Release Notes for Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold v12.3.1

In this File

Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold v12.3.1 Release Notes

Release information

Product name

Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold v12.3.1

Version

v12.3.1

Release date

December 2008

About WhatsUp Gold editions

These release notes apply to all editions of Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold v12.3.1. However, some features referenced in these release notes are only available in certain editions. The table below indicates which features are available in each edition.

 

Standard Edition

Premium Edition

MSP
Edition

Distributed Edition

Application Management

 

 

 

 

Monitor Microsoft Exchange

 

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Monitor SQL Server

 

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Monitor applications via WMI

 

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Monitor Email servers

 

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Real-time Monitoring

 

 

 

 

View real-time data about devices in reports

 

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Quickly access real-time data via InstantInfo popups

 

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Monitor performance data with the Web Performance Monitor

 

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View real-time information about tasks running on a device using the Web Task Manager

 

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Distributed Monitoring

 

 

 

 

Monitor devices on networks segmented across multiple geographic locations

 

 

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View report data from multiple remote sites from one central location

 

 

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Available plug-ins

You can extend the core features of WhatsUp Gold by installing plug-ins. Optional plug-ins available in WhatsUp Gold v12.3.1 are:

For information on available plug-ins and to see release notes for each plug-in, see WhatsUp Gold plug-ins documentation.

New in WhatsUp Gold v12

Device count limits

WhatsUp Gold v12.3 will not manage more devices than your license agreement allows. If you are currently managing more devices than your license allows, upgrading to WhatsUp Gold v12.3 causes the polling engine to stop running until you take additional action. To find out more about how device limits work and to determine if you are affected, see Are you managing more devices than your license allows?.

New in all editions

New in WhatsUp Gold Premium, Distributed, and MSP Editions

For more information about new features, see the WhatsUp Gold New Features Guide.

Fixed in v12.3.1

Fixed in WhatsUp Gold v12.3

Fixed in WhatsUp Gold v12.0.2

Fixed in WhatsUp Gold v12.0

System requirements

Software requirements

Hardware requirements

 

Recommended

Required

Number of Processors

Two

One

Processor

2 GHz

2 GHz

RAM

2 GB

1 GB

Hard disk space for application files

3 GB

2 GB

Hard disk space for database

5 GB or more

*This requirement is larger if you are using WhatsUp Gold NetFlow Monitor. For more information, see the NetFlow Monitor Release Notes.

At least 1 GB

*This requirement is larger if you are using WhatsUp Gold NetFlow Monitor. For more information, see the NetFlow Monitor Release Notes.

Network interface card

1 Gbps

100 Mbps

CD-ROM or DVD-ROM

Required if installing from CD-ROM. Not required for download installations.

Required if installing from CD-ROM. Not required for download installations.

Video display resolution

1280 x 1024 or higher

1024 x 768

Sound card

SAPI-capable sound card required for Text-to-Speech actions

Not required

Modem and phone line

Required for pager, SMS, and beeper actions; modem pooling is not supported

Not required

GSM modem

Required for SMS Direct actions

Not required

Known issues

The following are known issues with the Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold v12.3.1 release:

Installing or upgrading

Note: This product requires activation; for help activating WhatsUp Gold, go to My Ipswitch Help and Support.

Before installing WhatsUp Gold, you must decide where you want to store the network management data WhatsUp Gold generates.

By default, WhatsUp Gold installs Microsoft® SQL Server® 2005 Express Edition on the same computer where WhatsUp Gold is installed. This configuration works well for most networks. However, Microsoft® SQL Server® 2005 Express Edition has a database size limit of 4 GB which may be too small to contain the data collected on larger networks.

Alternatively, you can configure WhatsUp Gold to use an existing Microsoft® SQL Server® database. Microsoft® SQL Server® is not limited in size like Microsoft® SQL Server® 2005 Express Edition, but it does require a knowledgable database administrator to configure and maintain it.

Note: The installation instructions in this document apply only to WhatsUp Gold Standard Edition and WhatsUp Gold Premium Edition. For installation instructions for WhatsUp Gold Distributed Edition or WhatsUp Gold MSP Edition, see WhatsUp Gold Distributed Edition Deployment Guide or WhatsUp Gold MSP Edition Deployment Guide.

Installing using Microsoft® SQL Server® 2005 Express Edition

To install WhatsUp Gold using the default Microsoft® SQL Server® 2005 Express Edition instance:

  1. Log in directly to Microsoft Windows using the Administrator account (if you do not have an account called Administrator, use an account that has full administrative privileges to the computer).

    Caution: We do not recommend using Terminal Services or Remote Desktop to install WhatsUp Gold.

    Note: When installing on Windows Vista, additional steps are necessary for the Task Tray application to work properly. For more information, see Task Tray Application fails on Windows Vista in the Help or User Guide.

  2. Start the installation program:
    • If you downloaded an electronic version of WhatsUp Gold, double-click on the downloaded file.
    • If you purchased a WhatsUp Gold CD-ROM, insert the CD-ROM into the appropriate drive. If it does not run automatically, click Start, select Run, then enter the CD path followed by AutoRun.exe (for example, D:\AutoRun.exe).
  3. Read the Welcome screen.

    Click a button next to an additional resource to view that resource.

    Click Next. The License Agreement dialog appears.

  4. Read the license agreement. If you accept the terms of the license agreement, select I accept the terms of the license agreement.
    • To print a copy of the license agreement, click Print. The license agreement is sent to the default printer.
    • If you do not accept the terms of the license agreement, click Cancel to exit the installation program.

    Click Next to continue.

  5. Select the install directories for Microsoft® SQL Server® 2005 Express Edition. The application and data files are installed in default directories. To change the locations, click Browse to find and select a different directory for the application files or the data files.

    Important: Make sure that you have a large capacity drive selected for data storage. The data files for WhatsUp Gold can reach a maximum size of 22 GB.

    Important: During the initial installation, databases are created for WhatsUp Gold NetFlow Monitor. These initial databases are limited in size, but are increased the first time the NetFlow Monitor collector initializes. If at least 16 GB of disk space are available when the collector initializes, the maximum size of the NetFlow Monitor databases is increased to 4 GB each (16 GB total including transaction logs). If less than 16 GB is available, the maximum size of the NetFlow Monitor databases is limited proportionately to the amount of free disk space. If your license includes WhatsUp Gold NetFlow Monitor, we strongly recommend that you verify that you have at least 16 GB of free disk space before installing.

  6. Click Next. The Choose Destination Location dialog appears.
  7. Select the installation directory for the WhatsUp Gold application files.

    The default path is C:\Program Files\Ipswitch\WhatsUp. We recommend that you use the default path.

    Tip: You can install WhatsUp Gold to a different location. To select a different location, click Change.

    After you select the installation directory, click Next.

    Note: If the installation program detects data from a previous installation of WhatsUp Gold, the Back up Web and Report Files dialog appears. We recommend that you select Back up the existing Web and report files, then click Next.

    The Enable Web Server dialog appears.

  8. Determine if you want to enable the WhatsUp web server.
    • To enable the WhatsUp web server, select Yes and enter a port. The default port is 80.

      Note: You must select a port that is not already in use. If the port you enter is in use, you must enter a different port or stop the service using the entered port before you can continue installing WhatsUp Gold. If you choose to stop the service running on the port you want to use, you must disable it permanently. If you only disable it temporarily, a port conflict will occur the next time the disabled service is started.

    • To use Microsoft Internet Information Services, select No, then see Configuring the web server in the Help.

    After making a selection, click Next.

    Note: If the firewall is enabled when WhatsUp Gold is installed, the port you specify is opened in the Windows Firewall. This allows other computers on the network to log on to the WhatsUp Gold Web interface.

  9. Click Install to install WhatsUp Gold. The setup program installs and configures WhatsUp Gold.
  10. When the installation completes, the InstallShield Wizard Complete dialog appears.

    To see the release notes after the installation program closes, select View WhatsUp Gold release notes and documentation.

  11. Click Finish. The setup program closes.

Installing using Microsoft® SQL Server® 2005

You can use an existing Microsoft® SQL Server® 2005 server to store the data collected by WhatsUp Gold. To do this, these requirements must be met:

If you need assistance configuring or verifying these prerequisites, contact your database administrator or refer to the Microsoft® SQL Server® 2005 documentation.

To install WhatsUp Gold using an existing Microsoft® SQL Server®:

  1. Log in directly to Microsoft Windows using the Administrator account (if you do not have an account called Administrator, use an account that has full administrative privileges to the computer).

    Caution: We do not recommend using Terminal Services or Remote Desktop to install WhatsUp Gold.

    Note: When installing on Windows Vista, additional steps are necessary for the Task Tray application to work properly. For more information, see Task Tray Application fails on Windows Vista in the Help or User Guide.

  2. Start the installation program:
    • If you downloaded an electronic version of WhatsUp Gold, double-click on the downloaded file.
    • If you purchased a WhatsUp Gold CD-ROM, insert the CD-ROM into the appropriate drive. If it does not run automatically, click Start, select Run, then enter the CD path followed by AutoRun.exe (for example, D:\AutoRun.exe).
  3. Read the Welcome screen.

    Click a button next to an additional resource to view that resource.

    Clear Hide advanced installation options. This checkbox must be cleared in order for you to use Microsoft® SQL Server® as the WhatsUp Gold database.

    Click Next. The License Agreement dialog appears.

  4. Read the license agreement. If you accept the terms of the license agreement, select I accept the terms of the license agreement.
    • To print a copy of the license agreement, click Print. The license agreement is sent to the default printer.
    • If you do not accept the terms of the license agreement, click Cancel to exit the installation program.

    Click Next to continue. The Microsoft SQL Server Installation Options dialog appears.

  5. Select Use an existing installation of Microsoft SQL Server, then click Next. The Database Server Login dialog appears.
    1. In Database server that you are installing to, enter the hostname of your database server.

      Note: If you are using a database instance other than the default instance, you must include the instance name using the format <Server_Name>\<Instance_Name>.

      Tip: If you cannot remember your database server's hostname, click Browse to see a list of all database servers detected on the domain. Database servers to which you can connect but which are not configured on the same domain as the computer where you are installing WhatsUp Gold are not shown. The Browse dialog scans your entire domain , so it may take some time before showing you a list of database servers.

    2. Select the appropriate authentication method for your database server.
      • If your database server is a member of a domain and is configured to accept Windows user names, select Windows authentication. The user whose credentials you use to run WhatsUp Gold must be a member of the same domain as the database server.
      • If your database server requires SQL Server authentication, or if the Windows user account under which WhatsUp Gold runs does not have access to the database server via Windows authentication, select SQL Server authentication using Login ID and password below, then enter the correct Login ID and Password.
    3. Click Next. The installation program attempts to validate the credentials you entered and checks for the existence of WhatsUp Gold databases on the database server. If WhatsUp Gold databases are found on the database server, the setup program alerts you and asks if you want to continue.
      • Select Yes to upgrade the databases and continue the installation.
      • Select No to select another Microsoft® SQL Server®.

      After the credentials are validated, the Enter Microsoft® SQL Server® 2005 Express Edition Paths dialog appears.

  6. This dialog lists the third-party resources that the installation program installs, including Microsoft® SQL Server® 2005 Express Edition client tools (required for installations of WhatsUp Gold that use Microsoft® SQL Server® databases) and Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0.

    Click Next. The Choose Destination Location dialog appears.

  7. Select the installation directory for the WhatsUp Gold application files.

    The default path is C:\Program Files\Ipswitch\WhatsUp. We recommend that you use the default path.

    Tip: You can install WhatsUp Gold to a different location. To select a different location, click Change.

    After you select the installation directory, click Next.

    Note: If the installation program detects data from a previous installation of WhatsUp Gold, the Back up Web and Report Files dialog appears. We recommend that you select Back up the existing Web and report files, then click Next.

    The Enable Web Server dialog appears.

  8. Determine if you want to enable the WhatsUp web server.
    • To enable the WhatsUp web server, select Yes and enter a port. The default port is 80.

      Note: You must select a port that is not already in use. If the port you enter is in use, you must enter a different port or stop the service using the entered port before you can continue installing WhatsUp Gold. If you choose to stop the service running on the port you want to use, you must disable it permanently. If you only disable it temporarily, a port conflict will occur the next time the disabled service is started.

    • To use Microsoft Internet Information Services, select No, then see Configuring the web server in the Help.

    After making a selection, click Next.

    Note: If the firewall is enabled when WhatsUp Gold is installed, the port you specify is opened in the Windows Firewall. This allows other computers on the network to log on to the WhatsUp Gold Web interface.

  9. Click Install to install WhatsUp Gold. The setup program installs and configures WhatsUp Gold.
  10. When the installation completes, the InstallShield Wizard Complete dialog appears.

    To see the release notes after the installation program closes, select View WhatsUp Gold release notes and documentation.

  11. Click Finish. The setup program closes.

Upgrading WhatsUp Gold

The installation program can automatically upgrade WhatsUp Gold v11 and later. The installation program delivers new application files and upgrades the database. The installation program automatically upgrades databases on Microsoft® SQL Server® Desktop Edition, Microsoft® SQL Server® 2005 Express Edition, and Microsoft® SQL Server® 2005.

Note: WhatsUp Gold v12.3 introduces automatic database upgrades. It is no longer necessary to manually execute SQL scripts to upgrade a non-standard database.

Note: If you are using Microsoft® SQL Server® 2000, you must upgrade to Microsoft® SQL Server® 2005 prior to upgrading WhatsUp Gold. Microsoft® SQL Server® 2000 is no longer supported by WhatsUp Gold.

Tip: To upgrade from an older version than WhatsUp Gold v11, you must first upgrade to WhatsUp Gold v11, then upgrade to WhatsUp Gold v12.3. For more information, see the WhatsUp Gold Answers repository.

If the database is currently hosted on Microsoft® SQL Server® Desktop Edition or Microsoft® SQL Server® 2005 Express Edition but you want to migrate your database to Microsoft® SQL Server® 2005, complete the upgrade on the existing database, then follow the steps outlined in the WhatsUp Gold Database Migration Guide.

To upgrade from a previous version of WhatsUp Gold:

  1. Log in directly to Microsoft Windows using the Administrator account (if you do not have an account called Administrator, use an account that has full administrative privileges to the computer).

    Caution: We do not recommend using Terminal Services or Remote Desktop to install WhatsUp Gold.

    Note: When installing on Windows Vista, additional steps are necessary for the Task Tray application to work properly. For more information, see Task Tray Application fails on Windows Vista in the Help or User Guide.

  2. Start the installation program:
    • If you downloaded an electronic version of WhatsUp Gold, double-click on the downloaded file.
    • If you purchased a WhatsUp Gold CD-ROM, insert the CD-ROM into the appropriate drive. If it does not run automatically, click Start, select Run, then enter the CD path followed by AutoRun.exe (for example, D:\AutoRun.exe).
  3. Read the notice about device limit enforcement.
    • Select Yes to continue the upgrade.
    • Select No to abort the upgrade.

      Note: If you upgrade and you are currently managing more devices than your license allows, WhatsUp Gold will not poll your devices after the upgrade until you take additional action. To find out more about how device limits work and to determine if you are affected, see Are you managing more devices than your license allows?.

  4. Read the Welcome screen.

    Click a button next to an additional resource to view that resource.

    Important: During the upgrade process, WhatsUp Gold services and monitoring are stopped.

    Click Next. The License Agreement dialog appears.

  5. Read the license agreement. If you accept the terms of the license agreement, select I accept the terms of the license agreement.
    • To print a copy of the license agreement, click Print. The license agreement is sent to the default printer.
    • If you do not accept the terms of the license agreement, click Cancel to exit the installation program.

    Click Next. The Back Up Existing Database dialog appears.

  6. Since the installation program makes changes to the WhatsUp Gold database, we strongly recommend that you select Yes, back up the existing database.

    Note: If you are upgrading from an installation of WhatsUp Gold 11.x that uses Microsoft® SQL Server® Desktop Edition as its database, you can select the location where you want to store the backup. For all other upgrades, the backup is made in the default backup location for the database server.

    Click Next.The Back Up Web and Report Files dialog appears.

  7. If you have modified any of the Web or Report files, select Back up the existing Web and report files. If this option is selected, the existing Web and report files are copied to a backup folder before the upgrade begins. We recommend that you select this option.

    Click Next. The Ready to Install the Program dialog appears.

  8. Click Install. The installation program begins upgrading WhatsUp Gold.
  9. When the installation completes, the InstallShield Wizard Complete dialog appears.

    To see the release notes after the installation program closes, select View WhatsUp Gold release notes and documentation.

    Click Finish. The setup program closes.

Uninstalling WhatsUp Gold

To uninstall Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold v12.3.1 v12.3.1 with Windows XP or 2003:

  1. Select Start > Settings > Control Panel, then select Add or Remove Programs.
  2. Select Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold v12.3.1.
  3. Select Remove.

To uninstall Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold v12.3.1 v12.3.1 with Windows Vista or Server 2008:

  1. Select Start > Settings > Control Panel. The Control Panel dialog appears.
  2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a Program.
  3. Select Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold v12.3.1.
  4. Select Remove.

You can also run the Ipswitch WhatsUp Gold v12.3.1 installation program, then select Remove.

Select one of the following dialog options:

Troubleshooting

Potential SQL Server Express installation errors

Configuring the firewall to allow WMI traffic

WhatsUp Gold uses Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) to monitor and restart NT Services. For each device that is assigned an NT Service Active Monitor, you must supply the Windows credentials. Also, when creating a Service Restart Action, you must supply Windows credentials for each Action. Credentials must have administrative permissions on the remote server. Local accounts with credentials that match remote accounts are no longer required to monitor remote servers.

Credentials are configured in the WhatsUp Gold Credentials Library and used in several places throughout WhatsUp Gold. They can also be associated to devices in Device Properties > Credentials, or through Bulk Field Change for Credentials.

The use of WMI could have some implications if target devices are behind a firewall. To successfully monitor and/or restart NT Services, you need to modify firewall settings so that:

  1. The RPC port (135) is open for connections.
  2. The DCOM port range is defined and open for connections.

For more Troubleshooting information, see the Troubleshooting section in the application Help or User Guide.

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