Micro Focus File Reporter 4.0 Release Notes

November 2, 2021

The information in these Release Notes applies to Micro Focus File Reporter 4.0 and contains the following sections:

1.0 New Features

The following are new features introduced in File Reporter 4.0.

1.1 Reporting on Microsoft 365

File Reporter 4.0 introduces basic support for scanning and reporting on unstructured data stored with the following Microsoft 365 cloud applications:

  • OneDrive for Business

  • SharePoint Online

  • Teams

1.2 File Content Hashing Option

File Reporter 4.0 adds basic scan options for metadata file scans to include file content hashing.

Hashing is optional per scan policy, and can include one or more of the following hash algorithms:

  • SHA2-256

  • QuickXorHash (for use with Office 365 file hash comparisons)

NOTE:Use of this feature currently will update the Last Access timestamp for any files on file systems where this timestamp is still enabled for dynamic update.

When enabled, this option provides a high-level guarantee for duplicate file detection and can be reported against using Custom Query reports.

2.0 System Requirements

2.1 Operating Systems

Component

Supported Operating System

  • Engine / Web

  • ManagerFC

  • AgentFC

  • Agent365

  • Windows Server 2019

  • Windows Server 2016

  • AgentFS

  • Windows Server 2019

  • Windows Server 2016

  • Windows Server 2012 R2

  • Report Designer

  • Data Analytics Client

  • Report Viewer

  • Windows 10 (64-bit)

  • Windows Server 2019

  • Windows Server 2016

2.2 Database Requirements

The following database versions and editions are supported:

Microsoft SQL Server

  • SSQL Server 2019 (Windows Server, Linux)

  • SQL Server 2017 (Windows Server, Linux)

  • SQL Server 2016 SP2 (Windows Server)

The following SQL Server Editions are supported:

  • Standard

  • Enterprise

PostgreSQL

  • PostgreSQL 13

  • PostgreSQL 12

2.3 .NET Runtime Requirements

.NET Version

Components

.NET Framework 4.8

  • Configuration Utilities (Agents, Engine, etc.)

  • AgentFS

  • Agent365

  • ManagerFC

  • AgentFC

  • Client Tools (Report Designer, Data Analytics)

  • Report Viewer

.NET Core 3.1 (Windows only)

  • Agent365

All components using .NET Framework now require .NET Framework 4.8.

For components using .NET Core 3.1, the following requirements are in place:

  • .NET Core applications are delivered as self-contained applications and do not require a system-wide installation of .NET Core.

  • .NET Core applications are only supported on Windows platforms for this release.

Components with .NET Framework dependencies include a reference to the associated .NET Framework installer and will upgrade any previously installed versions.

NOTE:Updates to.NET Framework may require a reboot of the operating system to complete.

3.0 Updates

The following are updates introduced in File Reporter 4.0.

3.1 OpenSSL 1.1.1

The Engine has been updated to use OpenSSL 1.1.1.

3.2 File Content Analysis

AgentFC Tika Service Updates

The Tika service installed with AgentFC has been updated for recent releases of OpenJDK 11.0.7, Tika 1.24.1 and updated SQLite drivers.

3.3 Reporting Components

The DevExpress reporting components have been updated to version 2020.1.

4.0 Upgrades

File Reporter 4.0 may be directly upgraded from the following previous versions:

  • File Reporter 3.5

  • File Reporter 3.6

To upgrade from an earlier release, first upgrade to one of the versions listed here, then upgrade to File Reporter 4.0.

5.0 Known Issues and Limitations

5.1 AgentFS

AgentFS does not currently support scanning against nested DFS targets, where a DFS target references another DFS link or target path.

5.2 Report Preview Refresh with Firefox

Refreshing a Preview Report using F5 or Ctl+R might cause an error related to invalid state information. This error is only present with Firefox and can be corrected by issuing a forced refresh, such as using Ctl+F5, or by closing and re-opening the Preview Report.

6.0 Deprecated Features

6.1 Supported Browsers

Support for Internet Explorer 11 and Microsoft Edge Legacy browsers are discontinued.

Please use the latest release of one of the following supported desktop browsers:

  • Chrome

  • Firefox

  • Edge (new version)

6.2 Deprecated Databases

  • Starting with File Reporter 4.0, SQL Server 2016 or later is required. Installations upgrading from a previous version of File Reporter installed against an earlier version of SQL Server must upgrade SQL Server first prior to upgrade.

    NOTE:The latest version of SQL Server is generally recommended.

  • Starting with File Reporter 4.0, PostgreSQL 11 or later is required. Installations upgrading from a previous version of File Reporter installed against an earlier version of PostgreSQL must upgrade PostgreSQL first prior to upgrade.

    NOTE:The latest version of PostgreSQL is generally recommended.

7.0 Open Enterprise Server Support

In order to provide a more intentional approach to platform support that coincides with the requirements of its customer base and OES releases, Micro Focus has chosen to direct File Reporter support for OES to a dedicated product offering set and release schedule. To that end, the File Reporter 3.x product line will continue to support eDirectory/OES installations and evolve in doing so with forthcoming releases and later versions.

The File Reporter 4.x product line has an exclusive focus on Microsoft ecosystem environments including Active Directory/Windows/NTFS as well as Microsoft 365 environments and will continue to evolve in doing do with forthcoming releases and later versions.