Spotfire Support Newsletter - Fall 2023

Back to the main page (Spotfire Support Newsletters)

Access the full power of Spotfire by combining visual analytics, data science, and streaming capabilities all on one platform. Learn more on our updated website, spotfire.com!

Upgrade to the Latest Product Releases

Spotfire version 14.0, released on November 6, 2023, is the latest LTS version (and being the most recent release of all, also the latest Mainstream version).  For more details on the difference between Long-Term Support and Mainstream release types, see Overview of Spotfire Releases.

For a full list of new features and changes in this new version please click below:

• What's new in Spotfire 14.0
• Information about upgrading to Spotfire 14.0

A few highlights from this most recent version:

• Scalable and formatted KPI charts
• Work with open-source R code in Spotfire Service for R
• WYSIWYG export to Excel
• More advanced functionality when working with time series

Check out

highlighting all the changes in Spotfire 14.0!

Spotfire Enterprise Runtime for R Server Edition 1.17.0, Spotfire Service for R 1.17.0, and Python Service 1.17.0 were also released recently.  These releases contain the following changes:

Spotfire Service for R (R Service) 1.17.0

• Updates to several third-party components

Spotfire Service for Python 1.17.0

• Visualizations that take advantage of Python scripts are now available for Spotfire Business Author and Consumer users
• You can deploy and use your preferred Python distribution
• The bundled Python interpreter has been updated to version 3.11.3
• Updates to several third-party components

Spotfire Enterprise Runtime for R Server Edition 1.17.0

• The Spotfire Enterprise Runtime for R (TERR) engine has been upgraded to 6.1.0
• Updates to several third-party components

Highlight of recent system requirements changes

• Spotfire platform: All Spotfire Server components can be installed on RedHat Linux
• Computers running Spotfire clients (Analyst, Desktop, Web Player, Automation Services) must have .NET Framework 4.8 installed
• Removed support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7 and Debian 10

For a complete list of all system requirement changes in products and versions of interest to you, please see the System Requirements
 

Highlight of recent deprecated and removed features

• Spotfire Desktop is no longer being distributed as a separate program - it is now a variant of the existing Spotfire Analyst.
• The TIBCO Spotfire Statistics Services server is discontinued. There will be no further new versions of it and it will eventually be removed. The latest long-term support (LTS) version, version 12.0, will continue to receive bug fixes and security patches until End of Support is announced. The TERR, R, and Python services now provide this functionality instead.
  Note: If you are using data functions with MATLAB or SAS in the 12.0 LTS version of Spotfire Statistics Services, then your license includes continued use of the Spotfire Statistics Services server, with either Spotfire 12 (LTS version) or Spotfire 14 (LTS version), as long as Spotfire Statistics Services server 12.0 (LTS version) is in support.
  For more information, see the Spotfire Statistics Services Migration Guide.
• The TIBCO-branded versions of Progress DataDirect JDBC drivers, which previously came pre-installed with Spotfire Server, are removed, and not supported from version 14.0. The corresponding data source templates for the drivers are also removed. For more information, see Migrating from TIBCO DataDirect JDBC drivers.

For more information about these and other deprecated and removed features in all products and versions or interest to you, please read the individual release notes, available on the Product documentation site (Spotfire documentation)

Important Security Announcements

The following are recently released security advisories related to Spotfire products::

• TIBCO Security Advisory: November 8, 2023 - TIBCO Spotfire - CVE-2023-26221
• TIBCO Security Advisory: October 10, 2023 - TIBCO Spotfire - CVE-2023-26220

All Spotfire security advisories can be accessed from the Security Advisories web page. 

Recent Hotfixes and Service Packs 

It is recommended to always keep your Spotfire environment up-to-date with the latest hotfixes.

Hotfixes can be downloaded from the Support Portal and are documented here: Overview of hotfixes for Spotfire®. Once you have logged in to the Support Portal, the hotfixes can be found under the Downloads menu > Hotfixes. On the Hotfixes page, Spotfire-hotfixes can be found under "AvailableDownloads" > Spotfire

The following hotfixes/service packs were released recently:

The latest Spotfire Server service packs can be downloaded from the TIBCO eDelivery site:

Get Notified on Product Updates

Learn how to subscribe to notifications, release announcements, hotfixes, knowledge articles, retirement notices, and more.

Review End of Support Timelines 

Review the end of support dates below and plan upgrades to supported versions, where you can benefit from security updates, defect fixes, and features available in the latest releases.  

• Spotfire 11.4 LTS ending support on November 30, 2024
• Spotfire 12.1 ending support on January 31, 2024
• Spotfire 12.2 ending support on March 31, 2024
• Spotfire 12.3 ending support on April 30, 2024
• Spotfire 12.4 ending support on July 31, 2024
• Spotfire 12.5 ending support on November 30, 2024

Support will answer product questions, but no new defect corrections, in the form of hotfixes or service packs, will be provided for these versions. Note: The current LTS versions 12.0 and 14.0, are not affected by these announcements.

See this page for information about the end of support dates and end of extended support dates for all Spotfire Product versions.
 

Tech Tips

Beginning with Spotfire 12.3 the ODBC drivers for Apache Spark SQL, MongoDB, and Apache Cassandra are no longer included in the Spotfire Analyst installation.  To continue to access data from Apache Spark SQL, MongoDB, or Apache Cassandra in Spotfire installed clients, you must download and install a different supported driver.

Apache Spark SQL

To connect to Apache Spark SQL you will need to download Simba ODBC driver for Spark SQL, version 2.6.11 or higher which can be acquired from several vendors.  Install the new driver on all computers where you will access the data in Spotfire.  Once this new driver has been installed you do not need to edit your data connections in Spotfire.

MongoDB

To access data from MongoDB you will need to download MongoDB Connector for BI, version 2.10 and later.  Install the MongoDB Connector for BI driver on all computers where you will access data from MongoDB in Spotfire.  Once this new driver has been installed you will need to create a new data connection to your MongoDB data with the connector for MySQL.  Save the data connection to the library, for reuse in all your analysis files. Open the analysis file you need to update, then use the Data canvas to replace your old MongoDB data source with data from your new connection in the library.

Apache Cassandra

To access data from Apache Cassandra you can use Spotfire's generic support for loading data with an ODBC driver.  You will need to create a new DSN for the data you need to access. Share the DSN and install the driver on all computers where you will access the data in Spotfire.

In a Spotfire installed client, open the analysis file you need to update. Using the Data canvas, replace your old Apache Cassandra data source, and use Load data from ODBC, OLE DB, or ADO.NET data provider to connect to your new Apache Cassandra data DSN.

For more information about these driver changes please see this KB article

For more information about the upgrade to Spotfire 14.0 and more see this article.
 

Top Spotfire Support Knowledge Base Articles 

• Error when logging in with Spotfire Analyst
• Spotfire JavaScript Mashup API stops working
• Error Python Package Index not accessible
• Spotfire Server and Spotfire Clients show different versions
• Can Spotfire connect to my particular data source?

Continued Education

We recommend that new Spotfire customers use the Getting Started and the Training section of the Spotfire Community for initial enablement.

Our new Spotfire website includes several sections for expanding your use of Spotfire, including a Resources Library, Demo Gallery, and information about existing Mods to visualize your data. 

We also host Dr. Spotfire sessions, create Quick Tip YouTube videos, and post other great content on the Official Spotfire User Group LinkedIn group to help users with unique analytics challenges. Please subscribe and follow us on YouTube and LinkedIn to stay updated!

Explore Customer Success Stories

Hunt Oil used Spotfire and real-time analytics to create a faster solution for extracting information from their wells, saving time and money.

Hunt Oil stays ahead of the curve

Read more stories from Spotfire's Energy customers