This chapter includes descriptions of the new and enhanced features introduced in Oracle Communications Session Monitor release 3.4.
Session Monitor release 3.4 includes the following new features, enhancements, and changed functionality:
Oracle Linux Is Now the Preferred Operating System for Session Monitor
Ability to Change the Network Traffic Stored History in Packet Inspector
Supports the IPv6 Internet Protocol for Session Monitor Mediation Engines and Probes
With this release, you install Session Monitor on an Oracle Linux platform.
This enables the implementation of platform-related customizations; for example:
Creating setups with network interface bonding.
Exporting system logs to a log server.
Applying external network storage, such as storage area network (SAN) and network attached storage (NAS) devices.
Hardware monitoring.
Limiting IP access with IP tables and packet filters.
Install Session Monitor on an Oracle Linux platform either by using the ISO installer or by using the Red Hat Package Manager (RPM):
The Session Monitor ISO installer installs the Oracle Linux operating system and the Session Monitor applications and components.
The Session Monitor RPM does not install Oracle Linux. The Session Monitor RPM requires that Oracle Linux is already installed on the computer that will host your Session Monitor applications and components.
For information on the supported upgrade versions, see "Compatibility with Session Monitor 3.4".
For more information about installing Session Monitor on an Oracle Linux platform, see Session Monitor Installation Guide.
Session Monitor now simplifies the installation, configuration, and upgrades of the Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) capturing subsystem, which monitors high volume network traffic.
Session Monitor uses the memory-mapped packet capturing method, which includes many of the configuration setups. Captured interfaces are managed with Session Monitor Platform Setup Application (PSA).
If the size of your system or your capturing performance is insufficient with the memory-mapped packet capturing method, Session Monitor now includes a script that enables DPDK using the network interfaces you selected in PSA.
For more information about enabling DPDK, see Session Monitor Installation Guide.
With this release, you can now limit the number of days that Packet Inspector stores your traffic history.
For more information on how to change the network-traffic stored history in Packet Inspector, see Session Monitor Installation Guide.
With this release, you can use a front-end web server, such as an NGINX server or an Apache HTTP server. The following front-end web server enhancements are supported:
By default, Session Monitor enables and preconfigures an NGINX server.
External authentication support, which allows Session Monitor to integrate with a back-end authentication environment that is supported by the front-end web server.
Session Monitor includes an Apache 2.4 configuration sample that can be used with several back-end authentication environments, such as LDAP, Microsoft Active Directory, RADIUS, and Oracle SSO.
For more information, see Session Monitor Installation Guide.
With this release, Session Monitor now supports the IPv6 internet protocol for mediation engines and standalone probes. This capability is not available on embedded probes.
Session Monitor is now compatible with:
DPDK version 16.07
Oracle Communications Fraud Monitor release 3.3.93.2.0
Oracle recommends using MySQL Enterprise Edition release 5.5.54.
Table 1-1 lists the service request (SR) issues reported and bug number, and provides a brief description of the resolution.
Table 1-1 Fixes in This Release
| Service Request (SR) Number | Bug Number | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Not applicable |
22448210 |
Previously, when a Session Monitor application was stopped, an error message was encountered. This has been fixed. |
|
3-12150640211 |
22724930 |
Previously, when logging in to Mediation Engine Connector multiple times, selected functions did not work. This has been fixed. |
|
Not applicable |
22866869 |
Previously, when upgrading, the RPM daemons did not restart automatically. This has been fixed. |
This section describes deprecated functionality for release 3.4.
The Napatech capturing card support has been deprecated for high-volume traffic capture. Install an Intel Network Interface Card (NIC) that is supported by DPDK for high-volume traffic capture.
Important:
You cannot upgrade from an earlier Session Monitor release to 3.4 and retain all your data.With the new operating system platform changes from Debian Linux to Oracle Linux, some of the platform operating system command line tools are no longer installed by default, such as atop, htop, munin, and mytop. Install these tools manually with the YUM Package Manager.
To upgrade, install Session Monitor release 3.4 and import a configuration savepoint from an Operations Monitor 3.3.93 release, such as devices, tags, and users.
Important:
The following settings are not retained:The settings available in PSA are not part of the configuration savepoint. Oracle recommends that you note down the settings before you upgrade and then manually restore the settings after you install Session Monitor release 3.4.
For Mediation Engine Connector, the savepoint functionality is not available. All Mediation Engine Connectors must be manually reconfigured after you upgrade to Session Monitor release 3.4.
Important:
This release introduces a major change with reference to the maintenance of your operating system. In prior releases of Session Monitor (3.3.x), the operating system updates were provided by Oracle as part of the update packages that included patches for both, the operating system, and the Session Monitor application. As an example, earlier releases included security patches for the Debian operating system. The Session Monitor 3.4 installation software no longer includes operating system updates and patches.With this release, Session Monitor is provided as an RPM on Oracle Linux 7, and therefore, you are required to ensure that your operating system is updated with all the latest security patches. For more information, see Oracle Linux Security Guide.
If you require assistance with maintaining your operating system, you can purchase Oracle Linux Support for managing your operating system and prepare for the upgrade to Session Monitor release 3.4. It is not mandatory to purchase Oracle Linux Support because Oracle Linux operating system and its patches are available free of charge. However, Oracle recommends that you do so if you do not have an existing maintenance team. Issues related to your operating system are not supported by the Session Monitor Support team.