Guidelines, Common Questions, and Limitations

Owned by Wajdi Abdmoulah
Last updated: Oct 22, 2024
7 min read

1 - Known Limitations

1.1 - E-Mail Notifications

From Jira 8.19 onwards, users must have proper licenses and application access to receive email notifications. If users are removed from the access group, they won’t get notifications, even if they're involved in an issue (e.g., assignee or reporter), regardless of the notification scheme.

In Jira 8.20.6 and higher, a dark feature flag allows reverting this behavior: com.atlassian.jira.send.email.notifications.to.user.without.application.access.enabled

image-20241022-104425.png

1.2 - Remember Me/My Login

According to Atlassian documentation, when you select "Remember my login" during login, Jira saves a cookie that automatically logs you in when you reopen the browser. However, this cookie is removed when you log out, requiring you to log in again.

Hint

You can configure Jira to disable the "Remember me" feature by modifying the jira-config.properties file.

  1. Navigate to your Jira installation directory.

  2. Locate the jira-config.properties file (create it if it doesn't exist in the JIRA_HOME directory).

  3. Add the following property to disable the "Remember me" functionality:

    jira.option.allowcookies = false

  4. Save the file and restart Jira for the changes to take effect.

1.3 - Login Requires CAPTCHA

Sometimes, due to revoked cookies and other scenarios, users may encounter the CAPTCHA screen when VIP.LEAN Floating Licenses tries to log them in. To prevent this issue, you can take the following steps:

  • Disable CAPTCHA entirely by setting the "Maximum Authentication Attempts Allowed" to blank.

  • Increase the "Maximum Authentication Attempts Allowed" to reduce the likelihood of triggering CAPTCHA.

These settings can be adjusted in System > General Configuration. Leaving the field blank disables CAPTCHA altogether.
image-20241021-154620.png

1.4 - Login Gadget on System Dashboard Displays Incorrect Message When No Seats Are Available

Using the Standard Login Page: https://<base_url>/login.jsp, the VIP.LEAN Floating Licenses app displays the following message when a free seat is not available:

image-20241022-103901.png

This message cannot be displayed if users log in using the dashboard gadget: https://<base_url>/secure/Dashboard.jspa. This is a limitation imposed by Atlassian.

2 - Questions and Answers

Q: Will the VIP.LEAN Floating Licenses app affect Jira's performance?

A: No, the app does not impact Jira's overall performance. It is only involved briefly during the login process, and this interaction is very quick. The rest of the Jira experience remains unaffected.

Q: Can I monitor the usage of licenses in the VIP.LEAN Floating Licenses app?

A: Currently, no monitoring feature is implemented to avoid adding complexity to the code. However, Jira provides a standard feature called the Audit Log, which tracks all users added and removed from the active user group. You can export these logs as a CSV file and create your own report:

Q: Is the user's account deactivated when they are not active or logged in?

A: No, the account remains part of the virtual user group, but without application access.

Q: What are the functionality restrictions for users who are not currently active (not logged in)?

A: When a user is not using Jira, there are no restrictions. Upon logging in, the user may already have a floating license. If not, they can either obtain a new one or, in rare cases, might not get a free seat. In this case, a message will inform the user of the waiting time before they can try again. This worst-case scenario only occurs if the ratio between available seats and virtual users is too large, or if the active users are occupying seats for extended periods. There are no restrictions in the logged-out status, and email notifications continue to work.

Q: Can issue filter subscriptions be sent to users without an active Jira license?

A: Based on customer feedback, we are not aware of any restrictions preventing issue filter subscriptions from being sent to users without an active license.

Q: Is it possible to @mention/tag and notify users via email if they don't have an active license?

A: Yes, based on our own tests with Jira 9.x, it is possible to @mention/tag and notify users via email even if they do not have an active license.

Q: Will notifications about changes to watched pages/issues and spaces be sent to users without an active license?

A: Yes, based on our tests with Jira 9.x, notifications about changes to watched pages, issues, and spaces are sent to users even if they do not have an active license.

Q: Will notifications about comments and inline comments be sent to users without an active license?

A: Yes, based on our tests with Jira 9.x, notifications about comments and inline comments are sent to users even if they do not have an active license.

Q: What happens if the user is a Project Lead? Can they get deactivated?

A: When a user loses their seat, they are NOT deactivated and can still receive emails, even if they no longer have an active license.

Q: Is the app compatible with system upgrades, security patches, etc.?

A: The app works with Jira versions 7.x to 9.x without any known bugs. A full test is planned for Jira 10.x, and we do not expect significant changes to the relevant interfaces based on Atlassian's changelog.

Q: What are the SLAs and support options for incidents or bugs with a major impact?

A: Due to the straightforward code base and minimal complexity, all our customer instances have been running without a single bug for the past two years. If a bug is encountered, please refer to our support and escalation process outlined at VIP.LEAN END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (EULA) .

Q: Is it possible to enable "full-time" Admin users?

A: Yes, admin users can be part of a separate group and will log in without being subject to the seat allocation logic of our app.

3 - Guidelines

3.1 - LDAP / AD / SSO

When your Jira instance uses a sync with AD/LDAP and SSO, and you want to provide these users with floating licenses, this is generally possible because our app uses standard Jira mechanisms. You need to ensure that the group of virtual users is synced correctly with your AD/LDAP. Our app does not change this group, but only reads it. It's important that the active user group has read and write access for our app, and that our app is the only instance making changes to this group. During your tests, we can support you to achieve the correct setup.

3.2 - Upload App Button is missing

Please refer to this Page:

How to re-enable plugin upload in Jira Data Center | Jira | Atlassian Documentation

3.1 - How to remove the App and fall Back to normal Mode

Our app allows administrators with permanent licenses to use a pass-through login, and we have never encountered issues in this area. In the rare case that the app encounters an error and prevents even admin access, you can remove the app by following these steps. Once removed, the app code will no longer be used during the login process:

  1. Remove the app from the file system (Plugins Folder: e.g., /var/atlassian_shared/plugins/installed-plugins).

  2. Restart the nodes.

This will restore normal access without the app interfering with the login process.

3.1 - Confluence and Bitbucket Support

Our app supports only Jira Software licensing. However, you can use this workaround to benefit from floating licensing for Bitbucket and Confluence. Simply set Jira as the User Server for both Bitbucket and Confluence, allowing all Jira users access to those platforms. Then, set the sync interval to 1 minute (the lowest possible interval).

This setup will work smoothly with the only downside being that users will need to log into Jira first before accessing Bitbucket or Confluence. If a user has been inactive for a while and their account was deactivated, they may need to wait up to one minute for the sync to complete.

To use Jira as a user server for Bitbucket and Confluence, you can configure these applications to connect to Jira for centralized user management. Here’s a summary of how you can achieve this:

  1. Configure Jira to allow connections from Bitbucket or Confluence:

    • Go to Jira's Administration > User Management.

    • Select Jira User Server and add the application that will be connecting (e.g., Bitbucket or Confluence).

    • Provide the necessary details, such as application name, password, and the IP address of the application.

  2. Configure Bitbucket or Confluence to use Jira as a user directory:

    • In Bitbucket or Confluence, navigate to the administration area and select User Directories.

    • Add a new directory, selecting Atlassian Jira as the type.

    • Enter the required connection details to establish the link between the application and Jira for user management.

By setting Jira as the user server, Bitbucket and Confluence will use the Jira user directory for authentication and user management.

You can find detailed step-by-step guides for setting this up in the Atlassian documentation: