Chapter 2. New features

This section highlights new features in Red Hat Decision Manager 7.1.

2.1. Installation and upgrades

2.1.1. Consolidated Red Hat Decision Manager update tool

Previously, Red Hat Decision Manager patch updates and minor release upgrades were applied with separate patch and upgrade tools. With this release, you can use the new rhdm-$VERSION-update.zip update tool to apply both patch updates and minor release upgrades to Red Hat Decision Manager 7.1. Patch updates of Red Hat Decision Manager, such as an update from version 7.1 to 7.1.1, include the latest security updates and bug fixes. Minor release upgrades of Red Hat Decision Manager, such as an upgrade from version 7.1.x to 7.2, include enhancements, security updates, and bug fixes.

For information about using the Red Hat Decision Manager update tool, see Patching and upgrading Red Hat Decision Manager 7.1.

Important

To upgrade from Red Hat Decision Manager 7.0.x to 7.1, you must use a Decision Central migration tool provided with the Red Hat Decision Manager 7.1 release to accommodate an improved project data structure in Red Hat Decision Manager 7.1. For migration instructions, see Migrating from Red Hat Decision Manager 7.0 to Red Hat Decision Manager 7.1.

2.1.2. Tomcat 9 support

Red Hat Decision Manager is now available for JBoss Web Server 5.0 with support for Tomcat 9.

2.2. Decision Central

2.2.1. Multiple GIT branch support

Decision Central now provides multiple GIT branch support which enables you to work on multiple source branches interchangeably. On the project’s page, select the branch drop-down menu in the library breadcrumbs to access this feature.

2.3. Decision Server

2.3.1. Decision Model and Notation (DMN) models

Red Hat Decision Manager 7.1 includes full runtime support for DMN 1.2 models at conformance level 3. Red Hat Decision Manager 7.1 currently does not include a built-in DMN model designer, but you can design your DMN models using a third-party DMN authoring tool and include them in your Red Hat Decision Manager projects for deployment and execution. A DMN model designer will be added to Red Hat Decision Manager in the near future.

For more information about DMN support in Red Hat Decision Manager 7.1, see Designing a decision service using DMN models.

2.3.2. Predictive Modeling Markup Language (PMML) models

Red Hat Decision Manager 7.1 now supports the following PMML 4.2.1 model types:

  • Regression models
  • Scorecard models
  • Tree models
  • Mining models (with sub-types modelChain, selectAll, and selectFirst)

More PMML model types and Mining model sub-types will be supported as they become available.

For more information about PMML support in Red Hat Decision Manager 7.1, see Designing a decision service using PMML models.

2.3.3. Executable rule models

Executable rule models are embeddable models that provide a Java-based representation of a rule set for execution at build time. The executable model is a more efficient alternative to the standard asset packaging in Red Hat Decision Manager and enables KIE containers and KIE bases to be created more quickly, especially when you have large lists of DRL (Drools Rule Language) files and other Red Hat Decision Manager assets.

For more information about executable rule models in Red Hat Decision Manager 7.1, see "Executable rule models" in Designing a decision service using DRL rules.

2.3.4. Spring Boot support

You can use the following Spring Boot starters to bootstrap your projects with Spring Boot:

  • Fully featured Decision Server

    • groupId: org.kie
    • artifactId: kie-server-spring-boot-starter

  • Rules and decisions Decision Server

    • groupId: org.kie
    • artifactId: kie-server-spring-boot-starter-drools

  • Planning Decision Server

    • groupId: org.kie
    • artifactId: kie-server-spring-boot-starter-optaplanner

2.4. Red Hat Business Optimizer

2.4.1. Multithreaded incremental solving

Red Hat Business Optimizer now supports multithreaded incremental solving. The solving process can now run on several CPU cores in parallel while remaining fully reproducible through repeated runs. Depending on the task, using four cores can increase the speed by a factor of three or more compared to solving on a single core. You do not need to modify the task source to use multithreaded incremental solving.

2.4.2. Employee Rostering

The Employee Rostering starter application has been significantly improved:

  • You can now create a new tenant so you can use the application with your own real-world data and enter this data starting from a blank slate.
  • The user interface was improved, including notifications and performance.
  • You can now select the week to view instead of scrolling through long time periods.