Astera 8.4 – Release Notes
The September 2020 release of Astera is shipped with a pack of improvements in many different areas and functionalities of the product.
Here’s a rundown of all that’s been included with the all-new Astera 8.4.
Aurora (MySQL and PostgreSQL) Connectors – Production Release
We have rolled out the complete production-grade version of Aurora MySQL and Aurora PostgreSQL connectors in Astera 8.4. You will be able to use these connectors to connect to Aurora MySQL and PostgreSQL databases as sources, destinations, as well as with other objects such as Database Lookup, SQL Statement Lookup, SQL Script Task, Database Diff Processor, and Slowly Changing Dimensions, where you’re required to connect to a database.
Addition of Date Time with Offset Data Type
We have added the Date Time with Offset data type in Astera 8.4.
The Date Time with Offset comprises a DateTime value, coupled with an Offset value that is equal to the differential of the current date and time instance and the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). In simple words, it defines a date and time value relative to the UTC.
Trial License Restriction
We have made a couple of updates to the Astera 8 free trial. The trial version will now have a restriction of 300 records and this limit applies to both data preview and runtime.
New Client Seat Licensing Model
We have updated our licensing to a new ‘client seat activation’ model. For Astera 8.4 and subsequent versions, the server key(s) will be assigned to an organization unit at the time the key is generated.
For instance, for a fictitious enterprise XYZ Inc., the organization unit will be registered first and then server key(s) will be assigned to it. After that, the number of clients requested by the organization will be added to its license. So, for instance, if XYZ Inc. requests 6 clients, they should be able to connect 6 clients as per their new license.
In v8.4, the client will now need to be activated on first launch, consuming a client seat, up to the maximum number of seats allowed for the selected organization unit.. Also, there will be a limit to the number of client seats for organizations starting with Astera v8.4.
It is important to note that this licensing model has been implemented only for Astera 8.4 (and subsequent versions) keys and won’t affect customers upgrading pre v8.4 versions of Astera.
Full Support for PostgreSQL Repository
We have enabled full support for PostgreSQL databases to be used as a server repository. The Postgres repository code has been optimized and its performance approaches that of MSSQL Server based repository. PostgreSQL repository is now fully supported and has the same feature set as MSSQL repository in Astera v8.4.
Any users who were using early preview versions of PostgreSQL repository in version 7 and version 8 prior to 8.4 are advised to rebuild the repository in v8.4.
Other Updates
Salesforce SOAP connector has been renamed to Salesforce. Salesforce REST has been renamed to Salesforce REST . Both connectors offer similar functionality. However, we recommend using Salesforce (SOAP-based) connector as we found it to be the more stable and robust implementation between the two.
We have added a convenient way to build REST output layout by passing in values into the body of the request during preview. This feature is addition to the existing build layout feature in the REST OPEN API Client properties, which passes values in the URL/header/query portion of the request.
To input values from a source into REST Open API Client, you have to use the flow-level command “Run preview to generate layout” in Astera v8.4.
This component has been rolled out in Beta state in v8.4 and is slated to be production grade in Astera 8.5
The Postgres repository created in version 7.6 cannot be upgraded to version 8.4. It is recommended that you create a new Postgres repository for Astera v8.4. Please note that this does NOT apply to MSSQL repository and you can continue to use it as before.
Prerequisites for Astera 8.4
VC++ is a prerequisite for Astera v8.3 and v8.4. Before migrating or updating to v8.3, users will need to install VC++ redistributable package on their machine. The bitness (32-bit or 64-bit) of Astera and VC++ redistributable package should be same.
Minimum required version is Microsoft Visual C++ 2015-2019, v14.26
VC++ redistributable package can be downloaded from here:
Migrating from Astera 7 to Astera 8.4
If you’re using a pre-Astera 8 version and planning to upgrade to Astera 8.4, follow through the steps mentioned in this document for a seamless migration and upgrade.
Download Astera 8.4
Click here to download the latest Astera 8.4.
If you’re already using Astera 8, you will only need to download and update the product to Astera v8.4. You will also need to run the upgrade repository script since we have made changes to the repository script.
Those who want to explore Astera firsthand can download a free 14-day trial from our website. The trial version does not require any authentication or licensing key. It will still require you to authenticate with our boilerplate account though. You can do that using the following credentials:
Username: admin
Password: Admin123
Have any questions, suggestions, or feedback? Visit our website or contact support@astera.com.
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