4.0

Base OS

Abiquo is based on Centos 7 instead of CentOS 6 now. CentOS 6 packages will be provided for some time, but we strongly recommend migrating to CentOS 7 as soon as possible.

The update process will create and configure new tomcat and websockify users for the corresponding services. Change the ownership of relevant files manually as part of the upgrade.

Redis delta scripts location has changed from /usr/share/doc/abiquo-server/redis and /usr/share/doc/abiquo-remote-services/redis to /usr/share/doc/abiquo-redis/redis

Accounting

Added Consolidation-time-sensitivity-secs parameter in accounting to ignore events only active for a short period of time

Branding

There are changes to branding in Abiquo 4.0. See Abiquo Branding Guide for details of how to upgrade branding.

KVM

KVM cloud nodes must run CentOS 7

Abiquo AIM agent fully supports Openstack Neutron integration

Backup

Backup integrations are now part of the Abiquo core product and backup plugins are provided for each backup system. Backup data is no longer stored in VM metadata. A backup archteype will be released to enable customers to create backup plugins 

4.0.1

Azure ARM

You must run an additional upgrade process near the end of the upgrade. Before you begin your upgrade, get in touch with Abiquo Support for more information

Vcloud

Initial Vcloud support

ESXi

abiquo.dvs.vcenter.password and abiquo.dvs.vcenter.user properties are deprecated. Remove these properties from all Remote Services appliances.

ESXi hypervisors are now configured as vCenter managed hypervisors. After the upgrade, edit each hypervisor to enter its vCenter credentials.

Backup

Support for Veeam 9.5

4.0.2

ESXi

VMWare clusters are detected and reported in the UI

Cluster load rules are available in the Infrastructure Allocation Rules section

RabbitMQ

RabbitMQ clustering support has been introduced. RabbitMQ configuration must be recreated and the clients must be reconfigured accordingly.

Properties

Abiquo M is now clusterizable. All M instances require the configuration of an unique value for the abiquo.m.instanceid property.

4.0.4

DB changes

VMs VNC passwords are encrypted in the DB. You must run a tool to encrypt this entries after the DB upgrade process.

4.2

Monitoring

emmett and delorean services require two additional configuration files for using RabbitMQ with SSL support. 
Created SOSreport plugin for Monitoring profile.

Remote access

noVNC has been replaced by Apache Guacamole. The guacd runs on the Remote Services server. There is a new remote service for remote access, which can be reused in more than one location. Go to Remote services, add the new remote service, and then add it to existing datacenters and public cloud regions. HAProxy and Websockify are no longer used

Authentication

Cookie based authentication has been replaced by the X-Abiquo-Token header with an authentication token. Some API Request examples are not yet updated

Branding

Stylesheet for branding the Guacamole client was added

Guest password SMS notification

You can now add an SMS gateway address and the platform will send users a message with their guest passwords. 

Billing

Billing version 4.0.1 for Abiquo 4.x. Property to set "bill_day_of_month" to define the periods of billing aggregation on a monthly level. See Abiquo billing integration user guide#Configure General Billing Settings

4.2.1

NSX-NAT

Introduction of new blueprint for NSX to support NAT in virtual datacenters.

4.2.2

Improvements to NSX-NAT

Improvements to new blueprint for NSX to support NAT in virtual datacenters. See Configure the NSX integration, Manage NAT, and Manage NAT for virtual datacenters.

4.2.3

vCloud Director

Changes to mapping between objects in Abiquo and vCloud Director. See VMware vCloud Director integration for details of the structure. For configuration see vCloud Director. 

Hyper-V

Support for SMB2 has been added. Users can now disable SMB1. 
Discovery of unmapped Samba shares to be used as datastores. See Hyper-V for configuration details.
Remove the configuration of abiquo.virtualfactory.openSession property to use system default value because the platform now supports multiple connections 

Billing widgets on hybrid dashboard tab

Obtain provider billing data and display it on the Hybrid tab of the Home view dashboard, with associated privileges.  

4.4

Hyper-V

Support for SMB2 has been added. Users can now disable SMB1. 
Discovery of unmapped Samba shares to be used as datastores. See Hyper-V for configuration details.
Remove the configuration of abiquo.virtualfactory.openSession property to use system default value because the platform now supports multiple connections 

VMware

To enable the platform to deploy directly to VMware clusters, you can now add VMware clusters as physical machines instead of adding ESXi hosts directly. Migration is required.

Virtual datacenter names in public cloud

The platform can now identify virtual datacenters in public cloud using the VDC name in the VPC name in AWS, subnet name in Azure, vApp name in VCD, Edge field in NSX, and so on.

Dnsmasq

Added support for Dnsmasq, which can replace the current DHCP servers that use the OMAPI protocol. Migration via tool is required.

4.5

Base OS

Abiquo is now based on Centos 7. CentOS 6 packages are not provided. 

Concurrency control

New openSession properties per provider, and to optionally apply the openSession limits per virtual datacenter. Additional properties to concurrently allow fast state changes. 

Watchtower database migration of action plans

Run a migration tool to upgrade action plans created prior to Abiquo 4.4.0.

New REST API documentation

See https://wiki.abiquo.com/api/latest

vCloud Director

• Hot reconfigure of VMs

• Default VMXNET3 ethernet driver

• Instance template automatically assigned to imported VM

• Import templates with private/public checkbox

• Load balancers and classic firewalls at Edge level

• Better network and IP management

vCenter

Create DRS rules to group VMs by OS type for license affinity

UI features

• Cookie message and privacy policy

• Maintenance window notices

4.6

Changes to UI language files

 From Abiquo 4.6 onwards, you must have an "__EOF" label at the end of each language file, otherwise the UI will not load correctly and the login form will not display

Consolidated discovery manager remote service

There is a new version of the Discovery Manager remote service that now performs all resource discovery tasks in private and public cloud. It replaces the previous version of the Discovery Manager and the Cloud Provider Proxy, which the platform will no longer use. The name of the Discovery Manager web application has changed from "nodecollector" to "nars", and the type has also changed to "NARS". The platform's api-java-client now supports asynchronous tasks. The platform logs this remote service in the nars logs, which replaces the nodecollector and cpp logs. As part of the upgrade process, administrators can remove the old remote service webapps: nodecollector and cpp.

Monitoring and metrics

• Upgraded to KairosDB 1.2.2

• Changes to KairosDB and Cassandra properties

Azure

• The Azure Access key ID will now be encrypted. Admin must remove Azure credentials and add them again as part of the upgrade process

Accounting

• New index added to database table

User interface

• Remove auto-create of virtual appliance when creating virtual datacenter. Now a user must create a virtual appliance in order to create a VM

• New infrastructure privileges to display private and public cloud separately

• Creating Amazon VDC no longer retrieves its default firewall. User must manually synchronize firewalls

OpenID

• Change to tokens in OpenID authentication

vCloud

• For private networks that were incorrectly synchronized due to an issue, the user must import these networks again to fix the issue

4.6.1

NSX-ECMP plugin

• Support for more than one VDC per tenant using context properties

Azure

• Increased default polling intervals to reduce API rate limit concerns. Configure in abiquo.properties

• Use new CSP credentials with token (affects price list and billing dashboard)

vCenter hosts and clusters

• Detect host IPs as specified, in networks, and designated for management traffic. Configure in abiquo.properties

• For clusters, assign management traffic IPs for remote access

• Added support for more guest operating systems

 vCloud

• Support for cores per socket

• Improved support for multiple disks

Virtual networks

• Reserve private IPs for assignment outside of the platform

• Default firewall policy for a VDC

Dashboard

• Changes to dashboard styling, see Changes to branding

• Also some changes to dashboard content

4.6.3

Veeam

• New plugin to support Veeam 9.5 update 4. Requires new licenses. Delete the old backup manager and create a new one, selecting the new plugin.

• Dropped support for Veeam 8.0

4.6.4

Billing dashboard

• Changes to enterprise property names. To display billing dashboard data, you must use the new property names.

4.7.0

Changes to the outbound API for event streaming

• Abiquo 4.7.0 introduces changes to the data structure of the events streamed by the outbound API (M module)

• You must change any integrations that use the streaming API. See Trace entity for the new format

• The new version of the M module does not require a user in the database or Abiquo Configuration Properties to configure a user

Public cloud storage and private cloud external storage

• The Storage Manager (SSM) remote service has been removed and the NARS remote service will now manage storage for the platform

• The platform logs this remote service in the nars log. As part of the upgrade process, administrators can remove the old remote service web app: ssm.

• Administrators can update existing public cloud templates to enable hot reconfigure of disks

Remote access to vCenter

• Optional remote access to vCenter VMs using web console (WebMKS) that is activated (and can be forced) with abiquo.properties, and using the same branding as vCloud WMKS

• Storage hot-reconfigure can now be enabled during the capture of VMs that are powered ON

Events

• The Abiquo database upgrade may take longer than usual because it will upgrade the events table to the new format

Capture

• You can now set a cost code for a VM during capture

vCloud hard disks

• Administrators can update existing templates to enable disk hot reconfigure

Application level gateway in NSX distributed firewalls

• Configure with Abiquo Configuration Properties and UI client config properties

Reporting

• You must upgrade Abiquo Reporting to use the new events format. For more information, please contact Customer Service

Backup

• The Avamar backup plugin is deprecated in Abiquo 4.7.0

4.7.1

Upgrade requires credentials

• Abiquo YUM repositories are no longer open. Please contact Abiquo Support to obtain your credentials

Changes to the outbound API for event streaming

• Remove the M user from the database and the m user properties (DO NOT REMOVE abiquo.m.instanceid) from Abiquo Configuration Properties. Remove the OUTBOUND_API role

Changes to vCloud Director plugin

• The default platform configuration is now to create fenced vApps in vCloud Director. To change this configuration, set the abiquo.vcd.fenceVapp property to false

• Added support to manage NAT networks and org VDC networks as external networks

• Added support for vCloud Director 9.7, vCloud Director 10, and API up to version 33 of the API 

SAML integration

• Added integration with SAML 2.0

• Associated changes to UI configuration that also affect OpenID integration

• New optional cookies to save login methods for OpenID and SAML

Reporting

• You must upgrade Abiquo Reporting to use the new events format. For the file and procedure, please contact Abiquo Support

API Java client

• Java client now supports the streaming API, see Abiquo Java Stream Client

4.7.2

Changes to vCenter and ESXi

• Provide a way to bypass the restriction on multiple VMs using the same disk. When capturing a VM, ignore the shared disk in the second VM and import the VM. Requires an Abiquo Configuration property on the Abiquo API Server

New version of Abiquo reports

• Includes price of backup per GB

SSO integrations

• External scopes

Allowed connections

• Allowed CIDRs for roles and scopes

Recommended datastore tiers

• Administrators can now recommend datastore tiers for templates

4.7.3

No significant changes to the platform

5.0.0

New user interface

• Branding information see Abiquo Branding Guide

• Changes to Pricing view. In Abiquo 5.0.0, to assign a pricing model, the user must be able to edit enterprises

Improvement of install process

• We are currently improving the Abiquo install process and OVA packages are not available for Abiquo 5.0. Please contact Abiquo Support for more information

vCloud tagging of organization and provider VDCs

• Abiquo can now associate Org VDCs with their Provider VDCs when adding Org credentials

Resellers

• You can now configure a mail account in each reseller enterprise

• You can now create public cloud accounts from within the platform

vCloud Director changes

• vCloud firewalls at Edge level

• Reset guest password (guest tools)

NSX NAT changes

• Limit bandwidth of NAT IPs with QoS at virtual datacenter level

Action plans

• Send webhook action. Note that administrators should monitor the use of this feature.

Azure

• Support for Availability sets

5.0.1

Veeam

• For Veeam v9.5u4, you must add a Code to each backup policy to match the name of a cloned dummy backup job in Veeam. This enables you to set different backup retention times in different jobs. See Configure Abiquo Veeam backup plugin#Configureallbackupjobswithpolicycodes

Azure

• Users can accept marketplace terms in the Apps library when importing templates or when deploying VMs. This action requires a new privilege

5.0.2

No significant changes to the platform

5.0.3

• vCenter cluster migration tool should ignore protected VMs

• Azure Allow Azure credentials without App ID to enable Azure billing only. Add credentials of reseller customers for billing only. Add credentials of reseller customers for billing only

5.0.4

No significant changes to the platform

5.0.5

New Veeam hypervisor property to specify a list of vCenters used in Abiquo. See Configure Abiquo Veeam backup plugin for more details.

5.1

Veeam 9.5

• The Veeam 9.5 plugin is deprecated

• Upgrade to new Veeam 9.5u4 plugin. Requirements:

  • Separate license

  • Changes to properties

  • New backup manager

  • New Veeam backup jobs corresponding to retention policies

  • Add job names to backup policy codes

Veeam-Snapshot

• There is a new plugin to offer VMware Snapshot functionality as a complement to Veeam backup 9.5u4

VMware snapshot

• There is a new plugin to offer VMware Snapshot functionality

VM and template variables

• A user cannot add empty variables to VMs or VM templates

• Users can modify VM variables before deploy only

Hardware profiles and families

• The platform now onboards hardware profile families and types from public cloud and manages hardware profiles families and types

Shortcut to create a VM

• Users can now create a VM from any screen using the +VM button

• Users can now create a VM from a template in the Apps library

VMware

• Limit public IP bandwidth with QoS in vCenter and vCenter clusters

Virtual datacenters

• There is a new Locations section in virtual datacenters to manage resources at public cloud region and datacenter level

• Users can now filter virtual datacenters by provider

Address ranges in Amazon and Azure

• The user can now define address spaces for virtual datacenters with custom private networks and manage address spaces

Pricing

• New fee per VM

5.1.1

General

• Enable WebMKS by disabling remote access (VNC) when you reconfigure the VM

  • Do not make changes to the VNC configuration, such as the password because this will trigger an error

  • See Install WebMKS proxy and Enable WebMKS for vCenter

Private cloud ISO and disks 

• Added Support for SATA disks

Backup

• Added Veeam hypervisor property to list hypervisors to use with Veeam in Abiquo. This prevents issues with Veeam backup results for duplicate VMs on other hypervisors that are not managed by Abiquo.  

• Added Veeam 10 and Veeam 10 Snapshot plugins

• See Veeam 10 backup integration

5.1.2

ESXi

• vSphere

  • Added Support for vSphere 7.0

    • vSphere 7.x does not support remote access using VNC, so you must configure WebMKS to provide remote access 

  • Discontinued support for vSphere 5.x

• Optionally capture VMs with external volumes

• Optionally capture VMs with duplicate names in different datacenters 

5.2.0

Infrastructure

• The infrastructure check that periodically synchronizes the hosts with the platform will not create or delete datastores. If there are any changes to your datastores, you may need to refresh them manually. To do this, edit the physical machine and go to Datastores, then click the round arrow refresh button to update datastores.

ESXi and vCenter

• Added Support for vSphere 7.0

  • vSphere 7.x does not support remote access using VNC, so you must configure WebMKS to provide remote access. See Enable WebMKS for vCenter

• Discontinued support for vSphere 5.x

DRaaS

• New Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) feature with Zerto integration

VM disks and template disks

• Remove the "bootable" attribute and try to boot disks in sequence order

Cloud provider pricing and billing dashboard

• This feature is now part of the core Abiquo platform

• Added support for Google Cloud

• Add new configuration

• Remove old configuration in yaml files and scheduled job

Google Cloud Platform

• New Google Cloud integration

Azure

• Added support for 

  • Resource Groups

  • Standard SKU public IPs

  • Standard SKU load balancers

• Improved Azure VPNs

  • Removed some enterprise properties with default in abiquo.properties

AWS

• The template export to public cloud now uses AWS SDK. This file is no longer required on the V2V server

  /etc/sysconfig/abiquo/ec2-api-tools

User interface

• The feature to create a VM from anywhere using the floating Add VM button is now enabled by default. See Create and deploy a VM from anywhere

5.2.1

For a full list of changes, please check the Release Notes.

SAML

• Added multiple identity providers based on user email domain

• You MUST add the new property to define the default IdP, even if you are only using one IdP 

Google

• Added VM monitoring

• Added bootstrap scripts with cloud-init

Reporting

• Added SSO to Reports

DRaaS

• Added billing

vCenter hosts and clusters

• Deploy OVA ready templates

• Ignore datastores by name

• Eject CD-ROM

Cloud-init

• Inject enterprise properties as VM variables

Networker

• vCenter credentials are now mandatory for Networker

API

• There are no changes to the API in Abiquo 5.2.1

5.3.0

Virtual machines

• VMs in the provider are now identified by their Provider ID

• Duplicate VM names can exist in the platform

• Duplicate VM friendly names cannot exist in vCenter

Public cloud billing

• The public cloud billing modules have been moved to the core platform

Home view

• Added dynamic dashboards

• Added new dashboard widgets

Infrastructure view

• Added support for disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS)

• The list of VMs on a hypervisor is now paginated

Apps library

• Added support for UEFI boot

Virtual datacenters

• Added support for AWS Application load balancers

• Users can create public subnets in AWS

5.3.1

• Added Abstract datastore tiers to group storage service levels in private cloud

5.4.0

• Added Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)

• Added NSX-T

• Added Abstract datastore tiers to group public storage service levels

• Added support for firewalls in Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

• New guest setup options for AWS in the API

• Onboard accounts in non-default AWS regions

• Changes to scopes in tenant hierarchies, including new API methods

• Edit disk size and tier in VM templates and VMs

5.4.1

• Added Rubrik backup plugin, see Abiquo and Rubrik backup

• Update the MAC addresses of private IPs for vCenter

• OCI - Add Free-form tags and Flex shapes as dynamic hardware profiles

• vCenter - Add Use Guest setup to inject IP addresses without DHCP

• Added ticketing interface for custom 

• Added support for NSX-T public networks. See Abiquo and NSX-T

• Allow users to delete custom templates (private templates) from public cloud providers.
  See Delete private templates in public cloud