Decision Center: Database export utility

This webapp creates a .zip file with the content of a Decision Center repository.
Optionally, it can exclude the rule definitions to help address privacy concerns, while still reproducing most repository issues.
The webapp must be deployed on a server where a Decision Center datasource is configured. It can typically be deployed alongside the Decision Center web application.

Note: This application does not communicate with or depend on Decision Center. It uses the datasource directly and can therefore be used to export the database from any version of Decision Center.
 

Installation

1. Download this file decisioncenter-dbdump.war_.zip
2. Unzip decisioncenter-dbdump.war_.zip and extract decisioncenter-dbdump.war
3. Deploy decisioncenter-dbdump.war.
   For example, on Liberty, copy the war file to the apps directory (eg. C:\IBM\wlp\usr\servers\odm81050\apps)
4. Map the rtsAdministrator role to users/groups.
   For example, on Liberty, add the following in the server.xml:

   	<!-- DB dump -->
   	<application type="war" id="decisioncenter-dbdump" name="decisioncenter-dbdump"
   		location="${server.config.dir}/apps/decisioncenter-dbdump.war">
   		<classloader delegation="parentLast" />
   		<application-bnd>
   		<security-role name="rtsAdministrator">
   		<group name="AdminGroup" />
   		</security-role>
   		</application-bnd>
   	</application>

Note: The webapp uses BASIC authentication, so make sure to map the rtsAdministrator role during deployment. If needed, it is possible to disable security by commenting out the bottom section of the WEB-INF/web.xml file (i.e, <security-constraint> ....</security-role> ).
 

Usage

Web page:

1. Browse to http://<hostname or IP>:<port>/decisioncenter-dbdump
2. Provide the JNDI name for the datasource. The default suggested value is jdbc/ilogDataSource.
3. Optionally, click on the Lookup button to get some information on the datasource.
4. Provide the schema name for the Decision Center schema.
   The option to "use data source default" means that the same schema name as computed by the Decision Center application will be used to retrieve the tables.
5. Select the check box "Exclude definitions" if you prefer excluding rule definitions.
6. Generate the zip file using one of the following options:
   1. Click "Direct download" and a .zip download starts shortly.
      No file is saved on the server.
   2. Click "Save on server" and the export is generated on the server.
      When the export is complete, a link is shown.

Direct URL:

A URL can be used to initiate the download. It should be of the form:
http://<hostname or IP>:<port>/decisioncenter-dbdump/services/download?<parameters...>

The parameters are:

• ds: The data source JNDI name (e.g. ds=jdbc/ilogDataSource)
• schemaName: The name of the schema (e.g. schemaName=ODMDB)
• excludeDefinitions: Request to exclude definitions with excludeDefinitions=true
• useDefaultSchemaName: Request to use the default schema name with useDefaultSchemaName=true

For example, with curl on Windows assuming the host is localhost and the http port is 9080:
curl -u rtsAdmin:rtsAdmin -o dbdumpWithCurl.zip http://localhost:9080/decisioncenter-dbdump/services/download?useDefaultSchemaName=true&ds=jdbc/ilogDataSource
 

Troubleshooting

If you have an issue with this tool and an exception is thrown, it should be shown in the same web page that was used to initiate the export (refresh your browser if needed):
    http://<host>:<port>/decisioncenter-dbdump
If the export does not complete and no error message is shown in the user interface, check the application server log.
Whenever possible, if an exception occurred during the export, a file "error.txt" is saved in the generated .zip archive. This can be useful when initiating the export from the command line.
With direct URL, if an error occurred but a zip can still be retrieved, checking for "error.txt" can help troubleshoot the issue.

If further diagnostic trace is needed, the JDK logging of the JVM/Application server should be configured with FINER level trace for the package:
ilog.rules.teamserver.dbdump.*
 

Note on Java 2 Security

When Java 2 Security is enabled on the WebSphere Application Server, the option to "Save on server" will fail with an exception such as
java.security.AccessControlException:
Access denied ("java.lang.RuntimePermission" "modifyThreadGroup")

There are two options to resolve the issue:

• Fallback on the option to "Direct download"
• Make sure to deploy a JavaEE application decisioncenter-dbdump.ear that wraps the decisioncenter-dbdump.war with an application containing a was.policy file that grants access to the resources needed.