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RCM Software Support : Notes

RCM Release History & Compatibility

With each “feature point” release (e.g. 2.1.0 to 2.2.0), there are some notable feature differences. With “maintenance point” releases (e.g., 2.1.0 is updated to 2.1.1), there’s generally no feature changes, only functionality fixes.

Standard catalog Optima 8 Series products are always shipped with the latest version which may change at any time without notice. Custom products may be flagged with specific version freezes which, barring hardware or other circumstances we cannot control, we will attempt to sustain as long as we can.

Version 2.5.x is the current platform being shipped.

The version 2 releases are generally forward compatible, but as of June 2019, due to hardware a compatibility issue, there are some limitations.

Any version from 2.3.0 and newer can be updated to 2.5.x. It is not necessary to go through sequentially incremental updates. It is acceptable to update from 2.3.0 directly to 2.5.x.

As of June 2019, all new products can be shipped only with 2.3.x or newer. It is not possible to ship new units with older firmware versions.

Any version from 2.0.0 through 2.2.0 can be updated to 2.2.1. It is not necessary to go through sequentially incremental updates. It is acceptable to update from 2.0.0 directly to 2.2.1. The files for this must be requested directly from Marway.

Version 1.0, 1.1, and 1.2 were custom applications run on different internal hardware platforms than 2.x. Units running version 1 cannot be updated to version 2.

Should You Update?

In our opinion, updating firmware should only be done if a known specific feature enhancement or problem fix makes a difference to your PDU’s application. Every firmware update in the field always includes risk of having the system become inoperable if the firmware update gets interrupted, or otherwise fails. While we perform some version update testing, we do not test every permutation on every hardware combination (particularly with the custom products). There may be unknowns. If you believe your system should be updated, please contact Marway Support. A unit can always be returned under RMA at the customer’s expense to have firmware updates applied and tested at the factory.

RCM 2.x Release History

Updates and Fixes in 2.5.5

  • Corrected a problem where command #> getPhase rated_amps could report that the attribute was not supported when it was.
  • Corrected a problem where pressing a keypad button during startup before the default power data is displayed would freeze the keypad even after startup (button pushes did nothing). This required a power cycle to correct. As of 2.5.5, button pushes no longer freeze the keypad, but pressing one of the menu buttons will delay the auto scroll. If that happens, use the menu buttons to navigate to AUTO SCRL and press the Device > (next) button to start the default auto scroll.
  • Added a work around for an error in the SNMP mPowerSwitchStatusChange trap. When an outlet switch is changed via the web, serial, telnet, ssh, or REST interfaces the mPowerSwitchStatusChange trap correctly reports the new state of the switch. However, when the outlet switch is changed using an SNMP SET, the mPowerSwitchStatusChange trap does not report the switch state correctly. Instead of reporting the new value, it repoorts the previous value. Unfortunately, as of this writing (2023-12-06), this cannot be corrected. There is also no way to discern from the trap, which method was used to switch the outlet.
    • As a workaround, starting with 2.5.5, an outlet state change invoked by SNMP SET emits a mChassisEventFirmwareConfigChange trap in addition to the standard mPowerSwitchStatusChange trap. mChassisEventFirmwareConfigChange includes a description field with something like “Power Outlet 1 was set to OFF from SNMP (the preceding mPowerSwitchStatusChange states the switch status incorrectly)” where OFF is the correct new state of the outlet switch. The second trap is NOT sent when the switch is changed by any of the other user interfaces.

Updates and Fixes in 2.5.4

  • Corrected a problem where, even though configured to do so, an SNMP trap would not be generated for an outlet object update (switch state, or delay settings) which was triggered specifically by an SNMP SET. (It was triggered when changes were made by other interfaces.)
  • Corrected a problem where SNMP sysContact and sysLocation would not start with the correct data.
  • Corrected a problem where, even though configured to do so, an SNMP trap would not be generated for sysName, sysContact, or sysLocation which was triggered specifically by an SNMP SET. (It was triggered when changes were made by other interfaces.)
  • Updated SNMP trap logic to disable v1 traps, send v3 traps only if a USM user is defined (interpreted to mean the operator prefers v3), or to sent v2 traps only if there is no USM user, but the v2 read-only community string is defined.

Updates and Fixes in 2.5.3

  • Corrected problem where pressing the Devices Next keypad button while AUTO SCRL was the visible menu would cause a blank display until the unit was rebooted.
  • Added internal data checking to aid in manufacturing.

Updates and Fixes in 2.5.2

  • Corrected a problem which could fail to load the SNMP Trap IP address.
  • Removed erroneous listing of `quit` as a command from the help command list.

Updates and Fixes in 2.5.1

  • Corrected problem which could prevent power data from being available on SNMP.
  • Corrected HTTP CLI commands which incorrectly used the alias “port” to set the HTTPS port instead of the HTTP port as documented.
  • Corrected error which did not import SMTP Auth Method.
  • Corrected a problem where viewing the Outlet SW state of an outlet on the display which did not have switching or power data and pressing the Next or Prev Value button on the keypad would cause the display to go blank until the firmware was restarted.
  • Corrected problem which could disable power data when using 2.5.0 to update a previous version.

Updates and Fixes in 2.5.0

  • There are some internal changes to support future features.
  • Added IPV4 item to the display menu. The static IPv4 address settings are displayed as "Devices" on the display named IP for IpAddr, MK for Subnet Mask, and GW for Gateway (aka Router) values. Each octet is displayed by scrolling with the Values buttons, and are labeled A, B, C, D for the four parts. NOTE: as of this version, this does not show DHCP configured values. Even when DHCP is enabled, this will show the static IP configuration.
  • Added user preference to choose what is displayed during Auto Scroll of the the display (when one is included). On models with suitable hardware, the options include Phase Amps, Phase Volts, and Outlet Switch state.
  • Added user preference to choose the Auto Scroll rate on the display from 2, 3, or 4 seconds.
  • Added user preference to choose from five different levels of display intensity (brightness) from 1 through 5 (lowest to brightest).
  • Updated the messages on the display to show when files are being written during settings and log exports.
  • Added logging of outlet switching events during software startup. This makes it more explicit exactly which outlets were switched on at startup.
  • Fixed bug where system Location was not being included in log exports. Note that some log messages are written before Location can be known (the internal System settings are not yet readable at the time of the logging).
  • Removed non-useful reporting of T/H Setpoint status at startup.
  • Updated EnvironmentSettings export file to indicate when there were no sensors.

Version 2.4.0

Just to state for clarity, there is no version 2.4.

Updates and Fixes in 2.3.6

  • Fixed error where SNMP EngineID was not generating a unique ID.
  • Fixed error where the outlet state was reported as OFF on the display for outlets which are not controlled with remote switching. Such outlets are actually always on.

Updates and Fixes in 2.3.5

  • Fixed a critical bug which could create an endless loop at startup when the user settings were exported then imported, and included the SystemSettings.txt file.
  • NOTE: For systems with 2.3.0 through 2.3.4, the bug can be avoided by not importing the SystemSettings.txt file. Exporting is safe, and importing all other files is safe.
  • Go to RCM Bulletin 235 for documents and firmware updates to apply to older PDUs.

Updates and Fixes in 2.3.4

  • Added configurability to ignore relay sense to accommodate custom low voltages on the relay board.

Updates and Fixes in 2.3.3

  • Fixed a bug which could ignore the outlet on delay during startup.
  • Fixed a bug which incorrectly showed an AutoOff option in FTP with the getNetwork command.

Updates and Fixes in 2.3.2

  • Fixed a bug which incorrectly showed the Environment web interface main menu item when it did not apply to certain models.
  • Include OS updates for new FLASH parts in the SOM.

Updates and Fixes in 2.3.1

  • Fixed a bug in NetworkSettings.txt importing which caused HTTP mode to be forced to HTTP regardless of the value recorded in the settings file.

Updates and Fixes in 2.3.0

  • In NEW units shipped from the factory, the default state of outlets is ON. (Prior to this version, the default was OFF. We've had several requests to have the outlets enabled so the PDU is functional when there may no plans/provisions to access the software initially. Those who will be doing software setup can change the default Startup State to OFF if desired.)
  • After a Factory Reset, via Serial, web page, or command line, the default Startup State of outlets will be ON.
  • Removed IPv6 settings. here has been little interest in using it, and not all services were capable of running on IPv6, so it has been removed.
  • Added temperature and humidity (T/H) sensor Setpoints and Alerts. These behave just like the setpoints and alerts for power objects. Prior versions have had sensor data, but not setpoints and alerts.
  • Added T/H sensor data, setpoints, and traps to SNMP. Data is presented in the SNMP standard table of entPhySensorTable. Setpoints and other Marway-specific details are in custom tables. Note that regardless of the PDU's configuration for degrees F or C for web and CLI, the SNMP values are always in degrees C.
  • Added on-demand CRC check of bootloader and application binaryin FLASH. It's viewable in the web System > Firmware Versions panel, via CLI using the command `getSystem crc`, and via RESTful API via `GET /system/1/crc`.
  • Added new CLI command syntax for outlet switching: #> setOutlet 1 on|off|cycle
  • Added new aliases to many CLI command parameter names.
  • Updated SNMP entPhysicalTable.entPhysicalContainedIn to more accurately show the lineage of outlets to their source phase.
  • Updated output of `viewLog` CLI command to include a DateTime column. (Wewere trying to keep the width minimized, but yeah, who doesn't want to see the date and time?)
  • Improved handling of `setProfile|setMy` command errors.
  • Fixed a bug in SNMP which did not allow -1 data entry to disable a power object setpoint.
  • Fixed a bug in SNMP where setpoints could fail to change from normal to disabled when setpoint settings were cleared.
  • Fixed a bug with setpoint validation which could allow certain illogical scenarios to validate.

Updates and Fixes in 2.2.1

  • Fixed bug in web Network page which could erase IP settings when enabling SNMP for the first time.
  • Fixed bug which prevent outlet labels from being editable in the web UI in certain specific configurations.
  • Fixed bug with CLI command `getLog` which did not list all attributes as expected.
  • Removed getStartupLog from CLI help which mistakenly listed it as a command.
  • NOTE: IPv6 configuration is deprecated. Not all services are capable of running on IPv6, so IPv6 configuration will be removed.

Updates and Fixes in 2.2.0

  • Updates key_exchange for SSL/TLS to SHA256.
  • Adds the ability to use Private Signed Certificates for HTTPS.
  • Some CLI commands for HTTP and HTTPS have been changed relative to how HTTP and/or HTTPS are enabled. The "port" alias has been reassigned to the https port (rather than the http port) to favor the short commands being used for https settings.

Updates and Fixes in 2.1.4

  • Includes updates to aid in Marway's manufacturing. No user-feature changes.

Updates and Fixes in 2.1.3

  • Includes updates to aid in Marway's manufacturing. No user-feature changes.

Updates and Fixes in 2.1.2

  • Fixed bug which could cause FTP to start even when the Enabled setting was set to false.
  • Fixed bug which could prevent T/H sensors from being read.

Updates and Fixes in 2.1.1

  • Fixed bug which may create two false Alarm listings.
  • Fixed bug which could limit the maximum value of a voltage alarm to the maximum inlet rating (but which should have allowed a greater value).
  • Fixed bug which could cause errors in the display of CLI command `getPhases`.
  • Fixed bug which could prevent setpoint alarm events from being logged.

Updates and Fixes in 2.1.0

  • 3-phase Wye units with integrated power monitoring will now show Total power values for current, watts, voltamps, and voltamps reactive for inlet power.
  • Telnet may now be configured to run on a user-defined port.
  • Telnet may now be disabled or enabled to run.
  • SSH may now be configured to run on a user-defined port.
  • SSH may now be disabled or enabled to run.
  • Temperature and humidity data is now available on the LED display. (Data is not yet available on SNMP, and does not yet have setpoint management.)
  • Prior to 2.1.x, any user allowed to use Telnet/SSH was automatically given all user privileges. As of 2.1.0, privileges may be individually assigned for users with access to Telnet/SSH.
  • Logging of user actions is now more precise in showing who and through which protocol the action was performed. (Prior to 2.1.0, actions performed via SSH could not log the exact user name.)
  • The RESTful API includes new commands to retreive the setpoint status of phase objects.
    • `GET /phases/1/setpoint_status_amps`
    • `GET /phases/1/setpoint_status_volts`
  • The alert acknowledgement web page is now better formatted for mobile devices.
  • Most web interface buttons have been changed from images to HTML/CSS which provides better UI interactivity, and reduces demands on the PDU processor when serving HTTPS by eliminating enctyption of images. As a result, HTTPS should feel a little more responsive.
  • A number of content improvements to built-in help files, and field tooltips.