Before installing version 0.5.5 of the Agent, please read this file which answers several questions about this version of the Agent.
1. General
Version 0.5.5 has been tested with a variety of Microsoft Windows operating systems, and Linux distributions. It has not been tested with every available Windows or Linux version, nor has it ever been tested on MacOS. Every attempt has been made to make this software compatible with, and benign to it's host OS. But you should be aware that use of this software is at your own responsibility.
2. Installation Files
There are four installation packages for Agent:
Dimes_Agent-0.5.5-Win-Install.exe - The installation file for windows
Dimes_Agent-0.5.5-1.i386.rpm - Linux RPM package, has been tested on CentOs and Fedora Linux, but should probably work on any RPM-based distro.
Dimes_Agent-0.5.5-1.i386.deb - Linux deb package, has been tested on Ubuntu Linux, but should probably work on any deb-based distro.
Dimes_Agent_055_Linux.tar.gz - Linux Tarball
In addition there is also a file called Dimes.reg, which is a patch for the Agent to work with the Vista firewall. Depending on your configuration, you may or may not need it. It may also work on Windows 7, but it has not been tested, so use it at your own risk!
3. Installation Process
Windows:
It is recommended that you uninstall any old versions of the Agent before installing the new version. This version requires Java version 1.6 and above to work, so you may have to upgrade your Java first.
DO NOT COPY YOUR OLD PROPERTIES FILE INTO THE NEW AGENT. The old file is missing a few parts that the new Agent needs to work.
Vista and Win7 users are encouraged to install the Agent as a service, as it prevents some problems with privileges in those systems. If you choose not to install the Agent as a service, you must make sure that it running with administrative privileges.
The screen saver feature will be automatically disabled if you are installing in Vista of win 7.
Linux:
The RPM and deb packages will install the Agent files and attempt to configure the Agent. They will not, however, uninstall any previous versions. Please make sure you uninstall any old versions of the Agent BEFORE deploying the package.
Please note that the RPM and DEB packages are mainly used to deploy the Agent files. You still need to run the installation script manually, and probably modify them to fit your particular system.
The packages are not signed. Some package managers may complain about that. You can ignore the warning.
The package will copy the files into the appropriate places, and attempt to run two scripts: The configuration script and a script called /usr/local/DIMES/scripts_linux/fix_permissions.sh. Depending on the permissions of the user that is installing the package and the installation method, it is possible that the fix_permissions script will not run due to insufficient privileges. After you install the package, please take a moment to run this script as a root user.
Note that the Agent must run with root privileges in order to open sockets etc. Also note that SELinux may complain about a couple of the libraries that are included with the Agent. This is normal, and you can allow the action.
4. Change log
The following are the changes for this version of the Agent:
- Agent now requires Java 6
- Linux, and Windows now all work with the same code (0.5.5)
- Statistics Window fixed in Vista
- Graph window no longer freezes in Windows first install
- Installation colors that used to show black for username/password are fixed
- Removed individual frames for Windows and Linux, now they use the same frame
- Removed IDW and layout menu
- Moved from Systray4j to built in Java trayicon implementation
- Removed systray4j
- More readable fonts in some locations
- Implemented partial skinning, upgraded skinLF, skins can be enabled/disabled
- Removed reflection as a way to launch the agent, as it's no longer necessary (no custom frames)
- Improved the way statistics are updated. No longer requires waiting for a file exchange
- Implemented an file manifest in DimesDelayedLauncher.exe to make it Vista U.A.C. compatible, also added registry key to NSIS for this
- NSIS automatically disables screen-saver for Vista or higher OS
- Cleaned out the resources directory. Much smaller download file.
- Linux scripts cleaned and fixed, installation actually works now.
- Linux service wrapper updated.
- Linux Agent now deploys via RPM or deb packages.
- Smaller memory footprint, various bugs fixed
