Release Manual 8.6.x

    Upgrade instructions

    The XL Release upgrade process you use depends on the version from which you are upgrading, and the version to which you want to go.

    For detailed instructions based on your upgrade scenario, refer to Upgrade scenarios.

    XL Release 8.6.3

    XL Release 8.6.3 release notes

    Bug fixes

    • [REL-6752] - Information exposure through an error message
    • [REL-7824] - Client-side remote code execution through excel
    • [REL-8361] - Dashboards screen is broken in Chrome

    XL Release 8.6.2

    XL Release 8.6.2 release notes

    New features

    • [REL-7990] - Configuration to disable the "Remember Me" option from the login screen

    Bug fixes

    • [REL-7988] - Cannot edit folder variable of type fixed list
    • [REL-7996] - Fixed CSS issues
    • [REL-7998] - Releases are not completely archived when deleting parent folder
    • [REL-8031] - Deployment activity entry renders poorly when a task does not have a user associated with it

    XL Release 8.6.1

    XL Release 8.6.1 is a short-term support (STS) version that will be supported until it is superseded by the next STS or long-term support (LTS) version. STS versions do not receive specific maintenance releases. For more information, refer to Short-term support/Long-term support policy.

    XL Release 8.6.1 new features

    Folder variables

    Variables can now be defined at a folder level. Folder variables can be used in all templates, releases, and dashboards within a folder hierarchy to manage shared information. For more information, see Configure folder variables.

    Add a custom logo

    In the menu bar of XL-Release, it is now possible to add a custom logo. For more information, see Custom logo.

    System messages can display helpful information for all users

    It is possible to create system messages for all users which are displayed under the menu bar. For more information see XL Release system messages.

    Template names can now be defined by using variables, which can be dynamically passed

    In the Create Release task, it is now possible to use variables to define template names and pass the names dynamically. For more information, see Passing the template and its variables dynamically.

    Gate task screen now has a link that allows you to navigate directly to the referenced release

    The gate task screen now links the referenced releases directly so that you can navigate to them without needing to go back to the Create Release task. Gate Details

    If XL Release is configured with active/active state or in cluster mode, the Plugins tab will be removed

    Since it is not possible to use plugins while the system is either in active/active or hot-standby cluster mode, the Plugins tab is now automatically disabled when those modes are selected.

    Improved permission screens and new folder permissions

    The permissions screens were reorganized to present user permissions in a more logical way, particularly for folder permissions. For more information, see Configure release teams and permissions.

    New "Last active" column for sorting users in the User management screen

    The Users tab of the User management screen now has a Last active column which displays the last login date of the user.

    Risk assessors can now use markdown to format messages with text and icons

    Previously Java code messages set by risk assessors could not use any HTML elements or icons. Now the messages can use Markdown formatting that allows them to insert images, links, and text formatting.

    Refresh button added to custom dashboard views

    In the menu bar of custom dashboards, a new Refresh button was added which clears the cache of all tiles and displays current data for the dashboard. The button is only available on the following dashboards:

    • Release dashboards
    • Folder dashboards
    • Global dashboards

    Logback-Access logger was restored in XL-Release

    The Logback-Access logger now works on the current embedded version of Jetty.

    Enhanced release execution in the XL CLI

    The XebiaLabs command-line interface (CLI) now allows you to follow the progress releases as they run, and to archive releases after they finish. The CLI also includes advanced options for running in detached mode, so releases can execute in the background without blocking use of the CLI.

    Easier YAML file editing in Microsoft Visual Studio Code

    Use the new DevOps as Code extension for Microsoft Visual Studio Code to quickly create and edit YAML files that define your infrastructure, environments, release templates, dashboards, and more. The extension provides syntax highlighting, contextual documentation, and support for code completion, validation, formatting, and snippets.

    New blueprints for Google Kubernetes Engine, Amazon ECS, and DevSecOps

    XebiaLabs' blueprints guide you through a process that automatically generates YAML files for your applications and infrastructure, so you can easily get started with new technologies and platforms.

    Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) allows you to deploy, manage, and scale containerized applications in the cloud using Kubernetes. XebiaLabs now offers a blueprint that guides you through the process of deploying a sample microservice-based application using Terraform to define the infrastructure that will run on GKE.

    XebiaLabs also offers a new blueprint for deploying to Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS), a container orchestration service for Docker-enabled applications. The new blueprint guides you through the process of deploying a sample monolithic application using Terraform to define the infrastructure that will run on ECS.

    In addition, the new DevSecOps security scanning blueprint shows how you can integrate code analysis tools such as SonarQube, Black Duck, Checkmarx, and Fortify into your release pipelines. The blueprint also includes an out-of-the-box dashboard that provides enhanced visibility into your security testing activities.

    Note: The 8.6.1 version of the XL CLI is required to use the new blueprints.

    XL Release 8.6.1 changes

    ConfigurationApi deprecated

    The ConfigurationApi from com.xebialabs.xlrelease.xlr-api public library has been deprecated and is being replaced by IConfigurationApi.

    This change has been made to have the same naming convention in Jython API in the next future release. If you have plugins using xlr-api.jar you will have to replace them before upgrading to the next release.

    XL Release 8.6.1 upgrade notes

    Contact XebiaLabs Support if you have hotfixes

    If you have hotfixes installed, contact the XebiaLabs support team before upgrading.

    XL Release 8.6.1 release notes

    New features

    • [REL-3853] - Define variables at a folder level
    • [REL-5122] - Add a custom logo to the XL-Release top pane
    • [REL-5519] - audit.log file has been fixed and now logs all interactions with configuration items
    • [REL-5600] - System messages can display helpful information for all users
    • [REL-6600] - Changed "Time spent per task" reporting task to "Time spent by task category"
    • [REL-6617] - Template names can now be defined by using variables, which can be dynamically passed
    • [REL-6631] - Gate task screen now has a link that allows you to navigate directly to the referenced release
    • [REL-6941] - If XL Release is configured with active/active state or in cluster mode, the Plugins tab will be removed
    • [REL-7186] - Improved permission screens and folder permissions view
    • [REL-7791] - New "Last active" column for sorting users in the User management screen
    • [REL-7810] - Risk assessors can now use markdown to format messages with text and icons
    • [REL-7827] - Refresh button added to custom dashboard views
    • [REL-7838] - Logback-Access logger was restored in XL-Release
    • [REL-7901] - License expiry warning message text change

    Improvements

    • [REL-6254] - Missing task types no longer cause XL-Release to crash
    • [REL-7386] - "Longest task type" dashboard tile now shows the full task name
    • [REL-7650] - When completed releases are exported in Excel, the comments are now displayed in a column
    • [REL-7771] - "Create new release" screen performance improvements
    • [REL-7825] - Add an application to an environment reservation in the EnvironmentReservationAPI
    • [REL-7854] - Added new icons throughout XL Release
    • [REL-7886] - Option to not always clean output properties when retrying a custom script task
    • [REL-7898] - Release ID is now published with release log events

    Bug fixes

    • [REL-3692] - Presence of "<" character in a key-value map variable causes the variable view to display incorrectly
    • [REL-4568] - Username and password for the "Run automated tasks as user" value are removed when copying templates
    • [REL-6533] - Problems creating Unix hosts under "Shared configurations"
    • [REL-6543] - JIRA tasks not being able to add comments when the status changed to "closed"
    • [REL-6736] - NullPointerException error when trying to view an imported template's Trigger view
    • [REL-7017] - Script output logs in 'work' directory not cleaned even after release is completed/archived
    • [REL-7066] - favicon.ico error when using OIDC authentication
    • [REL-7446] - Phase with task group moving to the top when the active task changes after polling
    • [REL-7458] - REST API successfully passes inaccurate "create and start release" paths
    • [REL-7493] - Build number link in the Jenkins dashboard tile was not clickable
    • [REL-7584] - Value providers unable to decrypt passwords for configuration items
    • [REL-7594] - Save button is disabled with last saved timing
    • [REL-7663] - Jython documentation page incorrectly references 'configurationApiImpl' instead of 'configurationApi'
    • [REL-7669] - Phase is completed even with planned task(s) after a parallel group with no task is completed
    • [REL-7759] - Issues with compliance tiles on the dashboard
    • [REL-7765] - Release title field gets reset after choosing template (create release from template)
    • [REL-7766] - Unable to delete a phase when a comment is added to the task
    • [REL-7767] - Problem in activity log when changing the value of a password variable
    • [REL-7776] - XL Generate unable to generate gate dependencies
    • [REL-7780] - Moving a task to a group task caused exceptions to be shown
    • [REL-7805] - xlr-api has dependencies to private repository
    • [REL-7807] - Folders not being created in the same folder as the template when the new release is created from a template of that folder
    • [REL-7840] - Notification email logo for XL Release fixed
    • [REL-7863] - Error when creating release from template with a UserInput task and a variable
    • [REL-7866] - h2 database version reverted to 1.4.193.jar due to Liquibase schema conflict
    • [REL-7867] - Unable to set specific date range in the calendar date filter
    • [REL-7868] - Browser console error when typing '${d' in the inline text editor
    • [REL-7872] - Implement session affinity for XebiaLabs CLI when available (with basic authentication fallback)
    • [REL-7877] - System message overlapping other UI elements
    • [REL-7880] - If a filter is applied to release text for a folder, it was not possible to open other folders
    • [REL-7885] - External users using the REST API are not classified correctly if they have a capital letter in their username
    • [REL-7923] - Tooltips persisting on the browser when changing views via keyboard shortcut
    • [REL-7931] - Task group can't be deleted when a comment is added to the sub-task
    • [REL-7944] - DSL does not work when a variable references another folder or global variables
    • [REL-7945] - Error reading releases with a restarted phase when their parent folder was moved
    • [REL-7948] - Restricted access to "/server/info resource" folder to prevent library versions being exposed
    • [REL-7951] - Removing an environment stage does not cause the UI to refresh
    • [REL-7967] - Wrong data for 'numberOfComments' in the 'My tasks' page
    • [REL-8002] - Improper handling of whitespaces for string variables
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