow you to use placeholders for the Person photo in HTML E-mail Notifications. The new version allows you to use placeholders such as %[Current_User].[Picture]%, %[Picture]%, %[Assignee].[Picture]% , etc. in outgoing e-mail messages. In Alloy Navigator 6.5.0, if the initial field value was set both in the Form definition and in the Template, the Template definition was getting precedence, which conflicted with the documented behavior. Now if the initial field value is set both in the Form definition and in the Template, the Form definition takes precedence. In Alloy Navigator 6.5.0, IF groups within workflow items incorrectly identified the FALSE value of userdefined fields (UDFs) of the Logical type as the null value. Now IF groups correctly process conditions with Boolean UDFs. WARNING: If you have employed custom workarounds in version 6.5.0 to check for the FALSE value of UDFs, you may need to review your workflow items after the upgrade. In Alloy Navigator 6.5.0, a user group manager had to be a member of the group. However, in real-life scenarios the manager sometimes is not a member of the group. In order to streamline the workflow management, the new version does not have this constraint.

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

19

In version 6.5.0, changing the activity text under Add activity when completed when customizing Actions did not trigger the modified state, so you could close the dialog without being prompted to save changes. The new version fixes the issue. Alloy Navigator 6.5.0 truncated the name of a file attached to an E-mail Notification when this name contained more than 28 non-Latin characters. The new version fixes this issue and correctly attaches files to E-mail Notifications irrespective of the length of their file names.

Alloy Navigator Services

The improved Person Matching Algorithm allows the Mail Connector to avoid Person record duplication when importing person information from e-mail messages even when the From Name in their messages does not match the persons name in the AN6 database. In Alloy Navigator 6.5.0, Automation Server jobs such as Active Directory Synchronization, Alloy Discovery Synchronization, and Mail Connector jobs might record incorrect entries to the object History log (for example, the number of updated fields of the Memo type might be incorrect). In the new version, this issue is fixed and the History log contains correct counts of updated fields. In version 6.5.0, the command-line reporting tool (ReportCmd.exe) supported multiple values for dynamic parameters, however did not support multiple values for static parameters. The new version allows you to specify multiple values for both static and dynamic parameters. When importing Software License data using the Import Wizard 6.5.0, the Field Mapping page displayed many field duplicates. The new version fixes this issue. When importing Computer data, the Import Wizard 6.5.0 did not pass the values of certain Computer fields (Asset Tag, Manufacturer, and Model) to related Asset records that are created automatically. The new version updates all Asset fields as expected. On computer update, Alloy Discovery synchronization jobs did not update the Owner field if the Create Persons action was not specified. In the new version, these jobs update the Owner field when updating computers. In version 6.5.0, Alloy Discovery synchronization jobs not having the Create Persons action did not update the Owner field on computer update. The new version fixes this.

Main Console
In Alloy Navigator 6.5.0, retired and inactive records participated in the calculation of license allocations. This resulted in discrepancies between license statistics displayed within the Software License grid and on the General tab of the Software License window and the contents of the Allocation tab of the Software License window. In the new version, allocations to inactive objects are not taken into consideration when calculating license statistics. In Alloy Navigator 6.5.0, the primary IP address value in the Computers grid did not always update after modifying the primary IP address on the Configuration tab of a Computer record. Now the primary IP address in the Computers grid is refreshed correctly. In Alloy Navigator 6.5.0, Action Forms with lookup fields referencing large database tables might exhibit performance issues. In the new version, the execution of SQL queries corresponding to lookup fields is optimized.

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

20

In version 6.5.0, the Computers, Hardware, and Software Licenses grids could not display the SKU, Received Date, and Retirement Date fields (available on the Finance tab). In the new version, you can customize the Computers, Hardware, and Software Licenses grids to display the complete set of financial asset values. In Alloy Navigator 6.5.0, drill-down operations performed within a chart might display records that did not match the drill-down conditions. This happened when the Alloy Navigator objects used as the chart source participated in parent-child relations (e.g. some of the listed Projects were subdivided into other Projects, etc.). In the new version, this issue is fixed and drill-down views display correct results, regardless of the hierarchy in the chart source data.

Account Management
Alloy Navigator 6.5.0 sometimes did not allow the user to modify Tracked Software records even when those records are within user's permitted access scope. The new version fixes this issue.

Reports
In version 6.5.0, Alloy Navigator failed to generate several standard reports (Computer Audit, Computer Barcode Labels, and Computer List), if the Alloy Navigator database was created using a case sensitive collation. In the new version, these standard reports work correctly regardless of the applied database collation.

Technician Web Portal (Tech Portal)

The Technician Web Portal Configuration Wizard has been re-designed and now allows you not only to configure the portal appearance, but also to change its initial installation parameters (they can be changed without having to reinstall the portal). In order to configure the Technician Web Portal version 6.5.0, you must have membership in the sysadmin role on the SQL Server instance that hosts your AN6 database. For configuring the new version of the Technician Web Portal, membership in the securityadmin role is enough. When configured for Windows user authentication, the Tech Portal 6.5.0 might fail to export reports to the PDF format. The new version allows Tech Portal users to export reports to PDF. In version 6.5.0, Tech Portal users were unable to undo category assignments for KB Articles. In version 6.5.1 this is fixed. The Technician Web Portal version 6.5.0 failed to attach files with file names containing & (ampersand) characters. This caused the Input string was not in a correct format error. This is fixed in version 6.5.1. In version 6.5.0, the Tech Portal did not allow modifying child Work Orders using their Full Form. The new version fixes this issue. The Tech Portal had an issue handling Message Box workflow operations in formless Actions. Instead of showing up at the right time, the message would appear only when the user reopens the object's details form. This is fixed in version 6.5.1. In version 6.5.0, attachments that were added when creating KB Articles or Announcements did not show up correctly in the preview mode. The new version fixes the issue.

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

21

In version 6.5.0, attempts to add a new Approver to a Change Request caused the Object reference not set to an instance of an object server error. The new version fixes this. However, you should not use the Full Form in Actions for creating Approvers because the current version of the Tech Portal does not support the Full Form in these Actions. In version 6.5.0, Tech Portal users could not save resized grid columns. The new version fixes this. In version 6.5.0, the Tech Portal might display highlighted grid records on a background of an unexpected color. The new version fixes this. In version 6.5.0, Tech Portal users with no Modify permission to Software Licenses and Tracked Software were able to make some changes to those objects. The new version fixes this. In order to be ready for the upcoming release of the Mobile Portal, the new Technician Web Portal Configuration Wizard allows you to enable the Redirection feature so that requests from mobile web browsers to the Technician Web Portal can be automatically redirected to the Mobile Portal. Until the Mobile Portal has been released you can disable the redirection feature.

Self Service Portal (SSP)

In version 6.5.0, when the form for submitting or updating Incidents contained drop-down lists (such as the Urgency field), the user had to click the down arrow to open the list. In version 6.5.1, in order to simplify data entry, drop-down menus were replaced with type ahead combo boxes. In version 6.5.0, Message Box operations within Service Actions for creating new Incidents could cause the Object doesn't support this property or method JavaScript error. The new version handles Message Box operations correctly. In version 6.5.0, some of KB Article field labels (Article ID, Applies to, Attachments) could not be localized. In the new version, these labels can be customized. In version 6.5.0, the dialog box for selecting an object (similar to the Select Object dialog box available in the Main Console) had several issues: it changed its size after loading data, the dialog did not allow to select a record with a double-click, the search by a partial value produced no results, etc. In the new version, these issues are fixed. In version 6.5.0, the Self Service Portal replaced single quotes (apostrophes) with double quotes when displaying messages that support localization. The new version fixes this issue and correctly displays single quotes in all customizable Self Service Portal messages. In version 6.5.0, public KB Articles did not show up when the name of their KB category contains a colon (:). The new version fixes this issue. In version 6.5.0, non-public Incident categories were visible in the Self Service Portal. The new version fixes this issue. In version 6.5.0, the Close button on the Rating Details dialog box appeared cut off in Microsoft Internet Explorer or Google Chrome. The new version fixes this issue and displays this dialog correctly in all supported browsers.

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

22

Both the Tech Portal and SSP

In version 6.5.0, when a Message Box workflow operation was followed by the Abort operation the message box would not show up the operation would be terminated silently. This issue is fixed in the new version. In version 6.5.0, both the Web portals might return JSON responses with the text/html MIME type. This was contrary to RFC 4627, which specifies that The MIME media type for JSON text is application/json. In some environments, this might break the functionality of Web portals. In the new version, this issue is fixed, and both the Web portals are in compliance with RFC 4627.

Alloy Discovery
Discovering and Audit
When Alloy Discovery 6.5.0 failed to complete a Direct Network Scan task (for example, due to the client computer being turned off during the audit), the audit task would hang. The user had to manually cancel the task or reboot the Automation Server. Now audit tasks that take too long to complete can time out and terminate gracefully.

Main Console
The new version supports Microsofts Report Definition Language (RDL) format, which allows you to use Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) as an alternative to Crystal Reports. Alloy Discovery allows you to recalculate collections on demand (choose Tools > Options, click the Advanced tab, and click the Recalculate Collections button) to make sure that all newly-received audit data is accounted for in collections. When the database contains a large number of Network Nodes, this may take a long time. In version 6.5.0, when the database contained a large number of nodes (1000 and more), AD6 terminated the recalculation process after a fixed timeout period (about 15 minutes). The new version does not apply the timeout when recalculating collections, and you can recalculate your collections when needed even if your database contains a very large number of nodes.

Integration with Alloy Navigator

When default registry keys were used as Registry Key fields in version 6.5.0, their values were successfully collected by the Windows Inventory Analyzer. However, these values were not being reflected in the Inv_Inventory_UDF database view, and then they could not be imported into the Alloy Navigator 6 database. The new version fixes this issue.

March 7, 2013

Alloy Navigator 6 Suite version 6.5.1 Release Notes

23