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Release 2025-11-11.1.0.0

· 7 min read

Summary​

This major release of Ark includes the introduction of dynamic connector configuration, OAuth 2.0 authentication support through Microsoft Entra ID integration, and a new notification system for customer communications.

Additionally, platform includes administration APIs for managing client configurations and banking products, improved observability and health monitoring across all services, and infrastructure-as-code capabilities for Azure deployments.

What's New​

New Features & Endpoints​

Dynamic Connector Configuration Management​

Clients can now configure and manage how Ark routes requests to different backend connectors or target platforms (e.g. different core banking instances).

New Endpoints:

  • Rule management endpoints (administrative access required)

  • GET /v1/admin/bre-configuration/rules/:key - Retrieve a configuration rule by key

  • PUT /v1/admin/bre-configuration/rules/:key - Update a configuration rule by key

  • DELETE /v1/admin/bre-configuration/rules/:key - Delete a configuration rule by key

  • GET /v1/admin/bre-configuration/rules - Retrieve all configuration rules

  • Configuration management endpoints (administrative access required)

  • GET /v1/admin/bre-configuration/:key - Retrieve a configuration by key

  • PUT /v1/admin/bre-configuration/:key - Update a configuration by key

  • DELETE /v1/admin/bre-configuration/:key - Delete a configuration by key

  • GET /v1/admin/bre-configuration - Retrieve all configurations

OAuth 2.0 Authentication with Microsoft Entra ID​

Ark now offers OAuth 2.0 support for business-to-business (B2B) API integrations:

  • Client Credentials Flow: Secure machine-to-machine authentication without user interaction
  • Microsoft Entra ID Integration: Native support for enterprise identity management
  • Health Check Endpoint: New /health/admin/auth/entra-id endpoint to verify authentication configuration

Migration Note: We've deprecated our built-in authentication system. It remains fully functional but clients will need to eventually migrate to the new OAuth-based authentication in future releases.

Customer Notification System​

Ark provides support for customer communications using our connector with Twilio:

  • SMS/MMS Notifications: Integration with Twilio for sending text messages
  • Notification Templates: Database-stored templates for consistent messaging
  • Send and Cancel Operations: Ability to send notifications and cancel scheduled messages
  • Client-Specific Configuration: Each client can maintain their own notification templates and settings

New Endpoints:

  • POST /notifications - Send notification to a customer
  • DELETE /notifications/{id} - Cancel a scheduled or pending notification

Banking Product Mapping​

Clients can now configure the mapping of products from core banking to Ark’s own internal IDs. Clients can then retrieve the mapped products via a customer-facing endpoint.

  • Product Setup Endpoints: Administrative APIs to configure banking products available to customers
  • Product Configuration: Set product-specific parameters and rules
  • Public Product Catalog: Customer-facing endpoint to retrieve available banking products

New Endpoints:

  • POST /admin/products - Create or update banking product configuration
  • GET /banking/products - Retrieve available banking products for customers

Enhancements​

Health Monitoring​

Ark now supports better health check monitoring throughout its connectors and third-party services

Documentation​

  • Docusaurus Documentation Site: Contains guides, API references, and integration examples
  • Sequence Diagrams: Added visual documentation for all major API workflows
  • Setup Instructions: Environment configuration and deployment
  • Blog Platform: Release notes, announcements, and technical articles

Changes & Improvements​

Modified Behaviour​

Card Operations​

  • Simplified Cancel Logic: Card cancellation process has been refactored for better maintainability and reliability
  • Account Ownership Verification: Enhanced validation to ensure proper authorization before card operations

Fixes​

Resolved Issues​

Connector Fixes​

  • GreenID Connector:
    • Corrected health check endpoint behavior for improved monitoring reliability
  • Kleber Connector:
    • Improved integration reliability with external DataTools Cloud endpoints

Security Updates​

Authentication & Authorization​

  • OAuth 2.0 Implementation: Industry-standard authentication protocol implementation
  • Microsoft Entra ID Integration: Enterprise-grade identity management with support for multi-factor authentication, conditional access policies, and centralized user management
  • Token-Based Security: Machine-to-machine authentication using client credentials eliminates the need to share user passwords

Known Issues​

No critical issues are currently known in this release.

For the latest information on identified issues, workarounds, and resolution timelines, please refer to the Ark Support page or contact your support representative.

Migration or Upgrade Notes​

Dynamic Connector Configuration Migration​

What Changed: Dynamic connector configuration has moved from static files bundled at build time to a database-driven approach.

Migration Steps:

  1. Review Migration Scripts:

    • Migration scripts are located in azure-pipelines/migration-scripts/bre-upgrade/
    • Review these scripts thoroughly and test in a non-production environment first

  2. Run Pre-Deployment Scripts:

    • Execute migration scripts in your environment before deploying version 1.0.0
    • Scripts will create and populate db tables with your existing configuration data from static files

  3. Deploy Version 1.0.0:

    • After successful script execution, deploy the new version
    • The application will run database migrations seamlessly
    • Application will read connector configuration from the database

  4. Verify Configuration:

    • Confirm that app behaviour is functioning as expected
    • Use the new administrative endpoints to review configurations

Important Notes:

  • Migration scripts are idempotent and can be safely re-run
  • Test the migration process in a development or staging environment first
  • Ensure database backups are current before beginning migration
  • No downtime is required if scripts are run before deployment
  • The client is responsible for verifying migration scripts work correctly in their specific environment

Optional: OAuth 2.0 Authentication Migration​

Impact: Recommended migration from deprecated authentication to OAuth 2.0.

Timeline:

  • Legacy authentication remains available in version 1.0.0
  • Future removal date to be announced

Migration Steps:

  1. Configure Microsoft Entra ID:

    • Follow the infrastructure setup guide in the documentation portal
    • Use the provided Terraform modules or manual setup scripts
    • Register Ark as an application in your Entra ID tenant

  2. Configure Environment Variables:

    PASSPORT_AUTH_STRATEGY=entra-id
    AUTH_MICROSOFT_ENTRA_API_ID="your-entra-id-client-id"
    AUTH_MICROSOFT_ENTRA_TENANT_ID="your-entra-id-tenant-id"

  3. Test Authentication:

    • Use the health check endpoint: GET /health/admin/auth/entra-id
    • Verify successful OAuth token acquisition using client credentials flow
    • Test API calls with OAuth bearer tokens

  4. Update Client Applications:

    • Modify your integration code to use OAuth 2.0 client credentials flow
    • Refer to the Microsoft documentation for OAuth 2.0 implementation patterns
    • Update API keys to OAuth tokens in your API requests

Resources:

Database Schema Updates​

Several database schema changes have been introduced in this release. These changes are automatically applied through Prisma migrations when the application starts.

Changes Include:

  • New tables: connector configuration, notification template tables
  • Updated metadata fields: Consistent naming across all tables
  • New foreign key constraints: Improved referential integrity
  • New indexes: Performance optimization for log queries

Action Required: None - migrations run automatically. Ensure proper database backup procedures are in place before deployment.

Documentation Updates​

New Documentation​

Ark Documentation Portal​

Updates to the Ark Documentation Portal includes:

  • API Reference: Complete endpoint documentation with examples
  • Architecture Documentation: System design, component interactions, and decision records
  • Integration Guides: How to integrate with Ark APIs and services
  • Infrastructure Guides: Deployment and hosting instructions for Azure environments
  • Blog: Release notes, announcements, and technical articles

Access: Available via https://ark-docs.digizoo.com.au

OpenAPI Specification Updates​

OpenAPI specifications have been updated to reflect:

  • New endpoints for connector configuration, notifications, and product management
  • OAuth 2.0 security schemes
  • Updated request/response schemas
  • API key documentation in Swagger UI

Infrastructure Documentation​

Infrastructure-as-code documentation including:

  • Terraform module documentation for all Ark components
  • Network architecture diagrams
  • Security group and routing configurations
  • Deployment runbooks for different Azure environments

Support & Resources​

For additional assistance with this release:

For questions or feedback about this release, please contact your support representative.