Ensim® Pro and Ensim Basic 4.0.2 for Linux® Release NotesSeptember 9, 2004
Introduction
These release notes provide information about Ensim® Pro and Ensim Basic 4.0.2 for Linux®. The release introduces support for internationalized domain names (IDN). The capability enables domain names to be represented using non-ASCII characters in a localized environment.
The release supports installation and upgrade of:
- Ensim Pro and Ensim Basic for Linux (Standalone) on the Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® ES
Release 3 (RHEL 3) and Fedora™ Core 1.0 operating systems- Ensim Pro and Ensim Basic for Linux (ServerXchange) on the Fedora Core 1.0 operating system
You can upgrade to version 4.0.2 from the following versions:
- Version 4.0.0
- Version 4.0.1
For simplicity, we refer to Ensim Pro and Ensim Basic 4.0.2 for Linux as “Ensim Control Panel” throughout the document.
Topics include:
About Ensim Control Panel
Ensim Control Panel is a software application designed to simplify Web hosting by controlling and automating common hosting tasks. It is packaged with core Web hosting server applications and services, including Web site capabilities, FTP capabilities, email capabilities, and backup and restore capabilities.
Ensim Control Panel offers two product options.
- Ensim Basic. Ensim Basic is designed to support a single organization’s management of a Web server and one or more Web sites.
- Ensim Pro. Ensim Pro is designed for professional hosting of multiple companies on a single Web server.
What’s new in Ensim Control Panel 4.0.2
The following section describes the features that are introduced in Ensim Control Panel 4.0.2.
Support for internationalized domain names (IDN)
Earlier versions of Ensim Control Panel enabled service providers to extend their global reach with localized versions of the control panel. However, domain names still required the use of ASCII characters (English alphabets) as network protocols such as the DNS do not recognize non-ASCII characters in a domain name. Internet users therefore had to use ASCII characters to access domains even in a localized environment.
Internationalized domain names, a capability introduced in this release, enables customers to browse Web sites using local language characters thus providing greater ease and flexibility in browsing Web pages and accessing email messages. In the case of IDN, local language characters (non-ASCII) are translated into their equivalent ASCII-encoded format, which the DNS protocol subsequently uses for resolving a request. When an application automatically performs the translation for a domain name from its IDN representation to its equivalent ASCII-encoded format, it is said to be IDN-compliant. Ensim Control Panel displays the IDN as well as the ASCII-encoded format wherever the domain name is displayed in the control panel.
IDN requires Web and email applications to be IDN-compliant. For more information on IDN, refer to the Appliance Administrator online Help.
Apache 1.3.31 now available in Ensim Control Panel
Apache 1.3.31 is now available in Ensim Control Panel. It introduces new features and fixes key security issues. For detailed information, please visit http://www.apache.org/dist/httpd/Announcement.html.
Resolved issues
This section describes the resolved issues of Ensim Control Panel. The numbers in parentheses indicate the Ensim problem report (PR) number.
- Issue: Hiding the service virthost—a background service that enables creation of virtual hosts on the Ensim Control Panel server—produced a traceback. (PR 29865)
Resolution: The virthost service can now be successfully hidden using the hide_service command.
- Issue: Attempts to access PHP Web pages over the Web failed with an error as the request could not be redirected to the related file listed in the .htaccess file. (PR 30565)
Resolution: Requests for PHP Web pages are now successfully redirected to the related file listed in the .htaccess file.
- Issue: Restarting the Ensim Control Panel server after a crash failed to start the MySQL service. (PR 31208)
Resolution: The MySQL service now starts successfully on restarting the Ensim Control Panel server after a crash.
- Issue: Actions and events on the Ensim Control Panel server were not recorded in the log file /var/log/appliance/ensim_appliance.log. (PR 31991)
Resolution: Actions and events on the Ensim Control Panel server are now successfully recorded in the log file /var/log/appliance/ensim_appliance.log.
- Issue: The cron jobs /usr/sbin/check4updates and /etc/cron.daily/yum.cron updated the yum repository on a RHEL server using updates from the yum repository of the Fedora Core 1 operating system. (PR 32239)
Resolution: The cron job entries that invoked faulty yum updates have been removed to enable correct updates.
- Issue: Modifying the backup schedule settings retained the earlier settings in the cron file in addition to the new settings. (PR 23207)
Resolution: Modifying the backup schedule settings now removes the earlier settings from the cron file.
- Issue: Permission settings of mailing lists on sites restored from Ensim Pro and Ensim Basic 3.5 for Linux impeded the Email service (Sendmail) on Fedora servers from sending email messages to the distribution lists. (PR 31555)
Resolution: The permission settings have been modified to enable successful functioning of mailing lists after restoring sites from Ensim Pro and Ensim Basic 3.5 for Linux servers.
- Issue: The implementation of MailScanner enabled email header information to be forged allowing email messages to bypass MailScanner. (PR 32340)
Resolution: The implementation has been modified to ensure that email messages are scanned in accordance with configured scan settings.
- Issue: Attempts to view the Webalizer reports on the Netscape® Navigator Web browser produced a traceback.
(PR 32957)Resolution: Webalizer reports can now be viewed successfully on the Netscape® Navigator Web browser.
- Issue: Large email messages sent to sites that did not have adequate disk space caused Ensim Control Panel to queue the messages for later delivery in the mail queue of the recipient as they would cause the site to exceed allocated disk quota. Further email delivery was stopped with undeliverable messages clogging the mail queue.
(PR 32656, PR 34758, PR 35461)Resolution: Sites that do not have adequate disk space to accommodate large email messages will now refuse the email messages returning an appropriate message to the sender.
For servers running on the RHEL operating system, you must upgrade the Sendmail service after upgrading Ensim Control Panel.
- Issue: Occasionally, processing of the Web log information by the Webalizer service produced segmentation fault errors. (PR 32544)
Resolution: The Webalizer configuration file has been modified to enable successful processing of Web logs by Webalizer.
- Issue: Disabling and enabling a Microsoft® FrontPage® site removed the navigation components, themes, and borders of the site rendering the site unusable. (PR 32424)
Resolution: Microsoft FrontPage site settings are now preserved after disabling or enabling a site.
- Issue: Configuring SpamAssasin to perform spam filter tests against a global spam database by selecting the option Enable tests that connect to remote server resulted in the service performing local tests. (PR 33203)
Resolution: The SpamAssassin service now successfully performs remote spam filter tests by connecting to global servers.
- Issue: Running the Installer script to install Ensim Pro and Ensim Basic 4.0.1 produced messages prompting the removal of MySQL 4.0.x. (PR 36164)
Resolution: The Installer script now completes the installation successfully without prompting the removal of the MySQL 4.0.x version.
- Issue: Upgrading an Ensim Control Panel server running on RHEL 3 from version 3.7.x to version 4.0.x caused erratic functioning of the MailScanner service without appropriate warning or error messages. (PR 36288)
Resolution: The MailScanner service now scans email messages for viruses and provides appropriate warning or error messages when required.
- Issue: The DirectoryIndex directive that determines the sequence in which Web pages are served when a user requests the index page of a directory did not function as specified in the configuration file of Apache 2.0 httpd20_app.conf. For example, if the DirectoryIndex directive for Apache 2.0 is
DirectoryIndex index.html index.php, accessing a site hosted on a Production Web server running Apache 2.0 with the site name http://<site_name> displayed the index.php Web page although index.html preceded index.php in the directive. (PR 36196)Resolution: The DirectoryIndex directive now functions as specified in the configuration file of Apache 2.0 httpd20_app.conf.
- Issue: After upgrading an Ensim Control Panel server to version 4.0.1, attempts to remove Microsoft FrontPage sites failed with a traceback. (PR 36053)
Resolution: Microsoft FrontPage sites can now be successfully removed after upgrading an Ensim Control Panel server to a later version.
- Issue: While upgrading the Ensim Control Panel server to version 4.0.1, Ensim Control Panel failed to quit maintenance mode. (PR 35984)
Resolution: The issue has been resolved to enable successful upgrade of the Ensim Control Panel server to its later version.
- Issue: The Home page of the Site Administrator control panel for the Japanese locale was configured to use the UTF-8 character set instead of SHIFT_JIS rendering the page content unreadable. (PR 35694)
Resolution: The Home page of the Site Administrator control panel for the Japanese locale now uses the SHIFT_JIS character set for encoding.
- Issue: Unsuccessful login attempts at the Appliance Administrator, Site Administrator, or the User Administrator level produced a traceback that was written into the corresponding HTML source file causing a potential security issue.
(PR 35923)Resolution: The issue has now been resolved to prevent traceback errors from being written into the HTML source file of the Web page.
- Issue: Removing a site failed to remove associated site alias references from the file /etc/aliases. For example, after removing a site, the file /etc/aliases would still contain references to email addresses that were hosted on the deleted site. (PR 35706)
Resolution: Removing a site now removes all associated site information from the file /etc/aliases.
- Issue: Relaying email messages using the AUTH PLAIN method of SMTP authentication failed with errors. (PR 35396)
Resolution: The AUTH PLAIN method of SMTP authentication can now be used to authenticate relay of email messages on Ensim Control Panel servers running on the Fedora Core 1 operating system.
For servers running on the RHEL operating system, you must upgrade the Sendmail service after upgrading Ensim Control Panel.
- Issue: While backing up or restoring a site, the zone information for the site could not be backed up or restored correctly for those records that were added using the control panel. (PR 35398)
Resolution: Backup and restore operations on a site now successfully back up and restore the zone information added using the control panel.
- Issue: Ensim Control Panel failed to exit post-maintenance mode if any site hosted on the server contained the file index.html as a directory. (PR 34927)
Resolution: Ensim Control Panel can now be upgraded successfully if any site hosted on the server contains the file index.html as a directory.
- Issue: Enabling the MailScanner service led to high consumption of CPU resources eventually causing the server to stop responding. (PR 34228)
Resolution: The performance of the MailScanner service has now been improved to prevent disproportionate consumption of system resources.
Known issues and limitations
This section describes the known issues of Ensim Control Panel. The numbers in parentheses indicate the Ensim problem report (PR) number.
- The resolution of certain key issues (refer to the PR numbers enclosed in brackets) that impact the Email service require you to perform additional post-upgrade tasks on Ensim Control Panel servers running on Fedora Core 1 and RHEL operating systems. (PR 32656, PR 34758, PR 35461, PR 35396)
On Fedora Core 1 and RHEL systems:
- Log on to the Ensim Control Panel server as the root user.
- Regenerate the sendmail configuration file sendmail.cf.
#m4 /usr/lib/opcenter/sendmail/install/sendmail.mc > /etc/mail/sendmail.cf
- Restart the Sendmail service.
#service sendmail restart
On RHEL systems only:
- Performing DNS operations such as adding or updating zone information fail with the error
Failed to update Recordafter upgrading the RHEL bind packages bind, bind-utils, bind-libs to version 9.2.4-EL3. (PR 37303, PR 37300)
Ensim Control Panel is compatible with the RHEL bind version 9.2.2-EL3. If you have installed a higher version of RHEL bind, please be aware that DNS operations on sites will result in errors.
- Attempts to connect to the ProFTP server fails with an error. (PR 32950, PR 34277)
Solution: You may restart the service and attempt to connect again. For instructions on restarting a service, please refer to the Appliance Administrator online Help (accessible through the Help option on the System Menu of the shortcuts page.)
- On high-security sites, if the Email service is hosted on an external mail server, sending email messages using PHP produces an error. (PR 34505)
Solution: The issue can be resolved by following the instructions specified in the knowledge base article http://onlinesupport.ensim.com/TWKB/ViewCase.asp?QSRuleID=784.
- Creating subfolders under the Inbox folder, using the email client Microsoft Outlook, fails with an error. This is a known issue with the email client Microsoft Outlook. (PR 31771)
- For enhanced performance, the advanced site dashboard displayed on the Site Administrator control panel is cached and refreshed every five minutes. This may cause occasional statistical inconsistencies. (PR 33987)
- Restoring an appliance backup on remote servers fails if the appliance was backed up on a local FTP server using the host name “localhost.” (PR 31493)
- The Miva Merchant storefront is inaccessible after restoring a site. (PR 31218)
Solution: After restoring a site, restart the Apache service to access the storefront.
To restart the service, perform the following steps:
- Open a Web browser and type the following URL in the Address field of the browser.
http://<server host name (or IP address)>, where <server host name (or IP address)> is the name or IP address of the Ensim Control Panel server.- Log on to the Appliance Administrator control panel by entering your user name and password.
- On the System Menu, click Services. The Subscribed Services page opens.
- In the Service column, locate the Web server on which the storefront is hosted and in the Actions column, click
.
- Backing up a server that hosts more than 241 sites may fail. (PR 24976)
Related documentation
The following documents provide additional information about Ensim Control Panel.
Ensim Control Panel (ServerXchange)
The following documents can be accessed on Ensim’s support page at http://www.ensim.com/support/sxc/index.html.
- Ensim Pro and Ensim Basic 4.0 for Linux (LH) Installation Guide
- Ensim Pro and Ensim Basic 4.0 for Linux (ServerXchange) Upgrade Guide
- Customized provisioning of Ensim Ignite services
Ensim Control Panel (Standalone)
The following documents can be accessed on Ensim’s support page at
http://www.ensim.com/support/pro/linux/40_index.html. Note that the instructions for installing Ensim Control Panel and setting up a local FTP server are to be obtained from the respective documents released with version 4.0.0 (also accessible on the Support site).
- Ensim Pro and Ensim Basic 4.0 for Linux (LS) Installation Guide
- Setting up a local FTP server to install Ensim Pro and Ensim Basic 4.0 for Linux (LS)
- Ensim Pro and Ensim Basic 4.0 for Linux (Standalone) Upgrade Guide
- Customized provisioning of Ensim Ignite services
Feedback and support
To take advantage of Ensim's support services or to find additional product documentation, visit the Ensim support site, http://support.ensim.com.
To log in to Ensim online support, go to https://onlinesupport.ensim.com.
To provide feedback about Ensim products or documentation, please use the feedback form at http://www.ensim.com/about/feedback.asp.
Legal and copyright notice
This document contains information proprietary to Ensim Corporation and its receipt or possession does not convey any rights to reproduce, disclose, manufacture, or sell anything it might describe. Reproduction, disclosure, or use without Ensim’s specific written authorization is strictly forbidden.
Ensim Corporation makes no representations or warranties with respect to the content or use of this document. It also reserves the right to revise this document at any time without the obligation to notify any person of such revision.
Ensim and the Ensim logo are registered trademarks of Ensim Corporation.
All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.
© 2004 Ensim Corporation. All rights reserved.
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