What’s new
This section provides a summary of the notable changes in Swarm for the 2020.2 release. Full details are available in the distribution's RELNOTES.txt
file.
Major new functionality
Updated Swarm Reviews list UI
The Swarm Reviews list page UI has been updated to show the information you need more clearly than ever before. New icons make it easier to see the review states and test states for the reviews. Review filtering has also been improved to make it easier to see which filters you have selected.
See relative review complexity at a glance from your Reviews list
The new traffic light complexity column on the reviews list page shows the relative complexity and the total number of changes for each review at a glance.
Want more detail before opening a review, simply hover over the complexity for the review you are interested in:
.
Introducing P4Search for full content search in Swarm - Technology preview feature
Extend standard Swarm searches to search file content and changelist description by using P4Search. The P4Search service needs a connection to Elasticsearch and the Helix Core server. For more information on Helix Core Search API, see the Overview section of the Helix Core Search Developer Guide.
Changes to operating systems supported by Swarm
- We now support the installation of Swarm on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, CentOS 8, and RHEL 8, see Recommended operating systems.
- Swarm 2020.2 is the final version that will support Swarm installation on Ubuntu 16.04. This is part of our commitment to focus on supported technology platforms.
- We no longer support Swarm installation on CentOS 6 and RHEL 6. This is part of our commitment to focus on supported technology platforms.
Minor new functionality
New API endpoints
A number of new endpoints have been added to the API, see the Swarm API.
Important information
Changes to Swarm support for Ubuntu 16.04
Swarm 2020.2 is the final version of that will support Swarm installation on Ubuntu 16.04. This is part of our commitment to focus on supported technology platforms.
Swarm no longer supports CentOS 6 and RHEL 6
Swarm 2020.2 does not support Swarm installation on CentOS 6 and RHEL 6. This is part of our commitment to focus on supported technology platforms.
Helix Core server 2020.1 stream spec file permissions change
Helix server 2020.1 and later, permissions have changed for viewing and editing stream spec files in Swarm. To view and edit stream spec files in Swarm, the Swarm user must have admin permissions for the entire depot //...
Trigger script updated for Swarm 2020.1
The swarm.shelvedel shelve-del trigger script has been updated in Swarm 2020.1, the trigger script must be updated in the Helix server trigger table or added if it does not already exist, see Update the Helix server triggers table to run the trigger script.
Custom module support in Swarm 2020.1 and later
The Zend 3 Framework project has been forked to an open source project called Laminas, see https://getlaminas.org/about/. Swarm 2020.1 now uses the Laminas framework, this is part of our commitment to move away from using versions of platforms that have reached End-of-Life (EOL).
If you have existing custom Swarm modules created for Swarm 2019.3 or earlier, you must update them to use the Laminas framework. For instructions on updating your Zend custom modules to Laminas, see Migrate existing custom modules to the Laminas framework.
Upgrading from Swarm 2019.1 and earlier
Swarm 2019.2 introduced a Redis in-memory cache to improve performance and reduce the load on the Helix Core server. This replaces the file-based cache that was previously used by Swarm.
On Swarm systems with a large number of users, groups, and projects, the initial population of this cache can take some time. If you have a large Swarm system you should read through the Redis server connection and configuration options before installing or upgrading Swarm, see Redis server.
API support changing for Swarm User Interface release (2020)
We have started adding a new set of v10 APIs to Swarm. These will provide a new endpoint and response pattern, and are designed for use with the new rich User Interface that is being introduced in 2020. Swarm will continue to support the v9 APIs for some time, see API versions.
API support changed for Swarm 2019.3
APIs older than v9 are being deprecated, support for them will be removed in a future release. See API versions.
Workflow feature support changed for Swarm 2019.2
The Swarm workflow feature is enabled by default. If you are upgrading from an earlier version you will need to update your triggers, see Upgrade Swarm.
PHP and Apache version support changed for Swarm version 2019.1
We have removed support for versions of PHP older than 7.0 in Swarm 2019.1. As a result of this change, support for Apache 2.2 has also been removed. This is part of our commitment to move away from using versions of platforms that have reached End-of-Life (EOL).
Ensure that you can install a supported version of PHP and Apache before upgrading to Swarm 2019.1. For information on versions of PHP and Apache supported by Swarm, see PHP and Apache web server.
P4PHP 2019.1 or later required for Swarm 2019.1 and later
The latest version of P4PHP is included in the Swarm package, OVA, and tarball installations.
Known limitations
Issue: Swarm will lose connection to all of the Helix servers if you edit the base_url configurable value in the environment block of <swarm_root>/data/config.php. This will stop your system working.
Fix: Remove the base_url configurable from the environment block of <swarm_root>/data/config.php.

Individual branch views display the commits correctly.
Run p4 login2
error
Run p4 login2
error. p4 login2
for a super user account configured for Helix Authentication Service before deploying the Swarm OVA. For p4 login2
detail, see p4 login2 in Helix Core P4 Command Reference.