Version: 1 - Published: 12 Jan 2021

Products included in the CHARON-PDP version 4.11 build 204-09 for Windows

In this document the terms CHARON and CHARON are used to refer to the products below:

CHARON-PDP version 4.11 build 204-09 for Windows

Supported software platforms

Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Standard and Datacenter Editions, 64 bit version
Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Standard and Datacenter Editions, 64 bit version
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard and Datacenter Editions, 64 bit version (please notice that only R2 revision is supported)
Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise Editions, 32 bit and 64 bit version
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 (SP1) Standard and Enterprise Editions, 64 bit version (please notice that only R2 revision is supported)
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate (SP1) Editions, 64 bit version
Windows 8.1 Professional Edition, 64 bit version
VMware ESXi 5.5 and 6.x up to 6.7 (requires a supported Windows operating system on top of a ESXi virtual machine)
Microsoft Hyper-V (requires a supported Windows operating system on top of a Hyper-V virtual machine)

Hosting hardware requirements and configuration recommendations

A physical system or virtual VMware appliance with a dual CPU of at least 2 GHz, one dedicated Ethernet adapter, an optional USB port for the license key and enough disk space to keep the PDP data.
The minimum host memory = (2Gb + the amount of PDP memory emulated) per CHARON-PDP instance.
Mid range and high end RAID controllers with at least 1GB cache with write-back enabled and battery backup option is recommended.
(Using low-end RAID controllers may cause significant performance degradation and CHARON crash. RAID5 and similar configurations are not recommended.)
Intel HT (Hyper-Threading Technology) should be disabled on the hosting server.
Hosting server should always run at full speed. Power management and the screen saver should be disabled on the hosting server.
Windows UAC should be disabled.

New functionalities introduced in build 204-09 since build 202-03

Charon Network Packet NDIS Signed driver for Windows 10, Windows Server 2016/2019 working with Secure Boot enabled.
Sentinel Runtime upgraded to version 8.13.
New version of PuTTY, supporting "-title" option and new way of storing/loading sessions definitions in the registry to avoid unnecessary duplication of session definitions for each user (ID#5590)
MkDisk utility logo is updated (ID#5246)
Sample configuration files are updated (ID#5246, #5622)
"Charon Virtual Machines Manager" is changed to "Charon Virtual Machine Manager" (ID#5246). Note: if you're upgrading from a previous version, the "Charon Virtual Machines Manager" icon has to be removed manually.
The NDIS driver is upgradable, newer version of the driver in a Charon kit to be installed updates the driver automatically (ID#5585)
A specific dialog is added for recommended actions if a container cannot be extracted in process of Charon installation (ID#5586)
All relevant Charon components are installed independently by each Charon build to be installed on the host if that components are not "upgradable" (shared between builds) (ID#5504)
Charon installation procedure graphics is updated to display correct slogan (ID#5558)
MkDisk utility graphics is updated to display correct slogan (ID#5562)
Serial lines logging is corrected (ID #5647)

Problems fixed in build 204-09 since build 202-03

Fixed a problem when HOSTprint does not terminate when Charon has stopped (ID#5505)
Fixed a problem when specification of "log_rotation_period = 0" ("never") worked not correctly (ID#5580, Support Case 00031938)
Fixed a problem when Charon VM Manager crashes on Windows Server 2016 if VM starts from the system tray (ID#5581)
Fixed a problem with absent lpv11.dll for component "lpv11" (ID#5620)
Outdated copyright in exe/dll distribution files is corrected (ID#5303)
Fixed a problem when Network Control Center failed to start with error “Attempted an unsupported operation” when use host with CHS locale language settings (ID#5610)
Fixed a problem when Charon installation procedure complained about absence of ChMAC zip file when upgrading from Charon v4.8 (ID#5582)
Fixed a problem when Charon installation procedure defines versions of VC redistributives installed on the host incorrectly (ID#5494)
Fixed an error during installation on Windows Server 2016: "NDIS Packet driver is not installed" (ID#5544)
Fixed a problem when correct service dependencies had been lost when upgrading existing Charon VMs (ID#5546)
Fixed a problem with incorrect installation of x64 HostPrint utility (ID#5570)

Configuration changes required when upgrading from previous versions of CHARON-PDP to build 204-09

E1000E and VMXNETx VMware adapters are fully supported
A CHARON license update is required before upgrading. Stromasys might request a HASP dongle state (c2v file) or a host fingerprint taken by HASP Update Service (which is included in the CHARON kit) in order to issue a license update. Please refer to License Update Service for details
Due to CHARON installation procedure update, if you upgrade from a version older than 4.8, it is required to uninstall all CHARON products before installing CHARON-AXP version 4.10. Please use the Windows Control Panel to do perform the operation.
If you upgrade from version 4.8, 4.9 or 4.10:
- It is not necessary to save boot parameters at the SRM level (console). Parameters will be kept.
- It is mandatory to update all existing CHARON Virtual Machines to make them run the latest version using the Virtual Machines Manager, VM Configuration tab.
The following Microsoft Windows update has to be installed on Windows 7, Server 2008 R2 in order to support new CHARON drivers signed with SHA2 signature:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/SecurityAdvisories/2015/3033929
If VMware is used, it must be upgraded to version 5.5, 6.0, 6.5 or 6.7
It is recommended to archive the old CHARON log files before starting the new version in order to avoid mixing character encoding in the log files
Intelligent packet processing should be switched off for the network adapters dedicated to CHARON with "Network Control Center" (NCC) utility. Please refer to FTP, NFS, and general network issues with CHARON-AXP and CHARON on Windows for details
The user that runs CHARON-PDP must have local administrator privileges and be a member of CHARON-GRP group (which is created during the CHARON installation)
CHARON executables, libraries and data (disk container files) files should be excluded from all the antivirus checks, including on-the-fly checks and scheduled scans
HT (Hyper-Threading Technology) should be disabled on the hosting server
Power management, USB power saving management and screen save should be switched off on the hosting server
Please note that the actual network communication speed and mode are determined by the Windows network speed and mode settings.
For network connections, interface="connection:..." syntax is preferred in the CHARON configuration file
The packet_port keyword in the CHARON configuration file can be used on any hosting platform instead of the platform specific keywords ndis5_chpack_port and ndis6_chpack_port.

For example, the CHARON configuration file lines:
load ndis5_chpack_port/chnetwrk EWA0 interface="..."
and
load ndis6_chpack_port/chnetwrk EWA0 interface="..."
can be replaced with:
load packet_port/chnetwrk EWA0 interface="..."
On VMware virtual appliance network adapters and vSwitch should be set to Promiscuous mode
On VMware, legacy_mode should be set in CHARON configuration for emulated PDP network adapters if Promiscuous mode cannot be set (this solution does not work in multi-instance configurations)

Note related to upgrade from previous version

Software licenses have to be renewed as they are no more compatible with previous version even if your license was 4.11 ready.

Known restrictions of build 204-09

CHARON fails to boot RSX-11M-PLUS V4.3 (ID#5423). Workaround is enabling autoboot, for example: "set CPU_0 auto_boot = DU0".
HOSTprint does not work on Windows 10 (ID#5054)
CHARON installation may fail with an error message "The installation process cannot replace hasplms.exe because the file is in use". It is known problem of the Sentinel HASP driver installer included to CHARON installation procedure as a 3rd party software. If you face this issue stop the hasplms.exe process manually and re-run CHARON installation procedure. See the Installation chapter below for more information.
In certain situation when a network adapter is dedicated to CHARON by NCC, its status is shown as if it is still dedicated to HOST (ID#5415).
CHARON may not boot from physical tapes (ID#1936)
Crash may appear when emulated NIC is bound to a teamed host NIC on VMWare (ID#5380, Case #00030554)
Only Windows SCSI devices with a driver that uses SCSIport method could be used with the direct SCSI access. Those include most of the device drivers on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 (R2), and most non disk devices on Windows 7 and Server 2008 (R2). If SCSIport is not supported (and Storport method is used instead), direct SCSI access can't be used.
This is most likely to be the case for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 (R2) disk controller drivers.
This restriction mainly applies to the disk access. Most part of tape drivers currently support SCSIport. When direct SCSI access is used for devices without Windows drivers, this restriction does not apply
CHARON does not support direct access to SCSI devices on Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2.
CHARON-PDP has limited support for teamed network adapters. They could be used only if the MAC address of the virtual network adapter is not changed during CHARON-PDP session. In this case the desired MAC address should be set manually in the properties of the network team and in the CHARON-PDP configuration file by "station_address=XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX" configuration option.
CHARON-PDP does not support virtual network adapters (i.e. MS bridges, etc).
Network speed auto negotiation works with some restrictions. It is always recommended to use full duplex mode on the hosting server.
Network Control Center could show some minor problems on Simplified Chinese version of Windows.
The correct license must be available to enable the CHARON-PDP to start. Check the capability of your license by using the utility "HaspView" which is available as a part of the kit.
If CHARON is being moved to another hosting platform and direct the SCSI access method is used to access some SCSI devices, the new hosting platform SCSI drivers should support the SCSIport method. If drivers supporting SCSIport method are not available, direct SCSI access cannot be used. This is most likely to be the case for most Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 (R2) devices. The recommended workaround for disk access is to use \\.\PhysicalDriveX method
Due to the change of "Charon Virtual Machines Manager" to "Charon Virtual Machine Manager", an upgrade to V4.11 will create a new shortcut on the desktop and will not remove the one pointing to "Charon Virtual Machines Manager". This then has to be done manually. Please note both shortcuts point to the same executable file.

New functionalities introduced in previous builds

IEQ11 board is implemented on top of (couple of) NI PCI-GPIB interface cards (ID#4670)
Spectracom TPRO/BI timer board is implemented (ID#4481)
Log is flushed regularly and asynchronously to facilitate online LOG monitoring by third-party tools (ID#5532)
Correct installation of x64 HostPrint utility in all Charon products is implemented (in the folder beside the corresponding executables) (ID#5570)
VMware Ethernet adapters: in addition to the E1000, E1000E and VMXNETx adapters are now fully supported.
Copyrights are updated in all sample configuration files (ID#5399)
EXE/DLL copyright is updated (ID#5503)
The value of "log_repeat_filter" parameter is "off" by default (ID#5405)
Licensing mechanism is improved (ID#5375, 5458, 5459)
Network License management processing changes (ID#4631)
Redistributable Visual C++ runtime is upgraded (ID#5385)
Installation procedure detects inconsistent and/or damaged installation and deals with it properly (ID#5476)
In "Repair" mode Installation, the procedure keeps the current Charon installation in case of errors (ID#5477)
All Charon components are installed independently for every build (ID#5504)
Patches to Charon kits is able to keep all the previous executables independently from each other (ID#5506)
Backup patch scripts are installed for each build independently (ID#5517)
Virtual Machines renaming feature is disabled (ID#5394)
"hasp_view" command line mode is extended to output all available licenses details to a file (ID#5442)
NCC utility is improved (ID#5497)
To address security issues new Sentinel LDK 7.6 is used for building this release; most up-to-date Sentinel run-time (v7.63) is included (ID#5211, ID#5227)
Network performance and stability has been significantly improved (ID#5111, ID#4987)
USB physical drive support is improved (ID#3323)
IEQ11 board on top of NI PCI-GPIB interface cards is implemented (ID#4670)
"\\.\Scsi<N>:<X>:<Y>:<Z>" notation is not used anymore (ID#5051)
User part of Charon configuration (set by CFG file) is reflected in the log (ID#5156)
Some improvements of the messages in the log (ID#5356)
Renaming Charon VM is not available anymore (ID#5394)
Hardcoded host system limits are replaced with limits encoded in the license's memory block (ID#3263)
Hardcoded upper limit on license check interval to 168 hours is increased (ID#5031, Case #00029470)
New configuration options "license_use_any_key" and "license_id" are implemented (ID#5289)
Charon installation wizard (InstallShell) is improved (ID#4231, ID#4915, ID#5081, ID#5176)
Charon VM Manager is improved (ID#4989, ID#4990, ID#5032, ID#5063, ID#5064, ID#5223, ID#5244, ID#5016, ID#5349)
"mkdskcmd" and MkDisk utilities are improved (ID#5033, ID#5142, ID#5143, ID#5225)
"HASP License Details" is improved (ID#5027, ID#5047, ID#5214, ID#5242)
TapeUtil (CHARONCP) is improved (ID#3589)
LOGMOND utility is improved (LOGMOND invokes license_changed.bat when it sees message with code 0000040B) (ID#5000)
Charon Network Control Center is able to display configuration options for DE500AA, DEBNI and PMAD-AA network cards (ID#5362)
Microsoft Windows 10 Professional and Enterprise Editions, 32 bit and 64 bit versions
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 (please notice Server 2012 is not supported)
VMware ESXi 6.x
Microsoft Hyper-V on Server 2012 R2
Please notice Microsoft Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 are not supported (ID#4498)
HASP libraries have been upgraded (ID#4709, ID#4450)
Preserving console saved state across product upgrades is implemented (ID#4782)
VLANs are supported (ID#4401)
The log file language is set to English (ID#4509)
CHARON console log rotation has been implemented (ID#4639)
CHARON log file format switched to UTF-8 (ID#4188)
Rotating log file switch can be configured to be triggered by maximum file size and time period (ID#4639)
New installation procedure is introduced starting from this version. It is not compatible with old CHARON installations, so the previous versions of CHARON must be uninstalled first.
Installation procedure is able to collect logs from executables it executes during installation/deinstallation (ID#4756)
All emulated PDP models are installed by default. Allowed PDP models are controlled by CHARON license (ID#4711)
New icons and graphical design for CHARON executables, utilities and installation procedure (ID#4586, 4587, 4588, 4688, #4973)
CHARON must be installed as a Virtual Machine service using the new "CHARON VM Manager" utility. This utility also provides a central point to access all CHARON utilities (ID#4870, ID#4872)
The default log mode has been set to "append" in the configuration templates (ID#4752)
Updated CFG template files copyright message to year 2016 (ID#4720)
Windows Registry path for CHARON products is updated to "HKLM:\Software\CHARON" (ID#4746)
Field Test and Production builds offer identical functionality (ID#4552)
One license can serve CHARON instances on one host or different hosts by choice (ID#4884)
A special utility "License Alert" ia added. It monitors CHARON license expiration date and warns user about it (ID#4903). 20 Jul 2017 Note: automatic installation removed when installing Charon-PDP. It has now to be installed manually
Software License transfer feature is disabled (ID#4787)
Software licensing (SL) is available. Software license is bound to physical system hardware components or virtual machine hardware components (ID#4344)
Network licensing is available, for both hardware dongles (requires special dongle) and software licensing
CHARON instance counter on a Network license switched to instance mode from station/instance mode, which allows CHARON instances to be spread around the network at user convenience. For example, a Network license with 6 CHARON instances allows to run 3 instances on a first hosting server, 2 instances on a second hosting server, and one instance in a third hosting server. In the previous versions of CHARON Network license controlled number of hosting systems and CHARON instances per host system.
CHARON license check order can be managed via configuration file, Production and Backup license IDs can be specified (ID#4249)
New parameter "license_key_lookup_retry" has been introduced allowing to set a number of license retries with specified time interval for the license checks on CHARON startup (ID#4399)
License protection run time package (Sentinel) has been upgraded to the current stable version (ID#4209, 4711)
Please notice that CHARON HASP runtime environment is customized by Stromasys. Environment downloaded directly form SafeNet would not provide full functionality (specifically, Software Licensing will not work). Stromasys will maintain and distribute HASP environment updates as CHARON product patches if necessary
New CHARON Virtual Machines Manager is introduced (ID#4836)
Tape Utilities package is added (ID#3589)
Network Control Center is not allowed anymore to change the configuration of a disabled network adapter (ID#4725)
MkDisk utility graphics has been updated (ID#4743)
Network Control Center is able to save log (ID#4755)
LOGMOND utility provides sample scripts (ID#4902)
Logmond supports multi instance and rotating log configurations
MTD utility supports SCSI Passthrough mode for tapes without Windows driver (ID#3927)
Network Control Center (NCC) performs CHARON network driver cleanup on request (ID#4610)
CHARON utilities fully support mixed encoding in log files (ID#4642, 4646)
mkdskcmd utility does not allow to reduce vdisk size (ID#4506)
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 is supported
VMware ESXi 5.5 is supported
Windows Server 2003 is dropped
Windows XP is dropped
VAX console logging – allows capture of an entire session from console prompt to guest OS shutdown in a file (ID#3587, #3988).
Log rotation mechanism and improved filtering (ID#2281, #3723, #3724, #3725).
CHARON log is created in English language only, the rest of localization are disabled (ID#4509)
Since this release CHARON uses UNICODE for its log files (ID#4188)
Log file messages are extended with indications of CPU "Halt"/"Run" transitions (ID#4264)
CHARON installation supports 'batch" automated mode (ID#3532).
CHARON installation upgrades NDIS5/6 driver installed by previous CHARON versions (ID#3819).
CHARON installation provides status and diagnostics on network driver installation (ID#3618).
PhysicalDrive container can be configured with device ID and iSCSI target ID to provide persistence across Windows reboots (ID#3667).
The "Utility" folder in the CHARON start menu has been renamed to "Utilities" (ID#3586).
The HASPVIEW utility has been significantly improved (ID#3539, 3637, 3657, 3742, 3757, 3847, 4059).
The command line version of MKDISK utility reports progress during disk image creation (ID#3793).
Network Control Center is able to show its specific error message in its silent mode (ID#3617).
The LOGMOND utility now offers usage help (invoke without parameters to view) (ID#3580).
A Link to the Putty terminal emulator has been added to the CHARON start menu (ID#3556).
New "HASP View" utility is able to show all the available license keys and the content of the license they contain (ID#4461)
The "HASP View" utility is able to display the multi site configuration license parameters and it is improved (ID#4059, 4165)
CHARON supports disabling network offload features with a special option in Network Control Center (NCC) (ID#4298)
"MkDisk" utility is able to extend the existing disk container size without destroying its content (ID#4329)
Additional protection checks are implemented in "MkDskCmd" utility for its "disk transfer" functionality (ID#4506)
"logmond" utility is significantly improved. Now it supports CHARON rotating log and multi-instances configurations - it is able to monitor log files of all CHARON instances running as services on host.
Network Control Center supports VLAN (ID#4453)
The performance improvement package included into the kit is updated (ID#4424)
Networking part (carrier sense logic) is improved (ID#4339)
"disconnect_timeout" parameter is introduced for the embedded 53C94 SCSI controller of MicroVAX 3100-96/98 and VAX 4000-106/108 mapped to physical SCSI devices (ID#4438)
The HASP View utility has been updated (Sentinel HASP SL and network licenses are supported now) (ID#3552, #3539, #3130).
A new "Logmond" utility is introduced to allow automatic execution of user-defined actions in case HASP license key is removed (ID#2415).
The Sentinel HASP drivers included with CHARON kits have been updated to version 5.95 (ID#3398).
The "Geometry" parameter was introduced for tape images (ID#2561)
The MUX driver was excluded from CHARON installations (ID#3410).
CHARON services are removed automatically on full deinstallation (ID#3322).
The Installation procedure does not check license and host system requirements during installation (ID#3262, #3256).
CHARON production kits use OQEDC Sentinel HASP licence keys only (ID#3638).
CHARON is supported on VMware ESXi 4.2 update 1.
The license parameters "expiration date" and "backup time counter" can be updated without stopping CHARON. This change allows CHARON evaluation or annual licenses to be updated "on the fly" to the permanent production licenses or to the next year annual licenses. Please note that other CHARON configuration parameters must remain unchanged.
CHARON network packet driver name "packet_port" in CHARON configuration file had been made platform independent. For example:
load packet_port/chnetwrk EWA0 interface="..."
It is still possible to use "ndis6_chpack_port" names of the driver, however we recommend updating the CHARON configuration file
HASP View functionality and usability has been improved
The Installation procedure displays the End User Agreement and asks user to agree with the terms and conditions in order to proceed
The Installation procedure can install and deinstall CHARON products without the license key plugged in. However older versions of CHARON still may require a valid license
The CHARON Service Management Utility has been updated. It is present in the Windows System Tray at all times. It can be accessed and used to manage CHARON instances
New utilities and drivers have been added to the installation kit. For more information please refer to the User Manual
Only Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate Editions and Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard and Enterprise Editions are supported by this release
CHARON products and utilities clean up the system's registry settings on deinstallation
All products have been brought to the same version level 4.2
CHARON supports Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2
CHARON supports VMware ESX(i) 4.2. 3rd party hardware or software might be required to provide CHARON with access to the HASP license dongle. Please note that additional support charges may be requested for installations on VMware.
The Network Control Center configuration assistant supports all types of VAX network interfaces available to CHARON
The CHARON utilities support simplified Chinese
The emulator opens log files in append mode
The 'repeated messages' logging filter is enabled by default
The MkDisk utility has been expanded to handle .VDISK metadata
The installation procedure can disable all unnecessary services. Note that this operation disables host networking completely to make it a platform fully dedicated to CHARON.
The CHARON executables are able to automatically configure DEP settings during installation
The installation product directory can be freely chosen
Full deinstallation removes all traces of the product
The HOSTPrint utility has been updated: now the maximum length of each line is adjusted automatically.
The installation log now lists all attributes of installed files, including size, product and file version, modification date, etc.

Problems fixed in previous builds

Fixed a problem when patch script created incorrect backup directories (ID#5516)
Fixed HOSTprint working on Windows 10 (ID#5054)
Fixed broken "license_key_lookup_retry" option functionality (ID#5538)
Fixed a problem with incorrect selection of default product while creating VM with Charon Manager (ID#5530)
Fixed a problem when Charon VMs (services) lost depence on HASPLMS (ID#5529)
Fixed a problem when InstallShell defined versions of VC redistributives installed incorrectly (ID#5494)
Fixed an error during installation on Windows Server 2016: "NDIS Packet driver is not installed" (ID#5544)
Correct Charon service dependencies persist now when upgrading existing Charon VMs (ID#5546)
InstallShell graphics is updated for correct slogan (ID#5558)
MkDisk utility graphics is updated for correct slogan (ID#5562)
Fixed a problem when HOSTprint stays running when emulator process terminates (ID#5505)
Fixed a problem with long duration of Charon-installation (ID#5360)
Fixed a problem with incorrect behavior of action for Edit Configuration in VM Manager (ID#5413)
Fixed a problem where host NIC dedicated to Charon is shown as dedicated to host in the Network Control Center (ID#5415, 5429)
Fixed a problem where there is no network connection when "packet_port" is in legacy mode (ID#5427)
Fixed a problem where Charon reports "Can not change current ethernet address... Dynamic change of ethernet address is disabled or is not supported" if port_enable_mac_addr_change is set to false (error code 00000113) as an error instead of a warning (ID#5443)
Fixed a problem with unexpected forced Windows reboot during Charon installation (ID#5455)
Fixed a problem where in "Repair" mode (only) Installation, the procedure processes running "logmond" incorrectly (ID#5479)
Fixed a problem where Installation procedure detects versions of installed VC++ redistributives incorrectly (ID#5494)
Fixed a problem where NCC fails to install NDIS driver (ID#5177)
Fixed a aproblem where Charon crashes when emulated NIC is bound to a teamed host NIC on VMWare (ID#5380).
Fixed a problem where Virtual Machine Manager does not pick up changes in log file specification and configuration names if the VM name contains spaces (ID#5390).
Fixed a problem where no RDP warning is displayed in local license key environment (ID#5400).
Fixed an unability to start Charon due to an issue with Symantec "Sysfer.dll" library (ID#5323, Case #00030385)
Fixed a problem with Incorrect display of the disks by Device Check Tool (ID#5359)
Fixed a problem when "mtd" utility accepts a parameter w/o notification that this parameter is not allowed (ID#5300)
Fixed a problem when NCC is unable to install NDIS packet driver on a first attempt (ID#4687)
Fixed a problem with incorrect license information in the log file (ID#5287)
Fixed an incorrect behavior of NCC, such as disabling WiFi on a host system, leaving some protocols enabled on dedicated to Charon adapter, etc (ID#5283)
Fixed a problem when NCC is unable to (completely) dedicate host's NIC to Charon (ID#4986)
Fixed several NCC issues appearing on Windows 10 (ID#4659)
Fixed a problem when Charon may start with expired license (ID#5265)
Fixed a problem when Charon VM Manager incorrectly handles spaces in VM name while creating new VM (ID#5255)
Fixed a problem when "mkdskcmd" was not able to enlarge a disk image if its sized is more than 4Gb (ID#5237)
Fixed memory leak in Charon VM Manager (ID#5230)
Fixed a problem when "hasp_view" misses a lot of information if running with "-report" option (ID#5218)
Fixed a problem when InstallShell cannot detect presence of v4.8 on the host (ID#5065)
Fixed Charon crash on start if the specified network interface name is incorrect (on Windows 10) (ID#5055)
Fixed a problem when USB flash drive works correctly, but Charon LOG file contains an error message relevant to the flash drive (ID#5053)
Fixed a problem when VM Manager "Show Console" button remained greyed on closing console (ID#5041)
Fixed a problem when installation procedure fails to install since "logmond" utility is running (ID#5040)
Fixed a data loss during backup to virtual tape, leading to lost savesets (ID#5144, Case #00029944)
Fixed a problem when a virtual disk is "unloaded" on dismount and cannot be mounted again (ID#5136, Case #00029906)
Fixed a problem when CHARON VM Manager was not able to use correct log file after its changing in configuration file (ID#5064)
Fixed a problem when CHARON VM Manager was not able to change the name of VM (ID#5063)
Fixed a problem leading to the situation when VM Manager's "Show Console" button remained greyed on closing console (ID#5041, ID#5057)
Fixed an installation of CHARON NDIS driver with CHARON Network Control Center on Windows 2012 R2 and Windows 8.1 (ID#4687)
Fixed various issues with CHARON on the fly switching between primary and backup licenses of different types (local, network, software) (ID#4058, 4179, 4502, 4622)
Adjusted a CHARON network driver to function with HP Proliant G8 family built-in network adapters (LOM 1Gbe x 4) (ID#4354)
Fixed an "F6" key handling for CHARON running as a service (ID#4600)
Fixed CHARON handling for Spare licenses (ID#4622)
Fixed log monitoring service (LOGMOND) startup (ID#4634)
Fixed Invalid message Charon Mail Report (ID#4700)
Fixed a HASP_view utility crash on viewing expired NetTime license (ID#4702)
Fixed a false warning from Installation procedure about changes to some files which had not been changed (ID#4523)
Fixed InstallShell privileges for installation from non Administrator user (ID#4527)
Fixed Network Control Center handling for virtual network adapters and network bridges (ID#4097, #4099)
Fixed out of order network packets transmission if multiple network sessions are established with a single host (ID#4302)
Fixed a Putty console startup issue (ID#4193)
Minor fixes to logging and utilities version information (ID#4214, 4349, 4388, 4425)
Fixed Network Control Center reporting lack of privileges (ID#4256)
Fixed incorrect license behavior when host time is backdated (ID#4058)
Fixed MTD utility issue with no access to some SCSI tape drives (ID#3927)
Fixed Network Control Center monitoring features (ID#3922)
Fixed Windows Server 2012 version detection (ID#3920, #3921)
Fixed inappropriate license check interval (ID#3754)
Improved CHARON logging for missing license (ID#3116)
Fixed on the fly switch to backup dongle (ID#3690)
Various fixes in CHARON logging and clear reporting of the issues (ID#3747, #3774, #3775, #3799, #3816, #4214)
Various fixes for HaspView utility (ID#3720, #3722)
Fixed MKDISK disk size calculation (ID#3812)
"Removable" qualifier does not work in certain situations (ID#2738)
The installation process becomes slow if a lot of CHARON products have already been installed on one host (ID#3388)
F6 pressing does not stop Charon if console is physical VT100 (ID#3483)
Backup license works more time than specified (ID#3484)
Wrong service dependency list for SL-protected executables (ID#3567)
Update HASP View in order not to decrease counters (ID#3310)
Error message during installation of CHARON on Windows 7 (ID#3367)
HASP HL License Recording Utility migration to 3.21 firmware (ID#2520)
CHARON services incorrect dependence (ID#3325)
CHARON shows "Windows 7 Business Edition" instead of "Windows 7 Professional" (ID#3167)
Licence can be limited both by execution counter and expiration date (ID#3303, #3311)
CHARON service exits on user logoff (ID #3134)
UETP fails on a tape image if CHARON runs on VMware (ID#2427)
Hibernation of remote host connected to CHARON via telnet (console) leads to break of connection till CHARON is restarted (ID#3268)
CHARON shows "Windows 7 Business Edition" instead of "Windows 7 Professional" (ID#3167)
CHARON Service is unable to show console window (ID#3179, 3180)
CHARON Service is unable to detect Windows Server 2008 R2 host shutdown. (ID#3181)
Remote desktop issues with license access on Server 2008 R2 (ID#2571)
In some cases \\.\SCSI... access to disk device is blocked by Windows OS (ID#2740)
CHARON service is installed with incorrect Home Directory specified (ID#2776)
Incorrect "OS Environment" content is reported in CHARON log file on Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 (ID#2820)
Incorrect log messages about unconfigured serial lines were removed
SCSIcheck utility does not recognize iSCSI volumes correctly (ID#2448)
Remove extra spaces from Virtual Disk Table and Virtual Disk Metadata files (ID#2596)
Windows registry keys to be removed on complete deinstallation (ID#2572)
Chinese-Simplified locale makes CHARON process non-operational (ID#2697)
Windows Server 2008 CN: "Invisible" Installation Log (empty log file) (ID#2678)
A file "mkdisk.vtable" is absent in the kit -- it prevents the MKDISK from starting normally (ID#2589).
Incorrect text encoding in the NetDiag help on Chinese systems (ID#2373).
Install procedure does not inform when unsupported host platform is attempted (ID#2431).
Putty Console does not work (no proper session is available) when CHARON runs as a service (ID#2452).
ID#2471 - Ticket #7687: Pressing "F6" button terminates emulator. The default reaction must be changed to "none"
Network Control Center utility does not recognize teamed interfaces (ID#2331)
Some license messages are absent in the LOG file, for example "the license is expired" (ID#2040)
Grammar error in message text: some typos should be corrected (ID#2428)
log_method="append" does not work if specified separately from the other configuration commands for the logging definition (ID#2450).
Utilities help does not start when "F1" is pressed on Windows 2008 / Vista operating systems (ID#2498)
Ticket #7774: Problems NDIS6 driver - memory leak is found (ID#2490)
Many question marks sometimes displayed in the Network Control Center Chinese help file (ID#2373)
"Back" button does not always work during installation
An error message could appear during uninstallation of CHARON through Control Panel
CHARON may wrongly report that no license is present if the correct license is present.
Too many scheduled starts and stops of CHARON service in a short period of time could cause CHARON crash.

Distribution and Installation

The kit is distributed as a standard CHARON installation (new version). The installer version is 7.4.

Before installation:

Make sure there are no CHARON configurations running.
Make sure that Windows has all recent updates installed:
- Do not enable "Automatic updates" (since they may affect CHARON execution), but instead run "Check for updates" applet (Control Panel\System and Security\Windows Update) and install all the important updates.
- Mandatory update / SHA2 support: please check this update has been installed or install it manually using the following link https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/SecurityAdvisories/2015/3033929

Installation instructions:

Unpack CHARON kit into a temporary (installation) folder.
Run the "InstallShell.exe" file in the installation folder.
Choose the products to install and proceed with suggested steps.
Please note that the media may contain more products than allowed by your license.

CHARON installation may fail with an error message "The installation process cannot replace hasplms.exe because the file is in use". It is known problem of the Sentinel HASP driver installer included to CHARON installation procedure as a 3rd party software.

In this case follow the procedure recommended by Sentinel:

Login as an user having Administrator Rights.
Use the Sentinel HASP Runtime Environment Removal tool (https://sentinelcustomer.gemalto.com/sentineldownloads/?s=removal&c=#)
Stop any antivirus or firewall available on the system.
Stop and remove "hasplms.exe" manually. This file is available under "C:\Windows\System32". In case if "hasplms.exe" is read only or hidden change the file properties accordingly.
Restart the system
Run CHARON installation again

Product Documentation and Knowledge Base

Charon-PDP V4.11 Build 204-09 for Windows - Release Notes

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