Vocera Messaging Platform Server Release Notes

Version 5.2.3.1623

Updated: April 16, 2021

Documentation

The documentation for Vocera Messaging Platform version 5.2.3 is available online:

From these online help locations, you can download PDF versions of the VMP 5.2.3 documentation.

Upgrading to Version 5.2.3

Important: If you are currently running version 4.9.x of the Vocera Messaging Platform, you must first upgrade to version 5.1 or 5.2 before upgrading to version 5.2.3. You cannot upgrade directly from version 4.9.x to version 5.2.3.

What's New

This section summarizes the new features in this release.

What's New in VMP 5.2.3

This release includes the following new features and functionality.

What's New in VMP 5.2.2

This release includes the following new features and functionality.

What's New in VMP 5.2.0

This release includes the following new features and functionality.

What's New in Build 1395

This release includes the following new features and functionality.

  • You can control whether client logs are to be uploaded to the server.

    A configuration option has been added to the VMP Server to enable you to specify whether client logs can be uploaded to the server.

What's New in Build 1391

Build 1391 is a maintenance release that does not introduce any new features.

What's New in Build 1389

Build 1389 is a maintenance release that does not introduce any new features.

What's New in Build 1386

Build 1386 is a maintenance release that does not introduce any new features.

What's New in Build 1384

  • SSL certificate must now be validated.

    When the VMP Server is connected to any server using SSL, the SSL certificate must now be validated using the existing Windows mechanisms before an HTTPS connection is allowed. This affects connections to the Vocera Voice Server, the Vocera Secure Texting cloud server, WCTP integrations, and Exchange and other HTTP-based user synchronization sources. In particular, self-signed Vocera Voice Server are no longer accepted: they must be manually added to the Windows certificate store.

  • Default options no longer inserted into messages.

    When messages are sent using VMP (the source may be the VMP Web Console, VAI, VMI, CWE, or VCS), the VMP Server no longer automatically inserts any default response options. Previously, the default options of "on my badge" and "call sender" were inserted.

  • Interoperability with Vocera Secure Texting and Vocera Collaboration Suite now enabled.

    You can now configure the VMP Server to enable interoperability between VMP, Vocera Voice Server, Vocera Collaboration Suite 3.1.0, and Vocera Secure Texting 2.1. In this environment, VST, VCS, and badge clients can exchange text messages, VST clients can call any other client, and VCS clients and badge clients can call other VCS or badge clients. In all cases, the interaction is seamless, and users are not required to know the type of client with which they are communicating.

    Please contact Support at CustomerHelp@vocera.com to verify that you have the correct Vocera Secure Texting version before configuring this on the VMP Server.

  • Message auto-forwarding now available.

    When using version 3.1 or later of Vocera Collaboration Suite, a user can now specify that messages can be forwarded to another user. From the VMP Server, message forwarding can now be removed.

  • Template name search now provided.

    When you are creating a new secure message in the VMP Web Console, a template search field now enables you to display only the message templates whose names contain the search text that you have typed. If you have defined a large number of templates, this allows you to more easily find the template that you want.

  • Can now filter for VST users when creating a Distribution List.

    When you are creating a Distribution List, you can now specify that the list of VMP users to select from is to be filtered to display VST users only. This makes it easier to create a DL consisting only of these users.

  • Site information now provided for each VMP Web Console contact.

    When you are logged into the VMP Web Console and are viewing your list of contacts, the site for each contact is provided below the contact name. This enables you to distinguish between identical contact names on multiple sites. If you have no sites defined, the site is listed as Global. For VST users, the site is the organization to which they belong.

  • APNS certificate now automatically updated whenever possible.

    When the APNS certificate for your VMP Server is about to expire, the server automatically downloads and updates the certificate if possible. If a new certificate cannot be downloaded, the server now warns you that your certificate is about to expire.

  • Do Not Override settings now honored on smartphone devices.

    If a smartphone client user has set Do Not Override on their device, APNS notifications containing content that are triggered by urgent-level messages are now not pushed to the device.

  • VMP Server now includes iOS 9.3 security settings certificate.

    The VMP Server now contains the 2048-bit security settings certificate that devices running iOS version 9.3 use.

  • List pane now resizable in VMP Web Console.

    The pane that contains the list of contacts, the list of secure messages, or the list of on-call distribution lists is now resizable. This ensures that you can differentiate between entries with long prefixes, such as escalation distribution lists.

  • You can now view a list of all participants in a conversation.

    In the VMP Web Console, you can now view a list of all people who have been invited to participate in a conversation. In this list of participants, you can add a new participant if needed.

  • Auto Send Log capability has been included in the VMP installer.

    This enables logging information to be made available to technical support.

  • ASP.NET model no longer required.

    This reduces overhead and simplifies inter-domain communication and access to cache data.

  • GE MUSE integration now provided.

    The VMP Server now can read an XML file sent from GE MUSE and send a message based on its contents. This enables GE MUSE to send information to Vocera Collaboration Suite clients.

  • Contact status has been refined.

    When viewing your list of contacts in the VMP Web Console, you can now distinguish between contacts that are on the network and contacts that are available but "off campus". Off campus contacts include users who are logged into the VMP Web Console and Vocera Secure Texting users.

  • MS SQL Server 2014 now supported.

    VMP can now be used with MS SQL Server 2014, MS SQL Server 2012, MS SQL Server 2008 R2, or MS SQL Server 2008 SP2.

What's Fixed

The following list contains fixes and improvements made to the Vocera Messaging Platform.

What's Fixed in VMP 5.2.3

This release includes the following fixes:

What's Fixed in VMP 5.2.2

This release includes the following fixes:

What's Fixed in VMP 5.2.0

This release includes the fixes listed here.

What's Fixed in VMP 5.2.0 Build 1395

  • DE13706 – Delayed message notification caused by large quantities of SOAP messages now handled properly.

    Previous versions of VMP experienced message notification delay while processing a high volume of messages received through the SOAP API interface. This problem has now been resolved.

  • DE13967 - Large numbers of messages sent to single Escalation Distribution List now handled properly.

    If a user has access rights to an Escalation Distribution List, and simultaneously sends a large number of messages to this list, all messages are now processed properly.

  • DE13983 - Escalation now performed immediately if all members of a branch of an Escalation Distribution List are off campus.

    If you send a message to an Escalation Distribution List, and all members of a branch of the list are off-campus, escalation to the next branch of the list now happens immediately, instead of after the branch timeout period.

  • DE14271 - Access denied message now properly displayed in all web browsers when attempting to access unknown file.

    If you are using a browser other than Internet Explorer, and you attempt to access the VMP Server by specifying an unknown file name, you now see an "Access Denied" error message instead of a message stating that the file could not be found in the folder in which VMP has been installed.

What's Fixed in VMP 5.2.0 Build 1391

  • DE14087 – Delayed message notification caused by large quantities of messages now handled properly.

    Previous versions of VMP experienced message notification delay while processing hundreds of simultaneous messages sent to multiple devices. The behavior has been optimized to remove the delay.

What's Fixed in VMP 5.2.0 Build 1389

  • DE13374 - Reduced delay when sending messages to the VCS app on iOS devices when the app is closed.

    In previous releases, there was sometimes a significant delay before messages were received by VCS clients on iOS devices when the VCS app was closed. This was because the VMP Server was occasionally sending duplicate APNS notifications to the device, slowing down the APNS process. This problem has been resolved in this release.

  • DE13434 - Push notifications no longer repeatedly sent when large numbers of text messages sent to a single user through APNS.

    In previous releases, if a client app running on iOS received 101 or more text messages while the app was closed, multiple APNS push notifications would be sent for the 101st message and all subsequent messages. This is because the notify attempts counter was not set properly for these messages. This problem has been fixed in this release.

  • DE13503 - Duplicate registration keys no longer generated during synchronization.

    When you are synchronizing with a remote source that has 10 or more users, and field mapping is not specified for the DeviceID field, VMP no longer generates duplicate registration keys for newly created users.

What's Fixed in VMP 5.2.0 Build 1386

  • DE12457 - The connection between VMP Server and VST no longer intermittently fails.

    In the previous release of VMP 5.2.0, the connection between the VMP Server and VST may intermittently fail. This problem has been fixed.

  • DE12458 - Mass notification now received by all users if sent to more than 50 VST users and one or more VCS users.

    If you have created a Distribution List containing more than 50 Vocera Secure Texting users and one or more Vocera Collaboration Suite users and you send a mass notification to this Distribution List, all VCS and VST users now receive it.

  • DE12459 - New users from integrated VST organization now available to client devices immediately.

    If you add new users to a Vocera Secure Texting organization that is integrated with your VMP Server, the new users now appear immediately. You do not have to wait for the next synchronization of VMP and VST to see them.

What's Fixed in VMP 5.2.0 Build 1384

  • VBI Data Export capability restored. The Vocera Business Intelligence (VBI) Data Export capability that was introduced in VMP 4.9.2 but was not implemented in VMP 5.1 is now enabled again.

  • DE7813 - Notify Me icon no longer reappears in VMP Web Console after page refreshed.

    If you send a message that requires a response, and indicate that you are to be notified if a response is not sent within a specified time, the red Notify Me icon no longer incorrectly reappears after you click the message link in the Secure Messages panel and you refresh the page using the F5 key.

  • DE8912 - Upgrading from VMP version 4.9.2 no longer generates an error message during installation.

    If you attempted to upgrade from VMP version 4.9.2 to version 5.1.0.1272, an error message appeared during installation. This problem no longer occurs in VMP version 5.2.

  • DE8995 - Profile picture can no longer be edited on VCS client if permission to edit the profile picture is denied on the VMP Server.

    If you have set the "Allow User to upload personal image" configuration option in the VMP Server to No, Vocera Collaboration Suite users who are accessing this server can now no longer edit their profile pictures.

  • DE9191 - Type-ahead search results in VMP Web Console now displayed in wider window.

    When you are typing a recipient name in the To field of a new secure message, the window that displays the list of type-ahead search results is now wider, which enables longer user names to be displayed.

  • DE9667 - Timestamps now correct in Monitor View in VMP Web Console.

    In previous versions of VMP, messages displayed in the Monitor View of the VMP Web Console were displayed with incorrect time information. This problem has now been fixed.

  • DE9984 - Maximum subject length in messaging templates now 512 characters.

    When you are creating a messaging template, the text for the message subject can now be up to 512 characters in length.

  • DE10258 - Multiple-choice options in messages that contain punctuation are now processed properly when sent to badges.

    If a Vocera Collaboration Suite user sends a message to a badge user that contains multiple choice responses, and one or more of the responses contain punctuation characters, these characters are not displayed on the badge, but the VMP Server is now able to correctly identify and return the selected response.

Known Issues

This section lists known issues and limitations in the Vocera Messaging Platform.