LiquidFiles Documentation
LiquidFiles Documentation

Release Notes Version 4.0.x Beta

Please Note that LiquidFiles v4.0 is currently in Beta. The following applies to beta releases:
  • To update to Beta releases, you need to enable checking for Beta releases in Admin → System → Update, and then select the beta release at the same page.
  • Beta Releases are only available to Licensed LiquidFiles systems (not trial/demo).
  • Beta Release numbers begin at .51, so v3.9.51 is the 1st beta release of v4.0, v3.9.52 will be the 2nd beta release of v4.0, and so on.
  • Expect a faster release cycle for beta releases as we're working up towards the full release.
  • We're aiming for the same high quality as with non-beta releases, and any new functions and changes can introduce unforseen problems. We will release fixes quickly when anything is discovered.

Major changes from version 3.7 to version 4.0

  • New underlying operating system — Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS. There was quite a few reasons that made us switch from the previous CentOS/RedHat family of Linux to Ubuntu. In short these included:
    • RedHat moved CentOS from a stable, free alternative to RedHat to essentially a development, unstable version of RedHat.
    • RedHat made changes to its licensing which causes a lot of concerns for the long term viability of alternatives such as Rocky Linux and Alma Linux that attempted to recreated what CentOS used to be.
    • Ubuntu Server is a very stable Linux variant that is used and supported by many players, including being the reference Linux for FIPS certified OpenSSL modules.
    • Ubuntu offers support for their LTS releases for 10 years.
    • Ubuntu has better support for more auxilliary functions and libraries. With CentOS we used to maintain about 10 packages that wasn't distributed with CentOS. With Ubuntu the only package we maintain ourselves is Nginx and that's just because we have a couple of our own custom plugins for Nginx that's not publically available.
    • Ubuntu has a Pro license which essentially turns the free version of Ubuntu server into a commercially supported version of Ubuntu server for those that wish to get official server support. Further, the Pro license will enable NIST-certified FIPS crypto-modules and other similar benefits.
    So in a way, RedHat pushed us (and many others) away from their family of Linuxes and for us we landed on Ubuntu. So far we couldn't be happier.
    The annoying thing is that when moving operating system, in order to upgrade from previous versions we have to install a new system and Move the data across from the old to the new system. Luckily this process is well proves as we've moved from OpenBSD (v1.x), to CentOS 6 32bit (v2.x), to CentOS 7 64bit (v3.x) and now to Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS (v4.x).
  • Changed Duo Two-Factor Authentication to Universal Prompt.
  • Sysadmins logging in from /login as opposed to / will not be saml redirected if set as requirement in sysadmin group — this is a fallback if the SAML server is not working (SAML certificate has changed for instance) .
  • Updated libraries and functions such as Ruby on Rails 7, Ruby 3, Bootstrap 5.3, PostgreSQL 14...
Also, please see the Incompatibilies and Warnings section below before updating from LiquidFiles v3.7 and earlier.

Version 3.9.54 (released 2023-11-30)

Everything included in v3.7.16, plus:

  • Permit external redirect for saml logout.
  • Small API fixes to match documentation.
  • redirect from saml failed logins to root_url.

Version 3.9.53 (released 2023-11-27)

Everything included in v3.7.15, plus:

  • Email template fix.

Version 3.9.52 (released 2023-11-24)

Everything included in v3.7.15, plus:

  • Fixed setting static IP configuration from the F2 Setup menu
  • Fixed email template for Filedrop private message that listed the wrong from address.

Version 3.9.51 (released 2023-11-13)

Everything included in v3.7.15, plus:

  • Initial Release of v4.0 beta.

Incompatibilities and Warnings

These are a few things you need to be aware of when updating to LiquidFiles v4.0.

Reinstall LiquidFiles

You will have to reinstall LiquidFiles and migrate the data across when moving between LiquidFiles version 3.x and version 4.x. When changing operating system, as we are between LiquidFiles v3.x and v4.x, it is not possible to do an in-place update.

Please see the update v4 guide for instructions how to migrate to a LiquidFiles v4.x system.

System Updates use Ubuntu repositories only

With CentOS 7 we have our own LiquidFiles repository so that we can keep updates for those that wish to restrict URLs to https://*.liquidfiles.com addresses only. We have not yet replicated this for the Ubuntu releases so for the moment you will need to permit unrestricted outgoing URLs when using LiquidFiles v4.x.

API Deprecations

XML API

It's no longer possible to use the XML API. The XML API has been deprecated and on it's way out for quite a while, and some functions did still work using XML up until the previous major release. With LiquidFiles v4.0, this has been removed and it's no longer possible to use any XML API functions.

Admin API changes

There's been some slight changes in the formatting in some the JSON response to make them more unified, for instance the Admin/User API. If you're using any Admin API function, please double-check with the indididual documentation that the functions still match what you're expecting.

Previous Attachment Upload API deprecated

Up until v3.6, the /attachments and /attachments/binary_uploads API functions have been global functions for most (all except shares) uploads. This function is deprecated and has been removed in v4.0. The currently supported upload method is to use individual functions such as /message/attachments/upload. Please see the individual API documentation for Message Uploads, Link Uploads, ...

Renamed API functions

In this release several API functions have been renamed, please make sure to update any API functions you may have that uses any of these. is_local → local, is_sysadmin → sysadmin, is_domain_admin → domain_admin, is_admin → admin, is_user_admin → user_admin, is_pool_admin → pool_admin, use_maps → geoip.