Migrating Trading Networks Assets to Cloud (IBM webMethods B2B)

IBM webMethods B2B supports migration of on-premises assets to cloud using IBM webMethods Cloud Container.

Concept

In addition to the existing support for IBM webMethods Integration, IBM webMethods B2B also provides support for referencing documents and running services on IBM webMethods Cloud Container.

Supported Trading Networks assets such as Partners, Business Documents, Processing Rules, TPA, and so on, can now be imported directly into IBM webMethods B2B, and re-wired to existing documents or services on Cloud Container, or a new definition on IBM webMethods Integration.

Any user-defined Integration Server assets such as Flow services, Documents, Schema, and other supported assets need to be deployed on a solution in Cloud Container.

The following diagram shows the mapping of IBM webMethods B2B assets with IBM webMethods Integration and IBM webMethods Cloud Container.


IBM webMethods B2B	IBM webMethods Integration	IBM webMethods Cloud Container	Description
Rules	Flow services	Custom Services	IBM webMethods B2B calls existing Flow services through processing rules or invoke any third-party endpoints using an external call.
Business Documents	Documents, Schema (optional)		IBM webMethods B2B refers to documents hosted on IBM webMethods Integration through Business Documents.
Agreements (TPA)	Documents, Schema (optional)	Documents	IBM webMethods B2B refers to documents hosted on IBM webMethods Integration or IBM webMethods Cloud Container through TPA.
API Layer	Applications	Stubs	Applications hosted on IBM webMethods Integration, and Stubs hosted on IBM webMethods Cloud Container communicates with the IBM webMethods B2B's internal API Layer.

IBM webMethods Cloud Container offers the ability to host custom packages and configurations that reside within on-premises Integration Server and provide an environment for running the services used for service orchestration. The same can be used in-conjunction with IBM webMethods B2B. There is a two-way communication supported between IBM webMethods B2B and IBM webMethods Cloud Container:

IBM webMethods B2B referencing assets on Cloud Container
Within the Processing Rules, you can now navigate and call any user-defined services (under custom packages) on Cloud Container. Note that the Cloud Container user configured on IBM webMethods B2B, should have permission to execute these services.

Within the Trading Partner Agreement template definition, you can now refer to an existing document type on Cloud Container.

For more information, see Working with IBM webMethods Cloud Container.
IBM webMethods Cloud Container support for TN and EDI/EDIINT services
Any new solution using any of the supported Integration Server product versions (see Supported Landscapes) can now optionally add B2B support from the Manage Additional Packages dialog box.

If you are using any of the supported Trading Networks or EDI/EDIINT services on-premises and want to move them to a Cloud Container solution, communicate with IBM webMethods B2B without changing any logic or mapping in your existing implementation, see Migration Steps.

The support is currently limited to only runtime services, and there is no support to modify any design-time asset modification services on IBM webMethods B2B. For example, one cannot create or update a partner, or business document type or a processing rule by using a Flow service.
For a complete list of supported services on Cloud Container, see section Working with Trading Networks Built-In Services on IBM webMethods Cloud Container and section Working with EDI and EDIINT Built-In Services on IBM webMethods Cloud Container in Deployable Assets and Configurations.

Requirements

Ensure that your environment meets the following preconditions to migrate the Trading Networks assets to the cloud:

Required Versions

The following cross-components are the minimum supported versions for this activity:


webMethods On-premises Base Version	IBM webMethods Integration Server	IBM webMethods Designer	webMethods Trading Networks
10.11	Use the IS_10.11_Core_Fix2.	webMethods Service Development 10.11 fix # 1	TNS_10.11
10.7	Use the IS_10.7_Core_Fix6. IS_10.7_SPM_Fix3	webMethods Service Development 10.7 fix # 1	TNS_10.7_Fix1

Important

You cannot deploy across versions. For example, you can deploy Trading Networks 10.7 assets only to Cloud Container 10.7 solution.

Supported Landscapes

Cloud Container supports all combinations of stateful and stateless servers. You can migrate services with any of the three types of solutions available on Cloud Container only with stateless Integration Server Clusters. Only the upgrade path from Integration Server clusters 10.7 version to the 10.11 version is supported.

Roles and Permissions

You need the following roles and permissions for each product so that you can switch between them to perform this activity:

Integration Server administrator
Developer access for IBM webMethods Designer
In the IBM webMethods iPaaS account you must have the following roles:
- webMethodsioB2B-User
- CloudContainer-User
- webMethodsioIntegration-User

IBM webMethods B2B requires Cloud-Tenant-Administrator Role. Contact your IBM webMethods iPaaS administrator to obtain permissions.

For more information about migrating the assets, see Migrating Assets.

For more information about importing the assets, see Importing Assets.

For a comprehensive permission list in IBM webMethods B2B, see User Roles and Permissions.

Prerequisite Checklist

You must be conversant with writing and editing flow services on IBM webMethods Designer, and must have an understanding of how IBM webMethods Cloud Container works, along with a working knowledge of Trading Networks, IBM webMethods B2B, IBM webMethods Integration, and IBM webMethods iPaaS.
You must have a subscription to Cloud Container that is configured within your IBM webMethods iPaaS account.
You must configure IBM webMethods B2B to connect with Cloud Container by adding the Cloud Container account in the Extensions menu of IBM webMethods B2B. For detailed steps, see Working with IBM webMethods Cloud Container.
You must create a solution in Cloud Container that includes the WmTNStub, WmEDI, WmEDIforTNStub, and WmEDIINTStub packages. For more detailed steps, see Creating Solutions.
You must log in and log out of IBM webMethods B2B and Cloud Container at least once.
You must remove package dependencies on the WmTN, WmEDIINT, and WmEDIforTN packages from all custom Trading Networks packages that you are going to deploy to Cloud Container.
You must go to the IBM webMethods Designer and deploy the global variables - mycloud.user and mycloud.password to Cloud Container using IBM webMethods Designer, either in stand-alone mode or along with the relevant packages.
The global variables are required to be configured one-time, per solution. This refers to the IBM webMethods iPaaS user, which is used to call services on IBM webMethods B2B. If there is any change to the user or password, or both, the changed configuration need to be re-deployed to Cloud Container again.

Migration Steps

The following image illustrates the activities involved in the migration of assets:

In My webMethods Server: Administration > Integration > B2B > Asset Management > Export.
Export the mappings, transformations, and document references. For more information, see webMethods Trading Networks Administrator’s Guide.
In IBM webMethods B2B, go to Asset movement > Import and import the exported assets. For details see Importing Assets.
In IBM webMethods B2B, access the Cloud Container solution you created earlier. For details see Working with IBM webMethods Cloud Container.
You can follow any of the following approaches to deploy packages and configuration assets to Cloud Container:
a. By using IBM Designer. For details see Deploying Packages and Configuration Assets to IBM webMethods Cloud Container. If you are unable to deploy the services, reconfigure the global variables and deploy them from IBM Designer to Cloud Container.
b. By using Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment CLI tool. For details see Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment
In Cloud Container, go to the Assets folder to access the deployed packages you want to run. If you would like to test a service before running it, then you can see the output directly under the Service Editor. For detailed steps, see Assets.
In IBM webMethods B2B, review and rewire the imported assets (for example, the processing rule action and the TPA template) to point to the respective Cloud Container solutions. For detailed steps, see Working with IBM webMethods Cloud Container.

Post Migration Steps

Any changes you make to the Trading Networks assets in your on-premise set up does not automatically synchronize with IBM webMethods B2B assets. Therefore, you must redeploy the on-premise assets to IBM webMethods Cloud Container.
Use IBM webMethods Integration to design and run any new flow services.

Points to Note

You should note the following points:

Cloud Container only supports a limited set of services (that is, Trading Networks Stubs, EDIINT Module Stubs, and webMethods Module for EDI), and any custom implementation making use of unsupported services does not work when executed on Cloud Container. For a complete list of Trading Networks, EDI, and EDIINT Built-In Services supported on Cloud Container, see section Working with Trading Networks Built-In Services on IBM webMethods Cloud Container and section Working with EDI and EDIINT Built-In Services on IBM webMethods Cloud Container in Deployable Assets and Configurations. You cannot invoke services in system packages.
Large document handling is not certified on Cloud Container.
To host the Trading Networks assets, the Trading Networks Stubs on Cloud Container require a subscription to IBM webMethods B2B.
Some assets and configurations might require re-implementation to adapt to the cloud. For complex use-cases, IBM recommends you engage with IBM Professional Services.