ACL Analytics Exchange 5 Release Notes

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Analytic Engine 11.4.3 patch for AX 5.4.0

This patch corrects an Analytic Engine defect that prevented running scripts on AX Server that import data from ACL GRC. Specifically, scripts containing either the IMPORT GRCRESULTS or IMPORT GRCPROJECT commands would fail to run.

Note:

The analytic processing in version 5.4 of AX Server, and in the optional AX Engine Node, is compatible with version 11.4.0 of ACL Analytics. If your organization wants to use ACL Analytics 11.4.2, you need to run the Analytic Engine 11.4.3 patch on AX Server, and on any Engine Nodes, once they are installed.

The current version numbers of ACL Analytics and the AX Engine patch are not aligned. To upgrade AX servers to work with ACL Analytics 11.4.2, you use version 11.4.3 of the AX Engine patch installer.

Analytic Engine 11.4.2 patch for AX 5.4.0

The focus of this patch is to update the Analytics Exchange Engine to be compatible with the new features and enhancements in ACL Analytics 11.4.2.

For a full list of fixes, please read the release notes for ACL Analytics version 11.4.2.

Note:

The analytic processing in version 5.4 of AX Server, and in the optional AX Engine Node, is compatible with version 11.4.0 of ACL Analytics. If your organization wants to use ACL Analytics 11.4.2, you need to run an additional upgrade on version 5.4 of AX Server, and on any Engine Nodes, once they are installed. ACL Analytics 11.4.2 corrects some defects that existed in ACL Analytics 11.4.0 and 11.4.1.

Version 5.4.0

We bring to you new features to enhance speed, security and ease of use.

Version 5.3.1

AX Server version 5.3.1 is now available to fix the following defects:

Note:

If you have AX 5.3.0 installed on your server, a patch is available. You do not need to perform a full upgrade to experience the new fixes introduced in AX 5.3.1.

Version 5.3.0

The focus of this release is enhanced security features in response to customer requirements. Thank you to all customers who provided feedback and testing during the development phase.

Security enhancements

To give our customers and their IT departments increased peace of mind, we have made significant updates to AX Server security. AX Server 5.3 includes the following security enhancements:

  • Simplified backend architecture using Apache Tomcat, allowing ACL to respond more quickly to required security updates.

  • Updated Java and PostgreSQL to ensure AX Server includes the latest security patches.

  • Removed earlier unsupported components and deleted deprecated code.

  • Added security options, such as a file whitelist, session timeouts, and login throttling.

AX Web Client enhancements

The following updates and enhancements have been made in AX Web Client:

  • A new file upload feature that allows users to upload up to 40 files simultaneously to the related files folder.

  • Analysis apps running in AX Web Client can now prompt users to upload analytic input files using the recently added //PARAM F analytic declaration.

  • The Table View in the Visualizer includes several enhancements:

    • You can apply formatting based on a condition to highlight specific values. For example, you could make the background red for past due dates.

    • You can reorder or hide columns to tailor the display of data to your needs.

    • You can change the format of numeric values. Format options include adding a currency symbol, using parentheses for negative numbers, and controlling rounding.

Enhancements and customer-reported issues

The following enhancements and corrections to customer-reported issues are included in this version:

  • Fixed issue with user names including double-byte characters being unable to log in (AX-2124).

  • Fixed issue with analytic parameters including time values not working (AX-2107).

  • Fixed issue with AX Web client session expiry when logging out and logging back in (AX-2027).

  • Fixed issue with incorrectly displaying result files with long file names (AX-771).

End of support

The following components and environments are no longer supported:

  • Crystal Reports integration

  • Windows Server 2008 (32-bit)

  • Oracle 10 as the AX Server database

Added support

The following components and environments are now supported:

  • Windows Server 2012R2

  • Oracle 12 as the AX server database

Port change

The default port that AX Server and AX Client use to connect has been changed from 4201 to 4203. Port 4201 remains the default port used by the optional AX Engine Node.

If you have configured a network firewall to allow AX Server and AX Client connections using port 4201 you need to update the configuration to allow connections using port 4203.

AX Exception updates

The following enhancements have been made in AX Exception:

  • Custom filters have been added after being disabled in a previous release.

Version 5.0

After a lot of hard work and a successful beta program, we are proud to introduce the first generally available version of ACL Analytics Exchange 5. Thank you to those customers who provided amazing feedback during the beta program.

New AX Web Client

The new AX Web Client allows you to use any web browser to perform analysis and provide the results to the team. With the AX Web Client you can:

  • Browse collections and folders, and view analytics with relevant descriptions of each test as written by the script creator.

  • Run analytics using input parameters in an easy to understand form.

  • View jobs previously run by others and their results.

  • Download results files.

  • Preview results tables in your browser without needing to download them.

  • Investigate results tables and create visualizations of the data.

  • Save the visualizations and interpretations to share with other members of your team.

Data visualizations and interpretations

Create beautiful visualizations of your data to powerfully illustrate the value of your analysis. Interactive filters and drill-down capabilities empower visual exploration. AX Web Client includes the following visualizations, with more to be added in each release:

  • Pie charts

  • Bar charts

  • Line charts

  • Stacked area charts

  • Bubble charts

  • Metrics

Analytic script development using ACL Analytics

Enhancements in ACL Analytics 11.1 improve the script authoring and testing experience for ACL Analytics Exchange 5.0 users. Enhancements include:

  • A new tool that validates analytic header syntax.

  • Analytic headers now allow the inclusion of test values, allowing you to test and debug analytics directly in ACL Analytics.

Terminology changes

In this version of ACL Analytics Exchange, several terms have been updated to improve consistency and usability throughout the ACL product suite. These new terms better represent how analytics and tests are organized.

ACL Analytics Exchange 5.0 Earlier versions of ACL Analytics Exchange
Collection Engagement
Folder Activity
Analysis App Analytic project
Analytic Analytic script

Installation and licensing

The installation and activation process has been simplified and enhanced:

  • The default port is now the standard HTTPS port 443. AX Server installations that are upgraded from earlier versions will maintain the HTTPS port currently in use.

  • Activation is no longer part of the ACL installer. Activation is completed in the AX Server Configuration web application after AX Server is installed.

  • Upgrading from ACL Analytics Exchange versions 3.x and 4.x is supported.

AX Exception updates

The following enhancements have been made in AX Exception:

  • AX Exception has new user interface that includes visual and usability enhancements.

  • Improved email notification text for better readability

  • It is now possible to delete empty entities and analytics after all exceptions have been purged.

  • The ability to hide the system audit trail allows more visibility for user comments.

  • Support for longer analytic and entity names has been added.

  • Analytic descriptions are displayed on the My Exceptions page.

  • Users can choose to show or hide the priority, status, assignee, and date columns in the Exception table.

  • The Overview tab has been removed, enhancing the new, cleaner user interface without negatively affecting functionality.

  • The ability to create and manage custom filters is deprecated.

Enhancements and customer-reported issues

The following enhancements and corrections to customer-reported issues are included in this version:

  • Suspend and resume jobs. You can now suspend the scheduler, temporarily disabling scheduled analytics until the scheduler is resumed. Analytics will then run at their next scheduled time.

  • Authentication security updates.

  • New access log that records all instances of users viewing data in any table, or downloading any file, using AX Client, AX Web Client, or the ACL Add-in.

  • Updated the Oracle database setting to use a separate TABLESPACE instead of the user’s TABLESPACE.

  • Fixed issue with archive and restore failing when the display name includes special characters (AX-461).

  • Fixed issue with collections with large results sets taking a long time to load in AX Client (AX-714).



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