ClarkConnect 5.0 Release Overview
 | ClarkConnect 5.0 Release Notes |
|---|---|
| Parent Doc | Release Info |
| Newer Revisions | 5.1 Release Notes |
| Older Revisions | 4.3 Release Notes |
| See Also | Feature Overview |
With nearly 6 months of testing under its belt, the 5.0 version is now available! Along with upgrading the underlying software to CentOS 5.3, ClarkConnect 5.0 brings a number of important new features. These Features include; Protocol Filtering with Improved Peer-to-Peer Detection, Bandwidth Management, Improved Windows File Sharing, Complete LDAP Directory Integration, and a return of the Mail Quarantine.
Protocol Filtering with Improved Peer-to-Peer Detection
The introduction of protocol filtering in version 5.0 will help you manage what can and cannot be used on your network. Whether it is instant messaging, peer-to-peer, or other unwanted protocols, this new feature will help with network administration.
Here are just some of the many supported protocols
- Bittorrent
- AIM and MSN Messenger
- iTunes
- Shoutcast
- … and many games
Bandwidth Management
ClarkConnect 5.0 introduces a new bandwidth management engine. Improvements include:
- Control of burst traffic – no interference with VoIP (and other time-sensitive applications).
- Control of bandwidth to and from the ClarkConnect system itself (in 4.x, only systems on the LAN were able to be controlled).
Windows File Sharing / Samba
With outside expertise from Windows/Samba gurus, the Windows Networking features in ClarkConnect 5.0 have been expanded to include:
- Roaming profiles
- Recycle bin support
- File auditing
- Improved performance
The 5.0 version has also laid the necessary groundwork for providing further enhancements in future releases. For example, we expect to deliver Windows 7 compatibility when it is officially released. This kind of compatibility will not be available in ClarkConnect 4.x.
Complete LDAP Directory Integration
To an end user, having information stored in an LDAP directory instead of the usual configuration files is not very exciting. In fact, you won't see much difference in the ClarkConnect web-based interface. Under the hood, we have put together a tightly integrated LDAP system.
One of the nice side effects of this change will be the ability to have a master server with username/password information along with multiple replica servers using the same LDAP information. For example, you can have three different ClarkConnect systems on your network with different roles:
- A firewall/gateway with VPN capabilities
- A dedicated mail server
- A dedicated file server
The user account manager will only be required on one of these systems. The other two replica systems will synchronize this data at regular intervals. Expect this feature in a future 5.x release!
Mail Quarantine
The mail quarantine is back! A variation of the MailZu software has been integrated into ClarkConnect.
Operating System Improvements
ClarkConnect 5.0 adds core functions including a switch from apt to yum for package and module management of the system. Also, the device subsystem which was based on 'dev' was changed to 'udev'.
