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Snow Inventory Server 6

Here you can find the release notes for Snow Inventory Server 6. You can find the old release notes on the Snow Globe.

6.9.3 latest​

Release date: 2024-11-06

Enhancements​

Active Directory Discovery
Reduced delay for the discovery task execution

  • The configured Active Directory discovery tasks for computer and user objects will start one minute after the Inventory Server service is restarted.

Data Processing
New classification rules for operating systems

  • Windows Runtime (WinRT) is classified as a Windows operating system.
  • Nutanix AOS is classified as a Linux server-class operating system.

Data Update Job
Performance improvements

  • Several Data Update Job steps have been optimized to improve the performance.

Local Active Directory Discovery Configurator
More descriptive user interface

  • The user interface for the Local Active Directory Discovery Configurator has been improved.

Corrections​

  • In the Inventory Server service log files, lines are now separated by a line break (04779436).

  • The Active Directory Discovery can now be configured to collect information on computer and user objects using the Snow Inventory Admin Console and the Local Active Directory Discovery Configurator tool (04779198).

  • The HTTP security headers are applied only on HTTPS connections. This enables configuration with both HTTPS and HTTP endpoints (04777648).

  • The Operating System information for a computer is now displayed correctly in the admin console (04759358).

  • When a matching rule does not specify the Model or the Manufacturer of a computer, the Customizable Processing Logic feature no longer overwrites the settings with undefined values (04747261).

  • Virtual machines no longer belonging to a host are removed when the updated host inventory is processed (04741706).

6.9.2​

Release date: 2024-03-27

Compatibility
Snow Inventory Server 6.9.2 supports:

ProductSupported versions
Snow License Manager 9Version 9.14.0 and later
Snow License Manager 8All supported versions
Snow Inventory AgentAll supported versions
Snow Integration ManagerAll supported versions

Enhancements​

API
Customizable https security headers configuration
The HTTPS configuration settings for the Owin Web Module have been changed to allow for a more customizable response from the server. For more information, see OWIN Web API server.

The following settings have been deprecated and removed from the snowserver.config, and their values will no longer be used:

  • UseContentSecurityPolicyHeader
  • UseStrictTransportSecurityHeader
  • StrictSecurityTransportHeaderMaxAge
  • StrictSecurityTransportHeaderPreload
  • StrictSecurityTransportHeaderIncludeSubDomains

Data Update Job

  • The following stored procedures executed during the Data Update Job have been optimized, and their performances have been improved: GetMetering, GetApplicationConcurrency, GetComputerSoftwareSlm (04607485).

Garbage Collector
New configuration settings: BatchSize and DaysToRetain

  • The settings BatchSize and DaysToRetain have been added to the Garbage Collector module configuration section. For more information, see Garbage collection.

Inventory Data Processing

  • Computers with manufacturer "QEMU" will now be flagged as virtual machines.

Logging

  • The logging for the Active Directory Discovery module has been improved. The log entries now include either the discovery-users or the discovery-devices tag. Also, the trace-level logs now provide improved information.

  • Logging for the garbage collector module has been improved, and details are now only logged when the log level is set to trace.

Corrections​

  • The references to the normalized software data are now applied consistently when processing a computer’s inventory data (04764906).

  • The Active Directory Discovery module will no longer fail when trying to read the local configuration file (04758320).

  • Resolved an issue where the Admin Console would display an error when inspecting the details of a discovered computer (04733350).

  • The Admin Console can now generate valid configurations with encrypted elements for Inventory Agents and for the Active Directory Discovery functionality run on Service Gateway installations (04728792, 04760724, 04734642).

  • Resolved a unique key violation that caused the garbage collector to fail (04707565).

  • Virtual machines running on Amazon Web Services will not be listed in the License Manager report “Cloud servers not inventoried” if their inventory data is present (04697217).

  • When the Inventory Server license key is updated using the Configuration Manager tool, existing configuration settings for the OWINWebApiServer module in the snowserver.config file are maintained (04695532).

  • Resolved an issue that prevented the Active Directory Discovery module from resolving NetBIOS domain names in certain scenarios (04688423).

  • User login data should now be tracked correctly (04626029).

  • Resolved an issue where the Admin Console would display an arithmetic overflow error when inspecting an inventoried computer’s details (04622089).

  • Usernames and user’s Fullnames are stored consistently when processing a computer’s inventory data (04621755).

The performance of the Inventory Server when receiving and forwarding data has been improved (04604767).

  • The SnowInventoryADDiscoveryConfig tool is updated on Service Gateway installations after an update to the Master Server (04593181).

  • The data in the database table inv.DataSLConfig is now maintained by the Garbage Collector module.

  • The supported characters for the site name configuration element have been corrected. For more information on the supported characters, see Site name configuration. The Oracle Management Option and the Virtualization Services will now process the data through the dynamic inventory API without errors. Other characters in the Sitename might generate issues in the processing of data (04629944).

6.9.1​

Release date: 2023-09-12

Compatibility
Snow Inventory Server 6.9.1 supports:

ProductSupported versions
Snow License Manager 9Version 9.14.0 and later
Snow License Manager 8All supported versions
Snow Inventory AgentAll supported versions
Snow Integration ManagerAll supported versions

Deprecated​

Inventory Server

  • The “metric” API endpoint has been removed.

6.9.0​

Release date: 2023-06-28

Compatibility
Snow Inventory Server 6.9.0 supports:

ProductSupported versions
Snow License Manager 9Version 9.14.0 and later
Snow License Manager 8All supported versions
Snow Inventory AgentAll supported versions
Snow Integration ManagerAll supported versions

New​

Inventory Server
Copy processed files to a new folder

  • This feature will allow the user to copy data and announcement files to another folder before they are deleted by inventory server after processing. This is feature is developed to allow sending data and announcement files over to the Snow Atlas using Snow Extender.

In order enable this feature, please add these lines in the config.

<Module typeName="FileProcessorModule">
  <Setter propertyName="CopyProcessedFiles">true</Setter>
  <Setter propertyName="CopyProcessedFilesPath">"C:\copyFolderFile"</Setter>
</Module>

<Module typeName="AnnouncementsProcessingModule">      
    <Setter propertyName="CopyProcessedFiles">true</Setter>
    <Setter propertyName="CopyProcessedFilesPath">"C:\copyFolderAnnouncements"</Setter>
</Module>

Inventory metering data
RFC Standard DeviceId enforcement

  • When an agent sends data that does not conform with RFC standards for hostnames and domain names it is now possible to remove any non standard character from the device-id received by the inventory agent by using in snowserver.config:

    <Module typeName="FileProcessorModule">
        <Setter propertyName="Hostname">{ EnforceRfcStandardHostname: true }</Setter>
    </Module>

Enhancements​

Inventory Server

  • Security improvement for connecting to the database

Corrections​

Inventory Server

  • Correction of an issue when Discovery User Active Directory tables are not cleaned from the old data (04595820)

  • Correction of an issue when silent install command line option is not working correctly (04594157)

  • Correction of an issue when the exception is thrown on a view with too many operands in the “Devices/Views” and “Agent updates” tabs.

  • Added validation for the LDAP path to the “New connection” option for the Inventory Service Gateway (04593693)

  • The procedure inv.DeleteIdentity no longer gives an error when ran concurrently (04617678)

  • Cleaning up the CloudMeteringIntervalHits table doesn’t throw timeout exception anymore.

  • Additional server Operating Systems added to the supported list (04600234):

    • ALOS
    • ADPOS
    • VMware Photon OS (64-bit)
    • ALOS Linux
    • Other 3.x Linux (64-bit)
    • Photon OS

  • Corrected an issue when log lines were added to the output XML file generated by the ‘snowserver.exe dmc’ command (04592820)

Deprecated​

Inventory Server
Removal of not required references in on-prem to Atlas tables

  • Removed not required references to Atlas tables

6.8.3​

Release date: 2022-11-09

Complete release notes is found here

New​

  • Support for Content Security Policy headers: Snow Inventory Server now sends by default Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to ensure that cross-site scripting attacks are mitigated.

Corrections​

  • Whether it has changed or not, WPAR and LPAR data are now inserted into the relevant tables as cumulative data.

  • Agent update targets for custom device views now honor the scheduling time. (04566491)

  • Added a valid default value to swidtag processing. (04593306)

  • Fixed issue when errors in snowserver.config are not logged in the log file.

  • When there is a port conflict, Snow Inventory Server will now display an error message in the console window.

  • Resolved issue with logs displaying incorrect log sources. (04592829)

  • Fixed memory-leak problem that occurred when a module fails with an exception.

6.8.2​

Release date: 2022-09-07

Complete release notes is found here

Enhancements​

  • Improved matching between IaaS discovery data and inventoried computers.

Corrections​

  • Inventory Server now correctly handles communications via proxy servers that require authentication (04592393).

  • The File Processing module and the Garbage Collector module don’t run at the same time to prevent conflicts in the database access (04586424).

  • Exported xml files are able to provide the correct data, specifically the IMEI numbers. (04581962)

  • Legacy Web Metering now functioning as expected. (04556081)

  • Agent update is now reflecting the actual numbers. (04533156)

  • Data client table wont contain duplicate data. (04533156)

6.8.1​

Release date: 2022-07-20

Complete release notes is found here

New​

  • Local configuration for AD Discovery tasks: SnowInventoryADDiscoveryConfig.exe is available to enable the configuration of local Active Directory discovery tasks on computers running the Inventory Server service in any of the available configuration modes. (IDEAS-I-500, IDEAS-I-558)

  • Users can change their own password and with administrative rights can reset the password for any user. (IDEAS-I-52)

  • The Configuration Manager now allows users to change the License Key, HTTP/S bindings, and Database connection settings, as well as the local Inventory Server Installation, all without needing to manually edit the configuration file or recreate the service and its configuration from scratch.

Enhancements​

  • Active Directory Discovery results are now consolidated into fewer, larger files.

  • When creating agent update tasks, Sitenames are sorted alphabetically.

  • All instances of “OSX” in the Admin Console have been renamed to “macOS” to align with Apple’s naming.

  • Improved Sitename authentication.

  • Stored procedures related to Garbage Collector have been optimized to improve performance.

  • Application logs now include additional information to better track agent updates.

  • Application logs now include additional information to better track agent updates.

Corrections​

  • By leveraging the local configuration of Active Directory discovery tasks feature, it is possible to define persistent AD discovery Tasks. (04356610)

  • AD discovery is stabilized.

  • Regarding the Configuring and Agent Update task, the text description has been changed from “Allow downgrade of Agent version” to “Force deployment of this Agent version” for more clarity. (04535577)

  • DomainName value is properly populated in the Metering related tables on Database.

  • Improperly structured inventory files are dropped and not processed.

  • Leveraging the “Scan status report” feature, Snow Inventory Server can correctly handle the data reported by the Snow Inventory Agent on the swidtag files present on client computers to enable correct recognition of the installed applications. (04493134)

  • The inventoried computers are consistently reported as “Virtual”. (04512840)

  • Information for files with multiple “.” character is handled correctly according to the extension denylist. (04526845)

  • Information for files with multiple “.” character is handled correctly according to the extension denylist. (04526845)

  • The indexes on the inv.ClientStorageData database table have been redefined to allow correct maintenance and prevent unrestricted growth of the table’s size. (04538564).

  • Configuring a Standalone Receiver installation does not require setting a forward address.

  • Selecting Upgrade from version 3 in Configuration Manager shows the correct wizard views.

  • When configuring a Master Server installation in Configuration Manager, a license key is required.

6.8.0​

Release date: 2022-06-22

Complete release notes is found here

New​

  • AD Discovery – Local configuration for AD Discovery tasks: SnowInventoryADDiscoveryConfig.exe is available to enable the configuration of local Active Directory discovery tasks on computers running the Inventory Server service in any of the available configuration modes. The tool can be used by a local administrator to define discovery tasks for computers and users by specifying the LDAP path and the credentials to use. It is also possible to export and import the local task configuration to and from a file. (IDEAS-I-500, IDEAS-I-558) Note: The configuration of the local discovery tasks is not synchronized with the Master Server.

  • Admin Console – User password change: Users can change their own password and with administrative rights can reset the password for any user. (IDEAS-I-52)

  • Setup & Configuration – Change existing service configuration: The Configuration Manager now allows users to change the License Key, HTTP/S bindings, and Database connection settings, as well as the local Inventory Server Installation, all without needing to manually edit the configuration file or recreate the service and its configuration from scratch.

Enhancements​

  • AD Discovery – Consolidate AD Discovery results: Active Directory Discovery results are now consolidated into fewer, larger files.

  • Admin Console – Alphabetical sorting of Sitenames: When creating agent update tasks, Sitenames are sorted alphabetically.

  • Admin Console – OSX renamed to macOS: All instances of “OSX” in the Admin Console have been renamed to “macOS” to align with Apple’s naming.

  • Client/Server communication – Improved Sitename authentication: To improve security and prevent data corruption, the existing Sitename Authentication feature has been improved. When enabled and configured, Sitename Authentication checks incoming inventory data for consistency between connection sitename, inventory sitename, and allowed sitename-specific client certificates. It is also possible to define allowlist and denylist of sitenames to reject incoming inventory data from unauthorized sources. If the original client certificate is available to the Inventory Service Gateway, it will be used when forwarding the inventory data. For more information on how to configure this feature, refer to the Inventory Server User Guide, on docs.snowsoftware.com.

  • Data Cleanup – Garbage Collector performance improvement: Stored procedures related to Garbage Collector have been optimized to improve performance.

  • Main service – Agent update logging improvements: Application logs now include additional information to better track agent updates.

  • Main service – Logging improvements: Application logs now include additional information to better track agent updates.

Corrections​

  • AD Discovery: By leveraging the local configuration of Active Directory discovery tasks feature, it is possible to define persistent AD discovery Tasks. (04356610)

  • Admin Console: Regarding the Configuring and Agent Update task, the text description has been changed from “Allow downgrade of Agent version” to “Force deployment of this Agent version” for more clarity. (04535577)

  • Data Processing: DomainName value is properly populated in the Metering related tables on Database.

  • Data Processing: Improperly structured inventory files are dropped and not processed.

  • Data Processing: Leveraging the “Scan status report” feature, Snow Inventory Server can correctly handle the data reported by the Snow Inventory Agent on the swidtag files present on client computers to enable correct recognition of the installed applications. (04493134) Note: The implementation of this functionality requires Snow Inventory Agent for Windows 6.8.1 or later, for MacOS 6.8.2 and Linux 6.4.0.

  • Data Processing: The inventoried computers are consistently reported as “Virtual”. (04512840)

  • Data Processing: Information for files with multiple “.” character is handled correctly according to the extension denylist. (04526845)

  • Database & DUJ: The indexes on the inv.ClientStorageData database table have been redefined to allow correct maintenance and prevent unrestricted growth of the table’s size. (04538564).

  • Setup & Configuration: Configuring a Standalone Receiver installation does not require setting a forward address.

  • Setup & Configuration: Selecting Upgrade from version 3 in Configuration Manager shows the correct wizard views.

  • Setup & Configuration: When configuring a Master Server installation in Configuration Manager, a license key is required.

6.7.2​

Release date: 2021-11-25

Complete release notes is found here

Enhancements​

  • The stored procedure slm.GetSoftwareSlm has been optimized to improve performance during the Data Update Job.

  • The stored procedures inv.DeleteCloudRule and inv.SyncConsumptionRules have been optimized to improve performance when processing recognition rules used in Cloud Application Metering.

  • Logging for the Active Directory discovery tasks have been improved to facilitate troubleshooting.

Corrections​

  • When adding a Network Discovery task, the Admin Console requires the user to select a network interface to prevent errors.

  • The Snow Update Service package upgrades the existing Inventory database to the same schema as a newly created database, also implementing table indexes and stored procedures used by the Garbage Collector.

  • The Garbage Collector code and the indexes on multiple database tables have been optimized to improve performance and reduce resource-hogging when cleaning up obsolete data from the Inventory database (04521821, 04524256).

  • Inventory Server handles inventory files that do not contain operating system data, which does not result in a log file exception.

  • Citrix Hypervisor Express is now recognized as a server-class operating system.

  • When configuring an Active Directory discovery task, the Admin Console disables hidden fields to prevent misplaced configuration values (04356486).

  • The inventory data related to _xml_files (used to identify Adobe application licensing information) is processed and stored independently from the data related to swidtag files (04505080).

6.7.0​

Release date: 2021-08-25

Complete release notes is found here

Enhancements​

  • New Garbage Collector: The Garbage Collector has been redesigned to be able to effectively maintain larger data sets**.**

  • Improved Processing Logic: Inventory Server classifies the software data of a computer without a reported operating system and the same data of a computer with an unrecognized operating system with separate OSType identifiers.

  • New setting MaxProcessingFileSize for processing inventory scan result files: FileProcessorModule, in the Inventory Server configuration file, implements the new setting MaxProcessingFileSize: if a file is picked for processing and its size exceeds the configured value (in bytes), the file is rejected and sent to the error folder with a log stating that the file size exceeds the configured value. The default value is null, which translates to an unlimited file size.

  • During the service startup, Inventory Server checks if the database schema is up to date and, if needed, performs the necessary updates.

  • Inventory Server improves parallel access to the database to enable better concurrent processing of inventory data.

  • The Data Update Job procedures transferring data related to Cloud Application Metering have been optimized for performance and to transfer less data.

  • The File Extractor tool has been updated with quality-of-life enhancements.

Corrections​

  • Unreferenced entries in the application dictionary in the database are removed by the Garbage Collector (04356595, PRB0042229).

  • The IsReachable attribute for computers discovered from Active Directory is correctly processed.

  • The setting DaysSinceLastLogin available for the AnnouncementsProcessingModule configuration is applied to the most recent between the LastLogonActivity and the WhenCreated attributes of the discovered computer or user.

  • The operating-system of Hyper-V servers and some computers reported from 3rd party data sources is correctly recognized as Windows.

  • Information on the computer’s logical processors is transferred during the Data Update Job.

  • Data for virtualized applications is transferred correctly during the Data Update Job.

  • The size for the Name attribute of pre-recognized software data transferred during the Data Update Job has been increased to 150 characters to prevent issues during the Data Update Job.

  • The size for the Software Version data transferred during the Data Update Job has been reduced to 150 characters to prevent issues during the Data Update Job (04476432, the complete resolution will require a future update of Snow License Manager).

  • Inventory Server implements an improved logic to check if the endpoint configured for use is available during service startup.

  • Installing Inventory Server in Service Gateway mode no longer installs the Admin Console.

  • The Inventory Server uninstallation program asks for confirmation when run.

  • The Inventory Server uninstallation program removes the SUS client if it is not used by other applications.

6.6.3​

Release date: 2021-06-02

Complete release notes is found here

Corrections​

  • Service Gateway installations can again successfully perform Active Directory discovery for computers and users in cases where the Service Gateway log files were containing errors complaining that the ClientIdentityModuleConfiguration service had not been registered.

  • Service Gateway installations implement a more robust self-update logic to update to the same version as the Master Server (04488183).

  • The port availability check has been temporarily disabled; this check normally would stop the service startup if the configured endpoint is already in use by another process.

  • Configuration Manager correctly writes secondary endpoint addresses in the configuration file when configuring a Service Gateway or a Standalone Receiver installation.

  • VMware is now spelled correctly in the database table inv.OperatingSystemType.

  • VMware Photon OS is now recognized as an operating system of type “VMware” (04479676).

  • The amount of logging generated by parsing Adobe SLConfig.xml files has been reduced, by removing log lines generated when the file does not contain a LicensingLEID tag.

6.6.2​

Release date: 2021-04-07

Complete release notes is found here

Enhancements​

  • The CloudMeteringModule module implements the new settings EnableForAllAgents (default value is set to “false”). When the value of this setting is set to “true”, after processing an updated ruleset, the module automatically publishes the new definitions to all agents, without the need for further configurations in the Snow Inventory Admin Console.

  • The internal procedures used to assign targets to a deployment task have been optimized for better performance when processing a large number of objects simultaneously.

  • The internal procedures used to remove data from the Snow Inventory database have been optimized for better performance when processing a large number of objects simultaneously.

Corrections​

  • The scope of the identity enumerator for software data has been expanded to prevent issues with software recognition (04464341).

  • A Snow Inventory Service Gateway installation will continue attempting to update itself in case of repeated failures (04356517).

  • This version of Snow Inventory Server improves the logic that prevents it from processing inventory files and run the garbage collector during the Data Update Job: the mentioned processes are now temporarily halted while the Data Update Job reads from the Snow Inventory database during its “MainStream” part and during the execution of custom stored procedures (04454843).

  • The logging for the Active Directory discovery functionality has been improved (04464522).

  • Computers inventoried through Snow Integration Manager will present their first reporting date as ClientInstallDate in Snow Inventory, if the information cannot be retrieved from the original data source. This will be reflected in Snow License Manager in an upcoming release (04426066).

  • An Active Directory Discovery scan is not blocked when the server cannot establish its identity due to a communication timeout.

  • A missing resource used in the agent deployment process has been reintroduced.

  • When processing an inventory file, the computer heartbeat is updated to reflect the inventory scan date of the file, unless the heartbeat already recorded is more recent.

  • Snow Inventory Master server checks the connection to the configured database when the service is started and quits immediately if the database cannot be contacted.

  • The logging for the processing and the deployment of updated cloud application discovery rules has been improved.

6.6.1​

Release date: 2021-03-09

Complete release notes is found here

Enhancements​

  • The SqlConnectionServiceModule module implements two new settings: ConnectionTimeout (default value: 15) and CommandTimeout (default value: 300). The settings allow to configure the timeout values, in seconds, for connection attempts and command executions against the database.

Corrections​

  • The CommandTimeout setting can be adjusted to enable Snow Inventory Server to correctly add a large number of computers as target for an update task (04433748).

  • The CommandTimeout setting can be adjusted to enable Snow Inventory Server to correctly process updated Cloud Application recognition rules (04433702).

6.6.0​

Release date: 2021-02-17

Complete release notes is found here

New​

  • HTTPS Security headers: To enable protection against encryption downgrade attacks and type mismatch attacks, it is now possible to configure Inventory Server to include the Strict-Transport-Security and X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff security headers in the HTTPS responses. This functionality can be configured in the OwinWebApiServerModule in the server configuration file, please refer to the Snow Inventory User Guide for further details.

  • Support for proxy servers in the Service Gateway configuration: When configuring a Service Gateway, it is now possible to configure a proxy server (and eventual credentials) to use when communicating with the Master Server or another Service Gateway.

Enhancements​

  • To improve consistency and reliability of the inventory data for computers that receives it from more than one source (such as agents and Integration Manager connectors), Snow Inventory Server now implements an improved logic to consolidate incoming inventory scan results.

  • It is now possible to configure the last-activity span for computers or users that are inventoried via Active Directory Discovery. AnnouncementsProcessingModule, in the Inventory Server configuration file, contains a new setting: DaysSinceLastLogin. The default value is 90 (days). When Active Directory Discovery results are processed and the combination of the LastLogonActivity and the WhenChanged attributes of an object is more recent than the value of DaysSinceLastLogin, the object data is processed. Otherwise, the data is discarded.

Corrections​

  • The Inventory Server service will not start, and an error will be recorded in the log file, if it is configured to use a TCP port already bound to another process.

  • Processing an inventory file updates the last recorded heartbeat

  • Information about SLConfig.xml files are now stored correctly (04450408).

  • Temporary files generated while receiving inventory data are removed if the connection is not closed graciously (04430174).

  • Computers reporting Inventory data using Snow Inventory Client are now correctly identified when the Sitename configuration parameter is changed (04422694).

  • Snow Inventory Server can now process and store information on the number of logical processors (04356550).

  • Unrecognized operating-systems are no longer classified as Windows-type

  • The results of Customizable processing logic rules of ServerOperatingSystem type are now updated for existing computers.

  • Computers where the operating-system is recognized as server-class are always presented as servers (04449846).

  • CentOS operating-system is recognized as Linux (04447795).

  • Alibaba Cloud virtual machines are recognized as such (04457497).

  • Nutanix virtual machines are recognized as such.

  • The “All Servers” view now shows all computers recognized as servers (04449252).

  • Active Directory discovery can be performed on domains different than the one of the server where Snow Inventory Server is installed (04454278).

  • Organizational Unit information for Active Directory users are now reported correctly when the Common Name contains a comma.

  • Invalid discovery files are discarded and don’t interfere with processing other files.

  • The indexes for the metering tables of databases upgraded from version 6.0.0 have been corrected.

  • Database stored procedures used in the Data Update Job now take into consideration the start time of the job itself.

  • The Data Update Job will no longer try to process environment variables that don’t have a name (04459261).

6.5.0​

Release date: 2020-10-21

Complete release notes is found here

New​

  • Customizable processing logic: Snow Inventory Server includes logic to infer some attributes of the inventory data being processed based on the values reported elsewhere in the inventory data itself.

Enhancements​

  • Extended Active Directory user discovery.

  • Improved performance in the Data Update Job.

Corrections​

  • Snow Inventory Server Configuration Manager now can correctly generate a configuration file for a Service Gateway instance (04413954).

  • Snow Inventory Server Configuration Manager now can correctly change the database connection settings in the configuration file for a Master server instance.

  • Snow Inventory Server now locks inventory files being processed to prevent excessive memory consumption and to allow the files to be completely processed (04421699).

  • Email addresses from the Active Directory user discovery feature are now processed correctly (04421296).

  • Inventory Server now uses an alternate method to check the availability of discovered computers (04417210).

  • Inventory Server now correctly performs the discovery of Active Directory computers and users according to its default configuration, if present.

  • The logic used to detect Adobe software installations has been updated to reflect the format of swidtag and slconfig.xml files (PRB0043057, 04356524). Note: processing data from the slconfig.xml file requires Snow Inventory Agent 6.5.0 for macOS or later, or Snow Inventory Agent 6.6.0 for Windows or later.

  • Logical file-system volumes that are part of a virtual volume will no longer contribute twice to the total disk space shown in Snow License Manager (04412623).

  • Computers based on Red Hat OpenStack are now recognized as virtual machines (PRB0043218).

  • Computers based on Google Compute Engine are now recognized as virtual machines (PRB0043068).

  • Citrix Hypervisor XCP is now recognized as a server-class operating system (PRB0043106).

  • Nutanix AOS is now recognized as a server-class operating system.

  • IBM PowerVM hosts are now recognized as running a server-class operating system.

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux is now recognized as a server-class operating system (PRB0043087).

  • ChromeOS operating system is now correctly recognized.

  • Oracle Database 19c is now correctly recognized.

  • Oracle Database EE Extreme Perf edition is now correctly recognized (PRB0043146).

6.4.0​

Release date: 2020-05-19

Complete release notes is found here

Enhancements​

  • Filters on “Export devices”

  • Improved processing logic for inventory data

  • Improved processing logic for data from Snow Integration Manager BigFix connector using “Scan status report” for virtual machines.

  • Improved processing logic for data from Snow Integration Manager BigFix connector using “Scan status report” for installed applications

Corrections​

  • The module ‘DiscoveryResultWorkerModule’ will no longer return an exception when processing Active Directory discovery data where the domain name is longer than 128 characters (PRB0043031).

  • Snow Inventory Server can now correctly process inventory data produced by Snow Integration Manager and older versions of Snow Inventory Client when one of the files to process is corrupted (PRB0043028).

  • Using the improved logic implemented in processing inventory data, Snow Inventory Server can now consistently process and store the client and application PVU values reported by the data sources (PRB0041507).

  • Snow Inventory Server will check if the Data Update Job is active and, in that case, will stop tasks like processing files and performing maintenance on the Snow Inventory database to avoid concurrency problems in SQL Server (deadlocks); normal operations will resume after the Data Update Job completes (PRB0042992).

  • Snow Inventory Server now implements a more accurate mapping of computers which reported inventory data and computers that were discovered on the network or in Active Directory. The new feature “Site name grouping” is used to further improve the results of the mapping; note: this might require some additional configuration to be performed in the Admin Console. (PRB0042365)

  • Using the feature “Configure multiple endpoints” it is now possible to configure the “License Manager” endpoint to allow Snow License Manager to correctly address the Snow Inventory Server when requesting computers to be removed from the Snow Inventory database, after being deleted from Snow License Manager; note: the “License Manager” endpoint must be explicitly configured to correct the issue (PRB0042596).

  • Leveraging the “Scan status report” feature, Snow Inventory Server can now correctly handle the data reported by the Snow Integration Manager BigFix connector on the installed applications and on the virtual machines run on a computer; note: the implementation of this functionality in Snow Integration Manager will be available in a future release (PRB0041829).

  • Snow Inventory Server now correctly handles virtual machine data for a host when this data is reported by multiple data sources.

  • The “Programs and Features” applet in Windows Control Panel will now display the correct major version of the Snow Inventory Server (PRB0043149).

6.3.2​

Release date: 2020-03-11

Complete release notes is found here

Corrections​

  • Support has been implemented to enable Snow License Manager 9.6.1 (and later versions) to correct the behaviors reported in PRB0042694 and PRB0042569 (see the Snow License Manager 9.6.1 Release Notes for further information).

  • The “Programs and Features” applet in Windows Control Panel will now display the correct major version of the Snow Inventory Server (PRB0042096).

6.3.1​

Release date: 2020-01-15

Complete release notes is found here

Corrections​

  • Processing files from Snow Integration Manager no longer leads to abnormal growth of the Snow Inventory database or to a crash of the Snow Inventory Server service. It is recommended to run a full aggregation of all the connectors configured in the Integration Manager after applying this update. (PRB0043043)

6.3.0​

Release date: 2019-11-27

Complete release notes is found here

Enhancements​

  • Performance Improvement on Cloud Metering Data Maintenance – Performance improvements have been made regarding the maintenance and removal of Cloud metering data.

  • Fullversion Info of Data Software – Software data collected from Snow Agents and SIM devices are stored in Snow Inventory Server and software full version information is stored inside the Inventory Database. With this update software, full version information is delivered to Snow License Manager with Data Update Job.

Corrections​

  • The “AD and SIM computers” view in the Discovery section of the Snow Inventory Admin Console now reports all computers discovered from Active Directory, including those that were later reported also by Network Discovery (PRB0042853).

6.2.1​

Release date: 2019-11-06

Complete release notes is found here

Enhancements​

  •  Security Improvements against Denial‐of‐Service Attacks.

  • Amazon Linux and Amazon Linux AMI Support.

  • Performance Improvement at Data Update Job.

6.2.0​

Release date: 2019-09-25

Complete release notes is found here

New​

  •  It is now possible to store processed inventory and discovery data files. This allows to easily replicate the data to a test environment and to facilitate troubleshooting.

Enhancements​

  • Support for Web Application usage metering in Snow License Manager 9 has been implemented. To enable this functionality, Snow Licensed Manager 9.4.0 is required (PRB0042086).

  • PVU values for computers and application installations reported using Integration Manager connectors are now stored independently from the data reported via different sources like the Snow Inventory Agent.

Corrections​

  • Software lacking the Name field in their metadata can now be recognized correctly (PRB0042523).

  • In some scenarios, the Data Update Job would fail with an error like “The maximum system-generated unique value for a duplicate group was exceeded…”. This has been corrected (PRB0042546).

  • Invalid BIOS release dates are now handled and will not cause errors in the execution of the Data Update Job (PRB0042550).

  • Oracle Database version 18c is now recognized correctly. To allow for the correct handling of Oracle Database 18c, Snow License Manager 9.4.0 is required (PRB0042520).

  • Invalid data regarding registry keys are now handled and will not cause errors in the execution of the Data Update Job (PRB0042538).

6.1.0​

Release date: 2019-08-29

Complete release notes is found here

New​

  •  It is now possible to configure Snow Inventory Server to alter the incoming data and use short hostnames (i.e. the hostnames cut at the first dot) for all purposes.

Enhancements​

  • Hostname-only applies to all data sources.

  • Support for operating-system name in the agent manifest

  • Extended support for SWID Tag xml schemas

Corrections​

  • Snow Inventory Server now processes incoming data correctly when the FileExtensionWhiteList or the FileExtensionBlackList settings are used in the FileProcessorModule configuration (PRB0042209).

  • The IP ranges for network discovery are now validated for consistency during configuration and before running the discovery task (PRB0042498).

  • Sort order for dates in Inventory Admin Console has been corrected (PRB0042369).

  • The Inventory Admin Console now correctly displays UTC dates and times for tasks and events (PRB0042369).

  • The Inventory Admin Console now correctly prevents defining more than one weekly task in the agent configuration, to ensure that the resulting configuration file is valid (PRB0042048).

6.0.7​

Release date: 2019-07-17

Complete release notes is found here

Enhancements​

  •  The default configuration for the garbage collector module has been adjusted to more effectively handle larger installations.

  • Support to configure Snow Inventory Agent to enable Public Key Pinning.

  • Support to configure Snow Inventory Agent with the recently introduced SystemSettings.

Corrections​

  • Data from Active Directory User Discovery is now removed according to the configuration of the DiscoveryCleanupModule (PRB0042312).

  • Virtual application packages that were reported multiple times are now handled correctly and will not cause errors in the execution of the Data Update Job (PRB0042376).

  • Virtual machines (VMs) running on Red Hat Linux environments or on oVirt environments are now correctly recognized as such (PRB0042225).

  • The names for virtual machines reported by their host is now stored as reported, and not truncated at the first period ‘.’ (PRB0042145).

  • The “Error encountered” message no longer displays when configuring additional options in Snow Inventory Server Configuration Manager (PRB0042399).

6.0.6​

Release date: 2019-06-19

Complete release notes is found here

New​

  • Changes regarding GDPR Policy:Due to GDPR regulation in EU, Snow Inventory Server will no longer store “Home Phone Number” or “Mobile Phone Number” of Active Directory users. Existing collected information will be deleted when this update is applied.

  • New Monitor Properties:Enhanced Snow Inventory Agent for Windows 6.1.0 to correctly report on multiple monitors and properties manufacturer, serial number and product code and store and display in Snow Inventory Server. Monitors along with these new properties can be seen in the Inventory Snow Management and Configuration Center plugin.

  • Ability to remove Servers and Gateways:The Inventory Snow Management and Configuration Center plugin allows user to delete unwanted or old “Inventory Server” entries, along with, for example, its discovery data. If the same server reports back again, a new entry will be created.

Corrections​

  • Duplicate ObjectGUIDs in the estate Active Directory caused some other discovery data to not be processed. This has been corrected ensuring that the duplicate entries do not stop the processing of other entries. Duplicate ObjectGUID consisting entries will be processed as well (PRB0040164).

  • A correction has been made in Inventory Snow Management and Configuration Center plugin preventing adding the group “Discovery metadata” (from “Available columns” to “Selected columns”) while creating a new discovery view from causing an error message (PRB0040863).

  • Deleting large number of devices in bulk using the Inventory Snow Management and Configuration Center plugin could lead to timeouts. This has been corrected, and during the run time of operations a dialog box will be shown. This dialog box block user interactions until all operations have completed or the user aborted the interaction by clicking on a button on this dialog. Aborting the interaction will not roll back any data. Any devices that have been deleted will remain deleted (PRB0041420).

  • Every web application record must have a valid and non-empty name. A correction in Snow Inventory Server has been made to prevent an incorrectly set empty web application name to cause a Data Update Job fail (PRB0041992).

  • Previously, when exporting an agent configuration using the Inventory Snow Management and Configuration Center plugin, some mandatory tags were omitted; such as “Action” and “Oracle”. This is no longer the case.

6.0.5​

Release date: 2019-04-24

          Product dependencies

          Snow Update Service requires SQL Server 2012 or higher to install Snow Inventory Server 6.0.5

New​

  • Support for non-ISO date formats

  • A new system of device types has been developed in our inventory technology to support more granular licensing possibilities.

  • New API for Oracle data points

  • Handshake timestamp for assessing agent health

Enhancements​

  • Performance enhancements in garbage collection

  • Support for logical volumes with MacOS APFS

Corrections​

  • An issue related to missing operating system and network adaptor from the data about a device has been resolved by limiting simultaneous processing of files sent by the same device (PRB0041091 and PRB0040821).

  • Communication issues with gateway servers installed on a Google cloud service or Amazon AWS, resulting in An unhandled error has occurred in an initialization or run task entry in the logfile have been resolved and Snow Inventory Server now connects correctly to service gateways in virtualized environments (PRB0041716).

  • When users log in to an application multiple times within very short time intervals, Snow agents can report identical user entries, which results in duplicate entry errors on the Snow Inventory database. Such errors no longer arise as Snow Inventory Server now processes only one of the identical entries (PRB0041653).

  • Data normalization of IP addresses has been enhanced to manage multiple IP addresses reported for the same machine. This improvement ensures that virtual machines can be correctly matched to their host, and inventory data collected from these machines will be correctly shown in Snow License Manager views and reports (PRB0041919).

  • Additional error handling has been added to prevent incorrect processing of application pathnames containing a period (.). Such pathnames are now correctly interpreted, and a corresponding software row for the application is created in the Inventory database (PRB0041931).

  • Additional error handling has been added to the Data Update Job. An error no longer occurs if the procedure to get the speed of a processor returns a value of more than 10GHz. Instead, the processor speed is marked as Overflow N/A and the Data Update Job continues processing. Duplication errors caused by software rows with the same ClientID and Name no longer arise, as duplicates are now ignored.

  • Hostname only mode has been modified to identify different types of agent reporting for the same hostname, ensuring that correct network topologies are created (PRB0041654).

6.0.4​

Release date: 2019-02-05

Enhancements​

  • Compatibility with Snow License Manager 9.0.1.

6.0.3​

Release date: 2019-01-16

Enhancements​

  • Compatibility with Snow License Manager 9.0.0.

  • Additional diagnostics in cloud application metering.

6.0.2​

Release date: 2018-11-22

Enhancements​

  • Minor modifications, significant for customers planning to upgrade to Snow License Manager 9, have been made in the contract between Snow Inventory Server and Snow License Manager.

6.0.1​

Release date: 2018-10-17

Enhancements​

  • The level of detail of the CPU name has been improved by using the field ProcessorNameString intead of Name from the Windows agent. This will improve the core-factor mappings in Snow License Manager.

  • Additional details from SIM connectors regarding virtual machines and datacenters are now stored in the Inventory database.

Corrections​

  • Snow Inventory Server now considers all characters of the inventoried software information when generating a unique identifier (softwarehash), instead of only using the first 100 characters.

  • Merging information about swidtags and cloud metering no longer causes the inventory file to be ignored with the error message “Cannot insert the value NULL into column ‘HashValue’”.

  • Windows machines that are not servers or VDIs no longer generate TS-metering.

6.0.0​

Release date: 2018-09-25

New​

  • Compatibility with upcoming release of Snow License Manager.

  • Support for additional types of inventory information

Enhancements​

  • For security reasons, the Master Server and Service Gateway APIs no longer report their local dates and times.

  • Inventory Server, Snow Update Service, and Snow Management and Configuration Center can now be installed in a location other than C:\Program Files.

  • Inventory server no longer rejects inventory files containing unexpected and invalid characters.-

  • The file attributes FileDescription, FileVersion, ProductName, ProductVersion, and OriginalFilename, collected by the Inventory agent for Windows, are now processed and stored in the Snownventory database with their original attribute names.

Corrections​

  • Additional data handling has been added to prevent the Inventory Admin Console from unexpectedly quitting when users with either low bandwidth or large data sets were switching between device information pages.

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