ROB-EX 7.2 upgrade FAQ

This guide is concerning updating from 7.0 to 7.2 including special attention on the new ROB-EX Web Planner introduced with 7.2. If upgrading from versions prior to 7.0 follow this ROB-EX 7.0 upgrade FAQ, taking the additional notes from this guide into consideration.

Do I need to install a new ROB-EX License Server using the new installer?

No, but it is important that you update the existing one. Features have been added to the License Server that are needed in order to run ROB-EX Web Planner. The 7.2 License Server will also work as a license server for 7.0 clients, in case you need to have a mixed 7.X environment in a transition period.

I try to update ROB-EX Planner, but I get an error related to awt.dll?*

The installer is trying to update the embedded java. Make sure the tray console for the Integration Client is exited and try again.

Is a public Java installation of JRE and/or JDK still required for the ROB-EX environment?*

No, all the ROB-EX components have embedded java.

The 7.2 version use Java11 as opposed to previous versions using Java8. Anything I need to be aware of?

We’ve seen one issue to pay attention to
1. An older SQL Server 2012 needs TLS1.0 protocols to be enabled or you might, during startup of Multiuser server, run into this error message:
The driver could not establish a secure connection to SQL Server by using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption. Error: “The server selected protocol version TLS10 is not accepted by client preferences [TLS13, TLS12]
The fix for this is to open file C:\Program Files (x86)\ROB-EX\ganttServerG2_2\bin\jre\conf\security\java.security in notepad and add the highlighted TLSv1, text to this key of the property file

jdk.tls.disabledAlgorithms=SSLv3, TLSv1, TLSv1.1....

Will I run into any issues if my customer runs the Desktop client of v7.2 and v7.0 simultaneously from the same PC?

We’ve become aware of one issue with mixed versions when the Desktop client is started from a shared drive location (this is in fact related to the fact that Desktop client for v7.2 uses Java11, vs. the v7.0 using Java8). The default Desktop client startup behavior is to cache the Java runtime locally on the users PC – however it will only re-cache whenenver a newer Java version is available. A user will run into issues if running V7.2 and then going back to v7.0, as the 7.0 startup will then try to start on the newly cached JRE11 – which will not work. The workaround is to run the v7.2 with the -nocaching startup option, as explained here. Use this startup parameter for as long as the v7.0 still needs to be used. The startup of v7.2 will be slower, but will not cause mixed version issues.

How can I edit the ports used by ROB-EX Server and/or edit the database URL?

The ROB-EX Server 7.0 and higher uses the information written in the file “application.yml”. The file can be edited in a standard text editor.
The file can be found in the ROB-EX server installation (default directory is \program files (x86)\ROB-EX\ganttServerG2).

Will upgrading an existing Integration Client from 7.0 to 7.2 automatically enable users to be able to use ROB-EX Web Planner?

No. An additional startup parameter -Dgantt.cq=true must be added to the Parameters\Java\Options section of the service using the registry editor (read more about editing Integration Client service settings). Even for new 7.2 installs the -Dgantt.cq=true must be added manually! Note: The recommended approach is to install a separate new Integration Client to serve Web Planner – also see the recommended architecture drawing in Full Multiuser Deployment example.

How about the new ROB-EX Web Planner/ROB-EX Web Viewer. Is it using a client license from my license pool?

The ROB-EX Web Planner for the time being only requires that you have a valid subscription license, as opposed to perpetual license with a maintenance agreement. As the ROB-EX Web Planner is enhanced with further functionality in coming releases it will eventually require a planner license.
The ROB-EX Web Viewer is included in the subscription license for unlimited use, just as the ROB-EX Desktop Viewer.

How about the new ROB-EX Web Planner. Can I use it instead of a ROB-EX Desktop Planner client?

Certainly, the new ROB-EX Web Planner has all the well known visual Gantt chart drag and drop scheduling built in – as well as all of the well know capabilities to run automatic scheduling and bottleneck sorting. The new ROB-EX Web Planner still has some limitations regarding creating and editing master data and view project based Gantt charts, we are working hard to remove these limitations in the near future.

Does ROB-EX 7.2 Multiuser use the same ports as version 7.0 or older?*

Yes – but it needs a little explanation:
6565 is still the default multiuser login port for ROB-EX Desktop Planner/ROB-EX Desktop Viewer for service 1
9090 has been expanded and will by default now open ROB-EX Portal. You can jump to the old well known Admin Pages from the Portal menu. But portal is also the new central entry point for launching ROB-EX Web Planner/ROB-EX Web Viewer as well as ROB-EX Scheduler Dashboard and Time Tracker. In prior version it was used only for the Web Admin pages.
We recommend you review the architecture diagram provided in Full Multiuser Deployment example.

When I start my Multiuser Service after upgrade to 7.2 it will not start. The log-file rbx_srv_log.txt contains error SQLServerException: Login failed for user ‘XX’. ClientConnectionId:…

The 7.2 Multiuser Server uses an updated Microsoft database driver requiring, by default, the connection to the database is encrypted by TLS.
Your MS SQL Server instance is likely not configured to use an encrypted connection. To fix this open file c:\program files (x86)\ROB-EX\ganttServerG2\application.yml in a text editor and add the urlParameters: encrypt=false; # .... line at the location highlighted below. If your file already contains a urlParameters in that location, you may need to add just the encrypt=false; to the existing line (after last ; character of the line)

db:
   host: localhost
   port: 1433
   name: GanttMultiuser
   username: 
   password: 
   init: conf/sql.init # Folder with custom SQL files executed during server startup
   urlParameters: encrypt=false; # additional semicolon separated parameters for the database connection string.

Settings that I make in ganttServerG2\logback.xml does not have any effect on the logging of the Multiuser Server

The 7.2 Multiuser Server uses an updated logging framework which conflicts with earlier settings from v7.0. To fix the issue open Regedit and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Apache Software Foundation\Procrun 2.0\ROB-EXServerG2Instance1x64\Parameters\Java. Remove the line -Dlogging.config=logback.xml from the Options parameter. Alternatively it is also possible to edit the setting to instead read -Dlogging.config=file:logback.xml (i.e. adding the file: part)
Note that in addition from version 7.2.2 an forward, the popular log identifier for AnyUpdateServiceImpl has moved to a new package name. I.e. the full line should now read
<logger name="gantt.server.dataprovider.jooq.services.impl.AnyUpdateServiceImpl" level="DEBUG" />

What port number is used for Dashboard, Time Tracker, and Resource Monitor

With 7.2 you have the new option of using the new 9090 port as explained in the previous question. I.e. the URL’s that routes through the ROB-EX Portal gateway. In that case make sure 9090 is opened in the firewall. However the old service ports mapping directly to the ROB-EX Integration Client (port 9999 for service 1) and old URL’s are still valid to use. But only having to open 9090 going forward will make it possible to simplify installations, especially for multi-site setups.
As an example both of the following URL’s will work to open Dashboard (similar URL’s exists for Time Tracker and Resource Monitor)
Portal: http://robexsrv1:9090/api/site/<mysite_id>/rest/dashboard/ (replace <mysite_id> with the site id to connect to)
Direct: http://robexsrv1:9999/dashboard/ (9999 is the REST port of the integration client that serves the site for <mysite_id>)

Is ROB-EX Scheduler Operator (Shop Floor) also able to route through the ROB-EX Portal gateway?

No. However inside ROB-EX Portal there is a button to launch a browser tab with the correct URL to open Shop Floor pages for a site. However the Shop Floor server ports must still be opened in the firewall the same ways a previously, as the ROB-EX Portal gateway is currently not capable of routing Shop Floor data through the 9090 port.

How can we hide certain macros from being visible and executed from a ROB-EX Web Planner?

This is possible by adding “webplanner” tag in the roles exclude/include parameter of the macro. Also see Macro in Web Planner

Can I access ROB-EX Dashboard when running a standalone ROB-EX Client

Yes, but you need to set the standalone client to run the REST server. ROB-EX Dashboard data is updated via REST calls.
The login is defined by the REST user+password.
See more about REST at REST

Is the new Track Changes by user feature default enabled after upgrade to 7.2?

No, this needs to be enabled on a site by site basis. Open “Admin pages->Configure->Sites” and select the site in question. Then click to “Enable event store” and click “Update”. For the time being you now need to restart the ROB-EX Scheduler Multiuser service for the change to take effect (we hope to be able to avoid this restart in a future version)

Can I set the ROB-EX services to use AD account to run the service?

Yes, but for ROB-EX Server you must use the sqlserverAD-profile in spring profiles in application.yml and blank the username and password.
For the other ROB-EX services, you can change this via the specific service Log on-tab in windows services.

I am upgrading to ROB-EX 7.2 and using GanttERP/GanttERP2. Should this be upgraded as well?

Yes, If you are using GanttERP or GanttERP2 this should always be upgraded to match the ROB-EX version you are running.
SQL upgrade-tools can be found in .\ROB-EX\Planner\plugins\erp:
ms-sql-db-update for GanttERP
ms-sql-db-updateVersion2 for GanttERP2

Do I need a new license key for ROB-EX 7.2?

No, ROB-EX 7.2 is using the same license technology as 7.0/6.4. However in order to take the ROB-EX Web Planner into use, ROB-EX Scheduler support needs to enable a setting in the license key – and a license refresh must be performed from a connected ROB-EX Desktop Planner using the menu option “Help->Register->Re-license Application->Reverify”. Notice that for off-line activated customers a new license key request->response file must be emailed to ROB-EX Scheduler support.

ROB-EX Server service is running using Local System, but the Integration Client is using Local Service. Why is that?

We use Local Service since it is best practice to assign the least possible authorization rights to services.
ROB-EX Server uses Local system since our experience shows that Local Service does not have the necessary rights when querying the AD. The ROB-EX Server service needs to query the AD, since it handles the login of users through Windows AD.

Do I need to install an “Integration client” to use Time Tracker?

Yes, the Time Tracker plugin is installed when installing an “Integration Client”. If you upgrade an existing or older version of ROB-EX and it was not installed as a normal Planner, the plugin for Time Tracker will be missing.
Time Tracker also requires the client running REST to be logged in to a ROB-EX Multiuser environment.