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 customers. As a result we release new versions of our products from time to time. The following provides some insight on our product release approach, our release numbering structure and how new releases might impact the use of Esprida LiveControl.
Esprida LiveControl Releases
New versions of Esprida LiveControl are typically released in 4 to 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 Community Portal to upgrade the Agents.
Esprida will send out an email notification to users identified as administrators in Esprida LiveControl 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 – the date is usually scheduled at a time that minimizes disruption to our customer deployments across multiple time zones. Although a date is set, Esprida reserves the right to reschedule the release date in which case another notification will be sent. This release date pertains to the time when we anticipate upgrading our SaaS environment hosted for customers at http://livecontrol.esprida.com pr partner sites. Customers that are self-hosting an 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 Community Portal page and an upcoming release remainder will be added to the Login screen of Esprida’s LiveControl SaaS environments.
Major Release Number (7) – indicates a release that has substantial changes to the architecture of the Esprida LiveControl Server and Agent.
Minor Release Number (6) – 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.
Release Applicability (LA or R) – indicates whether this release is applicable to all supported Esprida LiveControl environments (R) or a limited set of environments (LA). Upon occasion we will release a new version of Esprida LiveControl that has not been tested in one of our support database or application server environments.
Hot Fixes – On occasion we also have to make a quick fix to the Esprida LiveControl Server or Agent. In this case the release number will look like ‘Esprida LiveControl 7.6.2_LA_HF1’. This indicates Hot Fix 1 has been released against the original released product.
For both Patch and Hot Fix releases, it is possible that these releases could contain a Server update only, an Agent update only or both a Server and Agent update. For that reason it is possible to have an ‘Esprida LiveControl 7.6.2_LA_P2’ Server and an ‘Esprida LiveControl 7.6.2_LA_P1’ Agent as the latest configuration. If in doubt about what the latest Server and Agent releases are please see the Release & Documentation section of the Community 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, this migration may need to delayed. Esprida supports the previous released version of the Agent on any new release. What does this mean? If Esprida is releasing version ‘Esprida LiveControl ‘Esprida LiveControl 7.5.12_LA’ of the Agent, then Esprida will test both the ‘7.5.12_LA’ and ‘7.5.11_LA’ Agents as part of our test cycle. If there are any limitations for the ‘7.5.11_LA’ Agent running against the latest server, these will be documented in the release notes.
Migrating Agents
When a new Esprida LiveControl Agent is released, migration of the older Agents is required. Esprida provides this migration process 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 the primary support contact for customers advising 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.
Esprida ScreenGuard Releases
New versions of Esprida ScreenGuard are released whenever new ScreenGuard functionality is available or as new Microsoft Operating Systems are introduced. New Esprida ScreenGuard features are typically driven from customer feedback. Once available, the latest version of Esprida ScreenGuard can be obtained by:
- download from the Resources > Product Downloads tab with the Esprida LiveControl Saas environment (if you have a user account)
- by request from Esprida Support
- The Esprida ScreenGuard reseller from which you purchased it originally
On its own Esprida ScreenGuard cannot be upgraded from one version to the next but with the addition of an Esprida LiveControl Agent to the environment, Esprida ScreenGuard can be upgraded remotely.
Esprida ScreenGuard for iPad Releases
New versions of Esprida ScreenGuard for iPad are released whenever new functionality is available or as new versions of iOS are introduced. New ScreenGuard for iPad features are typically driven from customer feedback. Once available, the latest version of Esprida ScreenGuard for iPad can be obtained by download from the Apple iStore, or, for enterprise accounts, directly from Esprida.