WebSphere InterChange Server

What is new in WebSphere® InterChange Server V4.3?
IBM adds support for:

• Linux® for Intel® 32 bit architecture
• Microsoft® Windows® 2003 and Sun® Solaris® 9
• Java™ 1.4.2 and Eclipse 2.1
• Role-based Access, Logging, and Privacy
• Large Business Object support
• Dynamic (Hot) deployment of adapters and artifacts
• Deployment time configuration of artifacts
• JMS Performance enhancements including optimised WIP (OWIP)
• Restricted usage authorizations for DB2® as ICS repository
• Restricted usage authorizations of WebSphere BI Adapters have been added for:
  • Web services
  • WMQ
  • JMS
  • Workflow
  • Message Broker
• Establishment authorizations have been added for:
  • Adapter Framework
  • Data Handler for XML

What features are introduced in the Toolset V4.3?

• Activity Editor
  • Import/export of activity definitions
  • Contextual labeling of custom function blocks.
  • Custom function blocks configured directly from Map Designer tool.
• Map Designer
  • auto-mapping features
  • Prefix or suffix mapping.
  • Reverse mapping
  • Synonym mapping
• Integrated Test Environment (ITE)
  • Any networked server designated a test server for unit testing
• Connector Configurator
  • Short description column in standard properties for consistency with the configuration properties sheet.
  • Hot button capability displays extended help files.
  • Collaboration API extended for failed flows
• New Deployment Configuration Tool - map parameters for different ICS servers.
• System Manager - Compile/Deploy Progress Indicator
  • Collaboration deployment
  • Accepts pre-compiled collaboration instances and maps
  • The import/export facilities also recognize the Java class files added to the JAR file used for deployment, import, and export.

Has anything been dropped in WebSphere InterChange Server V4.3?
IBM withdraws support for Solaris 7 (2.7) in this release. Apache Xerces XML compilers are no longer included, being replaced by IBM XML4J equivalents, and SNMP stack underpinning the SNMP agent is now technology from IBM Tivoli®. Under the hood JDK1.4.2 replaces the JDK1.3 support of previous releases.

What runtime platforms are supported in V4.3?

• Microsoft® Windows® 2000 and Microsoft Windows 2003
• IBM AIX® 5.1, 5.2
• Sun® Solaris® 8, 9
• HPUX 11i (PA Risc)
• Linux® (Intel®) RedHat 3.0 , SuSE SLES 8.1

What runtime platforms are no longer supported in V4.3?
Solaris 7 (2.7).
Note: Microsoft Windows NT® support was withdrawn in V4.2.2 release.

What development platforms are supported in V4.3?
Microsoft Windows 2000, and Microsoft Windows XP

What development platforms are no longer supported in V4.3?
No OS platforms have been withdrawn for the tools in this release.

Are there plans for a Linux development platform to support V4.3?
There are no plans to support WebSphere Business Integration Toolset V4.3 on Linux.

Are 64bit OS platforms supported in V4.3?
The InterChange Server is a 32 bit application. 64bit tolerance is supported on Solaris and AIX Platforms at general availability.

Are 64bit JVMs supported in V4.3?
There are no plans to support native 64 bit JVM versions of ICS.

Why is Windows XP Professional not shown as supported runtime platform?
Microsoft does not recommend it as a scalable platform. ICS will run under Microsoft Windows XP and is supported for development and testing, but WBI Adapters have not been certified for Microsoft XP.

Is High Availability (HA) supported in V4.3?
V4.3 is supported in an HA environment. There is not a specific HA "release" of ICS, HA enablement is specific to each platform, requiring products such as HA-CMP for AIX®, and SunCluster or Veritas products for Sun® Solaris® and invariably required by custom scripts, for stopping and starting components such as WebSphere MQ Queue Managers. Example scripts are provided as support packs, for sample platforms. We recommend IBM Services provide more comprehensive HA configuration scripts and customer specific HA requirements for customers. ICS support packs are listed with WebSphere MQ support pacs.

Has V4.3 been certified for Chinese Government Requirement GB18030?
GB18030 is a Chinese Government requirement for supporting Chinese Character Code sets. WebSphere InterChange Server V4.3 has an Exemption from certification, meaning it can be sold in China. Whilst we had intended to apply for certification, some technology elements remain in the product that would not pass certification at this time.

Can V4.3 be sold in China without GB18030?
Yes we can sell V4.3 in China as we have a deviation approved.

Is Bi-Directional (BIDI) character support provided in 4.3?
Yes, ICS will support a tactical BIDI implementation together with WebSphere Business Integration Adapters V2.6 release. Some Adapters will get BIDI tested and supported after general availability in a phase II testing in Q1 2005. These are the Adapters for WebSphere MQ Workflow, JMS, WebSphere BI Message Broker, and Web services.

Have any additional language translations been added in V4.3?
No additional languages have been added for this release.

What are the language translations supported in V4.3?
U.S. English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Korean Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese

Are hardcopy product manuals available?
Only softcopy manuals are distributed as Adobe Acrobat PDF files.

Why are the Manuals not distributed on the V4.3 CDROM media?
For flexibility in updates, Documentation including product manuals is made available to view on-line and is also electronic downloadable on the InfoCenter.

Are there any Redbooks for WebSphere InterChange Server?
Yes, as well as the Redpaper: Introduction to WebSphere InterChange Server V4.2.2 Performance Tuning, Redbooks for WebSphere Business Integration Server also cover ICS. Redbooks are being updated to reflect V4.3.Search on WebSphere InterChange Server or WebSphere Business Integration Server.

What release of Adapters are supported by WebSphere InterChange Server V4.3?
To exploit the new features in V4.3 such as role-based access, Adapters from the WebSphere Business Integration Adapters 2.6 release are required. Adapters from the 2.4 release are also supported if used with the latest Adapter Framework from the 2.6 release.

What release of adapters is synchronized with the release of V4.3?
The 2.6 release availability is synchronized with the ICS 4.3 release. Note only a prioritized subset of all adapters in the portfolio will be available initially. See the relevant announcement details for WebSphere Business Integration Adapters.

Are the version numbers of each adapter aligned to the release version 2.6?
No, each adapter has its own version number, incremented as new functionality, broker support, or OS platform support added. WebSphere BI Adapters support multiple brokers today so individual version numbers provide additional flexibility in scheduling releases for specific brokers.

What version of the Adapter Framework is now shipped with V4.3?
Version 2.6 of Adapter Framework supports both 2.6 adapters and 2.4 adapter releases.

Does V4.3 support older versions of Adapter Framework?
No. ICS 4.3 requires Adapter Framework 2.6 as it provides JRE 1.4.2 support used internally by ICS, while older releases only support JDK 1.3.

Does V4.3 support older releases of adapters?
Yes V4.3 supports the 2.4 release of adapters that V4.2.2 supports, providing the Adapter Framework used is version 2.6 or later. And not the version shipped with the 2.4 adapter release. Older versions of adapters before version 2.4 or CrossWorlds Connectors are not supported.

Where can I find the software license (ts&cs) for WebSphere InterChange Server?
Licenses can be found for most IBM software on the Software Licensing Web site by searching on the product name.

Does the V4.3 media still support collaborations?
No, as of this release WebSphere Business Integration Collaborations are no longer shipped with the WebSphere ICS media, as their release cycles are no longer sync'd to ICS releases but are delivered, according to the release needs of the specific industry segments they are targeted at. Collaborations are now available by electronic download.

Does the V4.3 Installer still support collaborations?
Only Collaboration Foundation is available in the v4.3 media and is installed when WebSphere Business Integration toolset is selected for install. Collaborations are now shipped with their own installer or can be installed manually.

Does ICS offer migration tooling or documentation to upgrade to V4.3?
Yes, migration is documented in the install manuals and the primary tool is repos_copy - the main utility to import /export the contents of the ICS repository.

Does IBM offer migration Services assistance to move to ICS 4.3?
Yes, IBM Services offer migration planning assistance offerings as well as being able to Help customers with the actual upgrade.

Where can I find more information on IBM Services for Business Integration?
Visit Software Services for WebSphere Business Integration or ask you IBM customer representative.

I wish to pursue migration assistance from IBM, whom should I contact?
Please contact WebSphere Software Services, or ask you IBM Sales representative.