Many organizations do not grant developers write access to the user acceptance test and production environments. Access to these environments is strictly controlled and granted only to administrators, production control personnel, or automated change management processes.
Only developers know which changes are ready to be moved into the test environment. The Change Management Export facility presents developers with a graphical view of the resources they manage and allows them to build a change management package. This package is then loaded into another environment by production control personnel or automated processes.
A user must be authorized to create a change management package. The privilege to do so is Resource Export (opExport), a hybrid privilege, located in the Application Development privilege category. This privilege is assigned to members of the administrators group, by default.
The steps required to create a change management package are:
Create a Scenario. Using the Change Management Export facility, create a Change Management scenario by selecting the resources to export. A scenario is a description of all the resources included in a change management export package.
Export a Scenario. After creating a scenario, export it to the change management export directory as a change management package. The export process produces the package in two formats: a folder and a CM zip file. The folder contains the expanded contents of the change management package. The CM zip file contains the compressed contents of that package in a format that is ready to download and transfer to target environments.
The change management export directory is located within the file system of the machine that hosts WebFOCUS. The specific path varies by the type of installation used for your instance of WebFOCUS. Typically, this path is drive:\ibi\context\cm\export, where context represents the folders located between the ibi root directory and the cm directory.
Download a Scenario. For convenience, the CM zip file can be downloaded, using a web browser, from the export directory to a location outside of the change management directory. From this external location, the change management zip file is available for transfer to the import directory of the target WebFOCUS environment, where its content can be imported and accessed.
The zip file format compresses the resources that make up a change management package into a single file, delivering the advantages of speed and security to change management packages. They are especially useful when you must transfer change management packages from one physical location to another. Their compressed and consolidated format captures all files included in a change management package into a single file that can be emailed, copied, or moved from a source folder on one network component to a target folder on another.
Change management zip files, called CM zip files, are created, by default. To disable this feature, clear the Zip Change Management Package (IBI_CM_ZIP) check box, which is found on the Change Management page of the Configuration tab in the Administration Console. When this feature is disabled, change management packages use the uncompressed CM file format.
The default CM zip file name format is NAME_DATE_TIME_USERID, which combines the name of the change management package, with the date and time on which it was created, and the ID of the user who created it.
For example, retail_samples_20160504_161133_administrator.zip.
To specify an alternative format for CM zip file names, select a template from the Name format of Zip export files (IBI_CM_ZIP_FILE_FORMAT) setting, which is found on the Change Management page of the Configuration tab in the Administration Console.
If your version of WebFOCUS supports collaborative portals, and the Collaborative Portal option is enabled, the change management process, from scenario creation to final import, readily accommodates collaborative portals. All of the topics that describe how to create, export, download, upload, and import change management packages support those that include collaborative portals as well as basic portals. However, there are a few issues to keep in mind when including collaborative portals.
When selecting a collaborative portal:
When importing a collaborative portal:
Both private and published portals and focexec files can be included in the import package.
If your browser blocks pop-up windows, disable this feature before you begin using the change management facility, to ensure that you are able to see the dialog boxes that open during this procedure.
Or
On the WebFOCUS Home Page, in the banner, open the Utilities menu, and select Change Management and Export to open the Scenarios dialog box, as shown in the following image.
The With Rules check box is selected, by default. Clear it only if this change management package should not include all rules associated with the resources you select.
Note: If you receive an alert in your browser stating that the pop-up window is blocked, reset your browser to allow all pop-up windows from this website, and try again.
For more information about these three check boxes, see Understanding Change Management Export Options.
When selecting a collaborative portal that references external pages, you must also select the folder that contains the pages referenced by that portal, and then transfer them into the scenario by clicking the Select with Sub-Tree command.
When your selection is complete, an entry for it appears in the right pane, and a strikethrough line appears on the entry under the Resources tree.
An entry for the new scenario appears beneath the Export node.
If the new scenario does not appear, right-click the Export node, and then click Refresh.
To export the change management scenario using command line scripts, navigate to the following location and double-click one of the following commands:
WebFOCUS82/utilities/cm/cm_export.bat
WebFOCUS82/utilities/cm/cm_export.sh
If your version of WebFOCUS supports collaborative portals, and the Collaborative Portal option is enabled, you can use the Change Management Interface to transfer a page created for a collaborative portal in one environment to another environment where the same collaborative portal already exists. This procedure applies only to pages created for collaborative portals. It does not apply to pages created for basic portals.
Or
On the WebFOCUS Home Page, in the banner, open the Utilities menu, and select Change Management and Export to open the Scenarios dialog box, as shown in the following image.
The With Rules check box is selected, by default. Clear it only if this change management package should not include all rules associated with the resources you select.
Note: If you receive an alert in your browser stating that the pop-up window is blocked, reset your browser to allow all pop-up windows from this website, and try again.
An entry for the new scenario appears beneath the Export node.
If the new scenario does not appear, right-click the Export node, and then click Refresh.
A new Change Management Scenario dialog box opens. The current Change Management Scenario dialog box also remains open.
Your selected Change Management Scenario dialog box opens and replaces the Change Management Scenario dialog box that was on display.
Before you can export a change management scenario, you must make sure that you have saved it. You can't export an unsaved change management scenario.
The new scenario appears in the Resources tree under the Change Management, Export node.
If the new scenario does not appear, right-click the Export node, and then click Refresh.
The export process saves a CM zip file to the change management export directory, located at drive:\ibi\context\cm\export, where context represents the folders located between the ibi root directory and the cm directory. The download process takes that CM zip file, and downloads it to your local machine. You can then transfer the copy of that CM zip file to another WebFOCUS environment for use as a change management import package.
Or
On the WebFOCUS Home Page, in the banner, open the Utilities menu, and select Change Management and Export to open the Scenarios dialog box, as shown in the following image.
Note: When choosing between two list entries that include the same name, you can distinguish the full change management package from the zip file version by remembering that the name assigned to the zip file includes the name of the change management package from which it was taken, the date and time on which the package was created, and the ID of the user who created it. The name assigned to the full change management package does not contain any of these additional details.
The following export options are available from the Scenario Creation dialog box:
With Rules. Unselected, by default. When selected, this applies to the entire scenario and exports all rules associated with all of the selected resources. This will include all of the security components of those rules (groups, roles, and potentially users, if the subject of a rule). For example, if a single published folder of Sales is selected and there are rules on that folder for the subject of Sales/Dev Group, that particular folder of Sales will be exported, as well as all the constituent components of the rules on that folder and its subfolders.
Retain Handles. This option is necessary when you want to move content, such as content that has been migrated from WebFOCUS 7.7 to WebFOCUS 8, and ReportCaster schedules, using change management. When selected, this option specifies that the change management package uses the hrefs from WebFOCUS 7.7 as handles in WebFOCUS 8. It also ensures that ReportCaster schedules that were created in WebFOCUS 7.7, which reference procedures through the internal handle, continue to work. This allows the earlier code for -INCLUDEs and drill downs to continue to work with the WebFOCUS 7.7 syntax. ReportCaster schedules created in WebFOCUS 8 use the IBFS location of the Schedule object instead of the Handle and do not need the Retain Handles feature.
The default value for Retain Handles is specified by the Retain Handles (IBI_CM_Retain_Handles) setting.
The following types of resources can be moved:
With Library. When selected, the change management export scenario includes Report Library content in all folders you add to the export scenario. When cleared, the scenario does not include Report Library content in the folders you add to the export scenario. Even when this check box is cleared, you can still select individual Report Libraries for inclusion in a scenario. This check box is cleared, by default.
The Report Library is a secure facility that contains reports distributed to it by ReportCaster. For more information about the Report Library, see the WebFOCUS ReportCaster technical content.
Now that you have created a scenario, that scenario can be exported. You can export a scenario through the Change Management User Interface or through an automated process, executed by running one of the cm_export scripts, which are located in the cm folder of the utilities directory, located at drive:\ibi\context\utilities\cm, where context represents the folders located between the ibi root directory and the cm directory.
As part of your preparations, ensure that the code page specified by the value in the ENCODING parameter in the cm_export script matches the encoding value assigned to the Application Server. If there is a mismatch, characters with a hexadecimal value greater than x7F may be corrupted during the export.
To export a scenario from the Create Scenario window, select a saved scenario from the Resources tree and click Save.
To export a scenario using an automated cm_export script, follow the steps in this procedure.
The utility displays the relevant parameters for this job and runs the export.
The command prompt window closes and the export process is complete.
As an alternative, you can run the export by creating a command file that contains the following parameter name values:
USERNAME. A WebFOCUS administrator ID.
PASSWORD. The password for the WebFOCUS administrator ID. If you are using a trusted authentication method, leave the password blank.
EXPORTTO. The name of the export folder or the name of the export package. The default name is export.
ENCODING. Optional. A value that represents the code page used by a Change Management Export Scenario to support Java-based character encoding. In order to prevent characters with a hexadecimal value greater than x7F from being corrupted during the export, this value must match the encoding value assigned to the Application Server. The default value for this parameter is UTF-8. If your Application Server uses a different encoding value, you must replace this value with the value used by your server. For a list of client code pages and corresponding encoding value names, review the remarks in the file, cm_export.bat.
For example, the following change management export scenario was written for the Windows operating system. It is named ACWorkspace, and it contains the USERNAME, PASSWORD, and EXPORTTO parameters and their associated values.
C:\ibi\WebFOCUS82\utilities\cm>type cmbatch.bat
cm_export USERNAME=admin PASSWORD=admin EXPORTTO=ACWorkspace
C:\ibi\WebFOCUS82\utilities\cm>
The zip file upload process saves a copy of a CM zip file stored on your local machine to the change management import directory on the server, located at drive:\ibi\context\cm\import, where context represents the folders located between the ibi root directory and the cm directory. You can then import the copy of that CM zip file to WebFOCUS.
Or
On the WebFOCUS Home Page, in the banner, open the Utilities menu, and select Change Management and Import to open the Import Packages dialog box, as shown in the following image.
A confirmation dialog box opens. Click OK to complete the upload.
An entry for the new CM zip file appears in the Import Packages dialog box list.
Or
On the WebFOCUS Home Page, in the banner, open the Utilities menu, and select Change Management and Import to open the Import Packages dialog box, as shown in the following image.
or
Select Add New and Update Existing Resources, to enable the change management import to include updates to existing content resources as well as new content resources.
For each security resource, accept the default selection, Add New, to limit the Change Management Import to new security resources.
or
Click Add/Replace, to enable the Change Management Import to include updates to existing security resources as well as new security resources.
The import process loads content from the change management package into the folders that match the name and spelling of the corresponding folders in the old environment. If the resources in the change management package are assigned to the same folders and locations as in the existing environment, there are no visible changes.
However, if you do not see your expected changes, right-click the Workspaces entry in the Resources tree and select Refresh.
The following import options are available from the Import Package dialog box:
Content Resources
Options in this group define the scope of content resources included in the Change Management Import. Content resources include workspaces, portals, reports, charts, and other features located under the Workspaces node and the Portals node of the Resources tree.
Add New Resource Only (do not replace). This option limits the import to content resources in the Change Management package that do not already exist in the target environment. The import process assigns the date and time of the import to the Created On and Last Modified On fields of all new content resources created as a result of the import. To view the Created On and Last Modified On fields, right-click an item and click Properties.
Resources in the change management package that already exist in the target environment are not included in the import. As a result, the resources in the target environment are not affected by the import, and the import does not update the value assigned to the Last Modified On field.
Add New and Update Existing Resources. This option permits the import to add new resources to the target environment and update existing resources. The import process assigns the date and time of the import to the Created On and Last Modified On fields of all new content resources created as a result of the import. The import also assigns the date and time of the import to the Last Modified on field of all existing items updated by the import, but retains the original values in the Created On field.
Security Resources
Options in this group specify the actions to take if the change management package includes the security resources Roles, Groups, or Users. A change management package includes a security resource if it is selected explicitly, or if the Selecting With Rules check box is selected for another type of resource.
Roles. Groups of user privileges. When included in a Change Management Import package, they add to or update the list of roles maintained in the repository and visible in the Security Center on the Roles tab.
Groups. Collections of users or subgroups that require similar capabilities or access to the same resources. When included in a change management Import package, they add to or update the list of existing groups maintained in the repository and visible in the Security Center on the Users & Groups tab.
Users. Those individuals who have access to WebFOCUS. When included in a change management package, they add to or update the list of existing users maintained in the repository and visible in the Security Center on the Users & Groups tab.
For each of the Security resource categories, there are two options governing the scope of the import:
Import Rules On Resources. This option specifies whether rules are imported from the current change management package, and is only relevant if the package contains exported rules.
As long as none of the security resource options are selected, the rules are imported using the components of the rules that exist in the target environment.
For example, if you select Add New Resources Only (do not replace) and Import Rules On Resources, the only rules that will be imported are the rules where all the components (groups, roles, and, if necessary, users) exist in the target environment.
If you select Add New Resources Only (do not replace) and Import Rules On Resources, and then select Roles (Add New), the resources selected and the rules on those resources will be imported. In this case, the roles will be added only if they do not exist in the target environment and other components of the rules do exist in the target environment.
You can import a scenario through the Change Management User Interface, or through an automated process executed by running one of the cm_import scripts, which are located in the drive:\ibi\context\utilities\cm directory, where context represents the folders located between the ibi root directory and the cm directory.
-As part of your preparations, ensure that the code page specified by the value in the ENCODING parameter in the cm_import script matches the encoding value assigned to the Application Server. If there is a mismatch, characters with a hexadecimal value greater than x7F may be corrupted during the import.
The utility displays the relevant parameters for this job and runs the import.
The command prompt window closes and the import process is complete.
Alternatively, you can run the import by creating a command file that contains the following parameter name values.
USERNAME. A WebFOCUS administrator ID.
PASSWORD. The password for the WebFOCUS administrator ID.
IMPORTFROM. Optional. The name of the import folder or the name of the import package. The default name is export.
ENCODING. Optional. A value that represents the code page used by a Change Management Import Scenario to support Java-based character encoding. In order to prevent characters with a hexadecimal value greater than x7F from being corrupted during the import, this value must match the encoding value assigned to the Application Server. The default value for this parameter is UTF-8. If your Application Server uses a different encoding value, you must replace this value with the value used by your server. For a list of client code pages, and corresponding encoding value names, review the remarks in the file, cm_import.bat.
resOverwrite. Optional. Indicates whether to import content resources. The default is not to import content resources.
importRoles. Optional. Indicates whether to import roles. The default is not to import roles.
importGroups. Optional. Indicates whether to import groups. The default is not to import groups.
importUsers. Optional. Indicates whether to import users. The default is not to import user.
importRules. Optional. Indicates whether to import rules on resources. The default is not to import rules.
For example, the following change management import scenario was written for the Windows operating system. It is named ACWorkspace, and it contains the USERNAME, PASSWORD, and IMPORTFROM parameters and their associated values.
C:\ibi\WebFOCUS82\utilities\cm>type cmbatch.bat
cm_import USERNAME=admin PASSWORD=admin IMPORTFROM=ACWorkspace
C:\ibi\WebFOCUS82\utilities\cm>