WPM 2020.2.4 Release Notes
Release date: January 2021
These release notes describe the new features, improvements, and fixed issues in SolarWinds Web Performance Monitor (WPM) 2020.2.4. They also provide information about upgrades and describe workarounds for known issues.
WPM 2020.2.4 is a service release. For more information, see documents for the full release:
If you are looking for previous release notes for WPM, see Previous Version documentation.
These release notes provide the following details:
- New features and improvements in WPM
- New customer installation
- How to upgrade
- Fixed issues
- Known issues
- End of life notices
- Legal notices
New features and improvements in WPM
WPM 2020.2.4 is signed with a new digital code-signing certification.
WPM 2020.2.4 is an Orion Platform product, and runs on Orion Platform 2020.2.4. See the Orion Platform 2020.2.4 Release Notes.
New customer installation
To install WPM, review system requirements and use the SolarWinds Orion Installer, which you can download from the SolarWinds Customer Portal. See the Orion Platform Products Installation and Upgrade Guide to learn how to prepare your environment.
After installing WPM on the SolarWinds Platform server, you can deploy Web Transaction Recorders and the WPM Player service to remote systems to get an accurate sampling of your websites and services from the viewpoint of your end users. See the WPM Getting Started Guide for details.
How to upgrade
To prepare for the upgrade:
- Read these Release Notes.
- Confirm that all servers comply with WPM 2020.2 System Requirements.
- (Optional) Back up any custom code, such as modified SolarWinds .css files or added .js files.
In addition, note the following details:
- If migrating WPM to a new server as part of an upgrade, update SEUM agents to point to new EngineIDs.
- Transactions based on recordings created in WPM 2020.2 and earlier may behave differently if FIPS mode is enabled.
- When deploying updated WPM Players to remote systems, the following Windows settings are adjusted:
- Net.Tcp Port Sharing Service: The Startup Type is set to Manual on the SolarWinds Platform server and any Additional Polling Engines (APEs). On remote systems, the Startup Type is set to Automatic.
- SolarWinds WPM Playback Player service: A dependency with the Net.Tcp Port Sharing Service is added.
To upgrade your entire Orion deployment, including all Orion Platform products and any scalability engines:
- Run the SolarWinds Orion Installer.
Alternatively, click Settings > My Orion Deployment to upgrade from within the SolarWinds Platform Web Console.
- Update Web Transaction Recorders and WPM Players on remote systems. See the WPM Getting Started Guide.
- If you migrate the primary WPM application to a new server as part of an upgrade, update EngineIDs for SEUM agents also.
Fixed issues
| Case number | Description |
|---|---|
| N/A | The SolarWinds.Core.BusinessLayer.dll security vulnerability in Orion Platform 2019.4 Hotfix 5, Orion Platform 2020.2, and Orion Platform 2020.2 Hotfix 1 was addressed. See the SolarWinds Security Advisory for details. |
Known issues
| Issue | Notes |
|---|---|
| Transactions played back on the WPM Player have a smaller screen size than when created in the Deprecated WPM Recorder. | Recordings created in WPM 2.2.3 and earlier don’t store original screen sizes. For a workaround, click here. |
| Transactions based on recordings created in the Deprecated WPM Recorder that involve certificates may cause a WPM Player to crash on Windows Server 2016 Standard, Windows Server 2019 Standard, or Windows 10 v. 1607 or later | Click here for a workaround that adds the monitored page as a trusted site. |
| The Deprecated WPM Recorder doesn't count duration time on web pages with automated redirects. | If a recording navigates to a web page that includes a redirect to another web page, the time spent navigating to the first web page is not included in the overall duration time. Click here for a workaround. |
| Web Transaction Recorder may stop responding if invalid credentials are provided. | If you enter invalid credentials for a recording to which multiple authentications were applied, the Web Transaction Recorder may switch to an unusable state that displays a "Digest" graphic. |
| If using Image Match with Basic Authentication, dynamic iFrame pages appear blank during action-by-action playback. | In the Web Transaction Recorder, if you navigate to a dynamic iFrames page while using Image Match with Basic Authentication and click the Play action-by-action tool, the page that WPM tries to authenticate does not display any content. |
| Some WPM pages and widgets aren't compatible with Internet Explorer (IE) 11. | Warning messages may appear when using IE 11 with features introduced in WPM 2020.2 or later. Use Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge for the optimum WPM experience in the SolarWinds Platform Web Console. |
| Invalid time calculated for steps with implicit navigation in the Web Transaction Recorder. | Recordings that include implicit navigation (for example, navigate to a page and download images with delays of up to 5 seconds each), the time calculated for the implicit steps may not be accurate. |
| Page titles do not appear in the Recorded Steps pane of the Web Transaction Recorder when using links to navigate to different tabs on the same page. | This occurs if WPM cannot access the window.opener property of the Windows UI, so the web page title is not captured in the recording. As a workaround, enter a URL to switch to a new tab on the same page, instead of clicking a link. |
| WPM Player service restarts and reconnects after agent communication exceptions | If the WPM Player service is overloaded, fatal exceptions can cause the service to restart as it dispositions WPM worker processes. Click here for a workaround. |
| After exporting a recording with Image Match steps from the Deprecated WPM Recorder, error occurs when you try to save the file. | To work around this issue, save the file before you export it. |
| Transaction monitors switch to Unknown, agents stop working, and WPM Players cannot be deployed or updated. | Use the Orion Service Manager to restart services. Click here for details. |
If you connect a Web Transaction Recorder to your Pingdom account, and the API token is later deleted, a list of recent recordings may not appear the next time you open the recorder. An error similar to the following may appear: Failed to execute get: Error: Request failed with status code 401. |
As a workaround, remove both the Orion server and Pingdom configurations from the system hosting the recorder, and then connect the recorder to the Orion server and Pingdom accounts again. |
After upgrading to WPM 2020.2.2 and updating the WPM Player service on remote systems, transactions do not run and messages similar to the following appear: Probe process has exit with error code -1 |
As a workaround, navigate to the Manage Transaction Locations page, switch to the Transaction Locations tab, and download the latest WPM Player installation file. When you run the Setup Wizard, select the Repair option. Click here for details. |
End of life notices
See the End of Life Policy to learn more about life cycles for SolarWinds products.
| EoL Announcements | EoE Effective Dates | EoL Effective Dates |
|---|---|---|
|
August 25, 2020 End-of-Life (EoL) announcement – Customers on WPM 2.2.3 and earlier should begin transitioning to the latest version of WPM. |
November 25, 2020 End-of-Engineering (EoE) – Service releases, bug fixes, workarounds, and service packs for WPM 2.2.3 and earlier will no longer be actively supported by SolarWinds. |
November 25, 2021 EoL – SolarWinds will no longer provide technical support for WPM 2.2.3 and earlier. |
Legal notices
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