End of Life Statements


Windows 32bit Client - EOL

What

As the new desktop kiosk for Windows is based on 64bit libraries, FileWave 15.3.0 will not be supported on Windows 32bit platforms. FileWave Agent (fwcld) is currently still a 32bit executable, meaning there is no change in how Filesets are deployed, and scripts are executed with this initial change. 

When/Why

Windows 32bit has long been on the way out. Because it can only handle 3.5Gb of RAM there has long been a lot of progress to get away from it by customers. 

How

At first the Kiosk in FileWave 15.3.0 will be 64bit, and in a future release the entire agent will transition. Moving to a 64bit application is expected to happen later this year.

Related Content

Kiosk 1.0 for macOS/Windows - EOL

What

As the new desktop Kiosk 2.0 for macOS and Windows released with FileWave 15.3.0. In 15.3.x and 15.4.x the old Kiosk 1.0 is also included in the client. Noteworthy also is this new Kiosk is 64bit only. 

When/Why

Some functions are still performed by Kiosk 1.0, and it is kept in place in case there is a need to revert to it. 

How

We will be ultimately removing Kiosk 1.0 from the macOS/Windows client, so it is important not to depend on it being in place. Please contact support if there is a reason you are loading the old one so it can be known to development.

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macOS Imaging with IVS - EOL

What

macOS Imaging: Changes made by Apple with APFS, T2 chips and Apple Silicon, Imaging macOS devices has been part of history for a long time. With the deprecation of Compatibility mode, the last reason for keeping macOS imaging options in FileWave are gone.

When/Why

 For years Apple has stated that imaging is dead. This change should not have any impact to your workflow because we do not believe anyone is still using this method of setting up macOS systems. 

How

With the release of 15.4.0 in the first half of 2024 we will remove all trace of imaging as it relates to our IVS solution. This will eliminate the warning that has been an annoyance to most admins about Netboot not being configured and will remove a feature that has no use.

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FileWave Compatibility Mode - EOL

What

Compatibility Mode will be phased out with FileWave 15.4.0 in the first half of 2024.

When/Why

Communication between FileWave components is encrypted and relies on TLS certificates for several years now. Back in the day, to facilitate the transition, a Compatibility Mode was introduced, allowing clients running versions older than 13.1 to still be managed by a more recent server despite not supporting proper encryption. It is now time to drop compatibility mode to enforce secured communications.

How

It will be removed in FileWave 15.4.0 which will mean that it is very important to ensure that your macOS and Windows clients are running version 13.1 or higher to continue communication. 

This means the minimum OS versions that can be enrolled are macOS 10.11 and Windows 7 SP1 - but it is obviously not recommended to run outdated, unsecured end-of-life Operating Systems

FileWave Server on CentOS - EOL

As FileWave continues to develop our industry-leading multi-platform solution, our primary goal is to make it as simple, stable, and scalable as possible. With the End of Life of CentOS on June 30th, 2024, beginning with 15.2.0, the FileWave Server will be shipped for Debian Linux and macOS. Although we will produce FileWave Server for CentOS 7 with 15.2, 15.3, and 15.4, we will not continue to produce new versions of CentOS installers for Server or Boosters after the June 30th EOL date. When we released 15.4.1 in July 2024 it did not officially support CentOS, and the announcement email and Download page reflect this. 

Want to get an email when this FAQ is updated? Using Email to stay updated on KB updates.
Easy URL to articles: https://go.filewave.com/debian 

FAQ

Q: Does this change affect me?

My FileWave Server is:
I Have Boosters:
I have FileWave IVS:

Q: Does this affect the Admin Console or Clients?
A: No. The FileWave Server, Boosters, and IVS are changing over to Debian, but all Windows and macOS components are still fully supported and will continue to be.

Q: Will FileWave help me with FileWave Server migration?
A: We are publishing and updating our documentation to help this process be as simple as possible. 

Q: What if I don't want to run a FileWave Server On-Premise anymore?
A: Please connect with Customer Success because we offer Hosting options and will migrate your data to our Amazon infrastructure.

Q: What if I would like someone to walk me through the whole migration?
A: Please connect with Professional Services & Training about our Migration services. 

Q: I have questions and just would like to speak with someone?
A: Please check out our Discord. We have sessions every month for Open Office Hours. If you are in a time zone where that doesn't work, use Discord channels to ask about alternatives pr reach out to Professional Services & Training. 

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FileWave Server on Windows - EOL

As FileWave continues to develop our industry-leading multi-platform solution, our primary goal is to make it as simple, stable, and scalable as possible. We believe the best way to provide complete support for all endpoints, develop exciting new features more quickly, and enable more flexible deployment options, is to reduce the complexity of the FileWave Server.

As a result, beginning with 14.0.0, the FileWave Server will only be shipped for Linux and Mac. Although Windows will continue to be natively supported through 13.3, we wanted to let you know about this upcoming change well in advance so that you can plan your migration.

FAQ

Q: Does this change affect me?
A: If you already run your FileWave Server on Linux or Mac this change does not affect you.

To check your server OS. Click the blue status text in the bottom right corner of Admin.

The Status box will say "FileWave Windows Server"

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Q: Does this affect the Admin Console, Boosters, or Clients?
A: No! The FileWave Server is the only component changing. Windows Admins, Boosters, and Clients are still fully supported and will continue to be.

Q: Can I still use my Windows hardware?
A: Yes! Our virtual appliance can run in any number of virtual environments, and your Windows hardware can host that appliance (e.g. Hyper-V, VirtualBox, etc.).

Q: Will FileWave assist me with the migration?
A: Yes! Please contact Professional Services & Training.

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ZeroMQ replacement with NATS - EOL

What

ZeroMQ is being replaced with NATS in a process starting with v14.8.

When/Why

This move will naturally occur when upgrading FileWave components where eventually NATS will replace ZMQ everywhere it is used.  This article and release notes will explain what is migrated in each new version.  

This does have an impact on what network ports are used in FileWave.

How

 Please observe our TCP ports KB for additional and deprecated ports.

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Android device management pre-EMM - EOL

What

This is a notice that as of FileWave v14.9.0 that Android device management pre-EMM (aka APK delivery) is deprecated.

When/Why

Android EMM is the replacement for the much older method of managing Android devices. This change should not affect you if you are using Android EMM for your devices with FileWave.

How

FileWave v14.9.0 was released in November 2022 and the function was removed in 15.2.0. Google's intent is that EMM would be used for enrollment. 

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Device Discovery - EOL

What

This is a notice that as of FileWave v14.9.0 that Device Discovery is deprecated.

When/Why

This tool was never effective in production environments, has hardly ever been used, and is easily replaced by any off-the-shelf network scanning tool like Angry IP Scanner.

How

FileWave v14.9.0 was released in November 2022 and the function is removed in v15.0.

Observe Client - EOL

As a continuing bid to improve FileWave features and unify the product across platforms, as of FileWave 14.8.0 the FileWave computer client will no longer include the Observe Client feature.  This has been replaced with TeamViewer.

TeamViewer expands the possibilities of features available for device connections, whilst being fully cross-platform for all device types managed.

FAQ

Q: How does this impact older clients?
A: Once the FileWave server has been upgraded to 14.8, the option to Observe Clients will no longer be possible, regardless of the version of the client.

Q: How does this impact Client Preferences?
A: FileWave Admin and the Superprefs Editor will no longer provide options to configure VNC ports.  However, the Privacy Preferences for 'Managed Remote Control' and 'Prompt client for remote control access' are utilized by TeamViewer.

If you have Superpref Filesets to define VNC ports, these should be removed, since they will no longer do anything

Not familiar with TeamViewer in FileWave yet?  Take a look at our KB articles.

FileWave Official Version Support Statement

What

FileWave development teams officially support two major versions at any time, N and N-1. For example, If we assume that the most recent version of FileWave is 15.1.x, then we will officially support versions 15.1.x and 15.0.x. Releases for major versions of FileWave occur roughly every quarter.

When/Why

What does "officially support" mean? Officially supporting these versions means that we will investigate bug reports in these versions and patch issues that are significant in nature. We will not produce patches for earlier versions than N-1, as this means allocating development resources to problems that are already potentially resolved instead of investing those resources into furthering the product. In short, if an issue is found in a version earlier than the officially supported versions, then remediation for the issue will be in the form of an application upgrade, or a patch to that more recent version.

This does not mean that you can't contact our support teams about an earlier version. They will, to the best of their ability, help you with older versions of the software but they will stop short of escalating tickets to our development teams and will likely recommend an upgrade so that you are getting the latest features and bug fixes.

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Clever Integration - EOL

This is the FAQ for the email that was sent out to customers on October 29, 2021, about Clever integration being discontinued. Please check back here over time as our answers may evolve over time as we work with customers. 

FAQ

Q: When will the Clever integration stop working?
A: On December 31, 2021 it will stop syncing and you will no longer see updates from Clever. 

Q: What if I do nothing?
A: On December 31, 2021, you will see Clever stop syncing. Existing associations between devices and people will be unaffected in your FileWave but future changes will not sync.

Q: I don’t use Engage or Apple Classroom associations through FileWave. What should I do?
A: If you open the Native Admin you can go to Preferences -> Education and switch your server from Clever to None. Then login to Clever and pick to Disconnect or book a meeting with us and we will disconnect it with you.

Q: What are my alternatives to Clever integration?
A: There are two. You can either work with ASM (recommended) or import CSV data.

Q: How would I connect my SIS to ASM?
A: See this Apple article: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207409 

Q: What SIS are supported by ASM?
A: See this Apple article: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210156 

Q: How do I setup ASM integration in FileWave?
A: See this FileWave article: Classroom – SIS Data and utilize the complimentary consulting time mentioned in the email you received.

Q: I have questions about ASM integration that I couldn’t answer after reading this and connecting with FileWave Pro Services.
A: If you do not know who your Apple account executive or system engineer is then call Apple's EDU support line (800-800-2775) to determine who they are. They will be best to help you with deep ASM questions.

Q: I’m already using ASM to sync to FileWave. Is there something I need to do?
A: Login to Clever and pick to Disconnect or book a meeting with us and we will disconnect it with you.

This was the original email sent to customers who have Clever integration enabled:

Good afternoon,
 If we haven’t spoken then I wanted to first introduce myself. I joined FileWave earlier this year to run Professional Services and Training. I wanted to reach out to you because you appear to be using Clever integration in FileWave to assign devices to students and teachers. Clever was originally only added to support Engage, but then started to be used by some customers to support Apple Classroom. In your case, you may be using it for that or you may have simply left it configured after Engage went away. 

Clever integration is something that we will be discontinuing at the end of this calendar year, but there is a free alternative that has similar functionality and we want to help you migrate to it. 

 To meet the need of creating relationships of devices to individuals I wanted to let you know about our Apple School Manager (ASM) integration. ASM is free to use with Apple and supports SIS integration. By December 31st, 2021 we would like to help you with making the switch from Clever over to either CSV imports or ASM integration. After that date, Clever will no longer sync changes to your FileWave server so we recommend working with us as soon as you are able to so that you are not rushed. 

 I have created the Calendly link below for you to create a meeting with a Professional Services engineer to discuss the process and the migration. There will be no cost to you for either this meeting or the complementary 2 hours of support with the same engineer to work through the migration process. I encourage you to setup a meeting as soon as possible after you have reviewed the FAQ below. The FAQ will help you understand what help you may or may not need in this process.

FileWave Engage EOL

What

This is a notice that as of FileWave v14.8+ Engage will no longer be supported.

When/Why

FileWave v14.8 should release in Spring 2022. Engage has been at end of life earlier than this, but this will be the first release that will remove the functionality. 

How

In 14.8.0 the supporting features will be removed. Inventory queries related to Engage will not work anymore. There are 2 fields specifically: EngageProfile and EngageProfileStatus will be removed. We have also already removed EngageX from the app store.