Release notes for Zenoss Core Version 1.9.5 (2.0.0-beta) 05-09-2007

The beta of Zenoss Core is available for download and review.  Beta releases of 
2.0 will be numbered 1.9.x and we will switch to 2.0.0 when Core goes GA.  
Zenoss 2.0 marks a significant update for many areas of Zenoss Core, including 
overall look and feel, back-end performance enhancements and added 
functionality as well as the port of Zenwin to Linux.

DO NOT USE AS A PRODUCTION SYSTEM.  A good way to test the release is to use 
the VMWare software appliance.

Please report all issues you find with the release to the zenoss-users forum 
(http://community.zenoss.com/forums/) or to the mailing list 
([email protected]) and please include the word beta in the subject line. 
To register for the zenoss community go to 
http://community.zenoss.com/join_form and make sure to select zenoss-users in 
the subscription area.

NOTE: Also please note that we have changed the naming scheme for the files. No 
longer do we delineate between Centos and RHEL. The new versions are simply 
known as EL4 (Enterprise Linux 4) and EL5 (Enterprise Linux 5).

=======================================================
!!! It is VERY IMPORTANT that you read and follow the upgrade instructions 
available from the download page before upgrading or installing!!!

http://dev.zenoss.org/trac/browser/trunk/inst/ZEN2UPGRADE.txt?format=txt
=======================================================

NOTE: When installing the el5 version of the RPM, the daemons that need to run 
as root will not run when using the  /etc/init.d/zenoss script. As a 
workaround, just su to the zenoss user and run zenoss start.
    # su - zenoss
    $ zenoss start

Download and additional information available from:

http://community.zenoss.com/zenoss-2.0



What's new for this version:

Zenwin Ported to Linux
=======================================================
Zenoss Core no longer needs to run Zenwin (the WMI Service information 
collector) on a Windows host. For release 2.0 we have ported WMI functionality 
to linux using Samba 4.  As a result Zenwin will now run natively on a Linux 
host. The new Linux-based Zenwin is now included in the 2.0 distributions.


=======================================================
ZenPacks

Zenoss 2.0 has in place the infrastructure to support ZenPacks. ZenPacks are 
packaged groupings of performance and modeling templates for specific device 
types or groups. Basically, if it is not discoverable, it is “packable”. 
Any configurable items within Zenoss can be packaged and exported into a 
ZenPack. ZenPacks allow to you monitor similar devices in a similar way. For 
example, if someone has created a Cisco ZenPack for a model you have, you can 
get a sort of “built-in” monitoring package for your specific model. You 
would just download a pre-existing ZenPack and install it. There will be 
individual ZenPacks available in the future, but in the meantime, you can build 
and share your own.


User Interface Improved Look and Feel
=======================================================
The entire interface has been updated and changed to create an easier to use 
and more customizable user experience. There are dialogs, and improved feedback 
to users for confirmation of actions.


Addition of Menus and Menu Driven Functionality
=======================================================
Ability to hide the left navigation menu or to pin it in place depending on 
your screen real-estate needs.  Many items and functions are now available 
using menus instead of the limited controls at the bottom of tables or on 
"Manage" tabs.  Not only are the menus easier to use but we have been able to 
expose to the user interface many functions that were in the back end but 
currently unused. User created commands can now be quickly run from the menu 
items also.


Redesigned Event Console
=======================================================
The newly designed event Console has added dynamic data upload that uses 
partial data calls to allow smoother scrolling through large event list. Added 
live-searching to the console, so any partial matches will appear as you type.


Added Network Auto-Discovery to UI
=======================================================
Network auto-discovery and modeling of devices has now been integrated into 
that UI to allow automatic discovery and modeling of network devices directly 
from the UI and eliminating the need for command line usage.


Device Configuration Locking
=======================================================
You are now able to lock device configurations to prevent deletion from the 
configuration while a device component is missing during the modeling process.  
Locking also lets us now mix auto-discovery and manual modification with in any 
grouping of objects.  If the modeler fails to discover something you can 
manually added it to the system.  It also means that model changes added though 
Zenoss' external API can be integrated with auto-discovery.


Multiple Mix-In Template Inheritance
=======================================================
Mix-in Templating gives you the ability to apply multiple monitoring templates 
to devices and objects.  Template mix in allows you to define a MySQL template 
at /Devices and them mix it in on devices in different parts of the device 
tree.  So a Solaris box and a linux box both running mysql can use the same 
template with out the need for wacky tree manipulations or excessive template 
overriding.


Performance & Backend Improvements

Zenhub
=======================================================
Zenhub becomes an intermediary connection for almost all zenoss collection 
daemons to the Zeo and MySQL databases. This removes the direct connections to 
these databases and allows for simpler, faster, and more reliable connectivity 
between zenoss and the collection daemons.  Zenhub uses a bidirectional 
connection between itself and the zenoss daemons which allows changes in the 
database to be pushed immediately to the collectors.  There is no longer the 
need to wait for the next configuration cycle to receive new configurations.


Faster SNMP Collection
=======================================================
Higher-speed snmp collection using a re-factored low-level asynchronous python 
binding for Net-SNMP.


Zeo Database Re-factor
=======================================================
The Zeo database has been re-factored resulting in performance gains of up to 
5x. When upgrading, this re-factor will necessitate a database dump and reload. 
(See upgrade instructions for details.)


Enjoy!

The Zenoss Development Team

------------------------
 Drew Bray




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Read this topic online here:
http://community.zenoss.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=6355#6355

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