Rocket DevOps (for IBM i)

Theme projects allow you create design standards for the look and feel of your LegaSuite Web applications, ensuring both developers and those using their applications are productive. By leveraging a Theme project users create a set of standards once so application developers can leverage them across any project, or they can quickly change the look and feel without reprogramming. Improve the consistency of your work and compliance with standards easily, while being more productive. This first video shows you how to create and use a theme project. Happy to answer any questions you may have.------------------------------Marc PaatsSenior Sales EngineerRocket SoftwareDordrecht Netherlands------------------------------

If you have been running LM(i) for a year (or more!) and you haven't done any housekeeping, now is the time! Your trusty change management solution may be bogged down with too many entries in places like your History Logs, Deployment Sets, Conflicts, Non-resident Objects and more!!The primary benefits of making LM(i) a lean, mean, ALM machine are:  Increased Performance Faster Upgrades Less Downtime for Backups Smaller Reports Less Scrolling Happier Users Here are some ways to get LM(i) back to its optimal size:  Check out the recommendations in the Rocket Aldon LM(i) Implementation Housekeeping Suggestions white paper (attached!) Engage with Rocket Customer Solutions for an LM(i) Health Check Package Upgrade your version Get refresher training on new features ------------------------------Joe BaumgartenRocket SoftwareLegendary Senior Customer Solutions EngineerEmail: jbaumgarten@rocketsoftware.com ------------------------------

Video 9 – Hub monitoring As an administrator it is important to have a single view of your deployments.  If you are also using central licensing, you can also keep track on how many users are connected to your applications.  This video will show you the various views that are available and also the sort of stats that are available.This is the last video in the series.  If you have been watching then thank you for your time and if you have any questions then please let me know.As a recap you can watch the earlier videos by clicking these links:  VIDEO1 VIDEO2 VIDEO3 VIDEO4 VIDEO5 VIDEO6 VIDEO7 VIDEO8 ------------------------------Andrew SimpsonRocket Software------------------------------

Video 8 – Setting up environment variables One of the problems with deployments is having to manually configure each engine for backend system information.  For example, Development and Production will connect to different backend systems and it could be that Development is connected over Telnet and production is connected to over a TLS connection.  In this video we will show you have to create environment variables for your different deployment targets. ------------------------------Andrew SimpsonRocket Software------------------------------

Video 7 – Deploying your first project to an environment As an administrator software deployment should be as simple as clicking a button.   In the hub this is indeed our view also.  In this video you will see how easy it is to deploy your modernisation projects to various engines and how to take advantage of rollback capabilities.  You will never need to manually stop and restart an engine again. ------------------------------Andrew SimpsonRocket Software------------------------------

Video 6 – Publishing your first web project to the hub For those developers familiar with LegaSuite Workbench you are used to the process of publishing the package file for deployment purposes.  This video will show the new function to allow you to publish your web project to the hub.  For Rocket API customers there is a similar process for publishing your Rocket API deployment project to the hub. ------------------------------Andrew SimpsonRocket Software------------------------------

Synchronization is a big topic.  It is part of the process for logical replication initiation that must be performed well to ensure replication is reliable and the BACKUP node begins at a known point in time and data position.  There are several different methods and scenarios and not a single step list that will apply to all of them like the one I am going to share below.  This method is one that does require the utilization of save of the libraries that are included in scope for replication.  As we know, the best possible save will be one when the application has been ended, users are not on and active.  Below are the high level steps to produce a reliable start every time.If this is a new install and first time synchronization start, it is assumed the BACKUP node has been seeded with a recent backup and restore, all network settings are set, iCluster is successfully installed, nodes are created, analysis is completed, replication groups created with each group default journals are d

Video 5 – Register the LegaSuite Web Engine or Rocket API Gateway with the hub.We are half way through the video series for the Access and Connectivity Hub and at this point you will have the hub installed and at least set up your users, realms and environments.  If you don't then please revisit the following videos in this series:VIDEO2 VIDEO3 VIDEO4 For those familiar with the LegaSuite Web installation there is a further change to the installation to register the web engines with the hub.  This video will go through the steps of generating a unique installation key and the registration of web engines with the hub.  If you are a Rocket API customer, the steps are very similar for hub installation.  You will be self-sufficient in engine installs in no time at all! ------------------------------Andrew SimpsonRocket Software------------------------------

Video 4 – Creating realms and environments All developers understand the importance of having various environments for their projects.  Typical environments would be Development, Test, Production and Disaster Recovery.  These environments can be mapped in the hub to automated deployments to these target environments.  This video will show you how to create a Realm and environments associated with a given Realm. ------------------------------Andrew SimpsonRocket Software------------------------------

In this 3rd video you will learn how to easily apply appearances to your LegaSuite web projects. You can switch between themes to create a totally different look and feel for the same web project, or create multiple theme projects that can be used within the same web project. All in all using themes is a great way to add efficiency and consistency to your development and maintenance tasks.Have you used themes yourself or are you considering it? Let me know about your experiences or any further questions you have.Best,Marc  ------------------------------Marc PaatsSenior Sales EngineerRocket SoftwareDordrecht Netherlands------------------------------

In this post we are going to discuss ways to both increase the fidelity of your HA/DR deployment and reduce the administrative overhead required to maintain that reliable state.  There are two primary modes to run sync checks in iCluster and the two can be deployed together to take advantage of the strengths of both.  Picking the time periods of low production activity for intense validations and selecting when continuous sync checks provide the most benefits, help us leverage the capability of deep fidelity checks versus early notification so we have high confidence and restful nights. What is 'fidelity' when discussing logical replication?  It refers to 'the degree of exactness with which something is copied or reproduced'.  The primary way we validate fidelity in iCluster is with Synchronizations Checks, an automated process to compare matching object existence, associated attributes and contents of each object pair (source and target) in the replication selection.  The main Sync Ch

Video 3 -Defining roles and users Roles are important as part of a DevOps environment.  You will normally have Developers and Administrators for separation of duty purposes.  In this video you will quickly be able to use the file-based authenticator to validate the hub for all your deployment requirements and understand a very simple approach to defining users and roles. ------------------------------Andrew SimpsonRocket Software------------------------------

In this second video I'll explain how to apply appearances and decorators from the Theme project to your LegaSuite Web project. We'll focus on some of the more commonly used elements including buttons, labels, containers and combo boxes - the process is same for other widgets. Let me know what questions you have, and let me know how these tips are improving you results.------------------------------Marc PaatsSenior Sales EngineerRocket SoftwareDordrecht Netherlands------------------------------

Video 2 - Installing the Access and Connectivity Hub The installation of the hub is a one-time installation and future upgrades also have a wizard driven installation for windows.  Everything is provided with the hub including the web server, so this is a very straightforward installation.  In this video you will see the complete series of steps to install and initialize the hub ready for use.   ------------------------------Andrew SimpsonRocket Software------------------------------

Video 1 - Access and Connectivity Hub overviewThe Access and Connectivity Hub available to all LegaSuite Web and Rocket API customers is a must have solution to look after your deployments.  Far too often LegaSuite and Rocket API developers are also responsible for deployments.  In a DevOps world where separation of duties is paramount the hub resolves this problem.  This also means that deployments are automated so no more copying files to servers and stopping and restarting engines, the hub does all this for you.  In the first video in this series you will understand the benefits of using the hub plus central monitoring of your engines, central licensing for your web engines, hot deployments and rollback.  Think of the hub as a single pane of glass for your modernisation applications.Keep an eye out for another 7 videos in this series ------------------------------Andrew SimpsonRocket Software------------------------------

Product: Legasuite Windows Client (NOT THE WEB EDITOR)I am having issues using the ScriptExec() function for creating user functions. I have been successful in using it to run scripts (script_type 0) and creating structures (script_type 1), but when using it to create User Defined Functions (script_type 2 according to the documentation) it crashes the client window when a call to the function is made. I have tried it both with loading the function from a file and running it directly from a variable. I have tried the most basic of functions and example functions from the documentation. All give the same result.I am wondering why this crashes on functions but scripts and structures work without issue. I have looked through all of the documentation on the ini settings and did not find anything relating to user defined functions. Is there an undocumented ini setting or some flag that needs to be set to allow user defined functions?Here is my test script using an example fu

What is the command to find the current version of Aldon on a As400 iSeries?

Sometimes overlooked but if you can't remember a specific command try one of the following. F22=iCluster Cmds -- to give you a section by section breakdown Start typing the command  then add an '*' where you become unsure. For example, I know there's a command to set the metadata owner....DMSET* gives: Select Command Type options, press Enter. 1=Select Opt Command Library Text DMSETAPOBJ ICLUSTER Rocket iCluster internal use only DMSETMSTR ICLUSTER iCluster Set Metadata Owner DMSETPOS ICLUSTER iCluster Set Journal Position DMSETPRIM ICLUSTER iCluster Prepare Primary DMSETSVAL ICLUSTER iCluster System Values DMSETSYNC ICLUSTER iCluster Set Sync Point DMSETTRACE ICLUSTER Configure diagnostic tracing Bingo!------------------------------d broadbridgeRocket Software------------------------------

What is the command to find the version I'm running of iCluster on the As400/iSeries?

Where I can download Aldon Lmi plugin for RDi? I can't find it on Rocket site...Thanks

At Rocket we always put our Customers first and our whole purpose for existing is to provide tools that our customers love and provide real world value. In that light I'd like to solicit some feedback from Aldon LMe/LMi users on where we should focus on 2021 with Aldon. This is an open forum, so please suggest whatever it is you've thought about that would make Aldon work better for you or your team. ​Start a conversation with your replies below.Thanks for your time! #LMe #LMi #ALM #Aldon ​​​​​​

I don't code.  You don't want me to.  Trust me.However, sometimes I do need to roll up my sleeves and whack away just to fill in and get something done.When I do, I want to make sure my esteemed colleagues can keep an eye on my kludgy bits and add a trace of elegance to whatever brute force approach I may have devised as a solution.To that end, here are some details on a few of the File Comparison options that are available for LMe and LMi either via the standard client, command line, Plugin for Rational/Eclipse/LegaSuite or our Harmonizer for LMi.LMe gui client: For any file in the Parts, Developer Parts, Notifications or Archive windows, you have ready options to Compare files.Binaries will just show difference in sizes, but text-based files will also support these options:Right-click -> Actions -> Compare and Merge:Auto CompareCompares the copy in Development (or closest to Development) with the next highest Environment version in the Release. Compare with...Pi

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) isn't new as a concept, but modern tools make it easier and more cost effective to improve processing accuracy and speed. @Andrew Simpson is presenting a webinar in association with Common Europe on March 25th at 11am CET where he'll discuss approaches, tools and success stories specific to the IBMi platform. As the resident expert on this topic in our forum, I know he's happy to answer any questions that you have on the topic here as well.   ------------------------------Dave AndrewsHead of Customer EngagementRocket Software------------------------------

Hi,We have a green screen application that presents a list of data to screen from which a selection is made to move on to a second screen to edit the selected record. On the subfile screen an X is keyed in a field alongside the record to be maintained to select it and Enter is pressed to select and move on to the editing screen.This seems like a perfect candidate for using a LegaSuite Combo box, but when I try it the list of items in the combo box list has all the visible values from the subfile field concatenated in to one long field to be selected in the drop down list. I am also not sure how to configure the Combo box to pass the select value of X in to the relevant selection field on the green screen.Am I misunderstanding what a combo box is used for? We are testing this out for a new green screen application where we aim to deliver just a drop down list to the LegaSuite page.Thanks in advance for any help!Steve------------------------------Steve BurtonIT Analyst ProgrammerFujifilm

Ever need a user exit or break-point in your development life cycle workflow? Before promoting a change? Or doing after a check out?When LMi is installed, 5 libraries are restored, and 1 of them is the ACMSUSER library. This library is full of sample code that you can use to add a break-point in 6 different places: Adding a new object (ADD) On check out of an existing object (CHK) On creating an object (CRT) On deleting an object (DLT) On the extract stage of a deployment (EXT) On a promote of an object (PRM) User Exits can be added  - at a global level (main menu, option '11', option '13 Work with user exits) - at an application level (main menu, option '12', option '2', option '9' Work with user exits) - at a release level (main menu, option '13', option '2', option '8' Work with user exits)Look in the ACMSUSER/USEREXIT source file and explore from there!------------------------------d broadbridgeRocket Software------------------------------