Version 7.0
LANSA Composer provides export and import features to support your deployment needs. The export and import features are capable of automating most of the work of deploying LANSA Composer solutions, but there are some steps that you must perform yourself and some considerations you should consider.
These considerations apply to:
Transport and Other Configurations
Security Credentials for Transport and Other Configurations
If you define your own custom Activities, then you will need to deploy them to all systems on which you wish to use them.
There are two parts to a complete and functioning Activity:
1. The Activity definition - you can use LANSA Composer's export and import support to deploy the Activity definitions.
2. The Activity processor - this is the executable code (a LANSA re-useable part) that implements the Activity. It is your responsibility to deploy the Activity processor as required. You might wish to use LANSA's export and import support or the Visual LANSA Deployment Tool to accomplish this. Refer to your LANSA documentation for information about deploying LANSA applications.
You will not normally need to export or import the definitions of Activities supplied with LANSA Composer other than as instructed during an installation or upgrade of LANSA Composer. You should not change the definitions of these Activities.
When you export Activity definitions, LANSA Composer exports the Activity Groups to which the Activity is assigned on the source system.
When you import the Activity definitions to the target system, LANSA Composer will assign the Activity to the same Activity Groups, but only if they already exist on the target system. LANSA Composer will not create the Activity Group on the target system. You must deploy or define the Activity Groups to the target system prior to importing the Activity definitions.
Note that failing to assign the Activity Groups on the target system will not affect the functioning of the Activity or of Processing Sequences that use it. Activity Groups are simply a means of categorizing the Activities for quick access while maintaining Activity definitions or when editing a processing sequence.
You can deploy trading partners between LANSA Composer installations using the export and import features, in the same way as other definitions.
If you are using installation-defined properties for Trading Partners, then the values defined for those properties for each Trading Partner will be included in the export. When you import the Trading Partner definitions to the target system, LANSA Composer will import the values for the installation-defined Trading Partner properties, but only if they already exist on the target system. You must deploy or define the Trading Partner installation-defined properties to the target system prior to importing the Trading Partner definitions. The same applies to Trading Partner groups.
When you export trading partner definitions, the export includes the configurations and transformation maps that are linked to the trading partner provided the Yes or Recursively option is selected for the Include related items export option. Otherwise it is your responsibility to ensure the configurations and transformation maps exist on the target system. If they do, then the trading partner import will restore the links.
When you export trading partner definitions, the export also includes the list of linked directories for the trading partner. When exporting each linked directory path, LANSA Composer tests whether the directory is a "child" of either the Default trading partner linked directory or the Home path relative to server specified in System Settings. If it is, then, on import, LANSA Composer reconstructs the linked directory path in the target system. In addition, the import can (subject to import options) create the directory paths on the target system on import.
The complete definition of a Transformation map in LANSA Composer consists of:
1. Those parts held in the LANSA Composer database. For a map that has been successfully prepared, this includes:
When you export Transformation maps, all this information is included in the export, including the map definition and implementation files (subject to the options chosen in Export and Import Options).
2. The files held in the file system that are associated with the Transformation Map such as the map definition (.mfd) and map executable (.jar or .mfx) files.
When you export Transformation maps that have been successfully prepared with LANSA Composer version 4.0 or later, LANSA Composer exports the catalogued versions of the files (from the LANSA Composer database) in preference to the files held in the file system. If the catalogued files do not match those held in the file system, LANSA Composer will issue a warning in the export log, but the catalogued versions are exported nonetheless.
If the catalogued versions of the files are not available (for example, if the map has not been prepared or if the map was prepared with an earlier version of LANSA Composer), LANSA Composer exports the versions of the files held in the file system.
Some other points to note about deploying Transformation maps:
Note: Including the Transformation Map executable files (the .jar or .mfx files) in an export will considerably increase the size of the export file. For easiest handling and to avoid exceeding system limits, you may need to separate the export of individual Transformation Maps or groups of Transformation Maps to allow for this.
When you export Processing Sequence definitions, only the current definition is exported. Version history is not included.
A typical Processing Sequence will use many other definitions, including events, configurations and other types. Those other items used by the Processing Sequence are automatically included in an export if Yes or Recursively is selected for the Include related items export option. Otherwise it is your responsibility to ensure that all required definitions are present on the target system.
Note: When you specify Yes or Recursively for the Include related items export option, the additional items will not include related items that are supplied with LANSA Composer. This means that most activities used in a Processing Sequence are not automatically included as most activities are supplied activities.
This behavior is intentional and is usually the desired outcome.
Transport and Other Configurations
The transport and other configurations feature of LANSA Composer provides a separation between the configuration information (which might vary from one system to another) and the Processing Sequences that use them.
This means, for example, that when you deploy a Processing Sequence from one system to another, while the Processing Sequence uses a set of named configurations, the actual definitions of the configurations can be different on the 'design' system to the 'production' system. Thus the same Processing Sequence can be executed in each environment using the transport and database configuration details appropriate to that system.
If you use Configurations in this way, then you probably will not wish to deploy them between systems, other than when you initially create them. If you do deploy them, you will need to change their definitions after importing them to the target system.
For Configurations that are dependent on external files or objects (such as the body text file for an SMTP Mail Details Configuration), it is your responsibility to ensure that the external files or objects are deployed to or accessible from the target system.
Security Credentials for Transport and Other Configurations
LANSA Composer does not export or import passwords associated with security credentials. This means that you must manually change the passwords (and, probably, the user) that apply on the target system after importing it for the first time.
User names, where specified, are exported. However, it is likely in practice that the user names will also need to be changed on the target system.
LANSA Composer will not replace the security credentials on the importing system. This means you can import the configurations again without having to re-enter the user and password details. The Export and Import Options window allows you to override this behavior, so that the user names are imported and the existing password invalidated. This means that passwords will have to be re-entered.
LANSA Composer's export and import support can deploy code values. When you export a group of code values (for example, Activity Groups), all the code values in that group are exported. When you import them to the target system, they add to or update any code values already present. Code values defined on the target system that are not included in the export are not removed.
You can deploy System Properties using LANSA Composer's export and import features.
When you import System Properties, by default LANSA Composer will not replace the value of the System Property if it already exists on the importing system. The Export and Import Options window does allow you to override this behavior.
When you deploy System Properties that are evaluated and/or set by means of a call to a user-specified function, it is your responsibility to deploy the required function(s) to the target LANSA Composer system.
LANSA Composer does not export or import System Settings. It is your responsibility to ensure that the System Settings are defined on the target system with values appropriate for that environment. You normally only need to do this once.
Mostly LANSA Composer's deployment features are designed to deploy definitions created and maintained through LANSA Composer and held in LANSA Composer's database, such as Processing Sequences, Transformation Maps, Configurations and so on.
However, many LANSA Composer solutions also rely on files that are external to LANSA Composer's database – such as XML schema files, body text files for SMTP Mail Details configurations, skeleton text files for use with the TEXT_SUBSTITUTE activity and many others.
You can include such files in your export providing they are held in the Home path relative to server specified in System Settings or a"child" directory of that location.
When you include such files, on import, LANSA Composer reconstructs the file path relative to the corresponding system setting in the target system. In addition, the import will, if necessary, create the sub-directory paths on the target system on import.
Version 7.0