Cloud Availability Platform v18.1.0

Today we released version 18.1.0 of our cloud platform after many months of hard work on our part, and anticipation on yours.

While there are over 120 bug fixes, feature enhancements and changes, the biggest change you will see is the new skin. It was time to update the look and feel of the UI, and this version makes the first big jump to modernize it with a flatter design, typical of today’s SaaS applications. We’ve replaced almost all of the images with icons and have taken the first stab at making it more responsive, although we have a long way to go before it will be mobile friendly.

With this release, we also changed our versioning. The previous method of numbering didn’t really make a lot of sense to most people, so our new versioning will include the year followed by the major and minor releases.

Here is a summary of the most notable changes in this version:

General System/Account Changes

• Charting: We’ve implemented a new charting system, and version 18.1.0 includes the first iteration in limited capacity. We’ve added an information tab which will show usage charts based on your subscription.
• Expanded table rows: We added an option to show 50 rows per table instead of the previous maximum of 30.
• Loading Indicator: We changed the loading spinner and added it to all of the tables and tabs to better indicate when the contents have completed loading.
• Search Filter: We fixed a bug where the search term entered did not show on the search term results, instead it simply displayed “All” incorrectly. It now displays what you searched.
• Roles & Security: We reformatted the roles and security control listing to coincide with order of tabs and sub-tabs to make it easier to use.
• Reseller Enhancements: We made the UI more reseller friendly, adding a company/sub-company column in tables where it was previously missing. Plus, there were several tables that did not allow selection or creation of objects for a sub-company, and now they do. We also enhanced the Networking section to allow full company selection and management in the configuration builder, a significant improvement over the way sub-companies had to be managed before.
• Change password: Previously, when changing your password we validated the old password against the complexity requirements, but that was just unnecessary, especially as password complexity requirements increase. We no longer do that. We just make sure it matches.

DNS Changes

• Pending Change Indicator: Curious when all of the DNS changes you made have completely updated across our network? You will now see a “Pending Changes” banner at the top of the screen letting you know exactly when they are complete.
• Bulk TTL Change: We added a new feature that allows you to easily bulk update TTL values if you want to change a record where others with the same hostname exist. Previously this was quite difficult.
• DNS Failover IP Validation: We improved IP address validation and now disallow leading zeros in an IP address. While technically valid, it increased the chance of error and duplication in our database.
• Hostname Validation: We improved hostname validation and now disallow leading dots before the name.
• CNAME Logging correction: We fixed a logging issue where CNAME record changes resulted in log data being tracked incorrectly.
• CNAME alias: We now prohibit entering your own domain name in the alias field of a CNAME. We’re not quite sure why someone would want to do this, but it happened frequently and created unnecessary support calls.
• Default NS record TTL on import: When a new zone is imported, we now no longer change the TTL for NS records to our recommended default. We accept what you have already configured.
• Large Zone Import: We now speed up imports when you copy/paste a very large domain into the text area. It is now queued on the back-end for processing with the results emailed. This prevents browser timeout issues for clients on low-bandwidth connections.
• Failover Pool Use Indicator: We added a “Used” column to failover pools so you know if they are used or not. And if they are, you can mouse over the number to see exactly which records they are linked to.
• Web Redirect wildcard support: We enhanced the web redirect record type to now support wildcards.
• Web Redirect editing bug: We fixed a bug that removed “Carry Original Path” when editing an existing web-redirect.

Networking Changes

• Quick Start auto-launch: Now when you go to the configuration builder for the first time, we automatically launch the Quick Start wizard to help you create your first pack.
• Pending Change Indicator: Curious when all of the network changes you made have completely updated across our network? You will now see a “Pending Changes” banner at the top of the screen letting you know exactly when they are complete.
• SSL with duplicate common name: We added validation to better detect when you have two SSL certificates with the same common name. This is technically not allowed and was not properly communicated to the UI.
• HTTP Monitor send string: We fixed a bug where the send string in an HTTP-CONTENT monitor would not update consistently.
• Comment in ACL entry: We added a new comment box to ACL entries so you can add related notes.
• SSL Cipher Group control: We added a new feature to allow you to choose public (client-facing) and private (back-end) cipher groups. You can now manage security directly by choosing low, medium or high ciphers to meet PCI or other regulatory requirements.
• IP Validation: We improved IP address validation and now disallow leading zeros in an IP address. While technically valid, it increased the chance of error and duplication in the database.
• HTTP Header for IP and Port: We added a new setting to allow you to optionally insert an HTTP header that provides the IP and Port a client connected on. This is especially useful where you may be using SSL offload and need to know if the client connected on port 443 or 80 originally.
• HTTP/2 and WebSocket support: We added a selection option so you can now turn on or off support for HTTP/2 and WebSockets individually for both client-facing SSL connections as well as back-end SSL connections.
• Server Weight: We now support server weight values from 1 to 100 where 100 is the maximum amount of traffic and 1 is the least.
• Geographic Traffic Routing: We released a new feature that lets you control device traffic by geographic region.   Now, if you have servers in different parts of the country or around the world, you can direct users to one or more devices closest to them.
• SSL Certs/Keys Date: We added an “Upload Date” column for SSL certs, keys and pairings to make it easier to find the cert you’re looking for or determine when it was implemented.
• Disable Server: We added a new feature that allows you to gently disable a server and let existing connections drain and sessions to expire for a configurable amount of time.  This is especially handy for maintenance windows or when a server is used in multiple packs and manually removing it from all is laborious.
• IP Ordering and Searching: We improved the way IP Addresses are ordered in tables as well as the ability to search for them.