CloudCheckr Updates 2018

December 18, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, December 18, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next update within your account(s).

Details of the update:

AWS UPDATES

Added Multi-Select Capabilities to Filters Within EC2 RI Purchase Recommendation Reports

The filter option have been improved in both EC2 RI Purchase Recommendation reports (found within the Cost > AWS Billing > Reserved Usage > EC2 menu). Previously, the Region, Instance Type, Platform, and Tenancy options required the user to input text. With this update these are now multi-select options, making it easier for the user to select the filters they want and eliminate the possibility for error.

December 10, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, December 10, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next update within your account(s).

Details of the update:

AWS UPDATES

Added Support for AWS GovCloud (US-East) Region

Added Support for new EC2 Instance Types:

  • m5a
  • r5a
  • c5n
  • a1

Added one new Best Practice Check:

  • Regions Without AWS Config Enabled

AZURE UPDATES

Added Retail Cost option to Invoice Generator

Within the Cost > Azure Partner Tools > Reports > Invoice Generator you now have the ability to generate invoices using the Retail cost type. Simply select 'Retail' from the Cost Type option.

Two Enhancements to the Advanced Grouping Report

  • Additional Chart Types - you can now choose between Area, Bar, Column, or Pie charts when generating a report.
  • Option to Include Zero Costs - you can now choose to include, or exclude, rows with no cost from the report.

November 19, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, November 19, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next update within your account(s).

Details of the update:

AWS UPDATES

CloudTrail Assume Role ARN Consolidation

To help eliminate extremely large lists of users and roles within the CloudTrail Events report, the Assume Role ARNs which are being created for each resource Id are being consolidated.

Example:

arn:aws:sts::[AWS Account Id]:assumed-role/aws:ec2-infrastructure/i-1234abcd

will be converted to

arn:aws:sts::[AWS Account Id]:assumed-role/aws:ec2-infrastructure/*

This will allow you to run a query against all activity from the assume role and not have to selected multiples, depending on how many unique values the role had. It should also help with load times when building the list of users with the CloudTrail Events report.

November 12, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, November 12, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next update within your account(s).

Details of the update:

AWS UPDATES

The Advanced Filtering Report is being deprecated

The Advanced Filtering report is being deprecated from the application. It will be accessible until February 18, 2019, at which point it will be removed. All the capabilities of the Advanced Filtering report (plus more) are currently available within the Advanced Grouping report. We recommend that you run your cost reports from Advanced Grouping starting now.

We will automatically convert any saved filter built within the Advanced Filtering report to a corresponding Advanced Grouping saved filter. We will also automatically convert any cost alert based on an Advanced Filtering saved filter to use the converted Advanced Grouping saved filter. You will not need to do anything for this change, which we will automatically execute on February 18, 2019.

Please note that you will no longer be able to save new saved filters within the Advanced Filtering report. Please save all new filters within the Advanced Grouping report. However, you will still be able to update and manage your existing saved filters until they are converted on February 18, 2019.

AZURE UPDATES

Added CSV export option to the Profit Analysis Report

You can now export the Profit Analysis report to CSV. This report can be accessed within the Cost > Azure Partner Tools > report menu.

October 22, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, October 22, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next update within your account(s).

Details of the update:

API UPDATES

Added email input to alert/add_cost_alert_percent When adding cost alerts with this API call you can now choose the email recipient(s) by adding the parameter in your request.

AWS UPDATES

New Amortization Method CloudCheckr now supports amortization for unblended rates. This setting is ideal for enterprises who buy their RI’s centrally but want the individual teams/department to bear their portion of the upfront RI payment. To configure your account to use this method, within the Cost > AWS Partner Tools > Configure > Configure Custom Cost menu, you will want to choose ‘Unblended’ and ‘Amortize upfront costs by proportional payee hourly usage’.

Added support for g3s EC2 instance types

3 New Best Practice Checks

  • Log metric filter and alarm do not exist for changes to Network Access Control Lists (NACL)
  • Log metric filter and alarm do not exist for changes to network gateways
  • Log metric filter and alarm do not exist for route table changes

AZURE UPDATES

Additional columns added to CSP RI Configuration page The Cost > Azure Partner Tools > Configure menu will now include the following data columns:

  • Term – term of the reservation (1 or 3 years)
  • Tenancy – Single or Shared
  • Quantity – number of instances in the reservation
  • Expiring – expiration date of the reservation
  • Upfront Fee – $ amount paid upfront for the reservation

Added RI Amortization to List Cost Analysis If using the amortization option within the CSP RI Configuration menu, you will now see this reflected within the List Cost Analysis page.

October 08, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, October 08, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next update within your account(s).

Details of the update:

AWS UPDATES

Added support for the u.metal EC2 instance types

Added the ability to ignore S3 buckets with incorrect programmatic billing files You can now have your account ignore any S3 bucket where programmatic billing files reside (such as the DBR), if the files within that bucket are not the ones you intend to use for billing ingestion. This occurs when a customer is modifying a detailed billing report and uploading to S3. If you would like to ensure a specific programmatic billing bucket is not being used for data ingestion, please contact support@cloudcheckr.com.

AZURE UPDATES

Added the ability to amortize RI purchases within the CSP RI Configuration page This is an enhancement to the CSP RI Configuration page that was made available in a previous update. In addition to choosing RI owner and unsharing, you now also have the ability to amortize the upfront cost of the RI and apply that to the customer. You can also add a percentage-based upcharge to the amortized amount, if you choose. This is only available within CSP accounts, and can be accessed within the Cost > Azure Partner Tools > Configure menu.

Added the ability to add/edit custom charges based on Cost Source (Azure, Azure Marketplace, etc.) When configuring custom charges, you now have the ability to include or exclude any Cost Source from the custom charge. This allows you to create custom charges that apply a percentage increase to a customer’s usage, but will exclude Marketplace costs to ensure those aren’t being inflated. Custom charges can be managed within the Cost > Azure Partner Tools > Configure menu.

September 24, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, September 24, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next update within your account(s).

Details of the update:

GENERAL UPDATES

White label customers can have SSO initiated login via login page The login page can be updated with a button that will allow users to initiate their login directly through their SSO provider. This feature is only available to white label customers. Please contact support@cloudcheckr.com if you’re interested in enabling this capability.

API UPDATES

CloudWatch metrics added to inventory/get_resources_s3_summary

AWS UPDATES

Improvements to the IAM policy template When creating a new account and leveraging the CloudFormation template, you’ll now get to choose which permissions to apply, per module (Cost, Security, etc.). Please note that as part of this, if you would like billing data or security logs ingested into your account, you will need to add the name of your programmatic billing bucket, as well as the bucket where your CloudTrail logs are stored. These will be fields you fill out within the AWS console while saving the CloudFormation template.

AZURE UPDATES

New CSP RI Configuration menu CSP Customers now have the ability to choose the owner, per reservation, as well as whether that reservation should be unshared. This is only available within CSP accounts, and can be accessed within the Cost > Azure Partner Tools > Configure menu. NOTE: In a future update, upfront Amortization will be added to this feature.

September 10, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, September 10, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next update within your account(s).

Details of the update:

AWS UPDATES

New Cognito Inventory Reports Within the Inventory > Cognito menu, you will now find resource inventory reports for:

  • User Pool Summary
  • List of User Pools

One new Best Practice Check:

  • Log metric filter and alarm do not exist for AWS Config configuration changes

AZURE UPDATES

New CSP Virtual Machine Reservation Purchase Recommendation Report CSP Accounts will now find a VM Reservation Purchase Recommendation report within the Cost > Reserved Usage > Recommendations menu. This report will look at your VM usage and make purchase recommendations, identifying areas where reservations can be leveraged to save money. These reservations will be made, and organized, by customer.

August 28, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Tuesday, August 28, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next update within your account(s).

Details of the update:

GENERAL UPDATES

Column Sorting and Cost Columns re-implemented on List of Accounts Page In a previous update we temporarily removed the Cost columns as well as the ability to sort columns on the List of Accounts page (where you are directed upon login). In this update, we have re-implemented these features. You can sort the columns by simply clicking on the column headers. To see the Cost columns again, click the ‘EDIT COLUMNS’ button and select the columns you would like to see on this page. NOTE: This page is still under construction. While we continue to improve the page, Cost columns will only be visible for Admin users. These will be exposed to all users in a future update.

Improvements to white labeled emails Emails delivered from the system to white labeled customers will now have the Login button direct users to the proper login page.

AWS UPDATES

Improved WorkSpaces prediction algorithm for higher accuracy Customers using the WorkSpaces service from AWS will see a more accurate prediction for its costs within the Cost module.

Improved detection for VPCs with publicly accessible subnets The Perimeter Assessment report and Publicly Accessible Resources alert will now properly identify VPCs that have publicly accessible subnets.

AZURE UPDATES

Added support for CSP Unsharing Within the Cost > Azure Partner Tools > Configure > Configure Custom Cost menu, you now have the ability to enable unsharing. Enabling this feature will change the usage cost of Virtual Machines using reservations to its corresponding on-demand costs.

August 13, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, August 13, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next update within your account(s).

Details of the update:

AWS UPDATES

New Total Compliance Report There is a new item in the report navigation on the left-hand side of the application for Compliance. Within that menu you’ll find a new report, titled Total Compliance. This report reviews more than 30 compliance frameworks (including NIST, HIPAA, PCI, ISO) against the configuration of AWS accounts and resources. By leveraging the Total Compliance standards, security professionals can more easily and consistently ensure that their deployments are following established best practices for compliance. You’re able to select up to five favorite frameworks and have the report track your compliance against those on a daily or weekly basis.

Added integration notifications into CloudWatch Logs In a previous update we added a single location to manage integrations for alert and best practice notifications. With this release, you can now leverage these integrations when configuring alerts within the Security > CloudWatch Logs > Define Events report. NOTE: You can manage the integrations within the Account Settings > Configurations > Integrations page.

July 30, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, July 30, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next update within your account(s).

Details of the update:

UX UPDATES

Loading Improvements on the List of Accounts page The List of Accounts page (where you are directed upon login) is currently under construction to improve the loading times for the page. In addition to speed improvements, pagination options have been added to the page. These allow you to choose how many accounts to list on the page as well as quickly cycle through pages. NOTE: We have temporarily hidden the Cost columns from the page and disabled the ability to sort the Credentials column. Both of these will be re-implemented soon in a future update. You should notice improved load times while this work is in progress.

Removed Login Button from Summary of Daily Consolidated Bill White-Labeled Emails For white-labeled customers, the Summary of Daily Consolidated Bill email will no longer have a Login button.

Additional Filter Options Added to Admin Audit History Admin users now have the ability to filter the Audit History by both Created Date and Object Name.

API UPDATES

Update to inventory/get_resources_virtual_machine_details The output of this API call will now include a field for “ScaleSet”.

AWS UPDATES

Added Copy DBR Version Flag When editing the setup of Copy DBR (from within the Cost > AWS Partner Tools > DBR > Copy menu, you will now see a toggle switch to choose between the current or deprecated version of the copy. NOTE: The new version includes the ReservedInstance column, where the previous version did not. IMPORTANT: The deprecated version will be supported for 90 days. Please make plans to account for the additional column.

EC2 Operations Mapped to Operating Systems The names of the EC2 Operations have been updated to include the Operating System. This will make it easier to run reports in Advanced Grouping that targets specific Operating Systems or to generate Custom Charges against a specific OS. Example: RunInstances:0002 will now be RunInstances:0002 (Windows)

AZURE UPDATES

Added filtering for BYOL Virtual Machines New meter sub-categories have been added to identify Bring-Your-Own-License virtual machines. This will make it easier to identify and report against these within the Advanced Grouping report as well as managing custom charges.

Added Option to Include/Exclude Chart Data in Advanced Grouping CSV Export When choosing to export data from the Advanced Grouping to a CSV file you will now have the option to either include or exclude the chart data. Previously the chart data was included in every export.

Better Scale Sets to Virtual Machine Reporting The Inventory > Virtual Machines > List of Virtual Machines report will now better report against the VM>Scale Set relationship. A Scale Set column has been added to the report, making it easily to identify which Scale Set, if any, that a VM belongs to. When expanding on a VM there is also a data point for Scale Set. You can click on the Scale Set name to drill down to its corresponding inventory report.

July 19, 2018

Details of the update:

GENERAL UPDATES

Added new system-wide messaging system CloudCheckr can now communicate directly with customers via a messaging system that informs them about new upcoming features, instructions on how to use certain functions and reports, and alert them to any issues.

Added report export options CloudCheckr created additional export options to enable customers to export all fields available on the report or export only those fields that are displayed. For selected reports, we have also added back in a deprecated export format to meet the current needs of our customers. Please note: we will remove this format from the system in 90 days.

AWS UPDATE

Enhanced the Copy DBR functionality The Copy DBR function now updates the Reserved Instance (RI) Y/N column depending on if an RI is being shared with an instance. We also added a new column that shows a key/value pair which identifies if the instance is a partial RI and provides the percentage breakdown of usage.

API UPDATE

New Azure Call: • create_detailed_billing_grouped_filter

June 28, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Thursday, June 28, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next scan of your AWS deployment.

Details of the update:

GENERAL UPDATES

Redesigned report action icons The action icons in the reports (CSV and PDF exports, show/hide filters, and bookmarks) have been redesigned, make it easier to identify the icons and understand what each does.

New Read-Only user role A new Read-Only user role has been added to the application. Users with this level of access can view all reports/features that they have been granted access to, but will not be able to make any updates, save reports, or make any other changes to an account.

API UPDATES

8 New API Calls:

  • account/add_third_party_account
  • account/add_third_party_accounts
  • account/edit_third_party_account
  • account/edit_third_party_accounts
  • account/get_third_party_account
  • account/get_third_party_accounts
  • account/delete_third_party_account
  • account/delete_third_party_accounts

AWS UPDATES

Can now choose usage date range for RI Purchase Recommendations Within the Cost > Reserved Usage > EC2 > Purchase by Instance and Purchase by Frequency reports, you now have the ability to choose the usage date range that will be used to make RI purchase recommendations. You can choose between 30 (default), 60, 90, and 180 days.

AZURE UPDATES

Subscription Family redesign The Subscription Families user experience has been completely redesigned. In addition to a new interface, you now have the ability to choose custom charges for the families, add project codes, and establish payment terms.

Invoice Generator can now be ordered by invoice amount The Azure Invoice Generator (accessed within the Cost > Azure Partner Tools > Report menu) now has the option to sort the list of subscription families by invoice amount or alphabetically.

Can now choose usage date range for RI Purchase Recommendations Within the Cost > Reserved Usage > Recommendations > Virtual Machines report, you now have the ability to choose the usage date range that will be used to make the purchase recommendations. You can choose between 30 (default), 60, 90, and 180 days.

June 18, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Tuesday, June 18, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next scan of your AWS deployment.

Details of the update:

GENERAL UPDATES

SNS and Syslog support added to Integrations options Last month we added a single location to manage integrations for alert and best practice notifications. With this update you can now manage both your SNS and Syslog integrations within this page as well. These can all be managed within the Account Settings > Configurations > Integrations page.

API UPDATES

Added 34 new compliance frameworks to get_best_practices_v3 The output of the get_best_practices_v3 API call will now include mappings to 35 compliance frameworks (including CIS, HIPAA, NIST, PCI, and ISO). You can use the filter_by_compliance_controls parameter with this call to retrieve results from specific frameworks. In a future update these frameworks will also be added to the application making them accessible within the Security reports.

AWS UPDATES

HIPAA Compliance page added Within the Security > Secure Configuration menu, you will now have access to a HIPAA Compliance Controls report. Similarly to the CIS Benchmarks report, this page will map HIPAA compliance controls to CloudCheckr’s best practice checks, alerting you on those that are not set correctly according to HIPAA’s guidelines.

Standardization improvements to Cost Savings CSV Export The Cost Savings CSV export has been improved. With this update the same columns for different services (EC2 and RDS, for example) will be in the same order.

List of Redshift Reserved Nodes CSV export maintains filters Now, when applying filters to the Redshift Reserved Nodes report and generating a CSV export, the export will only contain those nodes that were listed within the report upon export.

Date value for each row added to the EC2 History by Time CSV Export The exported CSV file from the Inventory > Trending > EC2 History by Time report will now include the date for each row.

AZURE UPDATES

Added ability to convert cost-only account to resource subscription You now have the ability to convert an account that was setup as cost-only to a subscription with resources account. This allows you to have the accounts automatically created by the billing process and add credentials at a later time.

June 11, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, June 11, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next scan of your AWS deployment.

Details of the update:

GENERAL UPDATES

Added Slack to the Integrations options Last month we added a single location to manage integrations for alert and best practice notifications. With this update you can now manage your Slack integrations within this page as well. These can all be managed within the Account Settings > Configurations > Integrations page.

Added Integrations to the Alerts notification options Now, when configuring your alerts, the notification options will include the integrations you’ve configured.

Admins now have access to all Dashboards by default Admin users will now be able to view all dashboards within their account. Previously they had to be manually assigned to a dashboard to be able to view the dashboard.

Report emails will now be sent from ‘no-reply@cloudcheckr.com’ Report emails that were previously being sent from ‘support@cloudcheckr.com’ will now be sent from ‘no-reply@cloudcheckr.com’. This will allow you to setup email rules to process the report updates and not have those impact communication from the CloudCheckr support team. Please review your email filters related to CloudCheckr.

API UPDATES

1 new API call:

  • save_best_practice_notification_v2

AWS UPDATES

Project Code added to filters and grouping in Advanced Grouping In a previous update we added a Project Code field to Account Families. You can now create cost reports within the Advanced Grouping report focused on these Projects Codes. You can both filter and group by Project Code within the report.

New export option added to Profit Analysis Previously when exporting the Profit Analysis report to CSV it would include both a summary and grouping by account. Now you have the ability to differentiate between the two and export separately.

CSV export added to List of NAT Gateways report The List of NAT Gateways report (found within the Security > Secure Configuration menu) now supports exports to CSV.

Added DynamoDB to RI Historical Savings report Support for the DynamoDB service has been added to RI Historical Savings report.

Added additional filter options to List Cost Analysis You can now filter the List Cost Analysis report (found within the AWS Partner Tools menu) by Project Code and/or Charge Type.

Added the ability to enable/disable CUR processing We have added the ability to enable/disable processing the AWS Cost and Usage Report. This can be managed within the Account Settings > Cost And Usage Report screen.

Improvements to Reload DBR page In addition to renaming the page to “Reprocess Detailed Billing Report”, months will now disable when selected for reprocessing to make it more clear which months you’ve set to reprocess.

Expiring RI Best Practice Checks will now include instance count The Best Practice report checks that focus on expiring reserved instances will now include the number of instances within the reservation.

AZURE UPDATES

Better notification system when Billing Settings not configured When we cannot determine the currency or billing region from an EA or CSP account, the notification system will now alert the customer to this issue and also redirect the user to the billing configuration screen to apply the proper settings.

May 21, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, May 21, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next scan of your AWS deployment.

Details of the update:

GENERAL UPDATES

Privacy Policy has changed All users will be prompted with a privacy policy change notification when they first login to the application after this update. They will need to accept these changes to continue and use the application.

API UPDATES

Added two optional parameters to create_account_family and modify_account_family API Calls:

  • Project Code
  • Payment Terms

Added new optional parameter to get_best_practices_v3:

  • filter_by_compliance_controls

AWS UPDATES

Can now Group and Aggregate the Advanced Grouping report by week Users now have the ability to both aggregate and group their cost data by Week within the Advanced Grouping report. With this update you can now view your data by day, week, or month.

Added Redshift and ElastiCache to RI Historical Savings report The Cost > Reserved Usage > Historical Savings report now supports Redshift and ElastiCache, in addition to EC2 and RDS.

Project Code and Payment Terms added to Account Family creation When creating a new Account Family you now have the ability to add the Project Code and Payment Terms in the creation wizard. Previously these options were only available when editing an existing Family.

AZURE UPDATES

Notification added for subscription families setup as resellers For customers with a tiered reseller configuration, the Subscription Families page will now show a ‘Reseller’ notification for those Families that are configured as resellers.

May 09, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Wednesday, May 09, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next scan of your AWS deployment.

Details of the update:

GENERAL UPDATES

What’s New moved in the application The What’s New has been removed from the main list of accounts page. You can now find it by clicking on the Settings icon in the top-right corner of the application, from any page within the application. Simply select ‘What’s New’ from the menu and a pop-up will display, showing the details of the latest updates.

Added Service Now as a notification method for Best Practice checks You can now configure your account to send a notification to Service Now directly from a best practice check. You can configure Service Now by navigating to Account Settings > Configurations > Integrations and adding Service Now. In addition to giving the integration a name, you will be prompted to enter the following details from Service Now: Instance, ClientId, ClientSecret, Username, Password, and Assignment Group / sys_id.

AWS UPDATES

Redesigned Account Families The Account Families user experience has been completely redesigned. In addition to a new interface, you now have the ability to choose custom charges for the families, add project codes, and establish payment terms.

You can learn more about these changes by visiting our blog: https://cloudcheckr.com/2018/05/account-family-enhancements/

Or by visiting our support documentation: here.

April 23, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, April 23, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next scan of your AWS deployment.

Details of the update:

GENERAL UPDATES

Alerting On/Off flag for CloudTrail Alerts updated and color-coded The slider that allows you to turn CloudTrail Alerts on and off has been re-designed. The new slider is color coded, making it easier to identify those alerts that are currently enabled.

API UPDATES

2 New Calls:

  • alert/add_cost_alert_percent
  • billing/delete_detailed_billing_grouped_filter

AWS UPDATES

Enterprise Support added as Payee Support option When configuring Payee Support charges within the Cost > AWS Partner Tools menu, in addition to Business Support, you can now have CloudCheckr calculate and apply Enterprise Support fees.

AZURE UPDATES

New Office 365 Users Report Active Directory accounts will now include two new Office 365 users reports: A summary report and a List of Users report.

April 09, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, April 09, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next scan of your AWS deployment.

Details of the update:

GENERAL UPDATES

Improvements to navigation tooltips When hovering your mouse over the left-hand report navigation menu, or the top navigation menu, text will display listing its corresponding report/page.

Redesigned the Best Practice Report check icons The icons to the right of the best practice checks have been completely redesigned, making it easier to see and easier to know what action each icon leads to.

Updated terminology in List of Accounts page In the list of accounts page the terms “Payer” and “Payee” have been re-named “Parent” and “Child”. You will see this in the checkboxes that are used to filter the list of accounts.

Whitelabel Customers can have customized alert sender address Whitelabel customers can now designate a sender address to replace emails that are sent from alerts@cloudcheckr.com. Please contact support@cloudcheckr.com if you would like to take advantage of this new capability.

New Dashboard Pane

  • Advanced Grouping Saved Filter

Can now support multiple SSO providers in a single customer CloudCheckr now supports multiple Single Sign-On providers within a single customer account. Please contact support@cloudcheckr.com if you would like to take advantage of this new capability.

API UPDATES

New API Call

  • billing/schedule_invoice

Update to API Call

  • get_best_practices_v2

AWS UPDATES

Added additional filter options to RI Mapping The Cost > Partner Tools > Configure > Reserved Instance Mapping report has been updated, allowing you to filter on additional criteria.

List of VPCs CSV export improvements The CSV export from the Security > Secure Configuration > VPC > List of VPCs report has been updated to include all fields available within the report.

Improved performance on CloudTrail data collection Further improvements have been made to the CloudTrail data collection process.

Improved experience when re-building historic Best Practice Checks within MAVs When loading an historic Best Practice Check report in large accounts, we may need to re-build the data for the report. In these situations, a back-end process will run to rebuild the data which can take 5-60 minutes, depending on the amount of data. Previously the historic report was inaccessible until this process completed. With this update, the checks will be available immediately for view, however, the details of the checks (when you expand) will still be rebuilt in the background.

March 26, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, March 26, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next scan of your AWS deployment.

Details of the update:

API UPDATES

1 new account API call:

  • account/forgot_password

3 new billing API calls (AWS and Azure supported):

  • billing/get_tag_rules
  • billing/add_tag_rule
  • billing/delete_tag_rule

Added Azure support for:

  • account/get_improperly_tagged_resources

GENERAL UPDATES

Can now add users to multiple user groups You now have the ability to assign a user to multiple user groups. When creating or editing a user instead of a dropdown, the ‘Group Permissions’ option will be a multi-select list, allowing you to add the user to as many groups as you would like. NOTE: The user will inherit ALL permissions within the groups that they are assigned. For example, if a user is added to Group A and Group B, and Group A gives access to the Billing Dashboard for Account1 and Group B does NOT give access to the Billing Dashboard for Account1, the user will have access to the Billing Dashboard.

Page load time improvements Improvements were made to the load times for reports across the application.

AWS UPDATES

DBR Export delivery improvements When exporting a copy of the DBR you will now be given a download link to obtain the file. This will allow for more consistent and reliable downloads. NOTE: The link will expire after 24 hours.

March 12, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, March 12, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next scan of your AWS deployment.

Details of the update:

GENERAL UPDATES

Performance of the list of accounts page has been improved When navigating to the main list of accounts page (the landing page upon logging in) the page will now load faster.

API UPDATES

Added Azure support to the following API calls:

  • billing/get_billing_detailed_grouped_pdf
  • billing/get_improperly_tagged_resources

AWS UPDATES

Added the ability to generate invoices with increased decimal precision When generating invoices you now have have the ability to show precise values, which is controlled with a checkbox. Enabling precise values will display the line items out to the maximum number of decimals provided by AWS. Please note that the total will still be rounded to two digits.

Five New Best Practice Checks:

  • Log metric filter and alarm do not exist for Management Console sign-in without MFA
  • Log metric filter and alarm do not exist for CloudTrail configuration changes
  • Log metric filter and alarm do not exist for AWS Management Console authentication failures
  • Log metric filter and alarm do not exist for disabling or scheduled deletion of customer created CMKs
  • Log metric filter and alarm do not exist for S3 bucket policy changes

One New CloudTrail Built-In Alert:

  • Changes have been made to route table

AZURE UPDATES

CloudCheckr can be configured as an SSO app in Azure Active Directory You now have the ability to add CloudCheckr as an SSO app within your Azure portal. If you would like to configure this option with your account, please contact support@cloudcheckr.com.

Reserved VM Purchases are now reported in Advanced Grouping The Advanced Grouping report now offers filter options for ‘Reservation’ within the charge model, allowing you to view and report against your Reserved VM purchases.

Added Support for the Germany region When configuring a new account, the “Select the Azure Account Type” option will now include ‘Azure Germany’ as an option. Choose this when setting up an account from the Germany region to ensure proper reporting.

Four New O365 Reports:

  • Sharepoint User Activity
  • OneDrive Overall Usage
  • Mailbox Overall Usage
  • Teams Usage by User

February 26, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, February 26, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next scan of your AWS deployment.

Details of the update:

GENERAL UPDATES

Copying Bookmark links to clipboard will now give ‘Success’ message

AWS UPDATES

4 New CloudTrail Pre-Built Alerts:

  • User without MFA making console logins
  • CloudTrail configuration changed
  • CMK disabled or scheduled for deletion
  • Unauthorized API call

4 New CIS Benchmarks:

  • 3.1 Ensure a log metric filter and alarm exist for unauthorized API calls
  • 3.3 Ensure a log metric filter and alarm exist for usage of “root” account
  • 3.4 Ensure a log metric filter and alarm exist for IAM policy changes
  • 3.14 Ensure a log metric filter and alarm exist for VPC changesAZURE UPDATES

AZURE UPDATES

New Active Directory Account Type When adding accounts to Azure, you now have the option to collect information from Active Directory. In addition to Active Directory information, this account type also allows us to report against Office 365.

6 new Office 365 Reports (within Active Directory accounts):

  • Licenses Report
  • Yammer Usage Report
  • Mailbox
  • Skype
  • OneDrive
  • Teams

Improvements made to Historic Billing Summary Report load time When loading data within the Cost > Azure Billing > Summary Reports > Historical Monthly Summary report, the data will be returned much quicker.

February 12, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, February 12, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next scan of your AWS deployment.

Details of the update:

API UPDATES

3 new API calls:

  • billing/create_detailed_billing_grouped_filter
  • billing/schedule_report_email_advanced_grouping
  • admin/list_reseller_links_v2

AWS UPDATES

Added Fix Now capabilities to the following Best Practice check:

  • No IAM Administrators Group Found

New Best Practice check:

  • Log Metric Filter and Alarm Do Not Exist for Usage of “Root” Account

AZURE UPDATES

Added the ability to generate invoices off of saved filters Within the Cost > Azure Partner Tools > Report > Generate Invoices menu you now have the ability to generate invoices based on saved filters created within the Advanced Grouping report. You will find saved filters as an option under the Report Format dropdown.

February 05, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, February 05, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next scan of your AWS deployment.

Details of the update:

GENERAL UPDATES

Added Report/Settings search to the application When logged into any account you will now find a search bar at the top of the application. You can type into the search and CloudCheckr will display a list of reports that match that term. You can then click on the name of the report you would like and you will automatically be taken to that report. That allows you to bypass the left-hand report navigation and more easily and quickly find the reports you’d like to view.

Cost for Saved Filter Over Time Dashboard pane drills into Adv. Grouping report When viewing the ‘Cost for Saved Filter Over Time’ pane within the Dashboard, you’ll now see a link within the pane. Clicking that link will take you directly to the Advanced Grouping report within that account, filtered to the saved filter and time range.

API UPDATES

New API Call: add_reseller_link_azure

AWS UPDATES

Best Practice report drilldown into CIS Benchmark report Best Practice checks that map only to CIS Benchmarks will now allow you to drilldown from the Best Practice report directly to that check within the CIS Benchmark report.

AZURE UPDATES

VM Reserved Instance Recommendations for non-US currencies The Cost > Reserved Usage > Recommendations > Virtual Machines report now supports recommendations for non-US currencies.

Redirect users to the billing configuration page when appropriate If you load an account that has not had its billing configuration set, you will now be redirected to the configuration page. This ensures your cost data is properly flowing into the account(s).

January 29, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, January 29, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next scan of your AWS deployment.

Details of the update:

API UPDATES

Added a new call: ReportPdfDownload/get_billing_detailed_grouped_pdf This call will provide a PDF version of the Advanced Grouping report.

AWS UPDATES

Fix Now capabilities added to the following Best Practice check:

  • Regions without AWS Config Enabled check

Added Account Id search to Cost Summary reports The Account Id dropdowns within the Cost Summary reports now have a search box that allows you to find accounts by Id or Name. This is supported for reports within the Cost > AWS Billing > Summary Reports menu.

AZURE UPDATES

Improvements to Reserved Instance Purchase Recommendations The Savings columns in the report have been updated to add clarity to the difference between 1 year and 3 year recommendations. Clarity has also been improved where a one year purchase may not be cost effective, but a three year purchase would be.

Reserved Instance unsharing support added for Tiered Resellers Reserved Instances will now be unshared when cost data is funneled down through the reseller tiers.

January 22, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, January 22, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next scan of your AWS deployment.

Details of the update:

GENERAL UPDATES

Improved experience for users utilizing IE11 Bug fixes and usability enhancements to allow for a better user experience with Internet Explorer 11.

AWS UPDATES

CIS Benchmark report can now be delivered via weekly/monthly email You can now have the CIS Benchmark report delivered to your inbox on a weekly and/or monthly basis. These emails can be enabled within the Account Settings > Email Settings menu.

Fix Now capabilities added to the following Best Practice check:

  • S3 Buckets That Allow Authenticated Users To Access Billing Report Log Files

AZURE UPDATES

Added support for tiered reseller configuration MSP customers that have their own resellers can now create Level 2 Azure resellers. Previously this was only support for AWS.

New CSP vs EA pricing comparison report This new report within the Azure Partner Tools menu allows you to generate a CSV file showing the cost benefits of moving a specific Enterprise Agreement (EA) under your CSP. Note, the EA account will need to be added to CloudCheckr to generate this comparison.

January 15, 2018

CloudCheckr will be performing a scheduled system update on Monday, January 15, 2018. This update will roll-out new features and reports to the application.

There is no expected service outage during this update. However, it is recommended that users clear the cache or temporary internet files of their browser after the update. All new features and reports may not appear in your account until CloudCheckr performs its next scan of your AWS deployment.

Details of the update:

GENERAL UPDATES

List of Users can now be sorted by the Name column Admin users can now sort the Name column of the list of users alphabetically. Note that sorting will be added to other columns in future updates.

AWS UPDATES

Fix Now capabilities added to three Best Practice Checks:

  • S3 Buckets That Allow Everyone Access to Billing Reports
  • S3 Buckets With Logging Not Enabled
  • IAM Users That Do Not Belong To Groups

AZURE UPDATES

Added two new Best Practice Checks:

  • Virtual Machines using older version of VM types
  • Virtual Machines not using Managed Disks

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