The Application Migration Tool - WebSphere Version to Version enables organizations deploying WebSphere Application Server V7 or V8 to more easily migrate applications from WebSphere Application Server V5.1, V6, V6.1 or V7. Upgrading to a more recent version of WebSphere Application Server is of course less time-consuming than migrating from another application server, given that IBM has made significant investments in upward compatibility, configuration, and management process upgrades, as well as API preservation and consistency between versions. However, in some cases, applications must be changed in order to support or exploit new levels of industry standard specifications delivered with new versions of WebSphere Application Server. The Application Migration Tool enables you to quickly and easily identify and implement any application changes required when upgrading to WebSphere Application Server V7 or V8.

The Application Migration Tools are built on IBM Rational Software Analyzer, a framework that provides a single solution for identifying, analyzing, and fixing application code quality and compliance requirements. The tools use the scanning capabilities of Rational Software Analyzer to locate application elements that should be updated in order to ensure optimal compatibility and performance with WebSphere Application Server V7 or V8, as well as unique editing features to review and appropriately change the code. The Application Migration Tools are packaged as a feature (a collection of plug-ins) that can be installed into an Eclipse or IBM Rational Application Developer or IBM Rational Software Architect IDE. Figure 1 illustrates one of the Application Migration Tools.

Figure 1. Application Migration Tool

For more information, refer to the WebSphere Version to Version Application Migration Tool documentation.

Although the Application Migration Tools provide considerable assistance in converting applications to run on WebSphere Application Server V7 or V8, all potential migration tasks are not supported. For the most up-to-date description of the supported tasks, see the WebSphere Version to Version Application Migration Tool documentation.

The Application Migration Tools install into your existing Eclipse IDE version 3.4.2 or higher. If you do not have an existing Eclipse IDE, download one before continuing. The tools can also be installed into IBM Rational Application Developer or IBM Rational Software Architect. For more information, refer to the WebSphere Version to Version Application Migration Tool documentation.

To install the WebSphere Version to Version Application Migration Tool, do the following:

1. Download the Application Migration Tool – WebSphere Version to Version.
2. Start your Eclipse-based IDE.
3. From the Eclipse menu bar, select Help -> Install New Software
4. In the Install window, click Add
5. In the Add Site window, enter the following information:

   Name: Application Migration Tool – WebSphere Version to Version

   Location: Enter the location of the zip file that you downloaded, for example, C:\MigrationToolkit\Application_Migration_Tool_WeSphere_Version_to_Version_v3.0.1.zip

6. In the Install window, select the plug-in that you want to install. Then select "Contact all update sites during install to find required software". Finally, click Next.
7. Click Finish to begin the installation
8. After the Software Updates window is displayed, restart your Eclipse environment.

Complete instructions are included in the WebSphere Version to Version Application Migration Tool documentation. See the forum for information on Command Line Installation of Migration Toolkit Features.

Support

If your organization has a support agreement in place for WebSphere Application Server V7 or V8, IBM will provide support for the Application Migration Tools as part of that support agreement. Support is provided for the tools and the included migration rules. Assistance with application coding or design issues would require a Services engagement.

Forum

You can use the Migration Toolkit Forum to ask questions, search for solutions, and provide feedback to the development team.

Survey

If you have used the Application Migration Tools to migrate one or more applications to a WebSphere Application Server environment, please complete this survey to help us to better understand how we can refine and extend the tools in the future.