Implementing functionality changes and fixes in an IBM Sterling OMS require both the code and/or configuration changes. Once the code is maintained in a repository, the code build is done followed by changes that are built into a deployable package file (.ear file) and deployed into the target environment. The configuration changes are maintained in what is called Master Configuration (MC) environments and deployed using configuration deployment tool (CDT) provided by IBM. Please refer: Managing Configuration Deployment Tool
In every release, both the code and configuration deployment are critical components to ensure a functioning production system. It is essential to compare and review the code/configuration changes which will be deployed with the current version in the production. There are a number of tools available in the market for comparing and reviewing code changes. In the case of configuration changes, CDT is used to generate comparison reports between two environments and, then, reviewed manually.
The below diagram depicts the configuration management/deployment.
- There are multiple Dev/UAT/MC environments, each corresponding to a release. The base version for each of these releases are same.
- MC is used to deploy configurations to pre-preproduction and production environments.
Because of the advancements in the development/release model depicted in the above diagram, there is a need to merge the configuration between environments. As the configurations are promoted across many MC environments, IT and DevOps teams need enhanced views for eliminating the efforts spent on manual comparison and decision making.
The Challenges of an IT Team
In instances where large OMS implementations are done, the configuration comparison and review process are time consuming. This can even mean a team of 10 people working for 2 entire days. And sometimes, even after this time-consuming task, the results can be erroneous.
Here are some typical challenges faced by implementation teams working on configuration comparation reports:
- Large reports when no changes are done
- Large reports when a single change is done to an existing configuration.
- The configuration differences are not user readable when the data changed is in BLOB format.
- No merge configuration functionality is provided by the configuration deployment tool. For e.g., as depicted in the diagram, say if MC1 is deployed in Pre-prod, and when MC2 needs to be deployed in Pre-prod, there is no way to merge MC1(Pre-prod) and MC2 configurations.
The Solution
At Acuver, our team has engineered the solution “Acuver Powered Advanced Configuration Merger Tool” to address the above stated needs of IT/Dev Ops teams which will help:
- Reduce the time/effort for configuration compare/review processes considerably
- Merge the configuration changes
Using this tool, the configuration changes in two environments say MC and Production can be merged such that the configurations in both the environments are identical. The Acuver Powered Advanced Configuration Merger Tool can be used in various scenarios like:
- Production release.
- Merging configurations in multiple MCs.
- OMS upgrade when the data needs to be migrated.
The Acuver Powered Advanced Configuration Merger Tool creates enhanced configuration comparison reports with reduced size. The changes done in BLOB data , for e.g.: YFS_GRAPH_UI, YFS_SUB_FLOW, YFS_AGENT_CRITERIA are provided in easy user readable way. It is highly efficient and can be run within a few minutes for large clients. This high performance is achieved using modernised technical modules and enhanced features of the java
Conclusion
We, at Acuver, have been successfully using this tool at multiple client engagements and have gained a win-win situation. We are witnessing a consistent and growing ROI in terms of effort and time saved, on a weekly basis, that gives us the space to focus on even better results for our customers.
So, do you want to explore how Acuver Powered Advanced Configuration Merger Tool may fit into the CDT process in your Sterling landscape of environments? We’d love to give you a quick demo! Reach out to us at marketing@acuverconsulting.com, bring your CDT xml’s and get a first-hand feel of the solution.
Author: Lakshmi Ashokkumar
