Borland® StarTeam® 2009 Release Notes

Welcome to Borland StarTeam 2009! These release notes contain important information that might not appear in the documentation and cover the StarTeam Server for Windows, Cross-Platform Client, Web Client, StarTeam Workflow Extensions, StarTeamMPX, and StarTeam Layout Designer.

The StarTeam Installation Guide for each release Install Guide is available online at http://techpubs.borland.com/starteam/

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Note: These Release notes represent the known issues at the time of this release. For late-breaking information that may become available after the release, check the Borland web site for the most recent version of the Release Notes http://techpubs.borland.com/starteam/.


Contents
StarTeam Server StarTeam Cross-Platform Client
StarTeamMPX StarTeam Web Client
StarTeam Extensions StarTeam Web Server
StarTeam Layout Designer StarTeam Documentation
Getting Help

StarTeam Server

Contents
Important Announcements Known Issues and Notes about StarTeam Server
Server System Requirements/Prerequisites StarTeam Server Limitations

Important Announcements

Server System Requirements for Windows and Linux

System Area Requirement
Platforms

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP2 (32-bit)

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2 (32-bit)

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (64-bit)

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Server (32-bit)
Databases and ODBC versions

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 SP3 (Windows Server only)

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express SP3 (SSE) (Windows Server only)

Microsoft ODBC driver, SQL Native Client, version 2005.90.4035.00 or newer

Oracle Database 10g Release 2 version 10.2.0.4.(32-bit)

Oracle Database 11g version 11.1.0.6.0 (32-bit)

Oracle database 11.1.0.6 Client patch 14 (64-bit)

Note: You can install Microsoft SSE as part of the StarTeam Server installation. You must purchase the other database products from the appropriate vendor. Refer to the StarTeam 2009 Installation Guide (ST_Install_en.pdf) for more information about recommended system configurations for running StarTeam and SSE on the same computer and for running StarTeam Server and its associated database on separate computers.

Important: Never modify database contents or vault files other than through a Client or Server Administration tool. Direct database manipulation is unsupported.

Web browser

Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 or later

Firefox 3 or later
Other

Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0 or higher for viewing the StarTeam Installation Guide (ST_Install_en.pdf)
Virus Scanning Utilities

Every StarTeam Server computer should be equipped with a virus protection utility that has up-to-date virus definition files. All StarTeam Servers should also be equipped with up-to-date virus protection and the settings should be set to alert only the administrator. The StarTeam administrator should halt the StarTeam Server immediately upon virus detection, perform a full StarTeam backup, and then follow the instructions provided by the virus protection vendor for cleaning the virus from the infected file. If the infected file cannot be cleaned or if problems exist, contact http://support.borland.com before restarting the Server. Some viruses can be immediately destructive to the repository and in rare cases data loss will be inevitable. Borland strongly recommends that regular backups be performed.

A virus that might be a nuisance to a file system can be far more destructive when checked into the repository. For example, many virus protection utilities are set by default or can be set to delete infected files. If an archive file is deleted by the virus protection utility, data may be lost.

Another example is that a virus may not be detected in the archive and may sit dormant waiting to infect the computers of all project users. Your network will rapidly spread the virus and a data loss could occur.

Note: If any process or program such as anti-virus software alters files under StarTeam control the system could behave erratically. It is highly recommended that these processes not be allowed to modify system or data files under StarTeam control.

Note: The StarTeam Cross-Platform Client can access StarTeam 2009 Server, StarTeam 2008 Server, and StarTeam 2008R2 Server. This makes it easier to roll out your upgrades of the Cross-Platform Client after installing the StarTeam Server.

Important: If you are upgrading from a previous version of StarTeam Server, you MUST review the upgrade instructions in the StarTeam 2009 Installation Guide (ST_Install_en.pdf). There are some steps that you must complete in order for the upgrade to complete successfully. Failure to complete these steps can cause the upgrade to fail.

Known Issues and Notes about StarTeam Server

Windows Server 2008 64-bit Problem

VaultVerify fails on Windows Server 2008 64-bit

During testing, it was discovered that VaultVerify encountered a problem when run on Windows Server 2008 64-bit systems. On this platform, when VaultVerify attempts to open the database, it fails with an error message such as the following: 

Opening database: StarDrawDB1010 (ODBC)
Error: Exception occurred: java.sql.SQLException: [Microsoft][ODBC Driver Manager] Invalid string or buffer length
java.sql.SQLException: [Microsoft][ODBC Driver Manager] Invalid string or buffer length
        at sun.jdbc.odbc.JdbcOdbc.createSQLException(Unknown Source)
        at sun.jdbc.odbc.JdbcOdbc.standardError(Unknown Source)
        at sun.jdbc.odbc.JdbcOdbc.SQLGetDataString(Unknown Source)

Research shows that this problem appears to caused by a defect in the Windows 2008 Server 64-bit ODBC interface or possibly the 64-bit Java Run-time Environment (JRE) in a module known as the JDBC/ODBC bridge. Presently, a fix is not available for either Windows or the JRE to address this problem. As a result, for the StarTeam 2009 release, which supports the Windows 2008 Server 64-bit platform, VaultVerify has been enhanced with new parameters that allow the error to be avoided.

Background

To perform its operation, VaultVerify opens the database used by each StarTeam configuration it verifies. On Windows platforms, it uses information about the configuration from the starteam-server-configs.xml file to establish a database connection. Specifically, VaultVerify extracts the ODBC Data Source Name (DSN) and database user name from the configuration file. It then uses an interface known as the JDBC/ODBC bridge to access the database. A user normally only needs to provide the configuration name, database password, and "check" options in order to run VaultVerify. A typical usage is shown below:

VaultVerify -check all -dbpassword StarDraw123 StarDraw

On Linux, StarTeam configurations use Oracle databases that are described in terms of TNS connections, not ODBC connections. However, VaultVerify does not use a TNS-based client to connect to an Oracle database on Linux. Instead, it connects directly to the Oracle database using an interface known as the Oracle "thin" API. Consequently, VaultVerify may need additional parameters in order to establish a database connection. Specifically:

As a result, when running on Linux, VaultVerify may need additional parameters. A typical execution is shown below:

VaultVerify -check all -dbname ORCL -dbhost dbsvr-prod1 -dbpassword StarDraw123 STProd1

With the 2009 release, VaultVerify supports an additional way in which it can connect to the database.

Changes for StarTeam 2009

 

In the StarTeam 2009 release, VaultVerify continues to support the JDBC/ODBC database connection technique on Windows as well as the Oracle direct connection technique on Linux described in the previous section. Consequently, all of the same parameters are still supported, and command lines used in previous releases should continue to work in the same way.

In addition, Windows VaultVerify now supports the same direct database connection technique previously supported only on Linux. This technique causes VaultVerify to use a native JDBC driver from the appropriate database vendor instead of the JDBC/ODBC bridge. The direct database connection technique is available for both SQL Server and Oracle databases, and it avoids the Windows Server 2008 64-bit problem described earlier.

To use the direct database connection technique, a new parameter called -dbinstance is specified, which must be followed by an "instance name". This parameter servers two purposes:

When the -dbinstance parameter is specified, additional parameters may also be required to create the database connection. For a SQL Server database, the following parameters may be required:

Examples

New VaultVerify Help Text

The help text displayed by the 2009 version of VaultVerify is shown below, with new or modified parameters highlighted in green:

StarTeam VaultVerify Utility version 10.11.0
Copyright (c) 2005-2009 Borland Software Corporation. All rights reserved.
VaultVerify: Perform archive verification on a StarTeam Native-II vault.
Usage: VaultVerify [options] <configuration>

Based on the default or given '-check' option, integrity checks are performed
on the vault archive files for the specified StarTeam <configuration>. If
'-repair' is specified, an attempt is made to correct problems found. The
configuration's database is opened but not modified.

Valid options are:

-check {missing | corrupt | stray | all}
    Determines which integrity checks to perform:
       missing: Checks for missing files by comparing the database against
                archive files actually present.
       corrupt: Checks the integrity of existing archive files (MD5, name,
                directory, and .gz file format).
       stray:   Checks for extraneous files based on the database. This option
                cannot be used if the <configuration> is in use.
       all:     Performs all integrity checks.
    Multiple '-check' options can be specified. Also, see the '-repair' option.

-cf  <folder path>
    Path name of the 'corrupt file folder', where problem files found by the
    'corrupt' check are moved when '-repair' is specified. The default 'corrupt
    file folder' is: c:\temp\VVCorruptFiles\

-dbhost <host>
    Specifies the host name of the database server for the specified
    <configuration>. On Windows, it is only meaningful when '-dbinstance' is
    also provided. On Windows and Linux, use this option only when the database
    server executes on a different host than this one.

-dbname <name>
    Specifies the database name for the specified  <configuration>. On Windows,
    this parameter is only meaningful when '-dbinstance' is also specified, and
    it is only needed when the database name is different than the ODBC DSN. On
    Linux, use this option only if -dbinstance is not used and the Oracle
    service name is different than the TNS name.

-dbinstance <name>
    This option is only meaningful on Windows. When used, it causes VaultVerify
    to open the database directly instead of via the ODBC DSN specified in the
    configuration file. For SQL Server, the <name> must be the instance name
    (e.g. 'SSE2005_ST'). Note that the default Instance name for SQL Server is    
    'MSSQLSERVER' and for SQL Server Express, it is 'SQLEXPRESS'. For Oracle, <name> should be    
    the service name, (e.g. 'ORCL').
	 
   -dbinstance must be used with -dbhost when the database server
    executes on a different host. For SQL Server, -dbname should also be used
    if the database name is different than the ODBC DSN. For Oracle, -dbname
    is ignored if -dbinstance is specified.

-dbpassword <password>
    Specifies the database logon password. If not specified, a blank password
    is used. (The password stored in the configuration is encrypted and cannot
    be used by Vault Verify.) On server configurations running against Oracle,
    this option must be specified since the Oracle password is never empty.

-dbport <port>
    Specifies the TCP/IP port to use to connect to the database server. This
    parameter is only used on non-Windows platforms when a different port is
    used than the vendor's default database port (for example, 1521 for Oracle).

-dbuser <user>
    Specifies the logon ID used to connect to the database. If specified, this
    parameter overrides the user specified in the StarTeam <configuration>. The
    only valid user to use with this option is the user that owns the StarTeam
    tables.

-help (or -h or -?)
    Display this usage information.

-path <folder path>
    Specifies the folder path of the starteam-server-configs.xml file. This
    file must exist and contain the specified <configuration>. By default, this
    file is opened in the parent folder of the current working directory if it
    is not found in the current working directory.

-nosharereport
    Suppress the reporting of share information. Normally, all share paths of
    each corrupt file is reported. This option suppresses the share path
    information, which can speed up application execution and substantially
    reduce the report size.

-repair
    Specifies that an attempt should be made to correct archive file problems.
    'Corrupt' archives are moved to the 'corrupt file folder' (see the '-cf'
    option). If they correspond to valid file revisions, they are then treated
    as missing. 'Missing' archive recovery is attempted from other vault files
    and, if the '-useca' option is specified, from a Cache Agent. 'Stray'
    archives are moved to the 'stray file folder' (see the '-sf'option). Note:
    '-repair' is ignored if the StarTeam  <configuration> is in use.

-sf <folder path>
    Path name of the 'stray file folder', where extraneous files found by the
    'stray' check are moved when '-repair' is specified. The default 'stray
    file folder' is: c:\temp\VVStrayFiles\

-t
    Display elapsed time information when the verification finishes.

-useca <host>:<port>
    If '-repair' is specified, this option enables attempts to recover missing
    files from the specified MPX Cache Agent. The <host> and <port> must
    designate a remote Cache Agent because it maintains an independent cache.

-verbose
    Display additional status information as the verification proceeds.

Installation Issues

Database Issues

Microsoft SQL Server/SSE

Oracle

Server Issues

Native-II Vault

Purge Issues

Before purging data, Borland recommends running either starteam_oracle_compute_stats.sql (for Oracle) or starteam_sqlserver_update_statistics.sql (for Microsoft SQL Server). By default, these scripts install in the C:\Program Files\Borland\StarTeam Server 2009\DBScripts\Oracle_Scripts or C:\Program Files\Borland\StarTeam Server 2009\DBScripts\Sqlserver_Scripts folders.

Evaluations

Borland allows you to extend the evaluation period for StarTeam Server by contacting http://www.borland.com/us/company/how-to-buy.html and obtaining an evaluation extender key.

Server Configuration File Option

The option ItemCacheMemoryLoadMaxPct is obsolete and does not have any effect in StarTeam 2008, 2008 Release 2, and 2009. A new Server configuration file option ItemCacheMemoryLimit defines the maximum amount of memory that can be used for caching item data, in MB. The default value is -1, which means no limit is set, and the Server will use up to the maximum amount of memory available to the Server process for caching the data. For example, adding <option name="ItemCacheMemoryLimit" value="100"/> to the configuration file will set the cache limit to 100 MB.

StarTeam Sample Server Configuration

If you plan to use the sample Server configuration, StarDraw, and want to run it as a service, you may have to start it once as an application, shut it down, and then set it as a service.

4GT RAM Tuning

If your StarTeam Server runs on Windows Server 2003, either Enterprise Edition or Datacenter Edition, you can use Microsoft's 4GT RAM Tuning to give the StarTeam Server process the use of 3 GBs of memory. To enable this feature the /3GB switch needs to be added to the Boot.ini file.

Please see: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/memory/base/4gt_ram_tuning.asp for more information on setting this switch.

For example: "multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server" /3GB /fastdetect

For more details, see http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc758478.aspx.

Opening Ports on Windows XP

If you are using a firewall, you have to open the port number on Windows XP SP2. This is 49201 by default. If you don't open this port in the Windows firewall, you cannot connect to the Server.

Windows Server 2008 also requires an Exception to the Windows Firewall Settings. However, it may be a better practice to grant all access to the StarTeam Server as follows:

  1. Start the Control Panel and select Windows Firewall.
  2. Select Change Settings in the Windows Firewall dialog box.
  3. Select the Exceptions tab.
  4. Select Add program…
  5. In the Add a Program dialog box, select Browse…
  6. Browse to \Borland\StarTeam Server 2009 and select the StarTeamServer Application.
  7. Press OK closing all of the dialog boxes.

    8. Note: This will grant access to any port to the StarTeam Server. The above procedure could be followed to grant an Exception for MPX, Cache Agent and Web Server.

You will run into a similar problem for an MPX-enabled StarTeam Server. You will need to open the ports that are used by MPX. For example, the default port for Message Broker is 5101. If you are using this port you need to open it.

To open a port:

1. Start the Control panel and select Windows Firewall.

2. Select the Exceptions tab.

3. Select 'Add Port' and enter in any name and the appropriate port number.

4. Press OK closing all of the dialogs.

Security

If you run StarTeam Server on a Windows XP Professional computer, the person who creates and/or starts the first Server configuration becomes the only person who can create and/or start Server configurations. We provide the GrantAdmin utility that allows other administrators to create and start Server configurations.

Note: Windows XP is not officially supported for StarTeam 2009 Server.

The utility is installed in the Server installation folder. It must be run by the user who installed/started the Server. It does not require any arguments. The GrantAdmin utility grants access rights to the key container to the other administrators. Otherwise, only the administrator who created the key container (that is started the Server for the first time) has the rights needed to create and start Server configurations.

Blocking

If you run StarTeam Server and the StarTeam Cross-Platform Client on Windows XP SP2 with all updates, running the StarTeam Server or the StarTeam Toolbar for the first time can result in a "Server Blocked" or "Toolbar Blocked" error message from the Windows Firewall. This is not a problem. Click Unblock.

MDAC

StarTeam Server needs MDAC 2.8, and Windows XP SP2 comes with that version of MDAC. During the installation of StarTeam Server, you may see a message about MDAC 2.8 being incompatible with this version of Windows. This is not a problem. Click Cancel.

Running the Server as a Service

If you are running StarTeam Server as a service, you may see the Windows error 2186 indicating that the service is not responding to the Start Control function. Windows 2003 displays this message when a service takes longer to start than expected. Depending on the size of your database, StarTeam Server may take longer to complete the startup process than Windows expects. Usually StarTeam Server starts without a problem (despite this error message). However, to be sure, run the Event Viewer (Start\Programs\Administration Tools (Common)\Event Viewer. Check the most recent events for StarTeam Server. You will probably see: StarTeam Server Service started. If not, you will find the reason why it did not start or start properly and take appropriate action.

If an MPX-enabled StarTeam Server runs as a service, the Message Broker must start before the StarTeam Server service. Usually it does. If StarTeam Server fails to enable MPX and the Message Brokers on the same computer, you may want to make the StarTeam Server service dependent on the Message Broker service. Check with your system administrator before using the following technique.

Warning: Create a backup of the registry before making any registry changes. If you have disastrous results, the only way to recover is to restore from a registry backup or to reinstall the entire operating system.

To set up a service dependency for Windows 32-bit or 64-bit:

1. Click Start > Run from the Start menu.

2. Type Regedit32 or Regedit64, depending on your operating system.

3. Click OK.

4. Select HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\StarTeamServer-configName

5. Select Edit > New > Multi-String Value.

6. Set the Value Name to DependOnService.

7. Double-click the DependOnService Value to open the Data window.

8. Enter your StarTeam Message Broker internal service name into the Data window. (Example: StarTeam Message Broker 6.8).

Time Issues

StarTeam Server stores time stamps in UTC (also known as Universal Coordinated Time, Greenwich Time, or Zulu Time) format and adjusts the time stamp for the time zone that the computer specifies. For example, if a file is saved and checked in at 5 P.M. in California, its time stamp in California is 5 P.M. However, its time stamp on a computer in New York would be 8 P.M., the time it was in New York when the file was checked in. When a file is modified, the time stamp reflects that of the operating system. This means that if a file is checked in by a user in one time zone and modified by a user in another, the file's time stamp may appear to be earlier than the most recently checked-in revision. This does not affect file statuses within StarTeam because the UTC times are used to calculate statuses.

If you are in an area that observes Daylight Savings Time (DST), the StarTeam status bar may display the incorrect time when rolling back a view (View\Select Configuration\Configuration As Of). For example, if you are currently in DST and rollback the view to a point in time prior to DST, the time display in the status bar (lower left corner of the StarTeam window) will be ahead by one hour. If you are not currently in DST and rollback the view to a point in time during DST, the time in the status bar will be behind one hour.

Miscellaneous Issues