PowerFolder Server 8 SP1

Important Notes about the PowerFolder Server 8 Service Pack 1 Release

Servers delivered with Java Runtime Environment

Since the release of PowerFolder Server 8.1.x we are delivering our server versions with a bundled 32-bit and 64-bit Java Runtime Environment (JRE).

Switching to the bundled JRE when updating on Windows systems

On Windows systems the installer automatically detects if the system is 32-bit or 64-bit and installs only the corresponding version of the JRE. However after the server update it will NOT start to use it automatically (due to compatibility reasons and will still reference the system-wide installed one, which was used before this release. To have it use the bundled JRE, located it the installation directory, please perform the following steps: 

1. Stop the PowerFolder Server service.
2. Go to the PowerFolder Server installation directory and open the wrapper.conf file in a text editor.

3. Set the parameter wrapper.java.command to the value jre/bin/java, so it looks like below:

   wrapper.java.command=jre/bin/java

4. Save the wrapper.conf file.
5. Start the PowerFolder Server service.

  On the next update of PowerFolder Server, the installer will preserve that file, so the changes made above won't be lost. After changing that file and restarting the server, the previously system-wide installed JRE can be safely removed from the system, if it's not necessary for other services running on that server.

Switching to the bundled JRE when updating on Linux systems

On Linux systems the PowerFolder-Server.sh script has been updated to automatically detect if the system is 32-bit or 64-bit and use the corresponding version of the JRE automatically. Furthermore it will delete the unnecessary 32-bit or 64-bit version when starting PowerFolder Server the first time after updating. Therefore we recommend that the updated PowerFolder-Server.sh script will be used. However you can also continue to use the current file and the system-wide installed JRE.

 However please note, that changes made to the previous version version of the PowerFolder-Server.sh startup script have to be transferred manually to the new one. Those changes could be:

• Clustering changes in the startup script: In that case, please consult us to get assistance/instructions before updating.
• Memory settings changed in the startup script: In that case, please adjust the memory settings by changing the JAVA_MEM parameter.
• Database driver loaded in the startup script: In that case, please create a sub-directory called /libs in installation directory of PowerFolder and move the database driver .jar file to this directory. It will be automatically loaded by the script.

 On the next update of PowerFolder Server, the same PowerFolder-Server.sh startup file can be used, except if instructed otherwise in the release notes.

Clients delivered with Java Runtime Environment

Since the release of PowerFolder Server 8.1.x we are delivering our client versions with a bundled 32-bit Java Runtime Environment (JRE), except for the Mac client (check below why). Furthermore there is a new Mac installation file format (.dmg) and a new Linux client, which includes a script to optionally install PowerFolder system-wide and add it to the desktop applications of GNOME and KDE desktops (might also work on Xfce and other desktops, which are participating in the freedesktop.org project).

 Since the extension of the Mac client package has been changed and a new Linux client packages has been introduced, please review the Client Deployment Settings in the Server Configuration File, adjust/add them to matching the new filenames and restart PowerFolder Server afterwards. This is especially important for customers using a white-labeled server! Please make sure you carefully review those settings when updating the server and clients!

 The standard client for Mac doesn't include a JRE, since this would be only working on Mac OS X 10.8 and later. However if there is no Oracle Java installed on the system, it will ask to install it from the App Store. If you want to provide your users with a client bundled with the JRE, you can download it here when you don't use branded clients, otherwise you will find it in your distribution folder on your user account in our cloud.