[BPM]Step-by-step guide on changing IBM BPM configuration files manually

https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/blogs/aimsupport/entry/step_by_step_guide_on_changing_ibm_bpm_configuration_files_manually?lang=en

Step-by-step guide on changing IBM BPM configuration files manually

Sometimes users are asked to update an IBM Business Process Manager (BPM)/Lombardi configuration file to overwrite default configuration settings. I hope this step-by-step guide will help a new BPM administrator finish his first configuration update quickly before reading many technote and product documentation pages about the related product design.

1. What configuration files could/should be changed?

• Generally speaking, you should not make changes on the default configuration files directly, which start with a number less than 100, for example, 60database.xml, 99local.xml. Because you can hardly move the changes to other new installed/reinstalled environment, and the default configuration files may be completely replaced during an upgrade (or applying some ifix).
• It is recommended to overwrite the settings by creating a custom XML configuration file with a number equal to or greater than 100, for example, 100Custom.xml, 110DatabaseConfig.xml. Settings in 110DatabaseConfig.xml will overwrite/complement those in configuration files which start with a number less than 110.

2. Steps to make changes on configuration files:

I will take a ND clustered environment as an example, because you can easily find the files of a standalone server.

 

Step 1: Find the target customized configuration file or create a new one. As I mentioned in 1, it’s not recommended to make changes on system default configuration files directly.

Customized configuration files location:

DMGR_PROFILE_ROOT\config\cells\cell_name\clusters\cluster_name\server_type\config\

DMGR_PROFILE_ROOT\config\cells\cell_name\nodes\custom_node_name\servers\cluster-member-name\server_type\config\

The server_type is process-center, process-server or performance-data-warehouse.

 

Step 2: Back up the configuration files to which you want to make a change.

The best practice is changing the backup files extension from .xml to others, or just copying all the backup files to another directory.  

 

Step 3: Make changes in 100Custom.xml (or other customized configuration files).

You should make changes on both the cluster level & cluster member level. The configuration files under cluster directory are used as a template when you create a new cluster member, making changes on it will ensure the future created cluster member adopts the latest configuration settings. And the settings in cluster member level configuration files take real effect during runtime. Please ensure all the cluster members in all nodes have been changed.

 

The detailed changes should be made based on your business scenario. And you need to know the property name, target setting values and merge attribute before making a change.

     

Value for merge attribute	Description
append	Appends the new tag
mergeChildren	Merges the new tag with the first of the existing tags (default behavior)
replace	Replaces all old tags with the new one

 

 

Here is a sample for changing smtp server URI, and adding a new self-manageable user attribute (after applying JR49505).

<properties>

                        <server merge="mergeChildren">                    

                                        <!-- email properties -->

                                        <email merge="mergeChildren">

                                                        <!-- SMTP server that mail should be sent to -->

                                                        <smtp-server merge="replace">SMTP.YOURCOMPANY.COM</smtp-server>

                                        </email>

 

              <!-- new property for UserAttribute cache -->

              <user-attributes merge="mergeChildren">

                                                               <rest-authorization merge="mergeChildren">

                                   <self-manageable-attribute merge="append">

                                         CustomAttribute

                                   </self-manageable-attribute>

                                                             </rest-authorization>

                                               </user-attributes>

                         </server>

        </properties>

 

Step 4: Make a "Full Resynchronize" on DMGR WAS (WebSphere Application Server) admin console to replicate the settings from the DMGR server to all the custom nodes.

 

Step 5: Restart all the cluster members whose configurations were changed in previous steps.

 

Step 6: Check the TeamWorksConfiguration.running.xml file in every cluster member to ensure the changes take effect after server startup. The file shows the actual values from all of the IBM BPM configuration files with which the server is actually running.

TeamWorksConfiguration.running.xml Location:

        CUSTOM_NODE_PROFILE\config\cells\cell_name\nodes\node_name\servers\server_name\server_type\