NetFlow Traffic Analyzer 4.4 Release Notes
Release date: May 11, 2018
These release notes describe the new features, improvements, and fixed issues in NetFlow Traffic Analyzer 4.4. They also provide information about upgrades and describe workarounds for known issues.
If you are looking for previous release notes for NetFlow Traffic Analyzer, see Previous Version documentation.
IMPORTANT: Microsoft SQL Server 2016 SP1 or later is required for the Flow Storage database. See NTA 4.4 System Requirements.
New features and improvements in NTA 4.4
NTA 4.4 offers new features and improvements compared to previous releases of NTA.
NetFlow Traffic Analyzer uses a new database for storing flow data
Starting with version 4.4, NTA uses a Microsoft SQL server to host your NTA Flow Storage database for storing flow data. NTA 4.0 through 4.2.3 utilized a flat file database called FastBit for flow storage, which was included in the installer. The major difference is in installing the NTA Flow Storage database, which can be installed on one SQL server together with the Orion database. For more information, see NTA 4.4 System Requirements and NTA 4.4 Adoption: Frequently Asked Questions.
Support for TLS 1.2
Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a cryptographic protocol that provides communications security for computer networks. The primary target of the TLS protocol is to provide privacy and data integrity between two or more communicating applications.
Starting with Orion Platform 2017.1, some SolarWinds Orion Platform products support running solely on TLS 1.2, with versions TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.0 disabled. As of version 4.4, NTA supports only TLS 1.2 enabled.
Port 0 monitoring
Starting with version 4.4, it is possible to monitor TCP or UDP port 0. Use SolarWinds NTA 4.4 to monitor and report on malicious traffic running on port 0. After you install or upgrade NTA to version 4.4, you will see a new application called Port 0 in the NetFlow Settings, under Manage Applications and Service Ports. This application covers all traffic between TCP/UDP port 0 and any other TCP/UDP port.
Other improvements
For new features and improvements in Orion Platform 2018.2, see the Orion Platform 2018.4 Release Notes.
New customer installation
For information about installing NetFlow Traffic Analyzer, see the SolarWinds Orion Installer.
How to upgrade
If you are upgrading from NTA 4.2.2 or later, use the SolarWinds Orion Installer to upgrade your entire Orion deployment (all Orion Platform products and any scalability engines) to the current versions.
If you are upgrading from an earlier version, use this topic to plan and implement an upgrade to the current version of NTA.
Fixed issues
NTA 4.4 fixes the following issues.
| Case number | Description |
|---|---|
|
1325542 |
The Configuration wizard keeps running during the upgrade from NTA 4.1.2 to NTA 4.2.1. |
|
00043998 |
After you click Edit, the NetFlow resources on the NPM Summary page open properly and don't rapidly update. |
|
1258577 |
When you open the Top XX Resources on the NTA Summary page, the settings page no longer repeatedly flashes in the browser. |
|
1309675 |
After you upgrade to NTA 4.2.2, the Last 25 Traffic Analyzer Events resource loads properly. |
|
1206020 |
Last 25 Traffic Analyzer Events chart is renders without errors. |
|
1198868 |
Data is available in the NetFlow Endpoint page after navigating from the Conversations page. |
|
1170662 |
NTA is showing all data when you drill down to the Endpoint details from the Top Conversations resource. |
|
1169255 |
Data from the FlowEngines tables match the data from the dbo.Engines table. |
|
1148292 |
NetFlow listener no longer fails. |
|
1140769 |
In NTA 4.2.1, the Last 25 Traffic Analyzer Events resource loads properly. |
|
1112673 |
Configuration wizard keeps running during an upgrade. |
|
1064439 |
Website configuration no longer fails during the upgrade of the additional polling engine with NTA and Flow Storage Database installed on it. |
|
935757 |
When you configure a scheduled and filtered Conversation resource report through Report Scheduler that excludes some conversations, the email is sent and the graphs show up. |
|
896338
|
The Top 10 Autonomous System resource does not show rows with ID=0. |
|
692568 |
Custom SQL reports no longer break after the upgrade to NTA 4.x. |
|
1353844 |
Database maintenance does not delete resolved hostnames in flows. |
|
00079404 |
On Demand DNS resolving does not populate NetFlow endpoints tables. The tables in the database are not growing rapidly anymore. |
See also Orion Platform Release Notes.
Known issues
| The Configuration wizard doesn't load after an upgrade from NTA 3.11 to NTA 4.2.3 |
|---|
| Issue: The Configuration wizard gets stuck on the NTA Flow Storage Configuration screen where it requires to configure the remote NTA Flow Storage database instead of installing a local version. |
| Resolution/Work-around: Uninstall NTA or configure a remote NTA Flow Storage database, running on the FastBit database engine. |
End of life
See the End of Life Policy for information about SolarWinds product lifecycle phases. For supported versions and EoL announcements for all SolarWinds products, see Currently supported software versions.
Deprecation notices
This version of NetFlow Traffic Analyzer deprecates the following platforms and features.
Deprecated platforms and features are still supported in the current release. However, they will be unsupported in a future release. Plan on upgrading deprecated platforms, and avoid using deprecated features. Customizations applied to a deprecated feature might not be migrated if a new feature replaces the deprecated one.
For information about supported version of SolarWinds products, see Currently supported software versions.
| Type | Deprecation |
|---|---|
| Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2 | This software is deprecated as of this release. Although you can install Orion Platform 2018.2 products on Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 are deprecated and will not be supported in future versions of the Orion Platform. SolarWinds strongly recommends that you upgrade your operating system to Windows Server 2016 or later at your earliest convenience. |
| SQL Server 2012 | This software is deprecated as of this release. Although you can use SQL Server 2012 with Orion Platform 2018.2 products, this version is deprecated and will not be supported on future versions of the Orion Platform. SolarWinds strongly recommends that you upgrade to Microsoft SQL Server 2016, 2017, or later at your earliest convenience. |
| All Active Alerts resource |
The current All Active Alerts resources is deprecated. The resource is replaced with a new, enhanced widget. You can continue to use the deprecated, legacy resource. |
|
Pre-configured resources (Availability, Min/Max/Average, Percent Loss, etc.) |
Most pre-configured resources are deprecated as of this release. The resources will be compressed into single, configurable widget in a future release. |
| Last XX resources | Pre-configured Last XX resources are deprecated as of this release. They will be replaced with a single, configurable widget in a future release. |
| Managed Nodes |
The current Managed Nodes page is deprecated as of this release. A new version is available, but you can continue to use the legacy page. SolarWinds recommends migrating to the new Managed Nodes page at your earliest convenience. |
| Customize Views | The Customize View page is deprecated as of this release. Functionality is migrating to the Customize Page feature. |
|
Search resources (legacy search, search on thwack, search for nodes, etc.) |
All search resources are deprecated as of this release. Use the integrated search in the global navigation. |
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