Question about Checkpoint Swimlane Delineation and "Trains"

[Rachael_Wheeler]

I have a few questions about the "trains" checkpoint refers to for the releases of Management Server. I have included an image from Checkpoint below showing the trains.

I am trying to determine how I would be able to keep my Checkpoint products up-to-date and determine the latest patches associated with a particular Checkpoint swimlane.

1. From the image above it seems like they have the main "train" which corresponds to the minor version (e.g. R77.20, R77.30, etc.). Is it true that upgrading from MAJOR version R77 to R80 is a PAID upgrade? 

2. On the EP Train, there are sub versions of the minor versions on the main train (e.g. R77.30.01, R77.30.02, R77.30.03). These seem to be add-on's which go on top of R77.30 to enable certain add-ons and features. Are these considered patches/hotfixes for R77.30 or are they in their own swimlane? For example, will a system running R77.30.01 receive hotfixes specific for R77.30.01 or will the hotfixes only be minor version specific for R77.30?

3. Are the packages/tools (such as SmartConsole, Server Migration Tool, and SmartDomain Manager) ever updated independently? If so, how would I find these updates? Are these packages/tools associated with the EP train (they seem to be specific to an Endpoint Security Server and Client version)?

4.In the image above there are two arrows linking the EP train and Large Scale train to R80.20 Dev. What do these mean?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[PhoneBoy]

Not sure where you got the graphic from.

That said, I should be able to comment.

On Release Trains

The "trains" you referring to (or swimlanes) are specific software release trains for specific purposes. The "main train" is the primary one that is for Network and Endpoint Security. The other two release trains were "forked" from the main train to allow for development of specific Endpoint features. 

• The base release of R77.30 includes R77.30.01 (i.e. the Endpoint train)
  • In order to install R77.30.02 or R77.30.03, you have to install a specific hotfix (Jumbo Hotfix 143) on top of R77.30 first, then you can install R77.30.02/03.
  • R77.30.02 and R77.30.03 are "unique" releases in the sense that hotfixes must be specifically designed for them.
  • R77.30 Jumbo Hotfix 280 onward can also be installed on top of R77.30.03, which means anything integrated into the Jumbo Hotfix automatically applies for R77.30.03 as well.
• The Large Scale release train is based on either R77.20 or R77.30 depending on the specific version and will have it's own patches.
• The plan is to merge both varieties of Endpoint Management into the regular maintrain in the R80.20 release (what the arrows in the diagram indicate).

On Upgrades

Note that all upgrades are paid in the sense that you must be covered under an active support agreement in order to be able to download the relevant binaries to execute the upgrade. Some features available in the new releases may require additional licensing beyond what you've purchased. If you have specific concerns about this, I recommend working with your local account team or partner.

On Upgraded SmartConsole, SmartEndpoint Clients

Generally speaking, these are only upgraded when a new management version comes out. If a new version is required for some reason, it would be listed in the relevant version release SK (e.g. for E80.70 clients, refer to Enterprise Endpoint Security Client E80.70). 

What I suspect will happen going forward is what is currently happening in R80.10.

In addition to updating the release SK, you see an updated SmartConsole being offered as an HFA in CPUSE.

Apply that, and you can download the latest version of SmartConsole from the gateway/management itself via the Gaia WebUI.

[Rachael_Wheeler]

Hey Dameon,

Thanks for the response! Your help is much appreciated. To expand on your last section about...

"On Upgraded SmartConsole, SmartEndpoint Clients" 

SmartConsole and other tools are only upgraded when a "new management version comes out". SmartConsole, for example, seems to be specific to both the Endpoint Security Server version (e.g. R77.30.01, R77.30.02, R77.30.03) and Client version (e.g.  E80.65, E80.70). 

I have been trying to track the latest, most up-to-date, version of SmartConsole (for R77.30 main train) to insure that our systems are up-to-date within the R77.30 (main train) swimlane. Which swimlane should I monitor if I wanted to track the most up-to-date release of SmartConsole? If the SmartConsole is released with each new iteration of the Endpoint Security Server (Endpoint Train) (e.g. R77.30.X) would I be able to track the latest version of SmartConsole by tracking the latest version of the Endpoint Train (e.g. R77.30.X)?

Thanks again for the help!

[PhoneBoy]

SmartDashboard is very much tied to the management version you are using.

If you are using Endpoint management, you should definitely be tracking the Endpoint train.

If you are only using Network management, you should be tracking the regular maintrain release.

The most current released version of SmartConsole R77.30 for maintrain appears to be: R77.30 SmartConsole and SmartDomain Manager for Windows 10 

In general, you may find it helpful to subscribe to notifications in SecureKnowledge when new downloads are available.

From UserCenter go to Assets / Info > My Info > My Subscriptions

You can specify specific types of SecureKnowledge articles to get notifications on, which are sent out weekly.