EchoSystem 5.5.2015-11-01.x Release Notes
- Hannah Petty
In this document:
Welcome to EchoSystem 5.5!
We are proud to release EchoSystem 5.5, the next generation of Echo360's blended learning platform.
These Release Notes are designed to provide you with an overview of the features and enhancements provided in this version of EchoSystem, along with information about issues that have been fixed and known issues that exist in the product of which you should be aware. Each section includes links to related documentation pages, providing further details if desired.
The Table of Contents above provides direct links to each section of the page, so you can skip to the information you are most interested in.
And as always, if you have questions or need more information about this EchoSystem release, or have any other issues that we can help you with, Echo360 Customer Support is only a few clicks away!
Installation or Upgrade
If you are a new customer and installing EchoSystem for the first time with version 5.5, you may want to start by reviewing:
- The About EchoSystem page
- The Deployment Guide, particularly...
- The Supported Technologies page.
These pages provide the basic information for planning the installation and deployment of your new EchoSystem.
If you are upgrading to EchoSystem 5.5 from a previous version:
- You can upgrade directly to EchoSystem 5.5 from EchoSystem version 5.4 Service Pack 5 or later. If you are using an older version of EchoSystem (5.4 Service Pack 4 or earlier), you must upgrade to at least version 5.4 Service Pack 5 before upgrading again to 5.5.
- Review the Supported Technologies page to be sure EchoSystem 5.5 and its associated components are supported on your existing infrastructure.
- Managed devices (media processors, capture appliances) will automatically receive software updates from the newly installed ESS. Typically no action on your part is required. However, there may be cases where a device needs to be upgraded manually, either because the device was offline at the time or some other issue that prevented an automatic upgrade. In this case, please see Upgrading Devices for instructions.
- Review the Upgrade Instructions.
Other Installation/Upgrade Items of Note
Traditional Publishing
Please be aware that as of this release of EchoSystem, we will no longer be supporting publishing methods other than LTI-based publishing. Prior to upgrading your ESS, you will need to upgrade to LTI. For more information please see LTI-Based Publishing or, as always, feel free to contact us! Traditional publishing methods, such as Blackboard Building Blocks, will no longer function after upgrading to this version. We have resolved this issue in Service Packs 2 and 3.
Linux Media Processors
Please ensure that you have reviewed the new library requirements for Linux Media Processors, listed below under Minor Enhancements and Fixes From Previous Versions (US-15325 and US-16203). Further information regarding the installation of these libraries can be found here, Manage the Media Processor.
New Features
The EchoSystem 5.5 release includes a variety of new features and system improvements, all of which are detailed in the sections that follow. And as always, if you need assistance or have any questions, please Contact Us!
EchoSystem Server to the Echo360 active learning platform Migration Functionality
This release of the EchoSystem includes the ability to migrate your ESS content to our new active learning platform. We've created a Migration tab that will allow you to select Sections as well as other content to be transferred over to your new active learning platform instance. For additional details and instructions, please see the Migration Guide.
ESS Updated Technology Support
As always, you are strongly encouraged to review the Supported Technologies page to understand what platforms, browsers, and third-party components are and are not supported. This support typically changes with each release, in order to allow us to keep up with system and product improvements.
EchoSystem 5.5 has added support for the following items:
- Open SSL 0.9.8za
- Jetty 9.2.12
Multi-threaded Media Processor
Also included in this release is a new multi-threaded Media Processor (for both Windows and Linux). This redesign of our media processor allows for faster processing times on multi-core machines.
Improved Security Scores
With the 5.5 release of EchoSystem, our server-side security scores have been improved to an A. Our device-side security scores have been improved to a B.
Product Groups for Live Streaming
Included in this release are two new High Definition Product Groups for Live Streaming intended for Overflow Classroom use.
| Format | New Product Group Name |
|---|---|
| EchoPlayer Display | 720p Display (Live Only) |
| EchoPlayer Display | 1080p Display (Live Only) |
| EchoPlayer Video | 720p Video (Live Only) |
| EchoPlayer Video | 1080p Video (Live Only) |
| EchoPlayer Display and Video | 720p Display and Video (Live Only) |
| EchoPlayer Display and Video | 1080p Display and Video (Live Only) |
| EchoPlayer Dual Display | 720p Dual Display (Live Only) |
| EchoPlayer Dual Display | 1080p Dual Display (Live Only) |
| EchoPlayer Dual Video | 720p Dual Video (Live Only) |
| EchoPlayer Dual Video | 1080p Dual Video (Live Only) |
Minor Enhancements and Fixes From Previous Versions
The following table provides a list of the most prominent issues from previous versions that have been fixed in EchoSystem 5.5.
| Issue | Description | Component |
|---|---|---|
| US-12448 | Resolved an issue where student's download statistics were not accurate in EchoCenter reporting. | EchoCenter, HEMS |
| US-12470 | Resolved an issue where, if using a custom Certificate, after upgrading your ESS could lose those customizations. | JVM truststore |
| US-13229 | Resolved an issue where the EchoPlayer failed to load when the default browser language was set to Spanish. | EchoPlayer |
| US-13551 | Resolved an issue where in situations when users have intermediate certificates as a part of their Security Certificate and are attempting to renew their certificate through the ESS UI, the process would fail. | ESS, System > Certificates tab |
| US-15187 | Updated our Capture Appliances to communicate over TLS. | SafeCapture HD |
| US-14877 | Resolved an issue where Classroom Capture devices were failing to update their IP address in Windows Registry correctly, causing the UI to fail. | Classroom Capture |
| US-15420 | Updated our Licensing Service to communicate over TLS. | LCS |
| US-15396 | Enabled read committed transaction isolation levels if using a MySQL database to reduce potential deadlocks. For more information on this setting, please see https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.7/en/set-transaction.html | MySQL |
| US-14053 | Removed Classroom Capture software from the Downloads tab of the ESS for Users with the Academic Staff role. The software is still available for Admins. | ESS, Downloads tab |
| US-15325 | Updated our Linux Media Processor to support headless Linux graphics environments for active learning platform Migration. Please note that this may require the XVFB binary to be installed prior to the installation or upgrade of the Linux Media Processor. More information on XVFB can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xvfb. More information on our supported Linux environments can be found here: Supported Technologies and information regarding the installation of these libraries can be found here: Manage the Media Processor. | Media Processor (Linux) |
| US-16203 | Updated our Linux Media Processor to allow for the use of our Migration Tool. Please note that this may require the OpenGL library to be installed prior to the installation or upgrade of the Linux Media Processor. More information on our supported Linux environments can be found here: Supported Technologies and information regarding the installation of these libraries can be found here: Manage the Media Processor. | Media Processor (Linux) |
| US-12285 | Enhancements have been made to our API to allow for the ability to retire users. | API |
| US-15737 | Fixed a typo which displayed the name for the media processor incorrectly (as **unknown variable echo360 media processor**) during installation. | Media Processor (Installer) |
| US-16170 | Enhancements have been made to our Classroom Capture logging to include additional information regarding the computer's desktop environment. | Classroom Capture |
| ECHO-5368 | Resolved an issue with the SafeCapture HD where video inputs were occasionally freezing, resulting in bad captures. | SafeCapture HD |
| ECHO-6031, ECHO-5210 | Resolved an issue that caused Classroom Capture to only capture a portion of the Display. | Classroom Capture |
| ECHO-10694 | Enhancements have been made to Classroom Capture to prevent the PC from going to Sleep during a capture. | Classroom Capture |
| ECHO-11686 | Fixed an issue where, if a media retention policy was in place, once the original media expired the link to the Associated Capture on the Echoes -> Echo Details page was also removed. | ESS |
Known Issues and Workarounds
Issue ID | Who is Affected? | Affected Component | Issue Description | What to do? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECHO-29315 | Users and Students attempting to play Downloaded Echoes. | Downloaded content. | Users attempting to playback a downloaded Echo may see the following error message:
This is due to a security update in the latest flash versions, which is blocking the .xml file from loading on localhost when launched in a browser. | In order to playback an Echo that has been downloaded, a standalone flash player is needed.
|
ECHO-29886 | Customers attempting to update user accounts via CSV upload. | Email addresses and CSVimports | Unfortunately, email addresses associated with user accounts cannot be updated/edited via CSV import. | Use the ESS UI to edit the email address for the user in question instead. |
| US-11417 | Users relying on accurate information for elapsed processing times. | ESS Monitor > Summary Page | In situations where jobs are processed back-to-back, the Elapsed column on the Monitor >Summary page will report incorrect values. | We are working towards a permanent solution for this issue. In the meantime, please note that the times listed may not be accurate. |
| US-15491 | Users attempting to log in to the Ad Hoc UI through Internet Explorer 11 using Windows 8.1 | Ad Hoc Web Interface | In situations when users are attempting to log in to the Ad Hoc UI via Internet Explorer 11 with instructor or admin credentials, the Ad Hoc UI will fail to load. | Please follow these steps to resolve this issue (or use Chrome or Firefox):
You can also find more detail regarding these steps under "Add or remove a site from a security zone" on the following Windows page:http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/internet-explorer/ie-security-privacy-settings#ie=ie-11 |
| US-12731 | Users planning on upgrading their ESS to this version. | EchoPlayer | After an EchoSystem Server upgrade, it's possible your EchoPlayer assets may not update properly which can impede content playback following the upgrade. | If you encounter any content playback issues, please contact Echo360 support immediately for a timely resolution. We are actively developing a fix that will prevent this problem in future releases of the EchoSystem Server. |
| US-15985 | Users who capture using the 1080p Live Product Group. | 1080p Live Product Group | In situations where this product group is used, there is a defect where the 1080p LIVE profile at a Standard (4:3) aspect ratio produces a 960x724 capture at 15fps rather than the expected 24fps. | We are working towards a permanent solution for this issue. In the meantime, our recommendation is to use the 720p LIVE profile at a Standard (4:3) aspect ratio which will produce a 960x720 capture at 24fps. |
| US-15139 | Users attempting to monitor or use Classroom Capture via Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). | Classroom Capture | In situations where a user logs into a Classroom Capture PC via the RDP, it's possible to overwrite the default Windows audio device. When that happens, the setting can 'stick' and potentially cause failed captures. | Please follow the documented workaround here under Remote Desktop Control. |
| ECHO-24089 | Users attempting to 'view' audio-only captures for Sections that have Downloads disabled. | EchoCenter | In situations where users are attempting to 'view' audio-only captures they will receive the message, "This Echo is not being made available at this time.". | If you would like users to be able to 'view' audio-only captures within EchoCenter, please enable Downloads for the Section. |
| ECHO-23989 | Users attempting to migrate more than one Instructor per Section to the active learning platform | ESS to active learning platform migration | Currently, only the Primary Instructor assigned to a Section will be migrated to the active learning platform along with the Section. | We are working towards a permanent resolution for this issue. In the meantime, please ensure that you review the Instructors currently associated with the ESS Section and assign the Primary Instructor appropriately. |
| ECHO-13465 | Users attempting to migrate Closed Captioning and transcript data to the active learning platform | ESS to active learning platform migration | Closed Captioning and transcript data cannot be currently migrated to the active learning platform. | We are working towards a permanent solution for this issue. In the meantime, please note that this is a known limitation. |
| ECHO-23983 | Users who have Windows Media Processors and are considering migrating to the active learning platform | ESS to active learning platform migration | The newly introduced Migration Functionality is currently only available when using Linux Media Processors. | We are working towards a permanent solution for this issue. In the meantime, please note that this is a known limitation. |
ECHO-24075 | Users planning on upgrading their Macs to El Capitan (OS 10.11) | PCAP for the Mac | Upgrading to El Capitan (OS 10.11) may cause corruption in an existing PCAP installation. Captures will work fine but will not be able to be uploaded to your ESS. | If this happens, please contact Technical Support for assistance applying the fix for this problem. |
| For additional information on the currently known limitations regarding ESS to active learning platform Migrations, please see the Known Limitations list as well as the Pre-Migration Checklist within the Migration Guide. | ||||
Contacting Support
Echo360 Customer Support is always willing to help and it's easy to contact us!