EasyDCIM v1.7.2
Release Notes

EasyDCIM v1.7.2 debuts with VLAN management support!

There’s no denying that we always aim at surpassing our own expectations, and defining ever higher standards in development of EasyDCIM. Could we resist sharing with you another ambitious goal accomplished in the platform’s 1.7.2 version that just saw the light of day? Of course not. We just can’t hold the excitement in as we announce that one of the features most frequently asked for is now a part of EasyDCIM! Before we show you around the variety of advantages that the spanking new VLAN Management is about to fit into your business, let’s get back to basics for a minute. What is a VLAN? A VLAN stands for Virtual Local Area Network, and is meant to gather a set of network ports on a switching device into a single broadcast domain. In a VLAN, computers, servers, and other network devices are logically connected so they can freely communicate with each other, regardless of their physical location. Created as a response to specific problems that may occur in switched environments, VLANs provide increased operational capacities, and allow effortless segmentation of the network. VLANs Management As from the 1.7.2 version, EasyDCIM is equipped with a brilliantly inventive mechanism of VLAN Management that supports Juniper devices with JUNOS 12.3R12-S12. A diverse range of functionalities aimed at handling VLANs has been introduced into Switch Management For EasyDCIM v1.3.0 module, and consists of such actions as: integration with the NETCONF protocol, automatic detection of VLANs during the process of a device polling, adding VLANs, assigning a single or multiple VLANs to a network port of a switch. [gallery link="file" size="medium" ids="2849,2847,2846,2850,2848"] Provisioning VLANs One very important detail of the whole release is advanced support for VLANs during the provisioning process of your device. This profound feature extends the purpose of IP Address Management For EasyDCIM 1.8.0 module by creating the possibility to mark VLANs of a switch as provisioning VLANs. EasyDCIM will from now on come as supremely helpful in a situation when a switch has a few VLANs, and you need to select one that shall be used during the installation of operating system on dedicated servers. This way, before launching the process, a given port of a switch will be transferred to the provisioning VLAN. Once the installation is complete, the previous VLAN for this network port will be restored. Let’s dispel any possible doubts with this quick example: Your dedicated server has a network interface that is connected to the switch port ge-0/0/3. This switch port is located in the appropriate VLAN destined for this server, that is "VLANServer10". Now, the IP Address Management module allows you to decide that "VLANProvisioning" is intended for the operating system installation of this switch. Once you run the installation on a dedicated server, EasyDCIM will automatically transfer the network port of the switch ge-0/0/3 to the VLAN "VLANProvisioning". As soon as the process has been finished, the previous VLAN "VLANServer10" will be restored. SNMP Auto-Discovering We pulled out all the stops to supply the Auto-Discovering process with ultra-competitive functionalities that will raise the performance bar of EasyDCIM a notch further. As a result, the whole mechanism of automatic device detection has been transferred to the servers of Remote Agents. Not only will it bring relief to the platform’s main server that no longer needs to have access to SNMP dedicated servers or switches, but also tighten up network security, as well as enhance the efficiency of the process from A to Z. Debian Non-Free Drivers It comes as no surprise that Debian is one of the most powerful Linux distributions given how widely appreciated it is for security, stability as well as an excellent system of package management that has proven to be very supportive when coming across certain dependency issues. The current stable distribution is Debian Buster which is the development codename for Debian 10. It is a well-deserved follower of the previous Debian Stretch that stands for the development of Debian 9. During the installation of the operating system, the installer detects the appropriate devices, and adjusts the drivers for these devices. Unfortunately, the installer has only standard built-in drivers with limited support for some types of devices. In some cases the installer may detect the need to use a non-free driver, and a user is asked to provide the firmware to complete the installation process successfully. Such a situation commonly occurs with wireless network cards which require non-free firmware to work properly. EasyDCIM v1.7.2 delivers a perfect solution to this bothersome problem. Now, the administrator is empowered to indicate the appropriate URL that contains the driver package for devices that previously fell outside the scope of support.   Rest assured that the above rundown through EasyDCIM v1.7.2 is nowhere near to being complete, and many more substantial upgrades are not to be missed - all listed neatly in the changelog! View The Changelog!
Piotr Dołęga - EasyDCIM CMO
Piotr Dołęga
EasyDCIM v1.7.1
Release Notes

Modules boost in the spotlight – EasyDCIM v1.7.1

There is quite a number of factors to be considered when pondering the question of what has a direct bearing on the pace of EasyDCIM's functional growth. One such facet of particular importance are the modules dedicated explicitly to making this control panel even more of an intelligent solution. Guided by this conclusion, we have decided to foreground the modules' updated choice of features in this spanking new release of EasyDCIM. Sit back and relax as we have the pleasure of walking you through the quality-filled confines of EasyDCIM v1.7.1. Another layer of data fetching automation To whet your appetite, we begin the exploration with the most valuable addition - the "Detect Hardware Information" system template brought by the OS Installation For EasyDCIM v1.9.0 module. The template is meant to be run on a given server so as to detect its specification, and then complete all the essential information automatically in EasyDCIM, that being: Quantity, model, and type of processor Quantity, model, and size of hard drives Quantity, model, and size of RAM Quantity and type of network interfaces Mainboard name and model Device serial number Device label Device manufacturer Hassle-free handling of admin sessions The Two-Factor Authentication For EasyDCIM module has been developed further into the 1.1.0 version that brings about substantial improvement to the security of the entire back-end section owing to the innovative mechanism for managing administrator login sessions. The new formula grants you the possibility to delete the no longer relevant sessions, as well as automatically remove sessions that exceed the exact duration you have yourself previously defined. Sounds neat, doesn’t it? Device transfer on 24-hour watch This landmark release also features 5 new conditions implemented into the 1.1.0 version of Advanced Monitoring For EasyDCIM module, designed to measure the device traffic in the following time frames: Last Hour Traffic Last Day Traffic Last Week Traffic Last Month Traffic Current Month Traffic With these newly supplied tools, you are empowered to configure the preferred transfer limits for devices according to which custom email or Slack notifications will be sent. For instance, if you would like to email your customers once their monthly transfer exceeds the allowed 1 TB, you simply add the suitable settings to the Last Month Traffic condition, and define the corresponding contents of the message. Then, when the condition is fulfilled, your clients will receive an email saying: "Hold your horses! The limit has been reached." *   We got down to brass tacks so that you have a good grasp on EasyDCIM v1.7.1, but there surely is more to it than meets the eye. Take this general overview of new possibilities as a cordial invitation to explore the release in full depth! View The Changelog! * ...or any other note you see fit. :D
Piotr Dołęga - EasyDCIM CMO
Piotr Dołęga
EasyDCIM v1.7.0 Release
Release Notes

Data center monitoring (r)evolution with EasyDCIM v1.7.0!

During the course of the last few months, EasyDCIM has been successfully undergoing a set of varied changes, mainly touching upon the offered functionalities and UX. All these alterations had one factor in common, that is the persistent striving to advance our system to consequently let you manage your data center without needless effort. But as you will see for yourself in a few moments, the milestone 1.7.0 release brings this subject to a whole new level! Monitoring – prevent it, before it happens Careful watching over one, even fairly intricate piece of equipment may sound like a demanding but still fairly achievable task. Problems start to build up, however, when your infrastructure expands into a more entangled web of mutual dependencies. Power and connection issues, traffic overload with countless other pressing issues can all cause system failures and lead to downtime. This is even more likely if you cannot afford your staff to spend long hours to perform a daily check of every single part of your inventory. Fortunately, data center owners are no longer left to their own devices, so to speak! Aided by the all-in-one monitoring tool included in the EasyDCIM milestone 1.7.0 edition, you will deal with this enormity of day-to-day supervisory operations in an entirely effortless manner. With our unique solution, you will be always up to speed about the status of all your devices. How exactly? The first step is to create new system monitors, either for devices such as switches, servers, routers, etc., or network ports – all according to your current needs. And in case you would like to use one specific monitor for multiple entities, you can quickly assign it to all of them at once by using tags. When it comes to monitors configuration, you will be enabled to choose suitable variables per each of them such as the device’s IPMI and SNMP connection status, IP and MAC addresses, uptime or network port traffic, and then select proper conditions for each variable to easily access just the piece of information you need. Once everything is set up, you would surely want to see how it all works in practice, wouldn’t you? Great news – conducting a real-time inspection of how your monitor functions will let you oversee whether you set up everything like you wanted or if any other alterations are still required. Re-engineered notification intelligence Voila – you have just established your own system monitor! But this is just the first part of the tool’s genius. Since device monitoring is equally important as receiving proper alerts right on time, we have also taken a closer look to this particular section of our system and given it a substantial boost. Naturally, our newly established monitoring kit covers also the possibility to set up personalized notifications sent via email (either to the defined addresses or directly to the owner of a particular server), through Slack or simply displayed within the system itself, but there is also the possibility to execute the defined URL instead. But there are many more changes in this field. As some of you already know, in previous versions of the system, the majority of notifications was executed only within EasyDCIM itself, only a small portion was delivered via email to the administrator who was not capable of interfering with their settings. Now it all changes! Thanks to the brand-new “Notifications” section, you will be able to: Define when notifications are to be sent and through which channels: email addresses, Slack channels or webhooks. Search through the list of all previously defined system notifications, edit or deactivate any chosen one in case you find it unnecessary. Assign any number of actions you want to be performed when a given notification occurs. New module - Advanced Monitoring For EasyDCIM Before we depart and you throw yourself into exploring all the new opportunities awaiting you in the 1.7.0 version, let us come back for a brief moment to its central part – the monitoring toolkit. Perhaps you feel like we could have still squeezed some more out of it? You had better give a closer look at the newest addition to the EasyDCIM-dedicated modules – Advanced Monitoring For EasyDCIM! Supported by effortless management of all monitors created across the platform, the access to their system logs and the ability to define more than one condition per monitor, you will have just the perfect means to stay well informed about the condition of your business, make effective, data-driven decisions and respond to unexpected events right on time. As you can see, monitoring your devices and managing system notifications in EasyDCIM is as straightforward as it is beneficial to any data center provider. Put it to practice yourself, and reach out for more gripping news on the 1.7.0 edition. It's high time to rediscover your business! Begin Your Monitoring Adventure!
Piotr Dołęga - EasyDCIM CMO
Piotr Dołęga
EasyDCIM v1.6.7 Release
Release Notes

A solid package of OS gear in EasyDCIM v1.6.7!

Let’s be honest: a centralized data center management structure gives rise to many challenges, the most frightening of which may be the enormity of monitoring and controlling operations each day requires. Since we are literally obsessed with simplifying this experience for you, we never stop asking ourselves: how do we make using EasyDCIM more effortless? It is with this very thought in mind that we are pleased to announce the release of EasyDCIM v1.6.7 which, together with the many enhancements connected mostly to operating system installation and maintenance, take another load of tasks from the administrator’s shoulders. Ubuntu 20.04 LTS - a new member of the OS templates family Needless to say that the fully automatic OS installation has been one of the greatest assets of EasyDCIM from the moment it was introduced several versions ago. Since that day we have been keeping close tabs on the availability of operating systems’ updates and adapting the scope of supported system templates to the rapidly advancing market changes. With today’s date, this range has welcomed the spicy addition of Ubuntu 20.04 LTS – the very latest long-term support release of the hugely popular Ubuntu Linux OS, backed by an amazing 5 years of ongoing support and updates. What lay in the spotlight of this state-of-the-art system are the many improvements touching upon its security and overall performance. Owing to the smart application of Kernel Self Protection measures, it has reached the top Linux security requirements. Moreover, this template will deliver a solid foundation of novelties like Linux 5.4 kernel with improved hardware support, refreshed toolchain, faster boot speeds and refined look and feel across the entire system. Getting the Ubuntu 20.04 LTS system template ready is practically unattended since the administrator’s role will come down to sitting down and observing how EasyDCIM automatically performs all the required operations including: Selecting the appropriate time zone and language Performing disk partitioning Creating user account and generating root password Configuring network interfaces Installing extra system packages and post-installation scripts Three novel rescue & diagnostic tools Apart from introducing additional system template, we have also focused on expanding the scope of utility programs left at your disposal. As from the 1.6.7 version, EasyDCIM guarantees flawless support for the following instruments: 1. GParted 1.1.0.1 - with the assistance of this particular rescue template, the management over hard disks and partitions will be a breeze. It offers support for many different types of files and is equipped with its own graphical environment thanks to which you can easily change the organization of partitions in a hard disk while preserving their content. 2. Ultimate Boot CD 5.3.8 - comprises a set of several dozen utility and diagnostic programs which will certainly appear useful when you want to test whether the disk, RAM or processor works properly. It offers all the applications necessary for the maintenance and repair operations such as partitioning tools, boot manager, system restore disks, benchmarking tools, hardware information, a defragmenter, and even an antivirus program. 3. Grml 2018.12 - similarly to the above-described tool, this Debian-based template equipped with a graphical environment brings along an excellent collection of GNU/Linux software packages for sysadmins allowing for installation, deployment and system rescue. A bundle of miscellaneous tweaks and modifications Next to the already-mentioned cornerstones, the EasyDCIM toolkit has been boosted with some other practical features as well: OS Installation For EasyDCIM v1.8.0 - apart from the newly implemented templates, the process of establishing the time zone in Windows systems is now much amplified. An extra button introduced to enable the reloading of the DHCP server configuration on remote agent servers in case that any turbulences occur in the way to its successful configuration. System API now offers the possibility to create a list based on the received results and retrieve all IP addresses assigned to a given device. Lastly, honoring the requests of our clients, from the 1.6.7 version up you can take the opportunity to modify the model’s details straight within the device summary view. Even though you have seen the word “lastly” above, this does not mean the end of surprises our today’s release entails – it is just because we did not want to spoil the fun of a first-hand exploration for you. Let the party continue on the changelog page directly! Explore More!
Piotr Dołęga - EasyDCIM CMO
Piotr Dołęga
EasyDCIM v1.6.6 Release
Release Notes

EasyDCIM v1.6.6 – system tags for supercharged inventory management

Maintaining order and keeping control over your data center inventory is one of those demanding, grueling chores that cannot be entirely got rid of, unfortunately. But what can be – and, as you will see in a brief moment, has just been – done is making it as effortless and labor-saving as possible. The EasyDCIM v1.6.6 release we have the pleasure of announcing today is all about it! What stands as a pivotal change introduced on account of this fresh-new update is the feature that exerts a visible influence all across your system and is really simple in its premise, yet unbelievably serviceable in everyday use – the tagging functionality. Tags are like characteristics for a person; the same way you would describe someone as tall or short, in EasyDCIM you can characterize your assets by defining your own custom labels consisting of a name and color. Your current needs and imagination are the only limitations in their creation really. The complete list of supported entities includes: Colocations Devices Items Orders Clients What it means is that you are free to define tags for each of these groups separately, e.g. you can create tags specifically for the “Devices” group that you will later on assign to any chosen devices. Analogously, you can do likewise with all the remaining entities which this functionality is integrated with. All of this will be possible in the newly added “Tags” section, presenting the list of all tags ever created in the system with such details as their name, color, type and number of entities they are attributed to. What is more, you will be enabled to perform there such actions as: Adding new tags and editing them later on. Deleting existing tags and removing them from all assigned entities. Filter the results by a given tag in order to find all elements assigned to it. The scope of introduced changes by no means ends at this point since we have widened the scope of system tags’ influence to cover the most important system tables as well: Servers, Blade Servers, Network, Power, Colocation Services, Search Inventory, Orders and Clients. In each of these, it will be from now on possible to attach multiple tags to a single item such as a device, order or customer. You can also quickly create a new tag there if it suddenly turns out that you need one – without the necessity of moving back to the “Tags” section. We also know that each minute is worth its weight in gold, therefore, you will be enabled to perform mass actions including both assignment and removal of tags. To be more precise, you can select several items in the table and add to them as many tags as you wish or, on the other hand, delete all those that were previously assigned. Some other tweak-ups and cosmetic changes The installation of a remote agent has been further upgraded to allow for a higher level of automation - by making the process of database configuration entirely unattended, no manual actions will be required on your part. Possibility to define which installation templates customers should be enabled to see in the client area and use for system reinstallation. Added ability to display the list of server parts in the client area such as CPU, HDD, SSD or RAM. Looks interesting? Note that this is still not everything! As always, we highlighted the most significant changes of this release right here, therefore we cordially invite you to visit our website and check the complete changelog to discover the full spectrum of modifications. Explore More!
Piotr Dołęga - EasyDCIM CMO
Piotr Dołęga
EasyDCIM v1.6.5 Release
Release Notes

Superior OS installation in EasyDCIM v1.6.5!

While a regular nine-to-five job schedule is something that most people enjoy and which may be the so-called norm for the majority, data center management cannot be recognized as one of them. As modern enterprise data centers become increasingly more complex, the notion of improving uptime, productivity, and efficiency emerges as the central point of each new EasyDCIM update aiming at effortless and time-effective management of your resources. And, as you will see with your own eyes in a brief moment, the 1.6.5 version of your favorite control panel covers this subject from A to Z! Proxmox VE straight in your EasyDCIM As you all know, EasyDCIM can boast itself in being perfectly capable of installing any of the supported operating systems and applications on existing servers in an entirely unattended manner. Today, this already quite an impressive range has welcomed yet another noble template in its ranks – Proxmox VE 6! Starting from the 1.6.5 version, EasyDCIM will make it possible to install an operating system together with Proxmox VE so that the end-customer receives a production-ready platform. Being a complete open-source solution for enterprise server virtualization with an inbuilt web interface, Proxmox VE is an ideal choice for the deployment and management of virtual machines and containers that at the same time allows you to optimize existing resources, reduce complexity and increase the efficiency of your data center with absolutely minimal effort. Raising the bar of all-inclusive OS installation The mere fact of attaining the magic of automated OS installation is not enough reason to slow down the tempo and rest on our laurels when there is still so much to be done to streamline the process a few steps further. For starters, with the new EasyDCIM v1.6.5 already on the loose, you may take every advantage of the introduced support for the first boot scripts which, as the name partially reveals, are run along with the first system reboot after its successful installation. Thanks to that, you as an administrator will be now capable of installing additional system packages and software gear or creating appropriate directories at the moment of the initial system start. While these scripts can currently be defined only for the CentOS 6-8 and Debian 8-10 operating systems, there are also several new predefined installation addons introduced for CentOS 7 as well, that will be now launched at the moment of the first server boot after the OS installation. With them, you will be enabled to easily install any of the following software gear: cPanel, Plesk, DirectAdmin, CentOS WebPanel and Vesta Control Panel. Let us remain on that topic for a little while longer as there is still one more thing worth elaborating on, namely a set of new tools to manage the following three groups of installation addons: 1. Disk Layout - used to define the appropriate scripts to partition a newly installed disk before any file system is created. From the 1.6.5 version, four new predefined partitioning scripts for the CentOS 6-8 have been added, including RAID1 with 2 disks and RAID0 with 2, 4 or 8 disks. 2. Post Installation - started immediately after the operating system had been successfully installed. 3. First Boot - launched at the first start-up after the installation process. Most importantly, however, you will be from now on enabled to create and later on edit any additional installation addons as well as synchronize the predefined ones with your EasyDCIM platform. Other principal functionalities & tweaks How about we have a quick look at some of the other practical features boosting the toolkit of EasyDCIM? IP Address Management v1.7.0 – administrative actions connected with subnets creation, removal, edition, and assignment are now included in the “Activity Logs” section. Those orders which are currently undergoing the provisioning process will be marked with a new distinctive status. The search box available in the client area has been featured with two new fields based on which servers can be browsed through more accurately: “IP Address” and “Hostname”. Significant improvement of the polling statistics that have been relocated to the remote agents list. We could go further and further about other spicy secrets of EasyDCIM v1.6.5 but it would ruin the whole fun if we disclosed all of them right away, wouldn’t it? Learn more about this eagerly anticipated edition from the place you most likely know like the back of your hand by now – the changelog! View The Changelog!
Piotr Dołęga - EasyDCIM CMO
Piotr Dołęga
EasyDCIM v1.6.4 Release
Release Notes

General UX Overhaul – EasyDCIM v1.6.4!

Websites, web applications, and software in general have been progressively becoming more complex as the industry’s technologies and methodologies advance. Consequently, user-centered design is no longer just about creating a positive experience with the product – above all, it should now aim primarily at the speed, efficiency, and effortlessness of use. Captivated by the premise to keep things simple while still providing further supplementary functionalities, today we are taking another crucial step towards the reconciliation of the ever-expanding arsenal of server-related tools with the intuitiveness and swiftness of browsing through them. Ladies and gentlemen, let us present to you the comprehensively revised EasyDCIM v1.6.4! Rearranged menu layout It is not a rocket science that the main navigation menu is the most important bridge for the customer-software interaction. To be even more precise, the entire relation with the platform starts at this very point. Hence, in order for the administrator to gain immediate access to all the most crucial sections and instruments, we played a little with the already existing menu elements. Firstly, the entire menu layout was utterly redesigned and grouped afresh. Some of the key elements were pushed to the front to make sure that no vital detail contained in them slips your attention ever again, and these include the following: “Dashboard”, “Devices”, “Assets” and “Clients”. What is more, we understand that time is of the essence for every business owner, hence we allowed ourselves to help you save at least some part of it. How? The place where you can access the list of quick actions has been highlighted and can be now immediately noticed at the moment of taking just a single glance at the menu. In order not to overcrowd this quite limited area too excessively, we decided to connect the remaining elements into one, easily accessible "extended" menu. One mouseclick will be enough to display links bracketing the remaining sections together into appropriate groups and making the navigation through the system a plain sailing. No matter if you are a long-established user of EasyDCIM or you are at the very beginning of this exciting journey, the new layout should feel more intuitive and easy to click than ever before. Streamlined navigation through tables The second wave of practical modifications and optimizations ushered for your enhanced convenience, affected tables listing all crucial data about your clients and devices. To start with, it is the asynchronous filters that consist the first major transformation granting you faster access to the pivotal content of a given section. Speaking of which, filtered results are now loaded dynamically, adjusting displayed information to your current needs conveyed in the provided criteria. Other novel addition that we managed to push into motion is the power to decide in what way the tables should be displayed. Depending on your preferences, you will be enabled to choose between the more detailed standard layout and the new compact view. If you are of the restive type and wish to grasp all important details at one sitting, then this option without a doubt will match up to your expectations – in comparison to the standard view, it can display almost twice as many positions to go through. What will come particularly in handy is the ability to establish a given look for all tables in the system or, should you need to adjust the view only for some part of them, you may do so by choosing a specific section configuration for logged-in administrator - the choice is all yours. Let us stay on this subject for a little while longer as there is still one more exciting detail unquestionably worth mentioning. A slight touch of colorful refreshment has exerted influence on the majority of the item types listed in tables. In consequence, once you get acquainted with all the color-item connections, by simply taking a quick fleeting look you will be able to find whatever you need, without the necessity to trawl through the entire list from top to bottom. Greater freedom of item model adjustment There is still one further area of focus in EasyDCIM v1.6.4 and that is one of the entirely new fields implemented into the creation and edition forms of the item model. Just take a look at the handy list below and let us walk you through them: 1. Device Bays - it will be now possible to define not only how many bays a particular device model should have but to set their names as well. This option will prove most useful for the Blade type, hence as of now it is available for it exclusively. 2. Network Ports - you will be free to specify their following qualities: number, names, speed and type. 3. Power Ports - at last, the specification of the quantity and names of power ports will be now also enabled during the creation and edition of item models. After you define the details for all of the above-listed parts, they will be added automatically upon each creation of a new device with the selected model. Assorted tweaks and other adjustments It seems like our bag of novelties is bottomless as we still have a few cards up our sleeve! Just take a look at the series of other upgrades, including the following: The separation of the “Users” and “Administrators” sections, along with the addition of the User Card containing all essential information on a particular client, which will be now displayed in their summary view IPMI Integration For EasyDCIM v1.3.0 – introduced additional driver to manage the KVM console: ASRock Rack IPMI JAVA Console and ASRock Rack IPMI noVNC KVM Console Warranty Information – new field displaying the time left until the moment of warranty period’s expiration Possibility to adjust the level of access rights for the client managing particular, previously ordered, dedicated server As you carefully follow the foregoing record of all introduced enhancements, at some point you surely thought – that must be all for this update. Well, it is – but only for now! Feel cordially invited to visit the official changelog of EasyDCIM v1.6.4 just under the below link to snap the complete picture of this momentous release! Explore More!
Piotr Dołęga - EasyDCIM CMO
Piotr Dołęga
EasyDCIM v1.6.3 Release
Release Notes

Retailored Ordering Flow in EasyDCIM v1.6.3!

When you think of data center monitoring it is certainly not possible to reach the point where the tools you employ for this purpose could not get any better or more efficient. The past few weeks have been really busy, with us focusing on making the official arrival of the freshly rolled out EasyDCIM 1.6.3 version maximally beneficial and minimally challenging in comprehension. Without dragging things out any more than necessary, let’s get started with a thorough overview of this revamping update, shall we? Ordering on a whole new level The very first wave of sweeping change has exerted influence on the “Orders Summary” section, which has undergone an in-depth rearrangement. Not only does it demonstrate itself as far more legible and user-friendly but what comes of even greater importance are numerous adjustments introduced to the ordering process and mechanism of proper server matching. To start with, two new criteria to define the ordered service have been added. Should one decide to purchase a dedicated server, it will be now possible to choose the “Any Model” value instead of providing a specific one. This way, after such order completion, any server fulfilling given requirements will be assigned to it, regardless of the model. On top of that, you will be enabled to specify the exact number of parts of a given type (e.g. RAM or CPU) according to your needs. With remarkable ease, in the "Activity Logs" tab you will immediately access the record of all sorts of modifications made within the order such as the change of its status, password, username as well as numerous other aspects. You will instantly notice both the current and the previous value, the user responsible for a given activity as well as the date when the change occurred. Another novel feature that we just could not help but push into motion is the capability to determine the sequence of actions performed at the moment of service activation. Not only will you be allowed to decide which one should be executed at first and which at the end, but even more importantly you will be enabled to specify the exact impact a particular action should have on the provisioning process - interruption or continuance. State-of-the-art OS templates For several versions already, EasyDCIM allows admins to install any of the supported operating systems on existing servers in a fully automated manner – from the moment of selecting an installation template up to running post-installation script. But let us place our focus on the first stage today since the range of supported OS templates has just welcomed two spicy additions to include the two most recent ones - CentOS 8 and Debian 10 “Buster”. CentOS 8 It has been a while since we last time enjoyed a major release of CentOS over five years ago. Therefore, its latest release with a bevy of new features and improvements comes as a fine point for all its users. It is another opportunity to enjoy the stability, efficiency, and reliability that is handsomely made available for you with CentOS 8 on the loose. Briefly speaking, major changes include the new versions of YUM package manager and GNOME Display Manager, Cockpit Web Console coming as an integral part of easy server management, plus the content is now distributed in two main repositories: BaseOS and AppStream. Debian 10 “Buster” It goes without saying that Debian over the years has built a well-deserved reputation as a rock-solid distro, valued for its stability, security, and dependency. The all-new “Buster” includes the headlining support for Secure Boot which makes it effortless to install the system on UEFI-enabled machines with no need to disable it in the firmware configuration in the first place. Upon that, AppArmor enabled by default, the ability to sandbox the Apt package manager, support for driverless printing and five years of ongoing support create only a smart part of the multiplicity of reasons making Debian 10 worth the update. Multiple other new features and enhancements Care to have a look at some of the other optimizations brought into EasyDCIM v1.6.3 as well? OS Installation For EasyDCIM v1.6.0 - support for new OS templates: Debian 10 “Buster” and CentOS 8 Ability to define new metadata, such as IP Address or Hostname, and specify their unique, one-off values Capability to start “Rescue Mode” for clients to let them preview their owned partitions automatically installed in the "/home/rescue/partitions" directory Added option to assign network ports to the colocation service Because the list of total changes introduced is of so considerable length that it would be near to impossible to squeeze them all in here, that is as many details as we can share for now. Use the below link and enjoy the first-hand exploration of the official EasyDCIM v1.6.3 changelog! Follow The Change!
Piotr Dołęga - EasyDCIM CMO
Piotr Dołęga
EasyDCIM v1.6.2 Release
Release Notes

Data Center Under Full Control – EasyDCIM v1.6.2

A lot of improvements that make their way to our data center control panel come directly from the experience of running our own company. For example, there is this one thing we learned a while back. Mainly, that the better you organize your business management straight from the get-go, the easier it is later on for you to handle all your daily tasks. Hooked on this compelling idea, we are taking today another crucial step toward simplifying the interaction with our software. Ready to jump into our newly rolled out EasyDCIM 1.6.2 version and monitor your data center assets effortlessly like never before? Re-engineered logs and dashboard intelligence Initiated in the previous version, the process of remastering the entire system interface continues on. One of the most visible alterations you will spot right on is the whole new "Activity Logs" tab. Created from the combination of two previous sections - "Revision History" and "Notifications", it will archive all sorts of modifications within a device such as its rack assignment, power status, or change of metadata items including IP Address, Hostname and HDD Size. No matter what type of action was performed on your data center devices, you will momentarily view both the current and the previous value, the user responsible for a particular activity as well as the date when the change happened. With equal ease you will now also access the record of unsuccessfully carried out actions, reported back by such protocols like SNMP, IPMI and others. All you need to do is move on to the newly available "Error Logs" section and get up to speed with each matter that requires your attention. Next practical addition planted in the Dashboard is a dynamic widget with a history of most recent activities. What is more, you can freely filter the results by the exact notification type (Info, Error, Success, Warning) plus the priority level (Normal, Important, Urgent). Having problems with tracking various tasks that are being performed on your devices or items? With this ever up-to-date widget aiding you daily, you can devote to the monitoring of your data center as little time as possible, and yet stay perfectly aware of every single change taking place. Why do everything on your own while you can automate your work to perfection, right? And finally, when talking about user-oriented modernizations, we played a little with the already existing menu elements. We rearranged a few sections to push those most frequently used ones to the front and make sure no key detail slips your attention ever again. Whether you are a long-established user of EasyDCIM or just start your adventure with our system, you should have no problems with finding your way to the appropriate areas whatsoever. Quite the contrary, the new layout should feel even more intuitive and easy to click through than ever before. Streamlined performance of remote agents Another small victory of our 1.6.2 update was the improved communication between remote agents and the main application. The pooling process is basically carried out on the remote agents servers and the data is being sent to the master application for proper storage. What we did was to significantly reduce the number of queries sent to and retrieved from the main application, which in result allows you to collect the data now faster and from even more devices at the same time. Numerous system tweaks and adjustments Interested in some other possibilities the brand-new EasyDCIM v1.6.2 equips you with? Be sure to look over this convenient features list: DNS Management For EasyDCIM v1.3.0 - automated set up of DNS zones and rDNS records during order activation OS Installation For EasyDCIM v1.5.1 - added provisioning tasks history and means to define the "ComputerName" value based on the "Hostname" field Enhanced security of most vital password types (Access Control List) Added option to upload files straight from the device summary view More flexible management of remote agents As your company expands, you need to think of ever more efficient ways to keep all your assets in a firm grasp. Luckily, with EasyDCIM v1.6.2 on the loose you may take the bother of routine data center check-ups entirely, and do something more exciting in the meantime. Like, for example, exploring the full depths of our newly released update and dropping us a comment on how you feel about all the changes we have made! View The Changelog! Updating from EasyDCIM version prior to 1.6.0? Since EasyDCIM 1.6.0 was the first version ever to fully support the Debian 9 “Stretch” operating system only, the direct upgrades to 1.6.2 from any version prior to 1.6.0 may be a little bit tricky. Therefore, we would strongly encourage you to contact our Support Team and let us assist you with the whole process. No need to worry, this should take just a moment. To make sure everything goes as smooth as possible, please take the below steps: Open a new support ticket with "EasyDCIM v1.6.0 update" as its title. Provide access data to the SSH server on which your current EasyDCIM version is installed (account with root privileges required). Provide access data to the SSH server you want to migrate to (account with root privileges and Debian 9 system required). Please kindly stand by as we perform a back-up of your EasyDCIM and migrate the data. Switch the application to live after verifying the correctness of the 1.6.2 version. We are at full readiness to lend you a helpful hand in updating your EasyDCIM any time!
Piotr Dołęga - EasyDCIM CMO
Piotr Dołęga