Java Compatibility

Java® Runtime Environment (JRE) Compatibility

Overview

NetAcquire provides server configuration via a Web browser. Many of the Web pages provided by the NetAcquire server consist of Java applets performing dynamic updates and configuration consistency checking. Client computers display Java applets within a Web browser using the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) software distributed by Oracle® Corporation. Therefore, a client computer must have the JRE installed to manage the NetAcquire server.

The JRE installs onto a client computer independently of the NetAcquire server’s operation, and so NetAcquire software has no control over the JRE running on the client computer. JRE 5 (Java 1.5) and newer have documented bugs that require updates to Java security policy file(s) on client computers that access NetAcquire servers. If you are unsure what version you currently have installed, the section at the bottom of this page titled Finding the JRE Version will help you find that information. If you were directed to this page by a NetAcquire server, your client computer has JRE 5 (Java 1.5) or newer, and does not have the required policy file configuration.

Java and Browser Compatibility with NetAcquire Servers

The NetAcquire corporate Web site provides a complete listing and cross reference of support between various NetAcquire server versions, browsers, and Java versions. This page also provides convenient Java download links as well as current updates regarding potential Java issues. Please refer to the Java and Browser Compatibility Web page for full details.

Section Links

Solutions – short description of solution options
Policy File Updates – Options to modify policy file
Find JRE Version – How to find your JRE version
Java Security Overview – Overview of Java’s Security

Solutions

The following sections provide details about Java’s security mechanisms and policy files. NetAcquire provides two solutions below to current Java issues and recommends modifying Java policy files as the best way to resolve these issues. You may click on the links to navigate to the appropriate section for full details.

Certain security settings can be easily added to Java policy file(s) that will reestablish compatibility with JRE 5 and newer. If applicable, use the following button to automatically apply these policy file repairs. Full details regarding Java security and policy files can be found in the following sections, including instructions about how to manually fix the policy file(s) in case the automatic fix is unavailable.

Click here to automatically fix Policy File.

Policy File Updates

To address issues in JRE 5 and higher, users must update Java security policies that determine the operations that applets are permitted to perform. Granting applets the permissions required by the NetAcquire server does not affect Java’s ability to restrict unauthorized Java applet access to the client computer’s local disk, network, etc.

Automatic Policy Fix

NetAcquire provides a convenient applet to automatically update the policy file(s). The following link will redirect you to the automatic fix page. This applet will ask you to grant it special permissions in order to interact with your file system. Some operating systems have security features that prevent the automatic fix from being applied. These operating systems include (but may not be limited to) the following list. If your operating system appears in this list, please continue to the Manual Policy Fix section.

  • Automatic Fix Unsupported on Operating Systems
    • Windows Vista

Click here to automatically fix Policy File.

Manual Policy Fix

If you would prefer to make this change yourself, or happen to be using one of the operating systems that do not support the automatic fix, the following manual edits can be substituted.

How To: User Policy Update
This option is available to users whose security file (java.security) references a user-level policy file. By default, all security files reference a user policy file. If you cannot access the security file (java.security), please see your system administrator for details about your institution’s security settings. This option works best for all operating systems. The following steps will guide you through the process.

  1. Navigate to your user directory. If you are unsure where that directory resides, please refer to the information about the User Policy File.
  2. Create a file named “.java.policy”, making sure to include the dot ‘.’ at the beginning of the file name.
  3. Open the .java.policy file.
  4. Add the edits in the Policy Additions section below.

Policy Additions
The following additions must be made to one of the java policy files.

// Permissions added by NetAcquire
grant {
permission java.lang.RuntimePermission “modifyThread”;
permission java.lang.RuntimePermission “modifyThreadGroup”;
};// Permissions added by NetAcquire
grant codebase “http://${jnlp.netacquire}/-” {
permission java.awt.AWTPermission “accessClipboard”;
};// Permissions added by NetAcquire
grant codebase “https://${jnlp.netacquire}/-” {
permission java.awt.AWTPermission “accessClipboard”;
};

Once the policy edit is complete and the file saved, close and re-open all web browsers in order to allow the change to be reloaded by the JRE.

Finding the JRE Version

There are several ways to find the JRE version running on your computer. Follow any of these procedures if you want to determine which JRE you are running.

Auto-Detect

Java Compatibility

Java Control Panel
Open the Java Control Panel. On a Windows system, the Java control panel can be found by first going to the Windows Control Panel, then clicking on the Java icon. A dialog will appear. On the dialog, press the About button to display the version information.

Command Line
Open a command line prompt or shell and type “java -version”, then hit enter. You should see information appear identifying your java version. The following example demonstrates output for JRE 6 update 7.

>java -version
java version “1.6.0_07”
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_07-b06)
Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM (build 10.0-b23, mixed mode, sharing)

Java Security Overview

Java provides system administrators a convenient mechanism to control the security policies enforced on a particular computer. This section provides a basic overview of the Java security design and is followed by instructions detailing how to change the policies to deal with the issues that affect NetAcquire configuration applets.

To read more about Java Security, please see the following Oracle reference: Java 6 Security

Security File

Java uses the Java uses the java.security text file to configure various aspects of how Java should function (e.g. what libraries to use, etc). This file also provides pointer URLs to the policy file(s) that grant specific security permissions.

The security file is set up as key-value pairs such as ‘key=value’. The section of the security file pertaining to policies appears below. Successive policy files can be added with further numbering.

# The default is to have a single system-wide policy file,
# and a policy file in the user’s home directory.
policy.url.1=file:${java.home}/lib/security/java.policy
policy.url.2=file:${user.home}/.java.policy

Only System Administrators should edit the security file. The security file can be found in the following location.

Windows XP

Java Security Overview

Windows Vista / Windows 7

Java Security Overview

Policy Files

The java.security file “points” to the policy file(s) using a URL for each policy file. The default security file contains URLs that “point” to two policy file locations.

User Policy File
This policy file does not exist by default but can be added. The user policy file location resolves to < user directory >\.java.policy. Note: This filename begins with a dot ‘.’ as defined by the security file. User policy files are user-specific and are portable between Java versions. I.e. a user policy file will be referenced by future installations or upgrades of Java, eliminating the need to update a policy file every time Java is installed or upgraded. By default, all Java versions will reference this policy file.

Windows Vista / Windows 7:

Java and Browser Compatibility with NetAcquire Servers

Windows XP:

Java® Runtime Environment (JRE) Compatibility

Java Policy File
This policy file resides in the same location as the security file. See the section titled Security above for details. Each Java version will have a separate policy file (e.g. 1.6.0_01, 1.5.0_09, etc). Users may face editing restrictions on this file due to operating systems security (e.g. Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows 7), or require administrator privileges. This policy file applies globally to ALL users but only to the specific version of Java where the policy file resides.

Note: NetAcquire recommends that users not edit this file directly, regardless of operating system. Instead, create/edit the user policy file described above.

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