Release Notes Avantra 24

Introduction

These release notes refer to an older version of Avantra and may no longer be accurate in the latest version. Please consult the latest release notes.

Avantra 24 is a major release replacing Avantra 23. Read on to find out what’s new in 24!

What’s new in Avantra 24

New look and feel for Avantra

  • New modern theme for classic UI

  • New release of our next generation UI with tighter integration to the classic UI

  • New welcome page for Avantra

Avantra Add-ins Library

  • Browse available Add-ins for Avantra and download directly

  • 1-click install of new add-ins

  • Notification of Add-in updates

Automation

  • New ad-hoc credential input for workflows

  • New UX for monitoring workflow executions

  • Performance improvements for workflows and workflow executions

  • Start/Stop of non-cloud servers via custom workflows

  • Implement SAP HotNews through UI with connected workflow

Monitoring

  • Customer specific monitoring parameter sets

  • RUN_JS support for ASCS type instances

  • Disable checks or check notifications for a set time

Platform Updates

  • New GIT based source code integration for workflows and steps

  • Publicly available GraphQL API and documentation

  • Numerous performance improvements across the product

  • Java 17 support for Avantra Server

  • SAP JAVA Connector (JCo) upgrade to 3.1.8

  • Enhanced ServiceNow integration

  • Customer specific database encryption for sensitive fields

  • Avantra Agent silent install options for Windows

  • More granular permissions

Important Notes

  • If upgrading from a version earlier than 21.11, please read the release notes for each version for any additional guidance.

  • Java 17 is now required for Avantra 24 and above (both Server and Agents)

  • For the upgrade of the transports, see Procedure: Import Transport Request.

See also Supported Platforms.

Upgrading to Avantra 24

To upgrade to Avantra 24 is simple as it can be applied like any patch, it is typically less than a few minutes to upgrade an Avantra server.

Previous agent releases (23, 21.11, 20.11 & 20.5) are compatible with Avantra Server 24.x.

Before beginning an installation or upgrade, Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 17 is required on both the Server and Agents.

Server Upgrade

Please make sure to take a database backup before performing any Avantra Server upgrade. Several database migrations are performed and will prevent downgrade to an earlier version.

Upgrading an Avantra Server is a simple process. Ensure JRE 17 is present before the upgrade and the server installer will search for it. Please make sure that the server installer finds the JRE 17 installation and not any previous or later versions.

After upgrade, please access the Avantra UI and login with an administrator account to trigger any necessary post upgrade steps. Note that these may take a while to perform depending on your installation size and the UI will be slower to respond during this time.

Agent Upgrade

For Agent upgrade, JRE 17 must be installed prior to the agent update process. If this is performed manually, a manual installation of Java can be performed and the Java path is found in the installation.

For automatic agent upgrades, Java 17 must be present on the target server BEFORE the agent upgrade to Avantra 24.x can be performed. Avantra agent 23.3.x can be used to facilitate this since it is supported by Avantra 24.x and Agent 23.3.x supports both Java 8 and Java 17.

If the Avantra agent monitors SAP systems, it is advised to upgrade the transport to Avantra 24.0 version PRIOR to upgrading the agent to 24.0. This is due to a new caching mechanism employed by the updated SAP JCo libraries delivered with Avantra 24.x agents. See further sections for more information.

An automatic upgrade path could be as follows:

  1. Upgrade Avantra Server to 24.x

  2. Upgrade Avantra Agents to 23.3.x (noting all pre-requisites for this upgrade)

  3. Update Agent Java using Avantra’s Agent Java update process from the Avantra UI to the appropriate JRE 17 version

  4. (For monitored SAP systems) Update to the latest ABAP transports for 24.x

  5. Upgrade Avantra Agents to 24.x using Avantra’s built in Agent update process from the Avantra UI

Before performing an upgrade, be sure to read the following Upgrade Notes: 24.0 and Avantra 24 - Known Issues documents.

See also the Upgrading Avantra.