everRun Release 7.6.1.0 Release Notes

These Release Notes (updated at 9:33 PM on 4/29/2021) are for everRun Release 7.6.1.0. See the following sections:

• New Features and Enhancements
• Bug Fixes
• CVE Fixes
• Important Considerations
• Known Issues
• Documentation Updates
• Accessing Stratus Knowledge Base Articles
• Getting Help

New Features and Enhancements

Major new features and enhancements are listed below under the release in which they became available.

New in everRun Release 7.6.1.0

The following features are new in everRun Release 7.6.1.0:

• Platform—Support for new Intel processors:
  • Coffee Lake processors
    • Intel Xeon E-2XXX
  • Cascade Lake processors
    • Intel Xeon Gold 62XX
    • Intel Xeon Gold 52XX
    • Intel Xeon Silver 42XX
• Security Improvements—The IPtables administration tool now filters packets to the guest OS in addition to filtering packets to the host OS.
• Host OS Support—Support for CentOS 7.6 as the host operating system for the everRun system, providing the 3.10.0-957.27.2.el7.x86_64 linux kernel.
• Virtual Machines—Support for new guests:
  • CentOS 7.6 (64-bit)
  • CentOS 6.10 (64-bit)
  • Red Hat 8.0 (64-bit)
  • Red Hat 7.6, 7.7 (64-bit)

New in everRun Release 7.6.0.0

The following features are new in everRun Release 7.6.0.0:

• OEM Support—Enhanced customization capabilities: you can configure a banner for the everRun Availability Console login page.
• everRun Availability Console—Supported browsers updated.
• Usability
  • Edit your own user information.
  • The Users & Groups page is provided on the Preferences page under Administrative Tools, which appears for only users who have system administrator privileges.
  • Documentation translated into German, Chinese, Japanese, and Portuguese.

• VM Management
  • List of supported guest operating systems updated.
  • In a VM console session, you can resize the session window, you can resize the session's browser window to full screen, and use keyboard shortcuts.
  • The AVCLI vm-export and vm-snapshot-export commands have the required option --format to specify vhd or vhdx.
  • Import OVF files as well as P2V files from VMware ESX.

• Operations and Troubleshooting—Support for SNMP Version 3:

  • You can add SNMPv3 users, who can enable SNMPv3 requests.

  • AVCLI snmp3 commands
• Licensing—Simplified procedure to upload a license.
• Security Improvements
  • Enhanced password functionality:
    • Passwords must conform to the password policy of the system.
    • The user admin must change the admin password when first logging in.
    • Users can reset their passwords, functionality that includes a mail server.
    • The everRun Availability Console login page has a Forgot Password? link, which enables you to set a new password.
    • Last Password Update Time is displayed for each user on the Users & Groups page, and an administrator can force users to change their passwords.

  • The default communication protocol is HTTPS.

    When logging in to the everRun Availability Console for the first time, most browsers display one or more security messages, but you can proceed to the console. You can add a security exception later, to allow the site to load without the message(s).

  • IPtables support enhanced with the ability to create rules for ranges of IP addresses and to import and export rules.
  • Unused login sessions automatically timeout.
  • Support for SSL and TLS for the encryption protocol that the SMTP server requires.
  • TLS v1.2 is the minimum secure encryption protocol configured on the system.

• SplitSite—Thorough information about planning, configuring, and creating a SplitSite configuration.

Bug Fixes

Bugs Fixed in everRun Release 7.6.1.0

EV-50067: The host microcode update does not always properly set spec_ctrl flag that indicates Spectre mitigation is supported.

EV-50012: The host microcode may not be updated on an upgrade to the everRun 7.6.0.0 release.

EV-49917: Correct the secondary node NTP settings.

EV-49840: Physical to virtual (P2V) conversion fails due to unexpected partition table characteristics.

EV-49807: The everRun Availability Console displays lost connectivity with network warning for management port state if DNS server communication is lost.

EV-49802: Some e-alerts, call homes, and snmp traps no longer work after upgrading a system to everRun 7.6.0.0.

EV-49788: VM import fails when name of disk image file does not contain the string disk.

EV-49680: The IPtables configuration is not restored after a node reboot or replacement.

EV-49603: Kit upgrade can hang if any unused network has a fault. The Qualify script should be enhanced to check for this condition.

EV-49537: Prevent potential loss of guest due to internal queue lockup.

EV-49530: A RAID disk removed using the Repair option sometimes cannot be added back to a running system.

EV-49528: Guest VMs with very large disks may cause the everRun Availability Console to become non-responsive during certain operations.

EV-49527: Putting a node into Maintenance is blocked until all mirror copies for a VM are completed.

Bugs Fixed in everRun Release 7.6.0.0

EV-48962: SMD logs unnecessary messages.

EV-48473: VM(s) will not start because axstore.db has a size of 0.

EV-48341: Windows VM crashes when last available network adapter is disabled.

EV-48304: Memory leaks.

EV-48191: System Manager does not start the AX-QEMU after it was shutdown due to CoreFT Fault Handler.

EV-48006: Upgrading pre-7.5 untracked trial system will not accept full license.

EV-47903: Upgrade from 7.3.4 can hang after first node has been upgraded.

EV-47901: On systems with multiple 4k sector logical drives, data loss can occur after an upgrade to 7.5.0.5 if disk repair is attempted.

EV-47860: Guest AXs cannot communicate with each other if A-Links references were crossed.

EV-47754: System management restart causes a false node reboot alert message.

EV-47673: Private branded customization lost during node replace.

EV-47659: Performance graphs for VM IO & Disk performance under System tab is not shown correctly.

EV-47611: Interrupting and restarting mirror copy can fail.

EV-47091: Importing FT VM onto HA system cannot start due to unlicensed feature.

CVE Fixes

For a list of the CVE fixes, see Fixed CVEs.

Important Considerations

Upgrading from Releases Earlier than 7.3.4.0

You can upgrade to Release 7.6.0.0 from Release 7.3.4.0 or a later release. If you are upgrading from an everRun release prior to 7.3.4.0, you must first upgrade to Release 7.3.4.0 (referring to the everRun Release 7.3.4.0 Release Notes), and then upgrade to Release 7.6.0.0 following instructions in Upgrading everRun Software.

Upgrading When Guest Has Attached USB

Remove USB media before you upgrade. Guests with an attached USB media will fail to migrate during an upgrade. This prevents the upgrade from proceeding, leading to a failed upgrade.

Guest Operating Systems No Longer Supported

Beginning in Release 7.5.1.1, everRun software no longer supports CentOS Releases 6.4, 6.5, and 6.6, nor RHEL Releases 6.4, 6.5, and 6.6 as guest operating systems. See for the list of supported releases of guest operating systems.

Known Issues

USB 3.1 Devices Not Supported

USB 3.1 devices are not supported. Use USB 3.0 devices, instead.

Using USB 3.0 Devices

Some USB devices claim to be 3.0 compatible, but are not. If you are using such a device, switch to another USB device that is 3.0 compatible.

Storage Group Size is Negative After PXE Recover or PXE Replace

You can recover or replace a PM from a temporary Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) server on the primary PM. After the procedure is complete, the Size Available column of a Storage Group displays a negative value with the following selections in the PXE procedures:

• In Recovering a Failed Physical Machine, the selection PXE PM Recover - Preserve Data.
• In Replacing Physical Machines, Motherboards, NICs, or RAID Controllers, the selections PXE PM Replace – Initialize All Disks and then Only respond to PXE requests from the current partner node.

This is a display problem. The actual size in the system is accurate. To correct the display, re-assign the disk to the storage group.

Cannot import VMware VM with UEFI firmware

You cannot import a VM from a VMware source if the VM firmware type is set to UEFI. The everRun system supports importing VMs from a VMware source only if the VM firmware type is set to BIOS (that is, Legacy BIOS).

Creating VCD fails when console browser is Microsoft Edge

To import a VMware VM, use operating system shutdown commands

When importing a VMware VM, you must shutdown the VM using operating system shutdown commands in addition to powering it off from the VMware console. If you shutdown the VM using only the VMware console, the import will fail.

P2V Migration of Ubuntu 14.04, 16.04, or 18.04 VM From a Bare Metal Machine

After migrating a VM using P2V from a bare metal machine running Ubuntu 14.04, 16.04, or 18.04, the VM may have problems, such as no active network. To correct the problem, perform the appropriate procedure below after migrating the Ubuntu VM.

After migrating an Ubuntu 18.04 VM

1. From the everRun console, open a console window into the VM.
2. Log in to the VM and go to the terminal.
3. Enter the following command: cd /etc/netplan.
4. Enter the following command: sudo vi 01-netcfg.yaml.
5. In the file 01-netcfg.yaml, change eno1 to ens3f0.
6. Enter the following command: sudo netplan apply.
7. Enter the following command: ifconfig.

You do not need to reboot the VM because, after issuing these commands, the VM is on the network with its configured IP address.

After migrating an Ubuntu 16.04 VM

1. From the everRun console, open a console window into the VM.
2. Log in to the VM and go to the terminal.
3. Enter the following command: cd /etc/network.
4. Enter the following command: sudo vi interfaces.
5. Change the eno1 interface to ens3f0.
6. Save the changes.
7. Enter the following command: sudo systemctl restart networking.service.

After migrating an Ubuntu 14.04 VM

The following procedure does not require you to reboot the system. 

1. From the everRun console, open a console window into the VM.
2. Log in to the VM and go to the terminal.
3. Enter the following command: ifconfig.

   Note that the command output does not include eth0.

4. Enter the following command:. ifconfig -a.

   Note that the command output includes eth0.

5. Enter the following command: cd /etc/network/.

6. Enter the following command: sudo vi interfaces.

   In the interfaces file, change em1 to eth0.

7. Enter the following command: cd run.
8. Enter the following command: ls –l.
9. Enter the following command: sudo touch ifup.eth0.

10. Enter the following command: sudo vi ifstate.eth0.

    In the ifstate.eth0 file, insert eth0 at the top of the file.

11. Enter the following command: sudo ifdown eth0.
12. Enter the following command: sudo ifup eth0.

The following procedure requires you to reboot the VM:

1. From everRun console, open a console window into the VM.
2. Log in to the VM and go to the terminal.
3. Edit the /etc/network/interfaces file, changing em1 to eth0.
4. Reboot the VM.

Mapping of Japanese Keyboards 106 and 109 For Console in IE10, IE11, or Firefox May Be Incorrect

The mapping of the Japanese keyboards 106 and 109 may be incorrect when using IE10, IE11, or Firefox to access the everRun Availability Console. Use Chrome or remote connection software (VNC or RDP), instead.

VMs Running Windows 2016 with the Maximum vCPUs and Memory Will Not Reboot Cleanly

A Windows 2016 VM with the maximum supported number of vCPUs and the maximum amount of memory will not reboot cleanly. To avoid the problem, reboot the VM using the Shutdown button (on the *Virtual Machines* page, in the bottom pane for the VM), and then restart the VM using the Start button.

Application-consistent Snapshots of Windows 2008 and Windows 2003 VMs Fail

The system cannot create application-consistent snapshots of VMs running Windows 2008 (32 bit) and Windows 2003 (32 bit). The system can create only crash-consistent snapshots of VMs running these operating systems.

VM Network Remains Offline After Using P2V/V2V to Migrate from a VMware Source and After Importing a Windows-based VM

If you use the P2V client (virt-p2v) to migrate a PM or VM from a source that is running VMware, the network driver might fail to install properly during the migration process, which leaves the VM network offline. If this happens, manually install the network driver in Device Manager. For instructions, see the Troubleshooting section of Migrating a Physical Machine or Virtual Machine to a System.

If you import a Windows-based VM with the Import/Restore Virtual Machine Wizard, the VirtIO network driver may fail to install properly the first time you start the VM, which leaves the VM network offline. If this happens, manually install the network driver in Device Manager. For instructions, see the Troubleshooting section of Importing an OVF File.

Some Browsers Unable to Connect a VNC When Using https

If you are connected to the everRun Availability Console using an https URL in a Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla® FireFox® browser, and you click Console after selecting a running VM from the Virtual Machines page, the message VNC: Unable to connect, retrying in n seconds may appear. To enable the VNC connection, click the https link to the VNC console page in the upper right-hand corner of the masthead, and continue with the appropriate procedure below (procedure in your browser may differ, depending on the version of your browser):

• In Internet Explorer, the Security Alert wizard appears:

  1. Click Continue to this website (not recommended).
  2. Click OK.

• In FireFox, the Your connection is not secure window appears: 

  1. Click Advanced. A message about an invalid security certificate appears.
  2. Click Add Exception. The Add Security Exception dialog box appears with the console's location in Location.

  3. Click Confirm Security Exception.

The VNC console appears.

Cannot Mount USB Media with exFAT File System

The everRun software on everRun systems does not support the exFAT File system. If you need to mount a USB medium to import or export a VM, as described in Mounting a USB Device or Network-mounted Folder on the everRun System, format the device with NTFS. (By default, most USB media are formatted with the FAT file system, which has a limited file size of 4 GB that may be too small for most VMs.)

Removing Snapshots Temporarily Prevents Some VM Operations

When you remove a snapshot on an everRun system, the system must coalesce the snapshot by merging it with the next oldest snapshot. While the system is coalescing snapshots:

• A user cannot create a new snapshot in the everRun Availability Console. If you try, an error indicates that the system is busy.

• A user cannot start the VM associated with the snapshot(s) if the VM is currently stopped. The Start button is temporarily unavailable on the Virtual Machines page of the everRun Availability Console. So, if you need to delete a snapshot, do so while its associated VM is running, or allow the associated VM (if stopped) to remain stopped.
  

• A user must not shutdown a VM associated with the coalescing snapshot(s). You must not shut down the associated VM from the guest operating system because doing so causes data corruption. You cannot shut down the VM using the everRun Availability Console because the console prevents you from doing so.

• A user cannot perform tasks that require the storage space occupied by the snapshot(s) until the coalescing operation is complete and the snapshot(s) are finally removed from the volume container. For example, this could prevent you from resizing a volume.

Avoid removing snapshots if you have an immediate need to perform any of these operations. After you remove a snapshot, wait at least 10-15 minutes before attempting any of these operations, or retry the operation if needed. You may need to wait much longer depending on the size of your volumes, the amount of VM activity, and the number of snapshots you remove.

For information about how to monitor coalescing operations that are underway, see KB-4272.

Creation of Snapshots Results in Volume Conversion from RAW to QCOW3 Format

If you create and delete a snapshot of a volume that is currently in RAW format, the everRun software automatically converts the volume from RAW to QCOW3 (QCOW2v3) format. The conversion is expected because snapshots require QCOW3 format, but consider that changing the volume format may have performance implications for certain VM loads. You cannot convert a volume from QCOW3 back to RAW format.

Features in everRun Release 7.4.0.0 or higher allow you to copy VMs and export VMs that are stopped without requiring a snapshot. If routine snapshots will not be required, consider these alternatives to retain RAW format (and avoid growing the size of volume containers).

Enabling Log Files for the Windows QEMU Guest Agent May Cause VM Timeouts when Taking Snapshots

When configuring the Windows QEMU guest agent, do not enable the option to save a log file during snapshots. If the QEMU guest agent attempts to create a log file during a snapshot, it may cause VSS timeouts that prevent the snapshot from completing.

Reboot Required when Changing Node IP Address or Netmask Network Settings

When you change the IP address or netmask settings of a node as described in Configuring IP Settings, both the old and new settings are in effect until you reboot the node. Having both settings active may cause routing or connection issues.

Documentation Updates

Updates in the everRun 7.6.1.0 Documentation

For Release 7.6.1.0, the following topics are new or have been updated since Release 7.6.0.0:

• Configuring Secure Connections
• Creating and Migrating Virtual Machines
• Fixed CVEs
• Installing the QEMU Guest Agent for Application-Consistent Snapshots (Windows-based VMs)
• Managing IPtables
• Opening a Virtual Machine Console Session
• Post-Installation Tasks
• Physical Machine System Requirements

Updates in the everRun 7.6.0.0 Documentation

The following Help topics have been updated since translation:

• Compatible Internet Browsers
• Creating a SplitSite Configuration
• Editing Your User Information
• Exporting a Snapshot
• Exporting a Virtual Machine
• Meeting Network Requirements
• Mounting a USB Device or Network-mounted Folder on the everRun System
• Opening a Virtual Machine Console Session
• The Physical Machines Page
• Responding to a Failed Logical Disk
• System Requirements Overview
• Understanding Quorum's Effect on System Behavior
• The Virtual Machines Page
• Virtual Machine Recommendations and Limits
• vm-create

Beginning in Release 7.6.0.0, Help is available in German, Japanese, Chinese, and Portuguese.

Accessing Stratus Knowledge Base Articles

The Stratus Customer Service Portal provides a searchable Knowledge Base with technical articles about all Stratus products, including everRun. In some cases, the Release Notes directly reference these Knowledge Base articles (for example, KB-nnnn). You can access the Customer Service Portal and the Knowledge Base articles by using your existing service portal credentials, or by creating a new user account, as follows.

To access the Knowledge Base

1. Log on to the Stratus Customer Service Portal at https://support.stratus.com.

   If needed, create a new account as follows:

   1. Click Register Account.

   2. Enter your company email address and contact info, and click Register.

      Your company email address must include a domain name (for example, stratus.com) for a company that is a registered customer of Stratus.

   3. Click the link in the email that you receive from Stratus.
   4. Enter a new password and finish configuring your account.

   If you need assistance creating an account, contact your authorized Stratus service representative.

2. In the service portal, click Knowledge Base in the left pane.

3. In the Keyword Search box, enter keywords associated with the information you need, and then click Search.

   To search for an article by its KB-nnnn number, click Advanced Search. Next to Search by ID, type the article ID number (nnnn) and click Display.

Getting Help

If you have a technical question about everRun systems, you can find the latest technical information and online documentation at the Downloads page at https://www.stratus.com/services-support/downloads/?tab=everrun. You can also search the Knowledge Base in the Stratus Customer Service Portal at https://support.stratus.com.

If you cannot resolve your questions with these online resources, and the system is covered by a service agreement, contact your authorized Stratus service representative. For information, see the everRun Support page at https://www.stratus.com/services-support/customer-support/?tab=everrun.

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Product Documentation (PDF Format) everRun User's Guide	About Help Help created at 9:33 PM on 4/29/2021.