19.02 enhancements

This topic contains information about enhancements in the version 19.02 of Remedy Action Request (AR) System.

Additional Remedy ITSM 19.02 enhancements Open link

BMC Remedy AR System enhancements

The following sections provide information about the enhancements in the 19.02 release.

Modern and improved look and feel for Remedy Flashboards

Remedy Action Request System version 19.02 offers HTML rendering for flashboards. HTML rendering provides the latest rendering technology with an improved look and feel. By default, the Server Group Dashboard of the Remedy Management Console uses HTML rendering.

When you perform a fresh install of Remedy Action Request System installation of version 19.02, HTML rendering is enabled by default for new flashboards.

When you upgrade to version 19.02, a developer can choose to enable HTML rendering. If you choose to use HTML rendering, the out-of-the-box flashboards and your custom flashboards are automatically compatible with HTML rendering. You need not perform any migration.

BMC recommends using HTML rendering because it supports modern technology and also Adobe has announced an end of development and distribution of Flash Player by the end of the year 2020. For more information, see https://theblog.adobe.com/adobe-flash-update/ and Adding graphics to an application with flashboards.

Swagger specifications for BMC Remedy AR System REST APIs

As a part of Digital Enterprise Management initiative, all the REST endpoints exposed by AR Server are documented by using Swagger specifications. Swagger specifications provide an improved interface to understand the REST API usage and syntax in an easier way. For more information, see Accessing AR REST API via Swagger UI.

You can also access all the AR REST API end points by using Swagger. For more information about end points, see End points in AR REST API

New REST API to retrieve field metadata

You can use getField and getFields REST APIs to retrieve field metadata for a form. This helps to perform faster design level integration and also enables you to integrate a Remedy application without using Remedy Developer Studio. Currently, BMC supports the GET operation to fetch field metadata.

For more information about getField and getFields REST APIs, see Example of using the REST API to retrieve field metadata.

Multi-threaded archiving in the AR System server

You can configure multiple threads to increase the throughput of the archive operation in the AR System server. This is helpful when you perform bulk archival of a large number of records.

When you configure more than one thread for the archive operation, multiple threads work simultaneously to archive the same form and its associated forms.
For example, if you configure four threads for archiving an incident, all four threads start working on four incidents at the same time.

Use the Num-Archive-Threads parameter from the com.bmc.arsys.server.shared component to set the number of threads. For more information about the Num-Archive-Threads parameter, see ar.cfg or ar.conf options N-R.

Ability to define database functions for Remedy Smart Reporting in AR System server

An AR System administrator can define custom database functions by using the new AR System JDBC:Generic Db Functions form. The functions defined in this form can then be used by a Remedy Smart Reporting administrator or a report writer for reporting purposes.

For more information on defining a database function, see Defining database functions for Remedy Smart Reporting in Remedy AR System Server.

Support for Java 11

Remedy platform and applications now support higher versions of Java and Remedy 19.02 release is certified to be compatible with Oracle Java 11. Due to changes in Oracle's Java release and support strategy, Remedy also supports OpenJDK 11. Remedy does not support Java version 9 and 10 because these Java versions are not supported by Oracle.

Similar to the earlier versions of Remedy, during installation of the Remedy AR System platform software, you can configure a compatible 64-bit Java software environment that is to be used by the Remedy environment.

Remedy 19.02 release also provides backward compatibility for applications that still use Java 8.

What else changed in this release

In this release, note the following significant changes in the product behavior:

Update	Product behavior in versions earlier than 19.02	Product behavior in version 19.02
Enhanced Login page for the Mid Tier Configuration Tool	You can log in to Mid Tier Configuration Tool by entering the password.	You must have AR Server installed to use Mid Tier Configuration Tool. Mid Tier Configuration Tool requires more details, such as AR Server, User Name, and Password before you log in. This provides more secure access to Mid Tier Configuration Tool. For more information, see Accessing the Mid Tier Configuration Tool.
Changes in the command syntax to create approvals details record	Command syntax: `Application-Command Approval New-Details -t` `processName[-s` `formName] [-e` `requestID] [-1` `priority` `] [-2` `processDueDate` `] [-l` `assigneeGroup: VendorAssigneeGroups]`	Current command syntax: `Application-Command Approval New-Details -t` `processName[-s` `formName] [-e` `requestID] [-1` `priority` `] [-2` `processDueDate` `] [-l` `assigneeGroup\n VendorAssigneeGroups]` For more information, see BMC Remedy Approval Server application commands.
The Deployment Package Contents panel of the AR System Deployment Management console has a new option Data Import Mode when using Add Data as a content type		In the AR System Deployment Management console when you create a package using out-of-the-box options or when you create a custom package, you can select the Data Import Mode. Use the Base Mode when you create a package by using out-of-the-box options. Use the Overlay Mode when you create a custom package. For more information, see To add data to a package.
Upgraded version of BIRT Report	BIRT Report version 2.5.0 supports the following web report export formats: PDF Microsoft Powerpoint Power Script Microsoft Word Microsoft Excel	BIRT Report version 4.8.0 supports the following web report export formats: DOCX PPTX Microsoft Excel PDF PostScript Microsoft PowerPoint Microsoft Word Note: BMC recommends using the latest pptx format with Microsoft office version 2010 and later.
(Linux Operating System) Dedicated temporary directory to store the Email Engine attachment data	The Email Engine attachment data is stored in a temporary directory defined by the operating system.	When you upgrade to version 19.02, the new <install dir>/AREmail/tmp directory stores the Email Engine attachment data. Every time when you start the Email Engine, the tmp directory is automatically cleaned.
Compatibility of API with AR server.	If encryption is applied to the AR server of a certain version, the APIs of version earlier than the current version of the AR server can communicate with the AR server.	If encryption is applied by installing either Performance Security or Premium Security to the AR server of version 19.02, the APIs of only the version 19.02 or later can communicate with the AR server of version 19.02. The APIs of version earlier than 19.02 cannot communicate with the AR server of version 19.02.