Esprida is constantly adding new functionality or extending existing functionality based on feedback from our customers or features that we think will add value to you. As a result we release new versions of our products from time to time. The following provides you with some insight on our product release approach, our release numbering structure and how new releases might impact you.
Esprida LiveControl Releases
New versions of Esprida LiveControl are typically released in 6 month cycles. These releases typically contain new features and functionality, enhancements to existing functionality and bug fixes. Each of these releases goes through numerous rounds of regression testing before it is released to our Esprida LiveControl SaaS environment or provided to customers hosting their own Esprida LiveControl environment. If the release contains changes to the Esprida LiveControl Agent, an Agent Migration Content Package will also be made available on the Customer Portal to upgrade your Agents.
Esprida will send out an email notification about an upcoming release approximately 1 month in advance. This notification will have a broad description of the content of the upcoming release and a tentative date for the release. This release date pertains to the time when we anticipate upgrading our SaaS environment hosted for customers at http://livecontrol.esprida.com. Customer’s that are self-hosting their own Esprida LiveControl environment are able to access the release on this date.In addition, a release notice will be added to the New & Notifications section of the main Support Portal page.
Reminder Release Notice
Esprida will send out a remainder email notification about an upcoming release approximately 1 week prior to the expected date of release. This notification will have a more detailed description of the content of the upcoming release and a tentative date for the release. At this time the date is pretty much certain but Esprida still reserves the right to delay the release if we find something in the release we don’t like. This release date pertains to the time when we anticipate upgrading our SaaS environment hosted for customers at http://livecontrol.esprida.com. Customer’s that are self-hosting their own Esprida LiveControl environment would be able to access this release on this date.In addition, a release reminder will be added to the New & Notifications section of the main Support Portal page and a upcoming release remainder will be added to the Login screen of Esprida’s SaaS LiveControl environments.
Esprida LiveControl follows a number scheme that helps you evaluate the scope of the changes in the release. In a standard release number like ‘Esprida LiveControl 7.7.2.30’ the numbers represent the following:
Major Release Number (7) – indicates a release that has substantial changes to the architecture of the Esprida LiveControl Server and Agent.
Minor Release Number (7) – indicates a release that has additional features, enhancements to existing features and fixes for outstanding defects. There may be changes to some portions of the architecture but these will not impact the fundamental functionality of the system.
Patch Release Number (2) – indicates a release that has minor feature additions and enhancements and / or fixes for outstanding defects.
Build Number (30) – indicates the number of internal software iterations Esprida went through to get this build right. The larger the number the more new functionality and fixes you’ll find in this release. This build number is an new format for Esprida releases which previously would have the letters R, LA or HF in place of the build number.
On occasion Esprida may release the Esprida LiveControl Server only or Esprida LiveControl Agent only. For that reason it is possible you could have an ‘Esprida LiveControl 7.7.2.30’ Server and an ‘Esprida LiveControl 7.7.1.15’ Agent as the latest configuration. If you’re ever in doubt about what the latest Server and Agent release are please see the Release & Documentation section of the Support Portal to get a detailed description of the releases and their contents.
When a new release of Esprida LiveControl is available, the Server will be updated first. In the Esprida LiveControl SaaS Environment, this will occur on the date and time as indicated in the notification. The impact of the update depends on the extent of the changes. This could range from no impact at all to a short period of loss of communication with the Server. The anticipated extent of the downtime will be indicated in the notice sent out for the release. If the Server is down for a period that exceeds the ‘Agent Offline Connectivity’ threshold (25 minutes in the Esprida LiveControl SaaS environment) customers may receive email notifications indicating that their Agents are off line. These email notifications will be sent out once the Esprida LiveControl Server is back on-line. These email notifications can be ignored.
We strongly encourage customers to migrate their Agents as quickly as possible to the latest version to take advantage of the latest functionality and any defect fixes that have been incorporated. That said, we understand that when things get busy, you may need to delay this migration for a period of time. Esprida supports the previous released version of the Agent on any new release. What does this mean? If Esprida is releasing version ‘Esprida LiveControl 7.7.2.30’ of the Agent, then Esprida will test both the ‘7.7.2.30’ and ‘7.7.1.15’ Agents as part of our test cycle. If there are any limitations for the ‘7.7.1.15’ Agent running against the latest server, these will be documented in the release notes.
Migrating Agents
When a new Esprida LiveControl Agent is released, you will need to migrate your older Agent to this latest release. Esprida provides this migration process to you in the form of a digital content package. After the Esprida LiveControl Server has been updated, the Esprida Support team will upload this migration digital content package on Esprida LiveControl and will send out an email to primary support contact for your organization letting you know that the migration content package is available.We always recommend to our customer that they independently test the migration against a representative test device in a test environment to ensure that any unique device characteristics do not impact the migration process.