Jelastic 1.9.3

In this document you can find all the new features, enhancements and visible changes included in the Jelastic Platform-as-Infrastructure 1.9.3 release:

• Features and Improvements
• Bugs Fixes

For detailed information on using any of Jelastic features, please refer to the users' documentation.

Features and Improvements

• Scalability and Performance Improvements
• Database Improvements
• HTTP Transport Error
• Monitoring Improvements
• Billing Improvements
• UI Improvements
• Site Redesign
• Hosting Provider Resolution for Mobile Application
• Software Stack Versions

A. Scalability and Performance Improvements

Java

Jelastic GC Agent

Garbage collection (GC) is a form of automatic memory management. The garbage collector attempts to reclaim garbage, or memory occupied by objects that are no longer in use by the program. As a result, you can reduce your costs by not paying for unused resources.

In order to release reserved memory, but at the same time unused RAM by JVM to OS, Jelastic uses a special Garbage Collector agent.

Jelastic GC agent is enabled for all newly created Java application servers.

It works only for two kinds of Garbage Collection: -XX:+UseParNewGC (if -Xmx < 8000m) -XX:+UseG1GC (if -Xmx >= 8000m)

These parameters can be customized but if you specify any other GC manually, then calling full GC will be disabled.

By default, the Garbage Collection process is run every 15 minutes (beginning from every JVM start) to force the release of unused application memory. The period of checks can be changed based on your requirements. You can also switch to debug mode.

-javaagent:/var/lib/jelastic/java/jelastic-gc-agent.jar=debug=true,period=900

This solution is unique and originally devised by Jelastic engineers to improve your application memory management and as a result, to reduce the RAM usage.

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PHP

• Zend OPcache
• Change the Number of Workers Automatically
• Custom Settings of mod_security

1. Zend OPcache

Zend OPcache is now enabled by default, which results in a performance improvement of up to 40%. Zend OPcache speeds up PHP execution by opcode caching and optimization.

Apache and Nginx (php: 5.3, 5.4, 5.5) include OPcache extension enabled via etc > php.ini:

zend_extension=/usr/lib64/php/modules/opcache.so
The default size and other OPcache settings can be configured via the php.ini file by changing the following parameters:

• opcache.enable=1
  enable/disable OPcache extention

• opcache.memory_consumption=64
  set the amount of memory to use (megabytes)

• opcache.interned_strings_buffer=8set the amount of memory to be used for storing internal strings (e.g. classnames)

• opcache.max_accelerated_files=4000the maximum number of files to be cached

• opcache.revalidate_freq=60the frequency of checking file timestamps for changes to the shared memory storage allocation

• opcache.fast_shutdown=1
  enable/disable a fast shutdown sequence for accelerated code

• opcache.enable_cli=1
  enable/disable the OPcache for the CLI version of PHP

More info

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2. Change the Number of Workers Automatically

The number of workers for processing PHP requests is increased automatically in an Apache server depending on the cloudlets amount configured by a user.

To check this, click Config for your Apache app server and navigate to the conf > httpd.conf file.

Find and remember the Max Clients value. After that, change the topology of your environment by increasing or decreasing the cloudlet limit for your server.

Return to the conf > httpd.conf file. As you can, see the number of Max Clients has increased/decreased.

Note that this function will be disabled if you remove the following string from the httpd.conf file:# Jelastic autoconfiguration mark

More info

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3. Custom Settings of mod_security

mod_security is a super handy Apache module which provides such abilities as simple filtering, URL and Unicode encoding validation, auditing, null byte attack prevention, upload memory limits, server identity masking, built in chroot support and many more.

This module is available in Jelastic by default and can be configured via conf.d > mod_security.conf file.

Here you can edit the default configurations or add your own custom settings.

For example, you can add additional ModSecurity Rules. For this you simply need to upload your custom rule to the modsecurity.d folder. It will be automatically activated by the Include modsecurity.d/*.conf string available in the conf.d > mod_security.conf file by default.

More info

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B. Database Improvements

• Shared MyAdmin-jel.conf, phpPgAdmin and couchdb.conf files
• Killing Processes for Releasing RAM
• Backup of Several MongoDB Databases
• Changes in Database Default Configurations
• Database Hostname Placeholder for Emails

Shared MyAdmin-jel.conf, phpPgAdmin and couchdb.conf files

Starting with this release, users have access to the MyAdmin-jel.conf (for MariaDB and MySQL), phpPgAdmin (for PostgreSQL) and couchdb.conf (for CouchDB) files. They are located in the conf.d folder.

These files can be edited in order to set appropriate criteria for allowing or denying access by IP address or domain to the application with the database on an Apache web server level.

More info

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2. Killing Processes for Releasing RAM

When your environment lacks RAM, the processes with high memory consumption are killed by OOM killer to release the resources. The order of disabling the processes is specified by OOM conditions.

Now the oom_score_adj is used to make less essential processeses killed primarily (httpd processes). Only if more RAM is still needed to be released, the MySQL processes are going to be killed.

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3. Backup of Several MongoDB Databases

Making backups is a rather important part of the development process as a guarantee of your data security and integrity. Jelastic lets you schedule your database backups so you can always restore the last copy of your information in case of occasional data loss. For this, we provide a special backup script for databases, which you can configure based on your own needs.

In this release we’ve improved the MongoDB database backup script. For now, you can use it for backing up several databases. Just specify the necessary configurations as it is described in the MongoDB Databases Backup instruction.

More info

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4. Changes in Database Default Configurations

In this release, the following default configurations for all databases were changed in the php.ini file as follows:

upload_max_size = 1024MB
post_max_size = 1024MB
max_execution_time = 600
max_input_time = 600

This results in the ability to upload big dumps. Such changes are implemented to all new and earlier created containers except the containers with your custom settings, i.e. if you configured these parameters manually based on your requirements.

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5. Database Hostname Placeholder for Email

After database creation, you receive a message with the link to the admin page and credentials. Now, with the help of a newly added placeholder ${DB_HOST}, you can also use a DB hostname string (database URL without http:// prefix) in the mentioned email template.

This prevents clarifying the necessary connection string customers should use in place of localhost. Mentioning the host as a separate option makes it more visible and understandable for users.

To provide your customers with DB hostname string just place this ${DB_HOST} placeholder into the required email (note that it should be added to each localized email if you use several languages)

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C. HTTP Transport Error

While performing any actions in the Jelastic dashboard (like creating an environment, app deploying, building a project, restarting your app etc.) you could possibly face the problem of a HTTP transport error arising due to some Internet issues. As a result of the disconnection, the action you have started would be fully stopped and you would have to start everything again.

Now the situation is radically improved. The disconnection will simply suspend the process which is already started until the connection is reestablished. After that, the last request will be reinitiated and the process completed without any need to create any additional settings.

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D. Monitoring Improvements

• nvironment Poller System Improvements
• Zabbix Monitoring System Update

1. Environment Poller System Improvements

Poller is a system developed for monitoring users' environments. It determines outages of an end-user application by periodically executing (with a stated interval) checks of all running environments of all billing users.

Starting with 1.9.3 version, the Environment Poller system monitors only paid users applications as they are supposed to be running 24x

7. In addition, the list of checks are reduced to just sending the HTTP request to the application entry point.

By default this system is disabled. To activate it, you need to navigate to JCA > System settings > jelastic (expert mode) and change the value of the jelastic.poller.disabled parameter to false.

The schedule of checks is set to every 5 minutes. This frequency can be changed via the qjob.dbquery_report.cron_schedule parameter by stating the required schedule.

In this release, we also added the support of environment exclusions in order to exclude test instances from the report. This can be done via jelastic.poller.exclude.env.list parameter. You just need to specify the list of environment domains which should not be taken into consideration while polling.

All these configurations can be done via the JCA panel. Note, that after changing the settings you need to, select Apply and restart the Jelastic instances (this will be fixed in the next release).

More info

2. Zabbix Monitoring System Update

In order to monitor the main parameters of Jelastic infrastructure and cluster components such as hardware and infrastructure nodes, the Zabbix Monitoring Solution is used. It is a software that monitors numerous network parameters, servers health and integrity.

Currently Jelastic is using Zabbix Version 2.2. As a result, the old version of Zabbix is going to be backed up and the new version will be installed.

The Zabbix system is now installed on one container (server and database) without any division. In such a way, the server processes the data and redirects only the required part to the database that decreases the load and makes the process of monitoring faster. Now, the database will be automatically updated while upgrading to a new version. This will decrease the time required for monitoring updates.

The Zabbix agent is installed on every node. It collects data according to items and sends it to the Zabbix server for the further checks. The list of checks and triggers have been increased in this release. In addition, the status page for billing was improved.

Jelastic provides a set of already created and configured hosts (hardware nodes and infrastructure nodes). Also, there is the possibility to add some new hosts. Starting with this release the nodes can be added automatically.

Also in this release, we added support for Web scenarios templates. With the help of these templates, monitoring can be easily configured for controlling the performance and availability of web applications.

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E. Billing Improvements

• Updated Billing History Display
• WHMCS Integration with the Jelastic Billing System
• Support of Universal Payment Plugins in PBA
• Customization of the Icons and Text for Configured Payment Methods
• Customization of the Upgrade Form for PBA and WHMCS

1. Updated Billing History Display

Using the Billing history option you can monitor the charges applied for consumed resources. To make this even more convenient, we have modified the way of presenting the billing data.

Here, you can specify the desired start / end dates and the time period interval to view the billing data. The billing history is displayed by time period, with the corresponding charges to the right. Use the icon to expand the view to reveal additional details about resource usage.

The data is grouped by the environments. Each environment in the list can be expanded to see the information about charges applicable to each server within the environment. The servers of the environment are listed in alphabetical order. After them, the Public IP and SSL are listed and their price is stated if they are enabled in the environment.

In the Billing history table you can see the number of fixed and flexible cloudlets consumed, the amount of paid traffic and the sum charged for each type of server or service (Public IP and SSL).

The total charges between the selected dates are calculated for you at the very bottom of the list.
More info

2. WHMCS Integration with the Jelastic Billing System

In this release, we implemented one more billing system – WHMCS. It is a universal billing solution for hosting services with an intuitive and user-friendly interface. This billing integration uses Universal Adapter for Integrating with an In-house Billing System concept (CEBI) and is based on tight API integration using WHMCS primarily as a payment gateway, to refill a Jelastic customer’s balance.

WHMCS supports its extension using new add-on modules. As a result, we have implemented a Jelastic Add-on Module which is responsible for:

• Implementation of Jelastic CEBI rest API
• Execution of callbacks to Jelastic about success orders and invoice payments
• Storing the information about the compatibility of the payment methods with a particular user, that provides the ability to refill the user’s balance automatically via the Jelastic dashboard

SSO on behalf of a particular user is also implemented direct from Jelastic to WHMCS. It is used to display the payment processing page and the list of orders and invoices in the Jelastic dashboard.

More info

3. Support of Universal Payment Plugins in PBA

By being integrated with PBA billing system, Jelastic supports three PBA plugins:

• pba_direct
• pba_redirect
• pba_cash
• pba_universal Universal PBA plugin is added starting with this release. This plugin can be used together with the Redirect one. As Redirect plugins do not save the data for repeat transactions, they can’t provide the ability to refill the accounts automatically. In such a way, the Universal plugin can perform this function of setting automatic payments.

To use the Universal plugin and make the required configurations via JCA go to > System settings > jbilling (expert mode). Find the external.billing.plugin.json.config parameter and enter the required data.

State the types of the plugins - both pba_redirect and pba_universal - with all required parameters:

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{
"plugins":[
     {
        "type":"pba_redirect",
        "jbilName":"PayPal",
        "externalName":"PayPal_redirect",
        "canRemember":true,
…
},
     {
        "type":"pba_universal",
        "jbilName":"PayPal_universal",
        "externalName":"PayPal_universal",
        "canRemember":true,
        "hideFromNew":true
…
     }
  ]
}

Note, that you need to add “hideFromNew”:“true” parameter for pba_universal in order to remove the added payment methods from the “Add new payment method” list.

More info

4. Customization of the Icons and Text for Configured Payment Methods

While setting the billing plugins, you can customize the icons and text in the pop-ups that are going to be displayed for the configured payment methods in the dashboard. The end-user will see these icons and text while refilling the account and choosing the method to pay with.

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"caption":[                 # localizable caption that will be displayed to customer in the dashboard
   {
      "locale":"en",        # locale code in ISO 639-1. e.g. en,ru
      "text":"PayPal"       # localized to particular language caption
   }, {
      "locale":"ru",
      "text":"PayPal"
   }
],
"hint":[                    # localizable hint that will be displayed to user on mouse hover
   {
      "locale":"en",        # locale code in ISO 639-1. e.g. en,ru
      "text":"PayPal payment1"  # localized hint that will be displayed to user on mouse hover
   }
],
"titleIcons":[              # relative paths or urls to icons. All stated icons will be joined into 1 long icon
   {
      "keyword":"PayPal",   # substring of payment method name that uniquely identifies this payment method. Usually this string correlates to payment plugin\gateway name in External billing system
      "path":"paypal.png"   # path to icon file represented as relative path or URI

   }, {
      "keyword":"Visa",
      "path":"visa.png"
   },
],

More info

5. Customization of the Upgrade Form for PBA and WHMCS

While upgrading a user needs to fill in a form with a range of required data. Jelastic can now be configured in order to customize this upgrade window for PBA and WHMCS systems.

The default upgrade window can be set based on the hoster’s requirements by changing the list order, deleting or adding an extra field. For example, to gather more details about the user during an upgrade you can add such custom fields as client type, Tax ID, citizenship ID, ID issue date, etc.

To configure these fields navigate to JCA > System settings > jbilling (expert mode) and edit the account.convert.json.config parameter.

More info

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F. UI Improvements

• Saving Config Edits Automatically
• Stack Load Chart Tooltip in JCA Cluster Tab

1. Saving Config Edits Automatically

While saving the changes in any config file, you are asked to confirm this action.

We’ve added the line “Do not show this dialog again” to the confirmation window. Tick this option and as a result, all future edits will be saved automatically without asking for confirmation.

This setting will be applied for all types of config files in all of your environments.

More info

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2. Stack Load Chart Tooltip in JCA Cluster Tab

Navigate to the Cluster tab in JCA to see a number of charts, describing different statistics on your cluster and containers load.

We’ve implemented one more usability improvement to the Stacks load diagram. While hovering over the particular stack chart, you will see a tooltip appear. This tooltip displays the stack’s name, version and the amount of containers with the appropriate stack installed.

More info

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G. Site Redesign

Recently we’ve launched our new corporate web-site with a complete redesign of our logo and other materials. For now, it completely reflects Jelastic’s new positioning as a combination of two cloud’s most transformative technologies - Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS).

The new Jelastic site is optimized for enterprises, hosting service providers OEMs and developers. More detailed information about each market solution can be found in the corresponding sections of our site:

• Jelastic for Enterprise
• Jelastic for OEMs
• Jelastic for Hosting Service Providers
• Jelastic for Developers

Find useful tips in our redesigned documentation (Hosting Center) and at the new Video page. Stay tuned with our Blog posts and News & Events. Keep in touch with the Jelastic community via StackOverflow where our forum was moved in order to dramatically improve the experience of providing assistance with various technical questions from our customers.

Feel free to leave your feedback about our new site in order to improve it even more.

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H. Hosting Provider Resolution for Mobile Application

Hosting Provider Resolution is now implemented for the Jelastic mobile application which helps to automate the process of accessing the dashboard of the required hosting provider.

When a user enters their account credentials to access the dashboard via the Mobile app, a special service checks the availability of this user at every Jelastic hosting provider. Checking is performed via attempting to log in to every hosting provider and collecting sign in statuses (if a user is available or not). After this procedure, all of the collected information is transferred to the user’s mobile application.

As soon as the information is received by the client’s application, a user will be automatically signed in to the dashboard of the hosting provider he/she registered with, along with the provided credentials. In the case there are several matches (a user is registered at several hosters with the same credentials) he will be asked to choose the desired one from the list of available.

After selecting a particular hosting provider this choice will be remembered and in future, the user will be logged in to this provider by default without the necessity to enter credentials again.

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I. Software Stack Versions

The component templates are updated to the latest versions:

More info

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Bug Fixes

In the tables below you can see the lists of the bug fixes in Jelastic PaaS 1.9.

3. They are grouped due to the following categories:

• Java
• PHP
• Ruby
• Billing & Billing history tracking
• JEM
• Resolving & Access to the containers (environments) issues
• User account & session issues
• Emailing issues
• JCA
• Jelastic statistics
• Jelastic dashboard
• Others

JAVA

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PHP

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RUBY

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BILLING & BILLING HISTORY TRACKING

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JEM

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RESOLVING & ACCESS TO CONTAINERS (ENVIRONMENTS) ISSUES

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USER ACCOUNT & SESSION ISSUES

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EMAILING ISSUES

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JCA

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JELASTIC STATISTICS

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JELASTIC DASHBOARD

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OTHERS

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