Sage Alerting Systems September 2019 Release (Rev95)
As announced in July, Sage will be releasing an update in September. This update will be called Rev95, and will be sold at a list price of $349 through our distributors. Users that purchased a new ENDEC on or after March 1, 2018 can get the update at no charge, see below for details. The update must be installed on your ENDEC by 1:20pm EST November 8, 2019 to continue to receive CAP alerts from FEMA. This update is only needed for ENDECs in the United States. The Q&A below will give you the information you need to know.
1. How do I buy the update?
Contact any of our distributors on the list at Sage Alerting Systems. You will need to provide the serial number of each ENDEC you need to update. Find the serial number by clicking the Version button on the ENDEC’s web interface. Look for the line that starts with SN: the rest of that line is the serial number. The serial number is also on a silver label on the upper left of the back panel of the ENDEC.
The serial number is seven characters long – the letter B, followed by six digits. Give all seven characters to your distributor to buy the release. If your ENDEC qualifies for a free update (see below), do not contact your distributor for that ENDEC – you will be able to download the release directly from the Sage web page.
2. How do I know if an ENDEC qualifies for the free update?
Check the ENDEC’s serial number:
- If B417611 through B429999, your ENDEC qualifies for the free update.
- If less than B417611, you must purchase an update though one of our distributors for that ENDEC.
- If from B430000 to B439999, you must purchase an update though one of our distributors for that ENDEC.
3. I’ve bought the update, or my ENDEC qualifies for a free update. What next?
The update will not be available until late September. If you purchase the update before that, the download will not be available until the release date, which will be announced on the sage web site www.sagealertingsystems.com
If you purchase the update on or after the release date, the download file will be available by 5pm ET on the next business day.
Once we’ve released Rev95, our web site will have a form at the top of the home page where you can type in the serial number of your ENDEC. The serial number is seven characters long – the letter B, followed by six digits. Type all seven characters on the form on the Sage web site to download the update file.
The download will start after that. You must have purchased the update from one of our distributors, or your serial number must fall in the free update range to install the update. A purchased update file can only be installed on the serial number it was purchased for.
4. How do I install the update?
You will use the same techniques that you have always used to install updates. The update is downloaded from a web site and stored on your PC. You then upload the file to the ENDEC using the Upload Firmware button.
Complete details will be provided in release notes that will be available along with the update file on our web page.
5. If I don’t install the update, what happens?
EAS participants are required to receive FEMA IPAWS cap messages per 47 CFR Part 11.52(d)(2), and to be able to verify the digital signature on alerts per 11.56(3)(c). To maintain compliance with commonly accepted security standards, FEMA is removing support for older methods, and is requiring the use of a more recent TLS 1.2 protocol to access its IPAWS server. Further, a DHS intermediate security certificate will expire on 18:20 UTC November 8, 2019. The Rev95 update is needed to continue to be able to acquire and verify IPAWS CAP alerts, and must be installed prior to November 8, 2019.
6. What else does this release contain?
A description of the new features in this update will be provided in the release notes provided with the download.
