Secret Server and Secret Server Cloud .NET Framework 4.8 Mandatory Upgrade

This is a major part of the 10.9.000005/33 step upgrade. Please see Upgrading to 10.9.000005/33.

Introduction

This topic explains the steps to prepare your environment for the December 2020 upgrade to Secret Server and Secret Server Cloud (SSC). These changes must be made before the December release is deployed. Secret Server Online is not affected by these changes.

The Microsoft .NET Framework is a core component of the Secret Server architecture. Secret Server versions up to and including 10.9.000002 require version 4.5.1 or higher of the .NET Framework.

The December 2020 releases of Secret Server and SSC will change this requirement. From December 2020 onwards, version 4.8 or higher of the .NET Framework will be required.

This change improves the security of communication between Secret Server and distributed engines. It also allows Delinea to maintain compatibility with other third party libraries required by Secret Server and SSC. Secret Server online is not impacted by these changes.

The December release is scheduled for Secret Server installed (on-premise) customers on 8 December 2020. The December release is scheduled for SSC customers on 12 December 2020.

Preparing Secret Server for the December Release

To accommodate this change in software requirements, Secret Server and SSC customers may need to install .NET Framework 4.8 runtime on the computer systems hosting components of Secret Server in their environment. These changes can be made in advance without impacting the operation of your current version of Secret Server or SSC. The required actions, workarounds, and the impact of not taking action are listed here for each component of Secret Server infrastructure:

Secret Server Web Nodes

Products

Secret Server

Required Action

Installing .NET Framework 4.8 on servers running web nodes.

Impact of Inaction

Upgrade to the December 2020 release will not proceed until .NET Framework 4.8 has been installed.

Notes

The web node components of SSC are managed directly by Delinea.

Distributed Engines

Products

  • Secret Server

  • Secret Server Cloud

Required Action

Installing .NET Framework 4.8 on servers running web nodes.

Impact of Inaction

  • Secret Server upgrade will request confirmation before upgrading if any connected distributed engines do not have .NET Framework 4.8 installed. Any distributed engines which do not have .NET framework 4.8 installed will fail to upgrade.
  • SSC will be upgraded whether or not distributed engines have .NET Framework 4.8 installed. Any distributed engines which do not have .NET framework 4.8 installed will fail to upgrade.

Notes

Installing .NET Framework 4.8 after the upgrade will allow a distributed engine to start and reconnect to Secret Server.

Protocol Handler

Products

-$1Secret Server$2$1Secret Server$2

  • Secret Server Cloud

Required Action

  • New installations of the protocol handler on Windows systems after the December release will require .NET Framework 4.8 installed.

  • Fully patched Windows 10 systems should already have the framework in place.

  • Customers with existing deployments of protocol handler have two options:

    • Ensure that .NET Framework 4.8 is installed on all endpoints using protocol handler before the Secret Server or SSC update.
    • Disable automatic updating of protocol handler:

    1. Go to Admin > Configuration.

    2. Set Enable Protocol Handler Auto-Update to No.

  • Secret Server is compatible with older versions of protocol handler. Older versions will continue to function when used with the Secret Server December release.

Impact of Inaction

Any updated installs of protocol handler will fail on systems that do not have .NET Framework 4.8 installed.

Notes

None.

Advanced Session Recording Agent (ASRA)

Products

-$1Secret Server$2$1Secret Server$2

  • Secret Server Cloud

Required Action

Existing installations of ASRA will continue to operate. New installations of ASRA after the December release will require .NET Framework 4.8 installed on the servers where ASRA is deployed.

Impact of Inaction

Existing installations of ASRA will continue to operate.

Notes

None.

Session Connector

Products

-$1Secret Server$2$1Secret Server$2

  • Secret Server Cloud

Required Action

None. This release will not require .NET Framework 4.8 for session connector.

Impact of Inaction

None. Session connector will continue to function.

Notes

Although the December release will not require .NET Framework 4.8, future updates to session connector will require it. Therefore, we recommend installing .NET Framework 4.8 on any Microsoft Remote Desktop Services (RDS) servers used as part of the session connector infrastructure.

Effects on Connection Manager

None: Connection Manager will be updated to require .NET Framework 4.8 at a later date.

Identifying Distributed Engine Servers

To identify which servers in your environment are running Distributed Engines and may require a .NET Framework 4.8 update:

  1. In Secret Server, go to Admin > Distributed Engine. The Distributed Engine Configuration page appears:

    image-20201204162936743

  2. Click the site panel button for the desired DE. The panel expands, displaying the DEs for that site:

    image-20201204163347290

  3. Note the servers in your environment that currently have distributed engines installed. These are the machines where you need to install the .NET 4.8 runtime.

Unaffected Secret Server Components

The following components of Secret Server and SSC are not affected by this change:

  • SQL Server. Database system requirements are not affected by this change.
  • Web password filler
  • Secret Server Desktop Application Secret Server
  • Secret Server Mobile

Determining Your .NET Framework Version

  • Microsoft provides several methods to determine the installed versions of .NET Framework. Please see How to: Determine which .NET Framework versions are installed.

  • See .NET Framework versions and dependencies for additional Microsoft .NET Framework version information.

  • You can run the following command at a Windows PowerShell prompt to view currently installed .NET Framework version number: (Get-ItemProperty "HKLM:SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\Full").version

  • Secret Server on-premises (not SSC) displays the .NET framework version on the Admin > Diagnostics page. The version displayed is for the Web server being accessed. It does not include information about the .NET Framework version installed on any other server.

    The version displayed on the Diagnostics page incorrectly identifies .NET Framework 4.8 as version 4.5.1 followed by a release number, such as 4.5.1.528040. If the release number is 528040 or higher, the framework version number is 4.8. If the release number is lower than 528040 or the release number is not displayed at all, the framework version is lower than 4.8 and an the mandatory update is required.

Installing .NET Framework 4.8

If there is an exception while monitoring ASP .NET applications, see Troubleshooting steps when there is an exception while monitoring ASP .NET applications for more information