Powertech Authority Broker for IBM i

March 2023

Version 4.24

March 27, 2023

New Features

  • Added a Profile Switch History report, and the Profile Switch History (LPRFSWTHST) command . The report allows creating reports of profile switches that were performed, even if audit journal receivers for the corresponding period have been deleted.

  • Added an Email Notification Report to the Reports menu, and the Email Configuration Report (LPRTEMLCFG) command.

Enhancements

  • Added Alert information to the Interested Parties listing.

  • The job name now appears on the Authority Broker Swap PDF cover page.

  • New switch definitions can now be created by copying and modifying existing switch definitions on the Assign System Users to Switch Profiles screen.

Fixes

  • Fixed an issue where a timed job was producing errors and looping.

  • Fixed an issue that caused an incorrect error message to display when a switch was attempted but blocked by the Day of the Week schedule.

  • Fixed an issue that prevented updating the Day of Week schedule for a swap pair.

  • Fixed an issue preventing the use of function keys F7 and F9 in the Change Switch Information setup panel (PABR0110).

  • Fixed an issue that caused System User Reports to fail when Switch Type *NORMAL was requested.

October 2020

Version 4.23

October 28, 2020

  • An issue causing Firecall access to use an incorrect start date has been resolved.
  • An issue causing the purge process to delete records prematurely has been resolved.
  • A rounding problem with Firecall access timing has been resolved.
  • The ability to enter a FireCall Start date/time that is before the current date/time has been removed.
  • As issue causing the error message "Text not available for message PCSC000" to appear erroneously has been resolved. This message could previously occur when an Authority Broker command was prevented by Powertech Command Security.
  • An issue preventing swap profiles from adhering to 'day of the week' overrides has been resolved.

February 2020

Version 4.22

February 12, 2020

  • An issue that could cause missing switch details on Event Reports has been resolved.
  • Erroneous "Cursor PABR060G not open" messages have been removed from the Profile Switch and Profile Release processes.
  • Password Masking is now supported in English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian.
  • A typo in the help for the System User Report panel has been fixed.

February 2019

Version 4.21
  • Timed command functionality has been added at the switch pair level.
  • The ability to select a Warning Interval action has been added.
  • The System User report has been modified to include all the swap pair information including Profile Descriptions, Exit Point Programs, and Time Overrides.
  • The option to select the information that is included in System User reports has been added.
  • The error message displayed when attempting to release a switch when no switch is active has been improved.

September 2018

Version 4.20
  • An issue preventing timed switches with changed default commands from being executed has been resolved.
  • An issue causing an "RLxxxxxx is not found" message when a swap is released if after-swap exit programs are being used has been resolved.

July 2018

Version 4.19
New Features
  • Authority Broker now allows you to mask passwords on screen captures.
  • The PABPWDMSK command has been added, which allows you to mask passwords on screen captures.
Fixes
  • A problem causing a "CCSID outside of valid range" error when switching profiles with the Password parameter has been resolved.
  • A problem causing missing screen captures and failed swaps with Firecall has been resolved.

January 2018

Version 4.18
  • A change has been made to ensure profile switches on a Time Swap are released appropriately.
NOTE: Authority Broker widgets are now supported by Insite Dashboards. See Authority Broker for Insite.

November 2017

Version 4.17
  • Messages being sent when a Timed or Firecall Switch has reached its time limit, and the end actions is either *NONE or *NOTIFY, have been improved. When the end action is *NONE, no messages are sent to the From Swap/To Swap message queues.
  • "Value is not valid" errors while entering Date and Time Overrides for a profile swap have been addressed.

  • The Event Report - Report Type content has been updated in the Administrator's Guide.

April 2017

Version 4.16
  • Work with Profile Switches now allows *Normal switches to be ended. (Previously, only *Timed or *Firecall switches could be ended.) See Work with Profile Switches in the Authority Broker Administrator's Guide.

January 2017

Version 4.15
  • An error displaying the Switch Type and Time Limit values for profile switches has been resolved.
  • An incorrect substring value used when changing object ownership has been resolved. This defect could cause errors in installation, profile switches, and timeout facility.

November 2016

Version 4.14
  • The Product Version panel now shows the correct Number of Partition Processors.
  • A Permanent I/O error no longer occurs in file PAB4435D.

July 2016

Version 4.13
  • Authority Broker is now delivered with new deployment functionality, including the ability to stage the product installation.
  • Changes have been made to the License Agreement verbiage.
  • Message information has been changed from "PowerTech" to "HelpSystems."
  • The history purge no longer removes records prematurely, causing empty Event Reports.

February 2016

Version 4.12
  • Work with Data and Time Overrides now saves data when using F6 to load the Day & Time Restrictions.
  • When using an After Swap Exit Program on a Timed Switch Pair, it no longer executes before the swap is released.
  • The screen captures process has been enhanced to include the Time Switch Command in the email body and PDF cover page. The ability to regenerate the cover page regardless of the existences of screen captures has also been added.
  • Licensing changes have been made for Capped/Shared Pool Processors.

November 2015

Version 4.11
  • Licensing changes have been made when licensing 255 or more partitions.
  • The Screen Capture PDF email subject has been shifted to the right.
  • Install no longer fails because the user does not have all *SERVICE special authorities.
  • The error “Not authorized to object PLABOWN in QSYS while in 13” in Work with Authority Broker product settings has been fixed.
  • Install no longer fails when changing system value QALWOBJRST back to its original value.

May 2015

Version 4.10
  • Screen Captures of past Profile Switch sessions can now be regenerated and distributed as PDFs to any number of Interested Parties using a new option in the Work with Profile Switches screen (option 13, Email Screen Captures).
  • Profile Switches can now be subsetted by whether or not they include Screen Captures.

April 2015

Version 4.09
  • The Screen Capture PDF report no longer displays screen captures in reverse order.
  • All license keys are now displayed when users with multiple license keys visit the Authority Broker License Setup panel.
  • When setting up or changing the Change Switch Information, you can now select 'Will screens be captured for an interactive switch' if Fire Call is not enabled.
  • Problems with event report performance, and event reports failing with error CPF5004, have been resolved.

March 2015

Version 4.08
  • Verbiage in the License information has been updated.
  • IBM i groups can now be added to the POWERABADM Admin AUTL.
  • If an output queue cannot be verified for a profile during swapping, the system default of QGPL/QPRINT is now used.
  • The output queue is now always changed back to the original value after a swap is ended.
  • When ‘Omit CL program commands’ is selected (YES) the commands with values of Y, R, E, or B are now excluded.
  • Commands are now omitted when ‘Omit registered programs’ is selected (YES) regardless of the ‘Omit CL program commands’ value.
  • Responding with a C to Cancel now ends processing after a ‘Max number of records reached’ Event Report error.
  • Inconsistencies with the product authorization list handling have been fixed.
  • The Assign System Users to Switch Profiles panel no longer exits to the Main Menu if Enter is pressed with no option selected.
  • PABWSDMON is now submitted with attributes from PLABOWN/PLAUTBKRJD instead of the user who submitted it.
  • Authority requirements for watching a session have been fixed. Inclusion in the POWERABADM authorization list is now sufficient to watch a session.
  • A special fix can now be applied without requiring SQL statements.

November 2014

Version 4.07
  • The option to remove an attached email address from an Interested Party has been added.
  • A Call Ticket column with the Ticket Start Date/Time and Ticket End Date/Time for profile switches is now available on the Work with Profile Switches screen (using F11).

May 2014

Version 4.06
  • PABEML, PABINPARTY, and PAMIPEM have been added to journaled files.
  • Audit reporting now includes swap activity that crosses over a 24-hour time line.
  • Changing a switch pair no longer fails with “CPF5020 - subfile record not found” error.
  • SQL date handling has been fixed in the Firecall log.
  • Screen are now captured when users are in their soft menu.
  • Emails are now being sent from jobs with CCSID(65535).
  • JOBD PLAUTBKRJD has been changed to use PABJOBQ (PTWRKMGT).
  • System, Serial#, and Partition# has been added to Event Report outfiles.
  • More date format handling fixes have been added to the Firecall panel.

October 2013

Version 4.05
  • Profile switching is now available after changing from FireCall to Non-FireCall.
  • Date and time validation on the FireCall Assignment panel has been fixed.
  • The ownership error in the program PAB4480 has been fixed; the owner is now PLABOWN, not PLABADM.
  • Event Reports no longer fail due to an MCH1202 decimal data error.
  • Ownership of the Authority Broker authorization list has been restored to PLABOWN (from QSECOFR).
  • Unavailable FireCall switch pairs are no longer displayed when a FireCall switch pair is authorized.
  • Blanking out the interested party no longer results in the record being updated with no interested party (causing display issues). Doing so now deletes the record.
  • The ability to exclude Event Report entries made by Authority Broker programs has been restored (by specifying *PRODUCT for the library).
  • Encrypted screen capture journal entries are no longer included in Event Reports.
  • The ability to change the Y/N flag on the program exception list has been restored.

August 2013

Version 4.04
  • Added purge options for swap history and screen capture data
  • Fixed report type on Event History Report
  • Corrected CCSID translation issues when sending emails

July 2013

Version 4.02
  • Update the Firecall assignment panel to display records even if you don’t have authority to either profile in the swap pair and if one of the profiles has been deleted.
  • When a user enters a swap pair, validate authority against the group profile.
  • Update the command line security within the Authority Broker menus.

May 2013

Version 4.01
  • Correct storing of email address for interested parties
  • Fix “Subfile record not found” error in PABR0110 and PABR0900 when selecting an Interested Party using F4
  • Properly handle non-display characters in the PDF from a screen capture
  • Correct issue sending a report to the IFS
  • Fix date format handling on Firecall panel
  • Add help text to the setup screen for screen capture parameter
  • Correct problems displaying nested DSPF-type menus when screen capture is on

February 2013

Version 4.0
  • Capture screens as users step through menus and enter commands.
  • Have screenshots automatically bundled as PDF and emailed to interested parties.
  • Watch user sessions in near real-time to ensure proper activity.
  • Play back captured screens on the system.

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