FAS 19.2 Upgrade Notes

FAS 19.2 APIs are compatible with the previous release.

This release introduces the following major changes:

• It is possible to use a centralised LDAP server for user storage and authentication for greater privacy and security. It also allows users to have a single set of credentials across multiple FAS environments and service accounts. This is only available in our cloud.
• There's support for A/B Testing of Item Campaigns. You can create A/B tests with two or more campaigns, assigning a percent of the traffic each of the campaigns should receive. To use this feature, you must use CRU and Insights.

Using LDAP for user storage and authentication

If LDAP is enabled for the service instance, it will be used for user storage and authentication. Users will be migrated to it upon their first login. As part of that process, users must choose a new password compliant with our new password strength policy. The policy is to use passwords at least 12 characters long.

Users will be able to log in with their email address instead of a username. On their first login, they may use usernames, but after that, they will have to use their email instead of their username.

Note: If enabled for a FAS instance, it cannot be disabled, as the users' data will be migrated.

A/B Testing of Item Campaigns

FAS 19.2 adds the possibility to perform A/B testing on item campaigns, requiring both CRU and our new Fredhopper Insights. The results of the tests can be tracked in Insights, accessed through the Merchandising Studio.

The A/B tests are available on their page in the Merchandising Studio and can be used to split traffic among multiple campaigns. The A/B tests can be edited and published just like other triggered entities. They will also appear on the Campaigns page, so their priority can be set relative to other campaigns.

Once a winning option has been identified, you can convert the test to a standalone campaign.

Changes in the response

Campaigns that are a part of A/B tests will have an additional property, groupId, which points to the A/B test entity. Here's an example:

<theme id="6f28f12d-786c-4ef9-a14f-be2cabce88eb" name="B" groupId="ac39d05d-1120-4186-965e-ecf48cfbfa52" type="facet">

Changes in default system settings (system.xml)

The /com/fredhopper/features node now contains a new entry:

<entry key="external-identity-management-enabled" value="false" />

This entry determines if the LDAP user management should be enabled or not. If the service instance is configured to use it, it is automatically set to 'true' in our cloud.

The /com/fredhopper/external-services node has two new sub-nodes:

<node name="reporting">
	<map>
		<entry key="enabled" value="false" />
		<entry key="location" value="" />
	</map>
</node>
<node name="ldapAuthentication">
	<map>
		<entry key="ldapHost" value="localhost" />
		<entry key="ldapPort" value="389" />
		<entry key="ldapAuthenticationMode" value="simple" />
		<entry key="bindDN" value="" />
		<entry key="bindPassword" value="" />
		<entry key="baseDN" value="dc=fredhopperservices,dc=com" />
	</map>
</node>

The 'reporting' node configures if Fredhopper Insights is enabled and where the Insights Dashboard for the customer is located. This information is used to display the link to it in Merchandising Studio.

The ldapAuthentication node configures the connection information for the LDAP server used for authentication. The ldapHost, baseDN, bindDN, and bindPassword are configured automatically in our cloud.