The Rational® Asset Manager Discovery Library
Adapter (DLA) discovers assets that are software images, and that
can be deployed on a computer system. The DLA is implemented as a
web services client that uses the web services API to access Rational Asset
Manager and retrieve the list of software images.
The Rational Asset Manager DLA writes the discovered
data into an output XML file that follows the Identity Markup Language
(IDML) schema. This XML file is called a book. The discovery library
adapter books can be loaded by the bulk load program that is provided
with IBM® Tivoli® Composite Application
Manager (ITCAM) for SOA Version 6.1 or with IBM Tivoli Change
and Configuration Management Database Version 1.1.1 or later. See
the ITCAM for SOA or IBM Tivoli Change
and Configuration Management Database product documentation for information
on how to use the bulk load program.
The Rational Asset Manager DLA generates the
following two types of books:
- Refresh book: A refresh book contains a complete replacement of
existing data from previous executions of the discovery library adapter
for a Rational Asset Manager server. Resources
that are present from prior executions, but not present in a refresh
book, are removed from the database when the book is loaded by the
bulk load program. Refresh books represent a snapshot in time that
replaces existing information with new data.
- Delta book: A delta book contains changes and updates to existing
data that is imported during previous executions of the discovery
library adapter for a specific Rational Asset
Manager server.
The Rational Asset Manager DLA creates a refresh
book the first time that the DLA is run. It creates delta books on
all subsequent executions unless you specify the
-r command
line option, which forces the creation of a refresh book. The DLA
maintains a cache to track the changes from previous executions and
uses the cache to determine which new services should be included
in a delta book. If the DLA is run and no new assets have been observed
since the previous execution, no book is created, unless you specify
the
-r command line option to force the creation
of a refresh book.
The Rational Asset Manager DLA book names consist
of the following segments:
- RAMv7100: This is the application code of the portion of the book
name.
- Host name: This is the hostname of the server where Rational Asset
Manager is installed.
- An ISO 8601 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) time stamp, with
colons (:) replaced by periods (.): This timestamp indicates when
the book was generated.
- The text refresh if the book is a refresh
book.
- A .xml file name extension.
When a DLA book is loaded through the bulk load program, the
data in the book is associated with the Managed Software System (MSS)
that is identified by the DLA application code and the hostname of
the server where Rational Asset Manager is installed. Data
for one MSS does not replace data for another MSS in the database.
The DLA writes books to the directory that are specified in the
discovery library adapter configuration properties file. If this directory
is not accessible to the bulk load program, the DLA can transfer books
to the computer where the bulk load program is running. The DLA supports
the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or Secure Shell (SSH) File Transfer
Protocol (SFTP). SFTP is only supported when the DLA is running on Linux, AIX®,
or Solaris. When a book is transferred, it is removed from the DLA
local directory after the file transfer completes. A command line
option or configuration property can be used to confirm that the file
transfer was successful when FTP is performed. When confirmation for
the file transfer is requested, the DLA reads the book from the target
computer and compares it to the original book. If an error occurs
during the file transfer, the book remains in the local directory.
The next time the DLA is run, the discovery library adapter attempts
to transfer the book again.
The DLA is run using a command line interface. You can either run
the DLA manually or you can use operating system utilities such as
cron jobs on Linux, Solaris, or AIX to
periodically run the DLA.