IMS SOAP Gateway Frequently Asked Questions

This document lists the frequently asked questions about IMS SOAP Gateway:

• System requirements and compatibility
• Tooling support
• Downloading
• Documentation and samples (Updated in December 2008)
• XML converters
• Limitations

Q: What version of IMS works with IMS SOAP Gateway?

A: The following table lists the supported IMS, IMS Connect, and integration development environment (IDE) for IMS SOAP Gateway.

* IMS SOAP Gateway V10.1 supports two new features-- z/OS support and the callout function. The callout function (both synchronous and asychronous) requires IMS Version 10. All other features work with IMS Version 9. Apply the latest IMS SOAP Gateway V10.1 iFix for the synchronous callout support.

** For the callout feature in IMS SOAP Gateway Version 10.1, IMS Version 10 and IMS Connect Version 10 are required. If you are using Rational Developer for System z to generate the correlator file for the callout feature, Version 7.1.1.3 is required. IMS SOAP Gateway also provides a deployment utility that assists the creation of the correlator file if you do not have Rational Developer for System z.

For IMS applications to issue synchronous callout requests, you must apply the following APARs: PK70078, PK73224, PK70330, PK71135, and PK74168.

*** To use the IMS Connect XML adapter function with IMS Version 9 you must have PTF UK 17000 (includes APAR PK29938 and APAR PK 24912) applied to IMS.

**** If you are upgrading from IMS Version 9 to IMS Version 10, you can continue to use IMS SOAP Gateway Version 9.2.1 with IMS Version 10 with no changes to the correlators or converters.

Q: I am not using the callout feature in IMS SOAP Gateway Version 10.1. Is there a way to turn off this feature?

A: There are two ways to disable the callout feature:

• Delete any values in the callout tpipes entry in the connbundle.xml file.
• Stop the callout threads by using the IMS SOAP Gateway Deployment utility. However, this operation is required every time the server is restarted.

Q: Is there any tooling available for IMS SOAP Gateway that helps generate the necessary Web artifacts or XML converters?
A: Rational Developer for System z provides a wizard that lets you generate the artifacts that are needed to enable your IMS applications as Web service providers or consumers. For IMS SOAP Gateway Version 10.1, Rational Developer for System z Version 7.1.1 is required.

Q: What are the Rational Developer for System z installation considerations?
A: IMS SOAP Gateway V10.1 requires RDz V7.1.1 for artifact generation. You can download RDz V7.1 from the IMS SOAP Gateway download site. Then you can upgrade to V7.1.1:

• RDz V7.1.1 is an upgrade on top of RDz V7.1.
• RDz V7.1.1 requires RAD V7.0.0.4.
• RDz V7.1 requires RAD V7.0.0.3.

Q: Where can I download IMS SOAP Gateway?
A: Go to the IMS SOAP Gateway download page. You can download the version of IMS SOAP Gateway of your choice, and the samples the demonstrate the steps to enable IMS applications as either Web service providers or Web service consumers. IMS SOAP Gateway Version 10 customers can also download Rational Developer for System z Version 7.1 from this download page. For Rational Developer for System z, you need a minimum of 7GB of disk space for downloads, and another 2 GB for installation.

Important: Ensure that you also download and apply the latest iFix for the version of IMS SOAP Gateway you are using.

Q: What download options are available?
A: There are two options available on the IMS SOAP Gateway download Web site. You can use either the Download Director or HTTP. The advantage of using the Download Director is that you can pause and resume the download at any time. You can even restart your system and resume the download later at a convenient time. Download Director is optimized for performance and reliability.

Q: What is Download Director?
A: Download Director is a Java applet that is launched when you download IBM products from the Internet. It provides high-performance, reliable downloads with pause and resume capability. It starts in a separate browser window and provides a graphical user interface (GUI) to specify the download location and view download status.
For more information about Download Director, see the Download Director FAQs.

Q: What is the typical network bandwidth that is needed for these downloads?
A: We recommend downloads to use networks with high bandwidths as in corporate networks or comparable environments. Downloading from low-bandwidth networks might result in slow and long-running downloads, depending on the limits imposed by your Internet access providers.

Q: Are there other modes of distribution to obtain IMS SOAP Gateway?
A: At this time, due to legal reasons, the only mode of distribution is via a download from the IMS SOAP Gateway download Web site.

Q: Where is the IMS SOAP Gateway documentation located?
A: The IMS SOAP Gateway documentation is available in both HTML and PDF formats in the IBM^® Information Management Software for z/OS^® Solutions Information Center:

• IMS SOAP Gateway Version 10.1 documentation
• IMS SOAP Gateway Version 9.2 documentation

1. Modify the port number by using Task 4: Update IMS SOAP Gateway properties in the IMS SOAP Gateway Deployment utility.
2. Modify the port number in the IMSSOAPIVP.wsdl file that is located in the <IMS_SOAP_Gateway_install directory>\server\webapps\imssoap\wsdl directory. Change the default port 8080 to the new port that you want to run the SOAP Gateway server on. Port number is located between the wsdl:port tags in the WSDL file. Here is a sample:
   
<wsdl:port name="IMSSOAPIVPPort" binding="tns:IMSSOAPIVPBinding">
<soap:address location="http://localhost:8080/imssoap/services/IMSSOAPIVPPort" />
   </wsdl:port>
   
   
3. Use Task 8: Generate Java client code in the IMS SOAP Gateway Deployment utility to generate the client stub code for the IVP with the modified WSDL.
4. Compile the generated stub code. You will need to use the Java compiler (javac) from the <IMS_SOAP_Gateway_install directory>\java\bin directory to compile the client stub code.
5. Remove the existing stub classes from the iogivp.jar file that is located in the <IMS_SOAP_Gateway_install directory>\server\webapps\imssoap\WEB-INF\lib. Keep the servlet class and re-package the newly compiled stub classes into the iogivp.jar file in the same location.

Q: Why does the dataset that contains the XML converters need to be APF-authorized?
A: When the ADAPTER=(XML=Y) parameter is specified in IMS Connect, IMS Connect handles the conversion, and the dataset with the compiled converters needs to be concatenated to STEPLIB with the IMS RESLIB dataset. Because IMS RESLIB requires APF authorization, all datasets concatenated with it must also be APF-authorized.

Q: What is required in the converter linkedit step? I linked my converter, IMSPHBKD, into a dataset concatenated with IMS Connect STEPLIB, but the Web service doesn't run. Is there something special required in the linkedit step?
A: The converter needs an alias linked with the converter code, using the same name as the converter, with an X suffix. This means that a converter name must be seven or less characters. The following example is for IMSPHBKD:

//LKED.SYSIN DD *
ENTRY IMSPHBKD
ALIAS IMSPHBKX
NAME IMSPHBKD(R)

Q: I received the following error when trying to test a IMS SOAP Gateway Web service. I checked the dataset, and my converter compiled successfully. What is causing this error?

ERROR: com.ibm.ims.soap.server.IMSSOAPException: IOGC006E: IMS Connect XML Adapter returns an error. Return code: [208]. Outbound Error: The specified XML Converter Driver [XXXXXXX] was not found or there was a load failure.

A: You need to cycle IMS Connect to get the module loaded into storage.

Q: Does IMS SOAP Gateway support conversational transactions? Any limitation that I should be aware of?

A: IMS SOAP Gateway has the following limitations:

• Only non-conversational transactions are supported.
• Only CM1, Sync Level None protocol is supported.
• MFS-based transactions are not supported
• Multi-segment messages are not supported.
• Two-phase commit is not supported.