The crontab file is no more /var/spool/cron/root but /etc/cron.d/charon so in case of upgrade, this requires the lines related to Charon in the /var/spool/cron/root file to be deleted and the menu option '13 - Manage recurring jobs' to be executed
History
March, 3rd 2022 - kit version 1.60.6
Problems fixed by this patch
Deleted software licenses are no more archived in /var/hasplm/installed/68704.bck folder as this generates errors in the HASP error.log file. They are now moved to /var/hasplm.bck
Update in 'Request for new license or license update (send C2V file)' option: the update option 1 requires at least a USB license dongle or a software license already installed.
When starting the menu, a check is performed in the root crontab file and if entries related to Charon are found, a message is displayed asking to remove or comment them and use the 'Manage recurring jobs' option to recreate these entries (which is done in the /etc/cron.d/charon file)
'Manage recurring jobs' menu option: now checks if Charon related entries are still present in the root crontab file and asks for editing it before updating the /etc/cron.d/charon file
Added a check in the 'HASP license details' menu option to ensure 'atd' has been enabled and is running (this is mandatory to read license content via a remote connection)
January, 20th 2022 - kit version 1.60.5
New features
Updated to recognize the new syntax for OPA0 introduced in versions 4.12 and 4.11 B204-13. Note: do not use the 'application' parameter with the toolkit for OPA0 console
Problems fixed by this patch
Updated message related to _fmt.v2c files in 'License update tool (apply V2C file)' menu option
License expiration check: bug solved with 'no expired product found' message, counters were not updated correctly + email layout update
In case the emulator process has to be killed, 5 tries are performed with SIGTERM signal, if not successful a SIGKILL is sent. This is to try to avoid cases where the license is not freed after the process is killed
Fixed issues when trying to unbind/bind USB controller when no one is defined on the Linux server
December, 23th 2021 - kit version 1.60.4
Problems fixed by this patch
Issue solved when generating C2V files: licenses provided by other hosts than the local one will be skipped during the generation process
December, 21th 2021 - kit version 1.60.3
Problems fixed by this patch
Issue solved when generating a C2V file when a software license and a dongle were present on the server and the 'menu' was executed from a remote session.
October, 7th 2021 - kit version 1.60.2
Problems fixed by this patch
Rewording when displaying licenses found to make the difference between local licenses and remote licenses
October, 7th 2021 - kit version 1.60.1
Problems fixed by this patch
The 'HASP license details' menu option:
failed to read licenses when a dongle and a software license were present on the server
did not correctly display license details after viewing license content when a USB dongle and a software license were present
September, 7th 2021 - kit version 1.60
New features
New feature added in menu option '14 - Alerts management' to consider 'CPUx BUGCHECK' messages found in the log file as WARNING instead of INFORMATION. This feature is enabled by default (1).
New feature added in menu option '14 - Alerts management' to consider 'CPUx Halted' messages found in the log file as WARNING instead of INFORMATION. This feature is enabled by default (1).
When running the 'menu', checks are performed for 'atd' service: enabled and active. If this is not the case, alerts may not be sent and license could not be read from remote connection.
License expiration check now displays the number of dongles connected and the number of software licenses found.
When a virtual machine process ends abnormally, an entry in its log file is added with FATAL severity level (2). It provides information on the event (example: signal/KILL if the process got killed)
Log event monitoring now also monitors FATAL messages
When editing stop, pre-start and check scripts, if vim is selected, a special vimrc file is used for ease of reading on black background screens and white background screens.
During setup, if LS_COLORS is defined, the 'ls' command will highlight .cfg, .vdisk and .avdisk files. Note: in case of Toolkit upgrade, please run # ./menusetup -a
'Send configuration and log files via email' option now asks for a number of sets instead of number of last log files if the log rotation is enabled. A set corresponds to the log file when the virtual machine started plus all its rotated log files.
crontab file is no more /var/spool/cron/root but /etc/cron.d/charon (3)
When displaying list of virtual machines, the number of warning, error and fatal messages found in the log file is displayed (if greater than 0).
Console log file, if defined, is now always displayed when listing managed virtual machines.
License expiration check now alerts in case a cloned Software License is possibly found.
Alert emails now contain the kit version for ease of support (4).
'Request for new license or license update' and 'License update tool' now stop if the 'aksusbd' service is not running
(1): In case of upgrade this requires the restart of all log monitoring services from "menu" → "10 - Manage monitored guests logs" → "8 - Restart all log monitoring services".
(2): In case of upgrade, this requires the systemd service to be updated (ExecStopPost line to add, this will be notified when displaying the virtual machines list). In this case, open the 'menu" → 'VM Management' → 'Manage 'systemd' services' and edit the .service file.
(3): In case of upgrade, this requires the lines related to Charon in the /var/spool/cron/root file to be deleted and the menu option '13 - Manage recurring jobs' to be executed
(4): In case of upgrade, please update the alert script (if not already customized) from "menu" → "14 - Alerts management" → "6 - Update/reinstall alert script".
Problems fixed
'ed' added as a mandatory package
'mailx' added as a (highly) recommended package
'vim' added as a recommended package
'putty' added as a recommended package
'lsusb' required executable replaced by 'usbutils' required package
'ifconfig' commands used to get network interfaces details replaced by 'ip'
If a network configuration issue is detected when starting a virtual machine, the message that was sent was related to Linux 6. It now asks correctly torestart the NetworkManager service.
If 'rsh' needs to be installed for clean shutdown on RHEL 8, the installation procedure is detailed in the readme file ('menu' → 'VM Management' → 'Create/Edit guest stop script' -> 'Read how-to setup 'rsh' with ...')
For CentOS and RHEL 8, if 'yum' is not present, 'dnf' is used instead
If connection_override is enabled, a check is performed to verify the new syntax (set COM1 alias = ..) is used. If not (load virtual_serial_line OPA0 port= ..), a 'misconfigured' message is displayed (as this is not compatible)
Sometimes when the virtual machine is started the log continuous view was not automatically stopped when the started message was displayed
For CentOS, the service status reported by 'logview' and 'logtail' commands reported unknown service state. Workaround added to get the ActiveState service parameter status.
When checking the license expiration interactively, if a software license was present and a dongle was connected, only the software license was displayed. This did not affect automated checks executed from the crontab.
When using the "logtail" command, the continuous view is not stopped when a virtual machine started or stopped message is found. Also, when aborted, it does not stop other logtail commands running on the same server.
License expiration check: if more than one license available, if one was about to expired or had expired but not the other, the alert was not correct (no information below the one that was ok)
Missing FATAL messages highlighting in email body when sending log files
January, 13th 2021 - kit version 1.59
New features
Support of the OPA0 console override mode introduced in Charon-AXP/VAX V4.11 B20409.
Support of the Remote Management console introduced in Charon-AXP/VAX V4.11 B20409. New command added: 'vmrmc' that works either with 'telnet' or 'putty' depending on the preferences defined. Note: if you upgrade from a previous version, the aliases have to be updated running the following commands: # cd /opt/charon/utils # ./menusetup -a
Menu option '5 - License driver management (aksusbd)': if aksusbd service is not enabled (start at boot), a warning message is displayed and the service is enabled.
When displaying virtual machines list, the "Start on boot" (Yes or No) has been replaced by "Startup type" (Automatic or Manual)
When a virtual machine is created, the startup type now is requested (default is manual)
When using multiple virtual machines (VM), the last selected one is no more global but is linked to the current session so that the configuration file or its shortened name has to be specified once and then all next commands will relate to this one for the terminal session. In case a new session is created the latest selected VM (in time), if any, will become the current one. This eases usage of additional command lines like vmcfg, vmstart, vmstop, vmconsole and vmrmc.
Problems fixed
The script used for clean shutdown with RSH expects an "RSH was successful" to continue. This message is not always returned, this depends on OpenVMS version. An alternative method has been added as a comment in the script.
When using "vim" as the favorite editor (from the preferences), the comments in the configuration file were displayed in gray which was not always easy to read. They are now in green.
Menu option "1 - Install/Upgrade/Remove Charon" update: if update completes successfully the "(error code 0)" is no more displayed (was confusing)
Menu option "9 - VM Management" then "3 - Connect to guest console" did display limited information in virtual machines list
If version installed is 4.11 and above, a banner is displayed recommending to reboot the Linux server
When using "vmconsole" or "vmrmc" and "#INFO:" lines are found in the configuration file, "Press enter" is no more asked after displaying these comments. They only are when using the 'menu'.
When a virtual machine is started, sometimes error messages related to process killing (tail) were displayed. They are now hidden.
When updating the alert script from "menu" → "14 - Alerts management" → "6 - Update/reinstall alert script" the message telling where the previous file will be saved was wrong ('.backup' has been removed). Its location has also changed to /opt/charon/archive and no more /charon/archive.
It was possible in some cases to add a virtual machine with a configuration file already used for another virtual machine
Menu option "1 - Install/Upgrade/Remove Charon" now checks if "Failed to" error messages are found during installation and not only the error code returned by 'yum'
In some cases licenses could not be detected and their content read. Example: an invalidated software license and a valid license dongle
November, 6th 2020 - kit version 1.58
Important note
Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS 7 and 8 are the only versions of Linux supported. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 is not supported anymore.
New features
When using expect during clean shutdown, 'expect' lines are highlighted
List of virtual machines managed has been updated (more space for the configuration file name)
License update tool (apply V2C file) interface has been simplified : no sub-menu, all in one page. A new option has been added too to define a description for licenses (optional). Can be used to display dongle location for example.
When editing the configuration file from the 'menu' or using 'vmcfg', if a "connection:<nic>" syntax is detected, an error is reported telling it's specific to Charon on Windows. This syntax issue is also reported when listing the managed virtual machines.
Option added in the preferences to allow non root users to execute 'menu' with 'sudo'. Must be set first with root user. If connection with root is not allowed then run: $ sudo /opt/charon/utils/charon_menu to edit the preferences.
Menu update: added option in '9 - VM Management' to create/edit guest check/run script + options reorganized
Service description is now added in alert emails body1
Hostname is now added in alert emails subject1
'putty' can be defined as default connection to the virtual machine console in the preferences. If 'putty' cannot be used (no X server), 'telnet' if installed will be used instead.
The 'logview' and 'logtail' command now display the virtual machine service state
New preferences options: it is possible to adjust the blue color in menus so that it is easier to read when using black background: 'menu' → '12 - Preferences' -> '10 - Blue color adjust for white/black background'
'vmlist' command now accepts '-l' or '--lite' parameter to display only configuration file name, service status, model and description (this is for cases with several Charon virtual machines defined).
1: In case of upgrade this requires the restart of all log monitoring services from "menu" → "10 - Manage monitored guests logs" → "8 - Restart all log monitoring services" and to update the alert script (if not already customized) from "menu" → "14 - Alerts management" → "6 - Update/reinstall alert script".
Problems fixed
When a license is found the message sent is "license found" and no more "license dongle found" as this can also be a software license.
The WorkingDirectory of virtual machine service corresponds now to the configuration file folder.
Breaking execution of the 'expect' stop script could let child processes running 'tail' active.
Kit upgrade was resetting the preferences. Solved.
If the log monitoring is disabled from the preferences, meaning log monitoring is performed by another software/utility, the menu option "10 - Manage monitored guests logs" allows only to view and send log files.
Management of failed state corrected after the introduction of ExecStopPost.
The virtual machine state has been simplified, the REQUESTED substate is no more displayed as in some cases the information reported was not correct.
If the memory is not specified in the configuration file (set ram size=...), the default value is now displayed.
Added option 'q' to quit the menu option '5 - License driver management' as 'n' was not usual.
When editing the email recipients list in the option '14 - Alerts management' and using 'vim' as default editor, colors have been changed to make them easier to read when using black background
When editing the configuration file at guest creation, if 'vim' is used, the correct color scheme (vimrc) is used to make it easier to read when using black background
Some menu option were not testing correctly Firefox is installed or not
Network Configuration Utility (ncu) menu option: check updated for 'ncu' installation check
Alerts management option: the simulator now checks at least one recipient is defined
License update tool: when using black background, the listed v2c files were not all shown due to foreground color forced to black.
September, 4th 2020 - kit version 1.57
Problems fixed
If no stop script was defined, no alert was sent when the service stopped (RHEL/CentOS 7 & 8)
September, 1st 2020 - kit version 1.56
New features
The .tar file name is changed to Charon-AXPVAX_linux_toolkit.V1.56.tar
When displaying list of virtual machines (vmlist):
the configuration file location is displayed (if not too long)
the console port is always displayed
'rsh' is now recommended during installation (not mandatory)
'rsh' default stop script enhanced to track for firewall issues and warn user about operations to perform
Problems fixed
When "gvim" was select as GUI editor, the highlighting for license view, log and configuration file view was not activated.
If no console log was defined in the configuration file, when opening the console from the 'menu' or from 'vmconsole' did overwrite the previous log. There is now a rotation mechanism.
Minor update in continuous log display mechanism.
The 'expect' script guest_shutdown.exp did not wait for "Connected to localhost." message before sending commands.
Under certains situations, the "expect" script executed before service stop did let the service in FAILED state. Now is forced to INACTIVE (RHEL/CentOS 7 & 8).
Monitoring of failed services added for RHEL/CentOS 7 & 8. If the emulator process was killed, not alert was sent, this is now solved. If the list of defined guests reports a message telling to update the service definition, please run the "menu" then option "9" then "4" and update the .service file as requested.
July, 27th 2020 - kit version 1.55
New features
Support for Charon-AXP and Charon-VAX V4.11
Support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.x and CentOS 8.x
Added new preference to stop the continuous log view of the emulator (guest) when started interactively if the "Started" or the "Stopped" message is found in the log file (enabled by default). When started, a message is displayed to invite the user to connect to the console.
'License update tool (apply V2C file)' new option added to remove .v2c files older than a number of days (365 days by default)
Some emails are sent with priority level (high, default or low)
HASP license details: if the editor is set to 'vim', syntax highlighting is used to make it easier to read
if the 'menu' is not executed as root, a warning is displayed on top left of the menu window
Problems fixed
Alerts management: if the mail sender was set with another email address and not just a name, that address was not taken into account. This is now solved. This requires the alert script, if not customized, to be reinstalled from "menu" -> "Alerts management" -> "Update/reinstall alert script".
License expiration check:
added check / must be root
added message if the license cannot be found after 3 attempts to restart the aksusbd service
Stopped date/time was not displayed on CentOS 7 servers whereas it was on RHEL 7 servers.
Server boot time was not correctly displayed, could be always 00:00
The "HASP License details" option did not display the SL KeyId.
When creating a new virtual machine or editing the configuration file, upon exit if the log file does not end with .log then it is considered a rotating log file and the directory is created (if it does not exist already)
Issues when opening firefox after "su". Opening firefox from user "root" is not recommended so firefox if needed is ran with the user who issued the "su" command.
Show host information option: the generated html file did not always contain the cfg and log files.
April, 14th 2020 - kit version 1.54
New features
Support for Charon-AXP and Charon-VAX V4.10 Build 202-05 (patch)
Added default start and stop timeout for virtual machines service. Set to 20 minutes both by default. Changing this value will only affect newly created virtual machines. To change (or add) timeout values in existing virtual machines, please run "menu" -> "VM Management" -> "Manage 'systemd' services", select the virtual machine and edit the .service file (not available on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.x)
Alerts on events (warning and error messages in the log file by default) are now blocked if 5 consecutive iterations of checks (each 1 minute by default) send alerts. Emails are released after 20 minutes or if an iteration does not find any alert. This is to prevent from sending tons of emails if Charon starts reporting lots of errors in the log (example: "<NIC>: RX FIFO overflow detected.")
Automatic log files archiving (crontab/charon_logarchive) now archives OPA0 log files if defined in the configuration file
Added an option to test kit compatibility (experimental) with OS installed in language other than en_US.UTF-8 (which is forced in scripts in such a case). To activate: # touch /root/.charon.experimental
Automatic log files archiving (crontab/charon_logarchive) now always keeps the latest log file if rotating log is enabled
Problems fixed
Main menu title updated (Stromasys - Legacy server emulation): color issues fixed when using Windows Terminal.
Minor update in the menusetup: sentence updated to remind user to install missing packages *AND* restart the script to complete installation
Added more checks and warning displays for missing packages
Incorrrect PATH settings during "menusetup" installation: was not able to accept PATH settings from other scripts in /etc/profile.d
When displaying list of virtual machines, some characters where added if the hw_model word was found somewhere else in the configuration file
Request for new license or license update option could not generate the C2V file for software licenses
Log archiving script: bug solved that did prevent from removing zipped files and minor display update
Question updated in the connect to console option if a connection is already active
"vmstart -h" and "vmstop -h" commands were pointing to the wrong usage text
The new rpm file introduced with Charon-AXP and Charon-VAX V4.10 Build 202-05 (patch) is correctly removed when using the "Install/Upgrade/Remove Charon" option from the menu.
November, 21th 2019 - kit version 1.53
New features
minor update in log archive job (crontab)
"HASP license details", "License driver management", "Request for new license or license update" and "License update tool" options now display the number of licence dongles and software licenses (with more details for the "License driver management" option)
It is now possible to remove a software license from the "License update tool" option. This option is available only if at least a software license is present and files are not deleted but archived (renamed as .archive in the /var/hasplm/installed/68704 folder. The license (aksusbd) service is automatically restarted if a license has been removed.
Automatic log files archiving (crontab/charon_logarchive) now always keeps the latest log file if rotating log is enabled
Problems fixed
license expiration check: if a custom script is used for monitoring software, the counter alert is sent all time if no alert (NEUTRAL) is detected
September, 11th 2019 - kit version 1.52
New features
Support of Charon-AXP and Charon-VAX V4.10 build 202-03 and above. Please note if a graphic card (PBXGA) is defined in the configuration file, the virtual machine will have to be started interactively (manually) and not with the Linux Toolkit
The menu options "License driver management (aksusbd)" and "Show host information" now displays the list of HASP dongles, if any, with their location and version
Minor update in license expiration check display: added major and minor version of the license
When applying a V2C file with the character user interface, V2C files with creation date equal to current date will be highlighted to make them easier to find
List of virtual machines, either from the menu or from the vmlist command now:
displays the Charon products installed versions for versions 4.8 and above ("vmlist" command only)
displays memory used by the Charon virtual machine (pmap)
displays an alert if service is running and the configuration file has been updated after the service started
Problems fixed
When generating a software license from the menu, a false error was reported preventing from sending the c2v file by email.
If a tap device was used:
the list of virtual machines did not display anything in the "Network:" part. This is now solved
after editing the configuration file with the 'menu' or with the 'vmcfg' command line, no check was performed for tap_port. This is now solved
Copyright year updated from 2018 to 2019
The menu option "Sentinel Admin Control Center (firefox)" was in debugging mode, now solved.
The menu option "Show host information" now displays build number for Charon-VAX executable files found.
If a prestart script was setup on a RHEL 6.x server, the startup was failing. Solved.
The prestart script, if defined per virtual machine, was executed after the license presence check. This could prevent from running commands to activate a port on a USB/network box (see below)
The license presence check has been removed thanks to the "set session license_key_lookup_retry" feature in that can be defined in the configuration file. This check could only check a license was present and could not correspond to the one necessary to start the Charon virtual machine.
charon-mtd rpm file is correctly removed when uninstalling Charon-AXP and/or Charon-VAX. This rpm file was introduced with V4.9 B194-07
It is no more possible to uninstall Charon from the menu option "1 - Install/Upgrade/Remove Charon" if a virtual machine is running
February, 18th 2019 - kit version 1.51
New features
When applying a license file via the Character User Interface (CUI), a check is performed inside the v2c file for the necessary tags as some email content filters can corrupt the content of the v2c files.
Problems fixed
Firefox could fail with "Running Firefox as root in a regular user's session is not supported" message in case the session was not opened directly connected as root (with "su"). A workaround has been implemented for the following options:
Sentinel Admin Control Center (firefox)
License update tool (apply V2C file)
If no recipient was defined for the alerts, the default was set to support@stromasys.com, this opened a ticket in our ticketing system without information on the sender and no information reported to the users. Now the default is to send a message to root@<hostname> and support@stromasys.com.
When starting a virtual machine that is not automatically started at Linux server boot, a message related to "reset failed" was displayed. This is now solved
December, 5th 2018 - kit version 1.50
New features
License expiration check can:
Now execute a custom script named "/opt/charon/utils/charon_expchk.custom" when it detects a license expiration, useful with monitoring utilities
Work now as a separate kit for Charon-SSP and Charon-HPA
Preferences:
New option to globally disable log monitoring in case virtual machines log files and license driver (aksusbd) are monitored by a dedicated software.
Update on OOM Killer management:
The vm.overcommit_memory parameter can be updated with values 0, 1 or 2 (explanations are available by entering ? while selecting the mode)
The vm.panic_on_oom parameter can be updated with values 0 or 1 (explanations are available by entering ? while selecting the mode)
"Charon VM process killing prevention" can be selected regardless of vm.overcommit_memory value
Show host information
The output file generated displays more information on 'ncu'
Firefox could fail with "Running Firefox as root in a regular user's session is not supported" message in case the session was not opened directly connected as root (with "su"). A workaround has been implemented
Menu:
"Virtualization technology" replaced by "Legacy server emulation"
colors updated
check added to limit execution to one user at a time. Note: if you upgrade from a previous version, the aliases have to be reset running the following commands: # cd /opt/charon/utils # ./menusetup -a
The "vmstop" command has a new parameter -f or --force to stop a virtual machine without asking for confirmation
Problems fixed
License expiration check: bug solved when a USB reset was requested. This was working only for RHEL 6.x and not RHEL 7.x and CentOS7
Preference update on OOM Killer management: when the vm.overcommit_memory parameter was set to 2, the virtual machines could not be protected against OOM. This is now solved.
In case the virtual machine is not defined to boot at Charon server boot, the virtual machine state column could show a wrong status
November, 13th 2018 - kit version 1.49 update
Important note
If Out Of Memory (OOM) killer is used, it is strongly recommended to set the "OOM global status" and "Charon VM process killing prevention" to enabled from the "Preferences" option rather than disabling OOM at global level as this option does not work in 100% of the cases. The preferences option will be updated on next release to only prevent OOM from killing Charon at process level.
September, 17th 2018 - kit version 1.49
New features
Support of Charon-AXP and Charon-VAX V4.9 build 194-02 and above
Removed support for Charon-AXP V4.5
Log monitoring updated for Charon-AXP and Charon-VAX V4.9 syntax change.
When using the "vmlist" command, if a daemon related to the license driver is missing, an alert is displayed.
Alerts management
It is now possible to disable the alerts sent if the hardware specifications of the Linux server are below the recommended ones from the "Alerts management" menu option. Messages will still be present in the log file but the alert will not be sent.
It is possible to disable/enable(default) the immediate alerts sent on USB dongle disconnection/connection
If the installed version is V4.9 or above, an option is added to reduce the number of warning messages sent on license dongle removal.
When using command lines like vmstart, vmstop, vmcfg and vmconsole, the latest virtual machine name used is stored so that next commands do not need the configuration file name as a parameter. This is useful when there's more than one virtual machine on the server. If there's only one, no need to specify the configuration file name Previously: # vmstart pluto # vmconsole pluto Now: # vmstart pluto # vmconsole
Display change in the list of virtual machines:
Layout reviewed for ease of reading
A warning is displayed if the root password has expired. On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.x this can prevent the virtual machine from starting.
Emulator and configuration file are now separated for better readability
The virtual machine selected from command lines mentioned above is identified with a star in the virtual machines list instead of a dash
If a pre-start script is defined, the first 3 lines executed before the virtual machine starts are displayed
If the log full path is not specified for a virtual machine an alert is displayed (full path is mandatory for log monitoring)
If the virtual machine is active and its log is monitored and the operating system uses 'systemd' (RHEL 7.x and CentOS 7.x) and the installed Charon version is V4.9 and above, the license status is displayed (license found, communication lost/restored, connection lost/application will stop, license expiration information)
Option added to restart all log monitoring services from the "Manage monitored guests logs" menu option, useful in case of kit upgrade.
Syntax highlighting updated for 'vim' and 'gvim' to highlight the configuration file displayed in the log
Show Host Information:
Option updated to display the content of the prestart script if defined
Highlight updated for the configuration file displayed in the log file for Charon-AXP and Charon-VAX V4.9
Added "lscsi -g" output in the Storage part
The "Request for new license or license update (send C2V file)" option has been updated for the new features provided with recent kits: if the c2v file can be generated for different keyids, one c2v file will be generated per keyid instead of one c2v file for the 1st license found. The zip file sent via email will contain all the c2v files generated.
How-to setup an ssh trust between Linux and Tru64 readme file has been updated in the "Create/Edit guest stop script" menu option and now explains what has to be done if a "no matching cipher found" message is displayed when executing an ssh command from the Linux server to the Tru64 one.
Preferences: added an option to add a separator when displaying defined virtual machines (default is none).
When starting a virtual machine, if a network interface defined in the configuration file has an IP address, it is automatically disconnected using the "nmcli dev disconnect (iface) <nic>" interface command and a warning alert is sent.
Option added in the menu to open the Sentinel Admin Control Center.
Important notes
If you're upgrading the toolkit, all the services monitoring the virtual machines logs have to be restarted from the "Manage monitored guests logs" menu option. The aksusbd log monitoring has to be restarted too. This does not affect running virtual machines.
The Charon-AXP/VAX version 4.9 provides a new syntax for OPA0 settings. Please note due to the detached process mechanism, no one terminal application can be started automatically thus the 'application' parameter must not be used.
The license monitoring within Charon-AXP and Charon-VAX V4.9 versions will provide much more information in the log than in previous versions. More alerts will then be sent in case of license switch (main/backup) or removal.
Problems fixed
If a stop script was set and comment lines were not removed, the list of guests displayed was showing the wrong method used to stop the virtual machine. This is now solved.
Minor update in predefined stop scripts for rsh and ssh: when the system is not alive, the script was trying to report a return code that is not needed
Bug solved with command lines (vmlist, vmconsole, etc..): newly added guests were not found until the boot settings (Enable/Disable start at server boot) were set.
If the configuration file is moved or deleted the virtual machines list is reporting this issue
Wrong result was shown in the alert when the service failed. This result has been removed. In case the service fails, it now only displays this information and manual investigation has to be done.
The "License Update Tool" option has been corrected to display _fmt (format) files before the license update so sorted by license, sequence then type (format 1st then update)
Minor bug with displayed Linux server boot time solved, now uses the correct command (who -b)
Fixed a problem where the number of cpus for a virtual machine was not correctly displayed
February, 21th 2018 - kit version 1.48
New features
Virtual machines (guests) stop script:
3 scripts have been added for ease of clean shutdown of your guests. They can work with either 'expect', 'ssh' or 'rsh' (warning: there are restrictions with the guest operating system version). It is still possible to install your own customized scripts.
A new way of editing the script has been implemented and now, newly discovered guests will be added automatically in the script file. This does not mean you won't have to provide the necessary information depending on the method chosen.
Information on how to implement these 3 methods is available from the "Create/Edit guest stop script" option in the form of how-to files.
Option added to test the stop script.
When displaying the guests, more information is provided in the "stop script" column. It can now tell if a provided charon_gstop_<xxx> script is used or if a customized script is.
Syntax highlighting added while editing a configuration file with vim/gvim
Information on PuTTY settings and recommendations added in the Documentation menu.
New command lines added:
'vmstart': starts a virtual machine
'vmstop': stops a virtual machine
'vmconsole': connection to the virtual console
'vmcfg': edit the configuration file and performs some checks on exit Note: these commands work only for existing virtual machines managed by the toolkit.
After editing a configuration log file (using the "menu" or "vmcfg"), a test is performed to check the Charon log and OPA0 log files (if defined) can be created. This is to avoid specifying log files in folders that do not exist.
An option has been added in the preferences to disable semi-graphics/drawing tables (can be useful with some terminal emulators).
A script can be executed before the virtual machine starts (pre-start). The option is available from the "VM Management" menu option then "Create/Edit guest pre-start script". On Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.x servers, this requires the service to be reinstalled from the "VM Management" menu option.
Known bugs in kit 1.48
If a stop script is set and comment lines are not removed, the list of guests displayed is showing the wrong method used to stop the virtual machine.
Newly added guests are not found until the boot settings (Enable/Disable start at server boot) are set when using the 'vmstart', 'vmstop', 'vmconsole' and 'vmcfg' commands.
Problems fixed
When editing a configuration file with gvim, the checks were executed before the gvim window was closed. This is now solved.
When starting/stopping a service, if CTRL-C was pressed, the next operation displayed the service status more than once. This is now solved.
Fixed a problem that did set all stopped virtual machines status to "unrequested" if the license was not found when starting one virtual machine.
A freeze could occur when starting a virtual machine or when checks were performed if a "load / interface" line was misconfigured in the configuration file
USB dongle connection message updated. It is now more simple and understandable. This requires a restart of the aksusb monitor service: menu option "Manage monitored guests logs" then "Start or Restart aksusbd log monitor"
Copyright updated to 2013-2018
Fixed a bug that in the connect to console menu: when viewing console logs errors could be listed and number of lines in the log were not displayed
November, 13th 2017 - kit version 1.47 - bug correction
Problems fixed
Network checks: if an IP address was assigned to an interface used for Charon, the check was not correct for RHEL 7.x and CentOS 7.x. This is now solved.
October, 30th 2017 - kit version 1.47 - minor update
Problems fixed
minor display bug with "Service timeouts" and "Description" on the same line. Now solved.
October, 23th 2017 - kit version 1.47
Important notes
In case of kit upgrade, the log monitoring service will have to be restarted for all virtual machines on the server (this does not affect running virtual machines)
Due to a bug in our Wiki and its PDF exporter some links inside the PDF document are pointing to the online version of the document instead of the document itself
New features
Support for V4.4 removed. The console autoconnect feature is then disabled (was used to solve a buffer issue in V4.4). It you upgrade from a previous version of the toolkit, please update the root's crontab to remove the 'charon_console_autoconnect' entry. To create a log of the console, please use the 'set OPA0 log=<logfile>' feature available starting with version 4.6
Show host information:
the "top" command output has been added
more information on memory added including high memory consumers
minor visual updates in HTML output file
Added checks to notify a log or console log is not unique: it should be when more than one virtual machine is defined
Menu: the option used to manage services is now renamed to "VM Management"
Preferences can now be set:
default editor for CUI and GUI
log display when starting/stopping a guest (virtual machine)
Out Of Memory (OOM) Killer settings: preferences can be set for the Charon virtual machine process to be protected against OOM Killer
Notes:
this menu entry replaces the "Connect to console" one. The "Connect to console" entry is still available from the "VM Management" menu entry.
the preferences are asked in the setup process but can be defined later
When a virtual machine is started or stopped the log is automatically displayed unless this option is disabled in the Preferences (not valid for RHEL 6.x). To end the display, press CTRL-C
Documentation menu entry: online help has been added for the other command lines (vmlist, logtail, logview)
Alerts management:
Option added to customize the emails sender name, useful when emails are sent using the same sender (with a relay mailer for example). Note: if you did not customize the alert script, please use the menu option "13 - Alerts management" then "6 - Update/reinstall alert script"
Option added to send simulation alerts
Send configuration and log files via email enhanced with color for ease of reading (same as "Show host information" / HTML file)
When displaying the virtual machines list, if a timeout is defined on service start and/or stop, it is now displayed
Problems fixed
Menu setup: the 'at' package has been added as a requirement
Menu entries: title changed for Virtual Machines Management
Show host information:
script updated to display more information during the HTML file creation
a blank line was added after a comment line when displaying the configuration files. Issue solved
Log monitoring:
In case the aksubd service had to be restarted, an email was sent with the command output (from 'at' job). This is no more the case.
when the log is using the rotation mechanism, a license detected message was sent when the rotation occurred whereas it should be sent only when the virtual machine starts or when a dongle has been plugged in. This problem is now solved.
when the log is using the rotation mechanism, if a hardware specification is not met, a warning message was sent not only when the virtual machine started but also when the log rotation occurred. This problem is now solved.
when a dongle is detected as disconnected but is physically still connected, a message was sent pointing to the wrong menu option. This is now solved. (Reminder: in such a case, an automatic recovery operation is performed to try to reconnect the dongle)
As the console autoconnect feature is removed, the 'screen' program is no more mandatory
Clean shutdown: the example script has been simplified and corrected.
The script that is used to check abnormal termination of services is no more installed in the crontab when running Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.x and CentOS 7.x as the services are monitored by systemd (script: charon_mongstop)
Alerts management: solved an issue where the stop alert was sent without the "requested by user" information. Note: this does not take into account the F6 key if enabled as the F6 is not recorded in the log.
When the virtual machine failed, a wrong status (success) was sent. This is now solved.
March, 8th 2017 - kit version 1.46 UPDATE
Problems fixed
Minor bug correction on Show host information option that did prevent from sending the email when using the "Send HTML file to recipient" option
February, 23th 2017 - kit version 1.46
New features
Validated with CHARON-AXP and CHARON-VAX V4.8
Validated on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and 7 + CentOS 7
Minor updates on log messages and color display for better visibility
Some updates in the main menu entries, names set to match the V4.8 utilities, edit configuration files option removed from the main menu as it is located in the menu option 8.
New option to view and restart the license service status (aksusbd)
A new command line is added, named "vmlist" to display the list of managed virtual machines and their status (same as menu option 8)
Show host information option (used for debugging):
now reports configuration files description
the files located in /opt/charon/log are joined to the zip file when emailed
includes the "vmlist" view (see above)
extended table of contents
now includes the output of 'lsblk' command
can be used out of the Linux Toolkit to generate system configuration reports
Ready for the new "License has changed" messages (0000040B) in the logs (vimrc and continuous tail)
After editing a log file, a check is performed to verify the full path to the log file, or to the folder if rotating log files are used, is specified
Problems fixed
Copyright updated/year
Clean shutdown examples updated for RHEL 7.x and CentOS 7: now when a service is stopped it reports INACTIVE/REQUESTED and no more FAILED
log archive from crontab: gzip issue solved / error with existing files
Install/Upgrade/Remove CHARON: "Type" column is removed (wrong information was reported)
License expiration check updated due to changes in the hasp_srm_view output starting with CHARON-AXP/VAX V4.8
Install/Upgrade/Remove CHARON option now installs packages with gpgcheck disabled to avoid issues with user created repositories
Email subject changed when events are detected (CHARON was mentioned twice)
July, 26th 2016 - kit version 1.45
Problems fixed
Solved an issue while displayed the virtual machines due to the new version of the 'ncu' utility (stuck when displaying the network interface status)
April, 26th 2016 - kit version 1.44
New features
Validated with CHARON-AXP and CHARON-VAX build 17103 (patch)
Comments can be added in the configuration file and will be then displayed when initiating the telnet connection on the console from the menu. Used for example to describe disks layout. Those lines must start with "#INFO:" then the comments
Kit version updated with major and minor version
When viewing a log file using 'vim' editor, a configuration file is loaded to highlight log entries making it easier to read
'gvim',if installed, is now recognized and proposed as an editor (graphical 'vim')
When displaying guests (virtual machines), the network cards used are displayed and some checks are performed: existence, already used, managed by 'ncu'. Checks are also performed after editing the configuration file
Service management option: viewing debug log option has been removed
Option added when viewing a virtual machine log file from the menu to edit the log without 'regular license check' messages
Two commands have been added, 'logtail' and 'logview', that allow you to continuous tail a virtual machine log file or to edit it using 'vim' with lines highlighting. If no parameter is passed, it takes the current log file for the virtual machine managed by the toolkit. If there are multiple virtual machines defined, a selection menu is displayed.
Use 'logtail -h' and 'logview -h' for help.
Notes:
If you're upgrading from a previous version, use the following commands to define the new aliases:
# cd/opt/charon/utils
# ./menusetup --alias
.
These options are also available from the "Service Management" menu option then "View latest guest log file" .
Connection to console now offers an option to kill active 'telnet' sessions on consoles
The installation menu now handles the 'complete pack' files, including their associated md5sum file, that can be downloaded from the FTP server
Sending logs via email: it is now possible to select the number of logs to send (default = 3 latest ones)
When editing a configuration file or when starting a virtual machine, .iso files (*.[iI][sS][oO]) existence is checked as well as the .vdisk files
Problems fixed
License expiration check failed to read some licenses with expiration set to unlimited. If you receive error messages from root related to execution of charon_expchk script and you can't immediately upgrade to version 1.44, you can just comment the related line in the crontab ("menu" → "Manage recursive jobs")
Console autoconnect feature is now disabled at Toolkit installation as starting with version 4.6 the console logging can be defined in the configuration file
Minor display issues solved when displaying guests list
When installing/updating licenses using the Character User Interface, V2C files are now sorted by license number then sequential number
When starting a virtual machine from the console connection menu, the service startup log was not displayed, now solved.
When sending a C2V file, it's content is no more displayed in the email body
Table vertical align issue with HTML generated configuration information file and ncu output added
Viewing guest log files did generate a 'tail' error. Solved
When editing a configuration file using a graphical editor, checks where performed before leaving the editor. Solved
'telnet' is no more a mandatory package, it is now recommended. Not installing 'telnet' will prevent from connecting from the server to the CHARON virtual machine(s) console.
'screen' is no more a mandatory package, it is now recommended. Not installing 'screen' will prevent from the autoconnect feature to run in the background (this feature was mainly designed for CHARON-AXP/VAX V4.4)
'wall' alert messages are now disabled by default at installation
License expiration check when executed in the crontab did send an incomplete alert message if the license was disconnected. Solved.
When a virtual machine was stopped via the console and the user answered the service was voluntarily stopped, the guests list displayed the service stopped in a 'unrequested' state whereas it should be 'requested'. Solved
Regular license expiration check (crontab) was sending email with either errors (unlimited licenses only) or blank email to root even if no error was found. Solved
January, 5th 2016 - kit version 43
New features
None, bug fixes only
Problems fixed
While displaying the guests list, if the service is inactive the charon_gstart.chkrun script is no more executed (used to gather information from the guest)
Installation of a new license option using the character user interface failed with 'hasp_update' error message.
License expiration alerts were sent from the log file even if the alert was disabled from the menu.
When manually creating the log file entry in the monitored logs list, the service "ExecStart=" line was reporting "create" instead of the log name full path
In some cases a log file could be present more than once in the managed log files list
Alerts on "Sentinel HASP RunTime Error" messages now report the KeyId and mode (regular or backup) for errors 41 (expired) and 50 (key id not found) Example:
Events count: INFORMATIONAL: Not monitored WARNING: 0 ERROR: 3
Events:
20160104:162950:ERROR:2:000003E8:ll_sentine( 379): Sentinel HASP RunTime Error 50. Unable to locate key id 367006676 (regular).
20160104:162952:ERROR:2:00000373:hexane.cxx(1725): License not found, not valid, or expired.
The required "bc" package was not requested during installation, now solved
December, 7th 2015 - kit version 42
New features
Kit validated on CHARON-AXP and CHARON-VAX V4.7
The installation menu option can now manage CHARON kits from V4.4 to V4.7
Log monitor and usb license disconnection will now auto-restart in case of failure - Red Hat Enterprise 7 and Fedora only
If auto-restart settings are defined for a virtual machine service, the settings are now displayed in the services view
Log rotation is now supported - Requires CHARON-AXP or CHARON-VAX V4.7 minimum. Note: if switching to rotating log file, the log monitoring service must be restarted (preferably removed and redefined)
When stopping and starting virtual machine on Linux distribution using systemd (Red Hat Enterprise 7 and Fedora) the progression is displayed
When sending configuration and log files via email, those files are now zipped and sent in a unique .zip file. Also log files displayed in the mail body are limited to the last 64 lines (full log is available in the attached zipped file)
Minor update in main menu layout
The automatic log archive script can now handle guests log files, rotating and non rotating files
Problems fixed
When starting a guest (virtual machine), the failure counter is now always reset (if auto-restart settings have been defined)
Send configuration and log files via mail now takes into account rotating log files
On most of the menu options, if only one guest (virtual machine) is set, you are not prompted to enter it's number for selection
If the configuration file format is wrong, containing ^M (carriage return) at the end of the line, ^M are automatically removed. Original file is saved as .bak
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.x systems: before 'ncu' installation, a check is performed in the repository to verify the 'tunctl' package can be installed
August, 24th 2015 - kit version 41
New features
Naming change: CHARON Linux Utilities becomes CHARON Linux Toolkit. This is to prevent from confusion between the utilities provided with CHARON-VAX and/or CHARON-AXP and this collection of tools
If the console is accessed remotely, the foreign address is displayed.
If a console connection is requested to a virtual machine that is not running, it is now proposed to start it directly from the console menu
Expiration check display updated
Service management / View guest log file: it is now possible to perform a continuous view of the current log file (menu option 6 then 3) The continuous view is also proposed when the guest is started
License update can now be performed from the menu without graphical user interface (no need for firefox). Requires the hasp_update program provided either with CHARON-AXP/VAX kit or with a Software License package
The "send C2V file" option can now handle Software Licenses (update and collect)
Possible editors selection: 'vim' is added
Minor update on menu layout
Alerts are now reported in a log file that can be viewed from the "Alerts management" menu option (continuous view or using editor) NOTE: you must reinstall the common alert script from menu "Alerts management" menu option then "Update/reinstall common alert script" if you did not customize it
Alerts management menu rewritten: one page to view all settings
'Create/Edit guest stop script' option: it is now possible to edit the script provided as an example (read only) while editing the active stop script file (for ease of copy/paste)
View console logs now takes into account console log files specified in the configuration file, rotating and fixed named files
Integration with systemd service management (Red Hat 7 and Fedora)
When adding a new guest:
the log file monitoring is implemented automatically (less operations to perform)
the presence of .vdisk files is checked
you can re-edit the configuration file (if issues are found) before starting the guest
When editing the configuration file, the presence of .vdisk files is checked.
The CHARON products installation process now records the output to /opt/charon/log/yum.install.<date> file.
While editing the configuration files, if the log is defined as a folder (for rotating log files), an error message is displayed (not supported at the moment)
Some alerts sent by email have been reworded and in some cases more explanations have been added
It is now possible to define (manually) a file containing information on licenses that will be displayed when using the "License key display" and "Check for license expiration" menu options. This information will also be sent in email alerts.
Expiration alerts can now be sent from the virtual machines log monitoring. This option is by default disabled because of the crontab entry that checks for expiration once a day (can be changed) and because one or two alerts will be sent every hour 120 hours before expiration.
Network Configuration Utility (ncu) can be called from the menu
Show host information menu option: the html file generated now includes the latest log and the configuration file for each managed virtual machine .
If updating from a previous version, this kit requires
All services to be updated and restarted
The alert script, if not already customized, to be reinitialized from the Alerts Management menu
Problems fixed
Number of CPUs displayed could be wrong if it was not forced in the configuration file, corrected. Warning: the number of CPUs displayed does represent the number defined in the configuration file or the default number of cpus for this hardware model. The real number of CPUs the virtual machine owns depends on the CHARON server HW limitations, licenses and also licenses on the virtual machine side
Show host information HTML output did not correctly display the semicolon ';' character, corrected. The HTM file is now sent in zipped format
CHARON setup (menu option 1) does not display 'ncu' as an emulator anymore
Fixes a bug that prevented from gathering information from software licenses
Expiration check: fixed an issue that could prevent from informational alerts to be sent with daily checks. Runtime limited licenses are now taken into account
Disabled network interface will no more generate an alert at guest startup
The install/upgrade/remove menu now handles CHARON-AXP V4.6 correctly
Minor update information reported in the log when stopping a virtual machine
Scheduled license expiration check: if the dongle is not present, the alert is sent once until the dongle is reconnected and no more each time the script is executed.
Console log file view: fixed an issue that prevented from using 'gedit' in some cases (unreadable characters)
Exit code issue found in expect script given as an example (in case of timeout for example)
Main and backup licenses are now correctly handled: this affects license display menu option, expiration check that both will display and check all license detected (depends on CHARON version, "hasp_srm_view -all" option must be available) and log monitoring alerts that will report the correct license number.
The expiration check script log file is now currently archived weekly
If the virtual machine ends with a "license has expired" message, this will be correctly reported in the alert
Expect script: Tru64 shutdown command replaced by "init 0" as some old versions of Tru64 do not execute the shutdown scripts. Added also "send_slow" settings to prevent from losing characters while sending commands
License expiration checks: if multiple products have expired, only one alert email is sent instead of one per product
Known issues
All described operations will have to be performed on the CHARON server and logged in as 'root' (no other user supported).
Virtual machines log monitoring: the log file name must be defined with full path within the configuration file. Rotating log files are not supported.
Licenses updates: gathering information (c2v) and applying updates (v2c) cannot be performed when more than one dongle is connected to the Linux server.
Updating to CHARON-AXP V4.6 requires an update of the guests list managed (/opt/charon/utils/charon_gstart.boot file) as the folder where the emulators binaries were located has changed from /opt/charon/bin/axp to /opt/charon/bin. To update this, use menu option "6 - Service Management" → "1 - Update guests list" → "4 - Edit guests list"
The kit is not validated on Fedora 20 and Red Hat 7.0
Menu option "1 - Install/Upgrade/Remove Charon":
This option can manage CHARON-AXP V4.6 installation but will report CHARON-VAX is installed. This display issue will be solved with Kit version 41
The uninstallation of CHARON-AXP V4.6 is not complete, the "charon-ncu" package has to be uninstalled manually.
Bug correction introduced with Kit 38: it was not possible to start guests when connected via 'ssh'. REQUIRES SERVICE UPDATE (this does not affect running guests)
Installation menu: removed a check that could prevent from installing different emulators for either CHARON-AXP or CHARON-VAX
February, 16th 2015 - kit version 39
Found a bug that could prevent from login in with Gnome Desktop when the menu is installed
January 14th, 2015 - kit version 38
Charon-VAX V4.6 Build 16502 (minimum) is now supported
Each time a guest is started its log file is archived, whatever the log_method parameter is: log file renamed to 'name'.uptoYYYY-MM-DD-HHMNSC (Example: pluto.log.upto2015-02-10-120947). REQUIRES SERVICE UPDATE (this does not affect running guests)
The 'wall' command generates errors while used in non interactive processes on Fedora only.
Logs archiving is now available using crontab entry
Note: Use the 'Manage recursive jobs' option from the menu to add the entry (default is archive every Monday at 00:00 and 60 days retention and zip old log files)
Guests log files cannot be renamed while the guest is running. They will be archived only at guest restart (whatever log_method parameter is set to)
Archived log files can be viewed from the menu
'Send configuration and log files via mail' option now sends the 3 latest log files
Expiration check alert message updated in case the license dongle is not connected
'menusetup' can only be executed if the current directory is set to '/opt/charon/utils'
Service management option: bug found when adding a new guest with network checks, solved.
The expect script provided as an example can now send the F6 key if the 'power off' command is not recognized or if a VAX VMS shutdown ends with "use console to halt system" (F6 must be allowed in the configuration file). The script exits with code 9 if 'power off' and F6 key were not allowed (so that the emulator must be killed)
Guests display list reviewed
Guest auto start at Linux server boot can now be disabled
Important note: Clean service shutdown is not functional at server shutdown with Fedora due to service management system change (systemd).
Will be solved in a future release.
Issue: the emulator processes are killed before service stop and then clean guests shutdowns are not executed.
August 27th, 2014 - kit version 37
Memory total/free added when displaying the guest
Update in log file name gathering from configuration file. This solves a bug in gathering log file name if log_method is not on the same line as log name. REQUIRES SERVICE UPDATE (this does not affect running guests) from menu option "6 - Service Management"
Release notes are now in the Documentation submenu
Updated on 26-Nov-2014 / Stromasys new logo. No kit number increase
July 28th, 2014 - kit version 36
Documentation can now be read online via firefox. It is recommended to use this option rather than the local PDF document whose conversion is not 100% compatible (case open)
Note: solved on August 12th, 2014 (no new kit generated, PDF updated)
Minor display updates
Kit: the .tar file name contains the kit number
July 1st , 2014 - kit version 35
Several updates on console connection: if a 'power off' command or its shortcuts or a VMS shutdown 'SYSTEM SHUTDOWN COMPLETE' is detected with a "Connection closed by foreign host" message then the guest stop is considered as requested. If not the script asks to confirm for voluntatily stop.
The 'charon_check.alertcmd.example' file MUST BE COPIED to charon_check.alertcmd if not already customized
Update on network interface check after configuration file update
June 27th , 2014 - kit version 34
Console connection: it is now possible to enable/disable the console autoconnect feature from the menu. When leaving the console, the question related to voluntarily stop or not is no more asked: the script detects automatically if a 'power off' command (or its shortcuts) has been issued and the "Connection closed by foreign host" message follows, meaning the user voluntarily wanted to stop the virtual machine. Alerts sent will reflect this. REQUIRES SERVICE UPDATE.
The 'charon_check.alertcmd.example' file MUST BE COPIED to charon_check.alertcmd if not already customized
June 25th , 2014 - kit version 33
Bug correction when sending email: sendmail command required full path
The 'charon_check.alertcmd.example' file MUST BE COPIED to charon_check.alertcmd if not already customized
June 25th , 2014 - kit version 32
Show host info now displays running processes (grep charon) and files list in /opt/charon/utils
Bug correction: events found in the guest log file were not sent with mail mode set to TEXT (worked with HTML mails)
Bug correction: mail contents not sent with mail mode set to TEXT
The 'charon_check.alertcmd.example' file MUST BE COPIED to charon_check.alertcmd if not already customized
June 24th , 2014 - kit version 31
Minor bugs corrections
Added fix for not getting garbage messages when using the 'gedit' editor
Fixed a bug with network interfaces check: now simple and double quotes can be present in the ifcfg-eth files (Valid values examples: ONBOOT=no, ONBOOT="no", ONBOOT='no')
Show host info now correctly displays the ifcfg-eth* files content
June 19th , 2014 - kit version 30
Minor bug corrections: network interfaces settings if multiple interfaces defined, display changes, etc...
June 3rd , 2014 - kit version 29
Menu setup/install reviewed for better readability
Added checks after editing the crontab for missing scripts
If md5sum files are downloaded from kit location, comparative checksum is automatically performed before installation
Changed way used to get hasp_srm_view output from show license and send C2V file
Connect to console: after leaving the telnet session, the autoconnect utility is activated directly, it does not wait next execution from crontab (minimum 1 minute interval, could induce loss of console history)
Log files list to be monitored is now gathered from the managed guests list (can also be edited manually)
It is now possible to update and reinstall the alert script from the alerts management submenu (used when upgrading kit for example)
Various display changes (more information provided)
Wall messages can now be disabled from the alerts management menu option
The 'charon_check.alertcmd.example' file MUST BE COPIED to charon_check.alertcmd if not already customized
Following Bug#4297 and issues found with FTP and NFS transfers with large files, all offloading features are switched off before guest start
After editing a configuration file or before starting a guest, a simple check is performed for the network interfaces defined: is it already used (IPaddr defined)? Is ifcfg/ONBOOT parameter set to no (mandatory) ? Is ifcfg/NM_CONTROLLED parameter set to no (recommended). If the ifcfg-ethX file is not correctly set, the menu will propose you to update it automatically. REQUIRES SERVICE UPDATE (this does not affect running guests)
Menu update: now displays kit version to facilitate support
Connection to console updated: if a connection is already active and user aborts the connection, the console port selection is no more displayed, connection is done directly
April 30th, 2014 - kit version 28
Bug correction for sending mails with Fedora systems: messages with text or html content in body and with attachments are not received -> mails sent on Fedora systems will have then only attachment
April 29th, 2014 - kit version 27
Bug correction for sending mails with Fedora systems: messages were empty (removed 'Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit' from mail header)
The 'charon_check.alertcmd.example' file MUST BE COPIED to charon_check.alertcmd if not already customized
Minor bug correction when displaying server boot time
April 28th, 2014 - kit version 26
Bug correction for license dongle immediate detection: this happened when the /var/log/messages was renamed (tail -0f replace by tail -Fn0). REQUIRES SERVICE UPDATE - Important note: kill all running "tail -0f" processes for /var/log/messages and guests log files before installing the new kit (tar -xf)
Menu rearranged to add a new option to send configuration and log files via email: these files are displayed in the email body and also sent as attachment
Note: your email client must be able to render MIME Application/base64 content
If the license dongle is not present at server boot, the startup procedure is aborted after 5 tries with 20 seconds interval. Services will have then to be started manually when the license dongle is connected. REQUIRES SERVICE UPDATE (this does not affect running guests)
Show host information now only sends one mail to recipient. The mail will contain HTML report in the mail body and the attached mail file
April 23th, 2014 - kit version 25
Changed the way the email recipient is entered when sending hasp_srm_view output, C2V file or host information HTML report: do not use anymore editor to enter email stop and remembers the last address entered
Added the possibility to send a test mail when setting the mail mode (HTML or TEXT)
April 15th, 2014 - kit version 24
Alert mail system reviewed to be compatible with Exchange: 'mailx' command replaced by 'sendmail' to be able to send HTML emails that are interpreted as HTML and not TEXT
The 'charon_check.alertcmd.example' file MUST BE COPIED to charon_check.alertcmd if not already customized
April 11th, 2014 - kit version 23
Qualified for Charon-AXP V4.5 Build 15505 (REQUIRES SERVICE UPDATE)
Alerts via emails: a footer can be added from the Alerts Management menu
The 'charon_check.alertcmd.example' file MUST BE COPIED to charon_check.alertcmd if not already customized
Added entry in log file when an abnormal guest termination is detected
Emulator is now started from the /opt/charon/log directory and not from the / directory. In case the config file does not contain the log file definition or the config file is not a correct config file, a default log file will be placed there. REQUIRES SERVICE UPDATE (this does not affect running guests)
March 28th, 2014
Minor display updates
Added kit version for Linux utilities for better readability
March 21th, 2014
Added monitoring of unrequested guests stop: if a guest is stopped without proper service shutdown or user request from the console, an alert message is sent
Note: if not done, please add the following line in the root's crontab:
* * * * * /opt/charon/utils/charon_mongstop
Minor display changes
March 18th, 2014
C2V file is now generated in the background (via 'at' command) in case of ssh connection that could prevent from getting C2V file interactively (case could be due to remote_desktop and virtual_machine options missing in the key)
October 17th, 2013
Continuous log monitoring can now alert for INFO, WARN and ERROR messages depending on level selected Service charon_keychk renamed to charon_logchk REQUIRES:
rename charon_keychk.startlist to charon_logchk.list
add entry "* * * * * /opt/charon/utils/charon_logevent" in crontab
Connection to console: if a session is already active, an option has been added to kill the active one.
Automatic console connection utility added to:
continuously get the console log even if not interactively connected
solve an issue with TX buffer overflow that prevents the system to boot or generates console errors
REQUIRES:
add entry "* * * * * /opt/charon/utils/charon_console_autoconnect" in crontab
Alert script has been totally changed, it uses now templates instead of 'case' utility to send emails and wall messages. Goal is to be able to add new alerts easily without script rewriting REQUIRES:
copy charon_check.alertcmd.example to charon_check.alertcmd (if not already customized)
October 2nd, 2013
Added 'expect' common script for Tru64 and VMS clean shutdown (when 'ssh' cannot be used) and usage examples
September 23th, 2013
Added connect to console and edit configuration files to the "Manage automatic start/stop for guests" menu option
September 18th, 2013
bug correction for display guests list and stop command for guests due to ssh usage: break the 'while read LINE' then replaced by 'for LINE in ...'Alert mail system has been reviewed: now only one script for HTML or TEXT emails.
Added menu option to switch between the 2 modes
September 17th, 2013
charon_keychk minor bug correction
Menu changed: added Online DocumentationShow host information now displays charon_gstart.stop and charon_gstart.chkrun content if they exist
Added table of contents and links when in HTML mode
September 16th, 2013
menu setup now asks kind of alert emails the user wants to receive if the alert script does not exist (so as first installation) and also asks to fill the recipients listShow host information now checks for /var/lock/subsys/charon* file
Added 'netstat -r' output and contents of /etc/sysconfig/networking/devices/ifcfg-* files for each network interface
Informational alert is now sent when the 'Emulator started at' message is found in the log file. This is to solve the missing '*limited license' message when using Software licenseGuests service status now can display guest status if the script charon_gstart.chkrun exists and is configured (REQUIRES SERVICE UPDATE)
Example provided in charon_gstart.chkrun.example
September 12th, 2013
charon_gstart service update now does not require guest rebootConnection to console now records input and output to log file
Last console log file can be viewed from this menu
Check if a connection is already active before connecting to console port
Show host info now gives services scripts version if installed
Services are now correctly stopped when issuing shutdown or reboot (REQUIRES SERVICES UPDATE)
When viewing or editing files, 'emacs' is ow available: advanced graphical editor
September 10th, 2013
Expiration check: now takes into account 01-Jan-1970 date which corresponds to Unlimited (will be solved with new hasp_srm_view build)
Added an alert script example with pure text (no HTML code). In case of use, it will have to be copied to charon_check.alertcmd
September 9th, 2013
charon setup manages now .tar.gz files as the kit is provided zipped
menu setup now checks if telnet, lsusb, ssh and expect are installedcharon_expchk now also unbind/bind the usb devices in case of error. It was just restarting the aksusbd service before
Corrected a tput usage while not in interactive mode and that created lots of mails in the root mailbox
Recipients list update: empty lines and leading and trailing spaces are automatically removed
September 6th, 2013
charon setup completed: it is now possible to install charon with this script (menu option 1). The tool also provides options to uninstall (for upgrade for example) and to add emulators.
Software license key setup is also managed by the script
September 4th, 2013
added a text to provide help on how to setup ssh trust between Linux and Tru64added a basic text editor called 'nano' for options that need updates or file read and that previously offered 'vi' and 'gedit' as available editors.
'nano' is very simple, use the keys shown at the bottom of the script for commands (example: ^X to exit, means CTRL +X)
menu console:
now if the guest is not running, connection to the guest is rejected
before connection to guest console, now displays a help screen with information on how to set the default escape key for example
Red Hat Enterprise Linux/CentOS 7 and 8 are the only versions of Linux supported. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 is not supported anymore.
If you're upgrading from a previous version, use the following commands to define the new aliases:
These options are also available from the "Service Management" menu option then "View latest guest log file"
This option is by default disabled because of the crontab entry that checks for expiration once a day (can be changed) and because one or two alerts will be sent every hour 120 hours before expiration.