GAS 5.00 upgrade guide

These topics describe product changes you must be aware of when upgrading to version 4.01.

Important:

This incremental upgrade guide covers only topics related to the Genero Application Server (GAS) version specified in the page title. Check prior upgrade guides if you migrate from an earlier version, and complete the migration tasks for all versions between your existing version and the target version, in order. Make sure to also read about the new features for this version.

Corresponding new features page: GAS 5.00 new features.

Previous upgrade guide: GAS 4.01 upgrade guide

New GAS server port resource: res.ic.server.port

Previously, the res.ic.base.port and res.ic.port.offset resources were used to set the GAS server port:
<TCP_BASE_PORT>$(res.ic.base.port)</TCP_BASE_PORT>
<TCP_PORT_OFFSET>$(res.ic.port.offset)</TCP_PORT_OFFSET>
These resources are no longer available in the GAS configuration file (as.xcf). The GAS server port configuration is now set by the res.ic.server.port resource. 
<TCP_SERVER_PORT>$(res.ic.server.port)</TCP_SERVER_PORT>

The res.ic.server.port is set to 6394 by default. No action needs to be taken on your part, but if you have previously used res.ic.base.port and res.ic.port.offset to set the port or to override the GAS default server port, you will need to change to using res.ic.server.port.

Desupported GAS resources

The following two resources used in combination to set the GAS server port, are now desupported:
  • res.ic.base.port
  • res.ic.port.offset
In new development, use res.ic.server.port in place of these.

New GAS configuration element: TCP_SERVER_PORT

The GAS server port configuration is now configured by the TCP_SERVER_PORT element, replacing the TCP_BASE_PORT and TCP_PORT_OFFSET elements, which are no longer available.

Desupported GAS configuration elements

The following two elements used in combination to set the GAS server port, are now desupported:
  • TCP_BASE_PORT
  • TCP_PORT_OFFSET
In new development, use TCP_SERVER_PORT in place of these.

URL parameter argument key "arg" changes

Previously, in order to provide parameters in the application URL, you needed to provide the query string key-value pair using the key "Arg" with first letter in uppercase. Now the key can start with either an uppercase or a lowercase first letter; either "arg" or "Arg" is acceptable. This change allows consistency with other query string keys used for Genero Browser Client, such as "debugMode", "recordGdcLog", and "gbc".

For examples of use, see PARAMETERS and Running applications with arguments set in the URL.

Simplified log categories

The log categories, as defined in the CATEGORIES_FILTER element, which specify the type of message written to the log, are simplified down to the following categories: ERROR, WARNING, INFO, DEBUG

If you have previously used categories such as MUTEX, SESSION, GAS, LOG, CONFIGURATION, DEPRECATED, PROCESS, VM, FT, ACCESS, HTTP, SOCKET, TASK, TEMPLATE, TIMER, or WA, these categories are no longer available and the following changes apply:
  • ACCESS and GAS categories are now logged as INFO
  • MUTEX, SESSION, LOG, CONFIGURATION, DEPRECATED, PROCESS, VM, FT, HTTP, SOCKET, TASK, TEMPLATE, TIMER, WA are now logged to DEBUG.

The ALL category acts as a pseudo category to enable ERROR, WARNING, INFO, DEBUG.

In the log messages, the columns or field identifiers "category" and "component", previously defined in the FORMAT element, have been removed. For more information, see CATEGORIES_FILTER and FORMAT.

Demos application Id change

In the GAS configuration file, the demos application's Id has changed from "gwc-demo" to "demo". To view the change and understand its impact, go to Access demo applications with the Genero Browser Client.

Single sign-on (SSO) now has its own manual

Single Sign-on topics are no longer included in the Genero Application Server User Guide. SSO is now documented in the Single Sign-On User Guide.

GAS configuration resources: res.gwc-js and res.gbc

The latest GAS version configuration file shows the following resource changes:
  • res.gwc-js is no longer a resource in the as.xcf file. In previous version, res.gwc-js was referenced by the res.gbc to set the default Genero Browser Client.
  • res.gbc is now the only resource setting for the default Genero Browser Client.

For more information on res.gbc, go to GBC.

Argument added to gasadmin gar --list-archives command

Starting from GAS 3.21.02, GAS 4.01.07, and GAS 5.00.02, the gasadmin gar --list-archives command is enhanced to take an argument with options to display information for the deployed archives you specify. Previous to this, the command displayed information for all archives deployed on the GAS.

For more information see gasadmin.

Argument added to gasadmin gar --clean-archives command

Starting from GAS 3.21.02, GAS 4.01.07, and GAS 5.00.02, the gasadmin gar --clean-archives command is enhanced to take an argument with options to specify the undeployed archives you want removed. Previous to this, the command cleaned/removed all undeployed archives on the GAS.

For more information see gasadmin.

Changes to gasadmin gar --list-archives command output

Starting from GAS 3.21.02, GAS 4.01.07, and GAS 5.00.02, the gasadmin gar --list-archives command has enhancements to the output listing applications and services available in the GAS. The layout of the display has been improved for better readability.

For more information, go to List deployed archives.

New option in the gasadmin gar command to return the deployment path of an archive

Starting from GAS 3.21.02, GAS 4.01.07, and GAS 5.00.02, the gasadmin gar command has been enhanced with an option, --archive-deployment-path, to return the deployment path of a gar file deployed on the GAS.

For more information on gasadmin gar commands and examples, go to gasadmin.

Changes to the OpenIDConnect service configuration

Starting from GAS and FGLGWS versions 3.21.02, 4.01.07, and 5.00.02, two parameters of the Genero OpenIDConnect service configuration ($FGLDIR\web_utilities\services\openid-connect\res\configuration) have changes:
  • The oidc.logout.id_token_hint parameter, used in the logout request sent to the provider, has been replaced by oidc.logout.identifier. The new parameter supports the values "id_token_hint", "client_id", or an empty (" ") value. The default value is "id_token_hint".
  • The oidc.logout.post_redirect parameter, used to send the post redirect uri in the logout request, now needs a string value instead of the boolean value true/false on previous versions. The default value is now "post_logout_redirect_uri".

No action needs to be taken on your part, but if you have previously used a custom OpenIDConnect configuration file and you want to use it when upgrading FGLGWS version, ensure that you review your configuration for these parameters.

For more information on OpenID Connect Single sign-on, refer to the Single Sign-On User Guide.

New option to list session ids in the gasadmin session command

Starting from GAS 3.21.02, GAS 4.01.07, and GAS 5.00.02, the gasadmin session command has been enhanced with an option, --list-session-ids, to output just a list of identifiers of the active sessions. No proxy details are output, such as the names of the applications or services, as in the output from the gasadmin session --list-sessions command.

For more information on gasadmin session commands and examples, go to gasadmin.

New option to count sessions in the gasadmin session command

Starting from GAS 3.21.02, GAS 4.01.07, and GAS 5.00.02, the gasadmin session command has been enhanced with an option, --count-sessions, to return a count of the number of active sessions (applications and services).

For more information on gasadmin session commands and examples, go to gasadmin.

Changes to the IIS server configuration for authentication

Starting from GAS 3.21.02, GAS 4.01.07, and GAS 5.00.02, it is recommended that you set the Manage Pipeline mode application pool setting to "Integrated" instead of "Classic". Where previously you used "classic", and now your application relies on an authentication token passed from IIS to the runtime, you may find this process breaks your application. This is due to the new architecture in IIS (introduced in IIS 7), which works in an integrated way with different IIS modules.

By setting to "Integrated", now the IIS will switch context to whatever IIS and ASP.NET modules it needs to call to handle application requests. However, be sure to test your existing applications for compatibility in Integrated mode before upgrading application pools in a production environment to Integrated mode.

For more information on IIS configuration, go to Create application pool. For more information on Microsoft® recommendations for use of integrated mode, refer to Learn IIS.

Changes in earlier versions

Make sure to check the upgrade notes of earlier versions, to not miss changes introduced in maintenance releases. For more details, see GAS 4.01 upgrade guide.