This section describes the different kinds of WebSphere Business
Integration Adapters environments you might have to prepare and the workflow
you have to follow in order to do so.
Figure 1 illustrates the types of WebSphere Business Integration
Adapter environments.
Figure 1. WebSphere Business Integration Adapter environments

Typically you install an adapter on the same computer where the integration
broker is installed and runs. This type of environment is easiest to
maintain and manage, particularly when you are developing and testing
interfaces, because all the components in the business integration system are
installed on a single computer. Environment 1 in Figure 1 illustrates this type of environment.
Do the following to prepare a local adapter environment:
- Obtain computers that satisfy the hardware requirements for each of the
required environments.
For more information about hardware requirements, see Hardware requirements.
- If your integration broker is WebSphere Business Integration Message
Broker or WebSphere Application Server, install the WebSphere MQ client as
described in the WebSphere MQ documentation. The supported version of
the WebSphere MQ client is listed in Table 8.
- Do one of the following depending on which integration broker you are
implementing:
- If your integration broker is WebSphere InterChange Server, then do the
following:
- Install WebSphere InterChange Server and all its prerequisite software as
described in the System Installation Guide for Windows or
System Installation Guide for UNIX.
- Install Adapter Framework 2.6 to a directory other than the one
containing ICS.
- Note:
- If your integration broker is WebSphere InterChange Server and you are
installing WebSphere Business Integration Adapters on the same computer on
which InterChange Server is installed, you must install the Adapter Framework
to a separate directory. With version 2.6, the adapter framework
is no longer installed with WebSphere InterChange Server.
- If your integration broker is one of the supported message brokers or
WebSphere Application Server, install the Adapter Framework as described in Installing the adapter framework.
- Read the configuration chapter in the guide for each adapter you plan to
install in the environment and determine any data handler requirements for the
environment.
- Install each data handler required for the environment as described in Installing data handlers.
- Install each adapter required for the environment as described in Installing adapters.
- Perform any adapter-specific installation steps, such as installing the
application client on the adapter host computer, as described in the guide for
each adapter required in the environment.
- If you wish to run adapters released with an earlier framework, see the
Migrating Adapters to Adapter Framework, Version 2.6
guide.
Although it is frequently possible to install adapters on the same computer
that hosts the integration broker, it is sometimes necessary to distribute the
adapters. This means installing the adapters on a different computer
than the computer on which the broker is installed.
There are several reasons you might want to distribute connectors agents,
including the following:
- You might improve the performance of the business integration system by
relieving the computer that hosts the broker of the load imposed by
adapters.
- You might improve the performance of an adapter by installing it on a
computer close in proximity on the network to the computer that hosts the
application.
- You might not be able to obtain a version of the adapter on the operating
system of the computer that hosts the broker.
- You may need to install Adapter Framework 2.6 on a separate machine
from the machine where ICS and earlier version of the adapter framework are
installed.
Environment 2 in Figure 1 illustrates this type of environment, where the adapter is
distributed to communicate with a mainframe application.
Do the following to prepare a distributed adapter environment within the
enterprise network:
- Obtain computers that satisfy the hardware requirements for each of the
required environments.
For more information about hardware requirements, see Hardware requirements.
- Install the WebSphere MQ client as described in the WebSphere MQ
documentation. Be sure to install the Java Messaging feature.
The supported version of the WebSphere MQ client is listed in Table 8.
- Do the following depending on your integration broker:
- If your integration broker is WebSphere Application Server or one of the
supported messaging brokers, do the following:
- Install the Adapter Framework as described in Installing the adapter framework.
- Read the chapter named "Installing and configuring the connector"
in the guide for each adapter you plan to install in the environment and
determine any data handler requirements for the environment.
- Install each data handler required for the environment as described in Installing data handlers.
- Install each adapter required for the environment as described in Installing adapters.
- If your integration broker is WebSphere InterChange Server, do the
following:
- Run the Adapter Framework Installer on the
distributed computer to install the adapter framework on it.
When the InterChange Server Configuration Wizard is presented, specify the
same configuration values as those specified when installing InterChange
Server on the broker host computer.
- Install the adapter as described in Installing adapters on the distributed computer.
At the IBM WebSphere InterChange Server screen, specify the name of the
InterChange Server instance on the broker host computer.
- Import the connector definition created in the repository
directory into your development environment as described in the
Implementation Guide for WebSphere Interchange Server.
- Configure the connector as described in the guide for the adapter.
- Deploy the connector to the InterChange Server repository as described in
the Implementation Guide for WebSphere Interchange Server.
- Do the following to configure the environment to communicate with the
broker:
- Open the shared environment file located in the
ProductDir\bin directory in a text editor.
On Windows computers, the shared environment file is named
CWSharedEnv.bat.
On UNIX computers, the shared environment file is named
adapterEnv.sh or CWSharedEnv.sh, depending
on the broker you are using and the version of its release.
- Set the value of the ORB_PORT property to the port over which
the Object Request Broker installed on the broker computer is configured to
communicate.
- Set the value of the ORB_HOST property to the IP address of the
computer on which the broker is installed.
- Perform any adapter-specific installation steps, such as installing the
application client on the adapter host computer, as described in the guide for
each adapter required in the environment.
You must prepare a remote adapter environment to enable an adapter to
exchange data with the integration broker across the boundaries of the
network. This is common when a company must exchange business data with
trading partners.
Environment 3 in Figure 1 illustrates this type of environment, where the adapter is
enabled to communicate with the broker over the internet.
Do the following to prepare a remote adapter environment:
- Obtain computers that satisfy the hardware requirements for each of the
required environments.
For more information about hardware requirements, see Hardware requirements.
- Install the WebSphere MQ client as described in the WebSphere MQ
documentation. Be sure to install the Java Messaging feature.
The supported version of the WebSphere MQ client is listed in Table 8.
- Install and configure WebSphere MQ Internet pass-thru as described in Distributing connector agents across networks.
- Do the following depending on your integration broker:
- If your integration broker is WebSphere Application Server or one of the
supported messaging brokers, do the following:
- Install the Adapter Framework as described in Installing the adapter framework.
- Read the chapter named "Installing and configuring the connector"
in the guide for each adapter you plan to install in the environment and
determine any data handler requirements for the environment.
- Install each data handler required for the environment as described in Installing data handlers.
- Install each adapter required for the environment as described in Installing adapters.
- If your integration broker is WebSphere InterChange Server, do the
following:
- Run the Adapter Framework Installer on the distributed computer to install
the adapter framework on it.
When the InterChange Server Configuration Wizard is presented, specify the
same configuration values as those specified when installing InterChange
Server on the broker host computer.
- Install the adapter as described in Installing adapters on the distributed computer.
At the IBM WebSphere InterChange Server screen, specify the name of the
InterChange Server instance on the broker host computer.
- Import the connector definition created in the repository
directory into your development environment as described in the
Implementation Guide for WebSphere Interchange Server.
- Configure the connector as described in the guide for the adapter.
- Deploy the connector to the InterChange Server repository as described in
the Implementation Guide for WebSphere Interchange Server.
- Perform any adapter-specific installation steps, such as installing the
application client on the adapter host computer, as described in the guide for
each adapter required in the environment.
You must prepare an adapter development environment in order to create
custom adapters. Although you can develop adapters in an environment in
which the broker is installed and adapters are running, you can also use an
environment that is dedicated exclusively to adapter development.
Environment 4 in Figure 1 illustrates this type of environment.
Do the following to prepare an adapter development environment:
- Obtain computers that satisfy the hardware requirements for each of the
required environments.
For more information about hardware requirements, see Hardware requirements.
- Install the Adapter Framework as described in Installing the adapter framework.
- Install each data handler that will be required for the adapters you are
developing as described in Installing data handlers.
- Install the Adapter Development Kit as described in Installing the Adapter Development Kit.
- Install a compiler appropriate for the language in which you will be
developing the adapter:
- If you will be developing the adapter in C or C++, install a C or C++
compiler.
- If you will be developing the adapter in Java, install the IBM Java
Development Kit. A single CD contains JDK's for Windows, AIX,
HP-UX, Solaris, and Linux.
