Everyone has them, you know, those ages old ClearQuest records with a never ending string of history records. Records so long that you go for coffee while the record is loading. We all know them far to well. They are the bane of ClearQuest admins world wide. Well not any more. Beginning with the release of feature level 9, now we have choices.

We now can:

* Turn off history all together.

* We can turn it off for some actions and not others

* We can defer loading the history until we need it.

All of these new features opens a whole new world of management options. My favorite is simply defer loading the history. If we are making an update to a record, most of the time we don't need to see the history, so why wait for it to load. With this feature there will be a load history button on the history tab. if you need to see the history, simply click on the button. Any modification to the record, or refresh will cause the history to be discarded from memory and you will again be presented with the button.

Simple clean and neat.

For more information on these new features see the following links:

http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21689387

http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21959953

You just upgraded WAS 8.5.x to the latest fixpack and after restarting the services, ClearQuest can no longer be accessed through port 80. You discover that you can reach it on port 12080. On closer examination, you realize the plugin-cfg.xml that is referenced by the httpd.conf file has been overwritten. How do you fix it? If you follow these simple steps below, you should be back to normal before you know it.

It turns out the httpd.conf file is not pointing to the plugin-cfg.xml being used by WAS. The file specified in httpd.conf has incorrect server paths. Propagation will fix this mismatch.

To fix this:

1) login to the WAS admin console http://localhost:12060/ibm/console/login.do

2) On the left of the console expand Server -> Server Type -> Web Server
Place a check mark on "<your_app_server_name>", click the propagate plugin button.

3) When the propagation is finished, Click on "<your_app_server_name>" and then on the next screen click on "plug-in properties".

4) navigate down the page and click on "Copy to web server key store directory"
When the copy is complete, restart the httpserver and WAS services.

Should you still have issues after performing the above, check the plugin log file for any errors.

Happy Computing!

Under IBM Rational Quality manager (RQM) v3.x release onwards, during the course of creating a new defect work item, you are allowed to select the record type. Below are 2 such scenarios where the record types differ between older (2.x) and newer versions (3.x onwards) of RQM.

For Example:

A particular difference between the integrations of RQM 2.x and CQ and RQM 4.x and CQ.


Integration in 2.x with CQ 8.x:
                       - During script execution, when you click on "Add a new defect", it directly opens the Defect Record form specific to CQ.


However when you setup the Integration of RQM v4.x with CQ 8.x:
                        - During script execution, when you click on "Add a new defect", it opens the dialog box where you can select the CQ Record type. RQM  should  only  link to CQ defect. However, here you are able to choose any option out of the list of record types and save it. Even have it linked to the test script execution. So, you are able to link any record type to the test script execution.

The functionality  to select record types ( RQM/CQ integration) was added via RFE 25717 in version 4.0.1; this is the current default behavior (i.e. functioning as intended).

Integrations between Rational Team Concert and Rational ClearQuest

There are various types of integration capabilities between IBM Rational Team Concert (RTC) and Rational ClearQuest: the bridge, the synchronizer, and the importer.  If you are looking for help in deciding which integration capability best suits your current deployment or your future deployment plan, read on to get a better understanding about the technologies that are available to you, as well as some of the deployment considerations. 

Note: Additional "Getting Started" information and "Quick Tour" videos are available in the Rational Team Concert and Rational ClearQuest integration cookbook topic in the deployment wiki on Jazz.net.

Rational ClearQuest Bridge

The Rational ClearQuest Bridge provides a bi-directional traceability link from records in Rational ClearQuest to work items in Rational Team Concert. It is a linked-data type integration based on the Open Services for Life-cycle Collaboration (OSLC). It provides a seamless user experience with rich hover UI preview, and delegated dialogs including advanced selection dialogs, and fully functional creation dialogs. These dialogs support ClearsQuest record form layout and hooks. The bridge integration also enables ClearQuest live data on a Rational Team Concert dashboard.

Rational ClearQuest Bridge is primarily for users who want to continue to use Rational ClearQuest as a change management system, but also want to take advantage of other features of Rational Team Concert, such as agile planning and dashboards. You do not have to change your current usage of Rational ClearQuest, but you can enhance your Rational ClearQuest deployment by using Rational Team Concert in a complementary fashion. It provides a ClearQuest shop with a fast path to realize the value of Rational Team Concert.

It is implemented as a function of the ClearQuest Web and uses the ClearQuest OSCL REST API interface. ClearQuest is an OSLC Change Management(CM) provider and a consumer. It provides OSLC CM v1 and v2 interfaces, and also consumes OSLC CM services provided by other tools. ClearQuest OSCL REST API is also a desired interface if you want to integrate your own application to ClearQuest. Since it is HTTP-based, you can call it from any program that supports HTTP, and it does not require the ClearQuest client to be installed on the machine where you execute your application.

Through the same bridge integration technology, you can also integrate ClearQuest with other Rational tools, such as Rational Quality Manager (RQM), Rational Requirement Composer (RRC), and Rational DOORS, and with 3rd party tools, such as HPALM and Git.

Rational ClearQuest Synchronizer

The Rational ClearQuest Synchronizer is a data replication between Rational ClearQuest records and Rational Team Concert work items. It supports flexible bi-directional or one-directional synchronization between a Rational ClearQuest record and a Rational Team Concert work item. Changes in one application are applied to another using synchronization rules, which provide the mapping and transformation information.

It is primarily for the customers that want to incrementally adopt Rational Team Concert by having different teams use different tools. Some projects/teams (for instance, a development team) can choose to start using Rational Team Concert while other teams (for instance, a support team) continue to use ClearQuest. The teams using Rational Team Concert and the teams using ClearQuest have access to the same data (duplicated by the Synchronizer based on the configured sync rules). Reports can also be run in either system since the data is consolidated.

The ClearQuest Synchronizer is implemented as an application of the general Jazz item connector framework. It is a separate component of the Rational Team Concert offering, and requires setting up a Gateway service. It uses ClearQuest CM API interface to communicate with ClearQuest. It can also be used between Rational Qualify Manager (RQM) and ClearQuest.

Please note that there is a high maintenance and support cost associated with the Rational ClearQuest Synchronizer. Conflicts can occur when two users make nearly simultaneous changes to a ClearQuest record and its corresponding work item, and an administrator needs to constantly monitor these conflicts and resolve them manually by selecting the appropriate value. It is highly recommend that you evaluate the Rational ClearQuest Bridge integration before jumping into the Synchronizer integration.

Rational ClearQuest Importer

The Rational ClearQuest Importer provides a one-way data migration from Rational ClearQuest records to Rational Team Concert work items. It imports ClearQuest records based on a user specified query, and uses a mapping file to declare how fields and values are mapped from a ClearQuest scheme to a Rational Team Concert process definition. It supports importing stateful record types, Users, Notes, Attachments, Work Item Relationships (duplicates, parent / child, blocks / depends on, and related), and creates missing objects, such as Contributors, categories, and iteration, on the fly.

The Rational ClearQuest Importer is primarily for the customers that want to move from using ClearQuest to Rational Team Concert as the change management system instead of maintaining both applications, and want to bring over certain ClearQuest records to Rational Team Concert.

It is implemented as a function in the Rational Team Concert eclipse client. It is based on the Bugzilla Importer, and uses the ClearQuest CM API to communicate to ClearQuest.  You must install ClearQuest client on the machine you run the ClearQuest Importer.

Following is a list of the recently published Tech Notes on ClearQuest APIs. These Tech Notes are really useful and required for ClearQuest Admins on day-to-day basis.

Don't miss our previously published post on the same topic as well for even more ClearQuest API technotes!

Deliver better software with a comprehensive lifecycle management solution:

IBM Rational ClearQuest is application lifecycle management (ALM) software that provides flexible change and defect tracking, customizable processes, real-time reporting and lifecycle traceability for better visibility and control of the software development lifecycle. This solution provides scalable, multiplatform support to any size organization, so you can continue to use your customized processes as your organization’s needs evolve. Rational ClearQuest supports the IBM AIX, HP-UX, Linux, Sun Solaris and Microsoft Windows operating systems.

Rational ClearQuest can improve visibility and control of software development projects:

• Enhance software quality with built-in defect and change-tracking capabilities.
• Customize and automate workflows for greater efficiency and predictability. Develop best practices with the ALM template.
• Simplify compliance management with tools that help you efficiently manage compliance processes and track approvals.
• Gain visibility into projects with real-time reports for better decision making.
• Leverage enhanced integrations with several other IBM lifecycle products for a complete ALM solution.

Web client licensing:

To make Rational ClearQuest Web available for use, your license administrator must install floating licenses on a Rational License Server.

The Web server (Rational ClearQuest Web Application server or Rational Web Platform) requests a license key from the Rational License Server for each Web client. You do not have to install a license key on your desktop to use the Web client.

Entering floating keys on Windows:

You can import the floating licenses by using the Windows License Key Administrator (LKAD). You must have local administrator privileges on the License server before you can enter the license key, using LKAD.

Using the Rational ClearQuest Web client:

Restricted mode is a special mode of accessing Rational ClearQuest Web that limits the number of features available to designated users and user groups. Users and groups working in restricted mode have access to at most three operations:

• Create a record
• Find a record by ID
• Run a restricted query

You can control access to Rational ClearQuest Web by restricting the activities that users and user groups can perform.

These activities include:

• Submitting records
• Modifying records
• Finding a specified record
• Running a single query or accessing the workspace

For example, you can enable users to provide feedback through a password-protected extranet by performing the following steps:

1. Create a ClearQuest user group for customers who will provide beta test feedback.
2. Configure the ClearQuest Web software so that members of this group can only submit records and view the results of a single query.
3. Distribute the ClearQuest Web URL to the user group. 

When members of the group access the URL, they can only submit records and view the results of the query that you specify. The records returned by the query are read-only unless you configure restricted mode to permit record modifications.

When you log in to ClearQuest Web in restricted mode, Restricted Mode appears in the navigation banner at the top of the display. Users are logged on in restricted mode whenever they cannot obtain a valid Rational ClearQuest Web license, for example, if all available licenses are in use.

Configuring restricted mode:

You must have the Super User privilege to configure restricted mode.

Procedure

In the Rational ClearQuest Web banner, click Site Administration -> Configuration.

On the Security Options tab, fill in the restricted mode configuration fields as described in Table

Settings on the Security Options tab take effect immediately; there is no need to restart the server. However, only subsequent Rational ClearQuest Web application sessions reflect these changes. Existing Web application sessions continue to use the settings that were in effect when the sessions started.

 

Ports used by the Rational ClearQuest Web application:

 The Rational ClearQuest Web application uses these port definitions in the jtl.properties file:

JTLRMICALLBACKPORTS=1140,1142

JTLRMICALLBACKFILESERVERPORTS=1141,1143

The jtl.properties file is located in these directory locations:

• On Windows: C:\Program Files\Rational\Common\rwp\EmbeddedExpress\profiles\profile1\installedApps\DefaultNode\RationalClearQuestWeb.ear\CQWebModule.war\WEB-INF\classes\jtl.properties
• On UNIX:   /opt/rational/common/rwp/EmbeddedExpress/profiles/profile1/installedApps/DefaultNode/RationalClearQuestWeb.ear/CQWebModule.war/WEB-INF/classes/jtl.properties

Note: These directory locations assume that you have deployed the Rational ClearQuest application using Rational Web Platform (RWP) installed in the default installation location. If you have installed to a different location from the default, adjust the directory path accordingly. If you are hosting the application using a different Web application server, see that product's documentation for details about configuring ports.

Ports used by the Rational ClearQuest Web registry server:

The registry server component of the Rational ClearQuest server listens on port 1130 and 1131 for requests from the request manager and the Web application. (These ports cannot be changed.)

The registry server also listens on port 1150. You can re-configure that port definition by modifying this parameter in the csm.properties file:

CSM_MONITOR_NOTIFICATION_LISTENER_PORT=1150

The csm.properties file is found in this location:

• On Windows: C:\Program Files\Rational\ClearQuest\cqserver\csm.properties
• On UNIX: /opt/rational/clearquest/cqserver/csm.properties

Note: These directory locations assume that you have installed Rational ClearQuest to the default installation location. If you have installed to a different location, adjust the directory path accordingly.

Ports used by the Rational ClearQuest request manager:

The request manager component of the Rational ClearQuest server uses these port definitions in the jtl.properties file:

JTLRMISERVICEPORT: 1132, 1133

JTLRMISERVERFILESERVERPORTS: 1134, 1135

The jtl.properties file is found in this location:

• On Windows: C:\Program Files\Rational\ClearQuest\cqserver\config\jtl.properties
• On UNIX: /opt/rational/clearquest/cqserver/config/jtl.properties

There are two additional ports that are specified in the csm.properties file:

CSM_ADAPTER_NOTIFICATION_LISTENER_PORT=1151,1152

The csm.properties file is found in this location:

• On Windows: C:\Program Files\Rational\ClearQuest\cqserver\csm.properties
• On UNIX: /opt/rational/clearquest/cqserver/csm.properties

Note: These directory locations assume that you have installed Rational ClearQuest to the default installation location. If you have installed to a different location, adjust the directory path accordingly.

References: 

• Rational ClearQuest Licensing Model
• Launching Rational ClearQuest Web client results in "Restricted Mode" error
• Restricted Mode occurs in ClearQuest Web, even when licenses are available
• Enabling the use of the Modify action in restricted mode for ClearQuest Web
• New ClearQuest Web initially is in a restricted mode after installation

This blog post was Co-Authored by: Kiran Byrappa and Saurabh Tyagi

Here's the most recent list of the latest and greatest downloads which have gone live from Rational Support since our last post on April 17th! These links are provided to help you find the fixes you need in order to stay up to date and successful with your Rational products:

Rational RequisitePro Interim Fix 1 for 7.1.4.3

Rational RequisitePro Interim Fix 1 for 7.1.3.10

Rational RequisitePro Interim Fix 1 for 7.1.2.13

Rational ClearCase iFix 1 (8.0.1.3-iFix01) for 8.0.1.3

Rational ClearCase iFix 1 (8.0.0.10-iFix01) for 8.0.0.10

Rational ClearCase iFix 1 (7.1.2.13-iFix01) for 7.1.2.13

Rational ClearQuest iFix 1 (8.0.1.3-iFix01) for 8.0.1.3

Rational ClearQuest iFix 1 (8.0.0.10-iFix01) for 8.0.0.10

Rational ClearQuest iFix 1 (7.1.2.13-iFix01) for 7.1.2.13

And don't forget to check out the downloads tag to see any of the fixes you may have previously missed:

image credit: (c) 2012 WaywardCelt Photography

Passing multiple value selections in data-pull reports (for ClearQuest 8.0)- This video demonstrates how to resolve a problem that prevents report users from passing multiple value selections with IBM Rational ClearQuest 8.0 data-pull report parameters. This warning message can occur when working with a report that relates to this problem: "If a user sets multiple values for the report parameter, the data set parameter uses only the first value."

Navigation:
00:00 - Introduction
01:31 - Creating a report parameter with static list values
06:43 - Creating a report parameter with dynamic list values
11:46 - Enable the passing of multiple values to the report using a script

Following is a list of the recently published Tech Notes on ClearQuest APIs. These Tech Notes are really useful for ClearQuest Admins specially when designing the schema.

Don't miss our previously published post on the same topic as well for even more ClearQuest API technotes!

Following is a list of the recently published Tech Notes on ClearQuest APIs. These scripts are really useful for ClearQuest Admins and Project Managers to get an instant information on Defects/Records. Further, these scripts can be configured to send the information through emails and can be scheduled to execute on a specific time using Windows Scheduler.

Don't miss our previously published post on the same topic as well for even more ClearQuest API technotes!    

Following is a list of the recently published Tech Notes on ClearQuest APIs. These scripts are really useful to us in Rational Client Support and may be something you were looking for: 
 

Here's the most recent list of the latest and greatest downloads which have gone live from Rational Support since September 17th! These links below are provided to help you find the fixes you need in order to stay up to date and successful with your Rational products.... Plus, don't forget to check out the downloads tag to see any of the fixes you may have previously missed:     

Rational Application Developer Standard Edition Fix Pack 3 (8.0.4.3) for 8.0.4

Rational Application Developer for WebSphere Software Fix Pack 3 (8.0.4.3) for 8.0.4

Rational Application Developer for WebSphere Software Build Utility Fix Pack 3 (8.0.4.3) for 8.0.4

WebSphere Application Server 7.0 Test Environment Extension 7.0.0.29

WebSphere Application Server 6.1 Test Environment Update 6.1.0.47

Rational Developer for System z Interim Fix 1 for 9.0.0.0

Rational Automation Framework Fix Pack 1 (3.0.1.1) for 3.0.1

Rational Method Composer resources

Rational Service Tester for SOA Quality Fix Pack 2 (8.5.0.2) for 8.5

Rational ClearCase Fix Pack 1 (8.0.1.1) for 8.0.1

Rational ClearQuest Fix Pack 1 (8.0.1.1) for 8.0.1

Rational ClearCase Fix Pack 8 (8.0.0.8) for 8.0

Rational ClearQuest Fix Pack 8 (8.0.0.8) for 8.0

Rational ClearCase Fix Pack 12 (7.1.2.12) for 7.1.2

Rational ClearQuest Fix Pack 12 (7.1.2.12) for 7.1.2

Rational Performance Tester Fix Pack 2 (8.5.0.2) for 8.5

Rational Focal Point Fix Pack 1 (6.6.0.1) for 6.6

Rational Programming Patterns Fix Pack 1 (9.0.0.1) for 9.0

Rational RequisitePro Fix Pack 12 (7.1.2.12) for 7.1.2

Rational RequisitePro Fix Pack 8 (7.1.3.8) for 7.1.3

Rational RequisitePro Fix Pack 1 (7.1.4.1) for 7.1.4

Rational Change Fix Pack 6 (5.3.0.6) for 5.3

Rational Synergy Fix Pack 5 (7.2.0.5) for 7.2

Rational Synchronization Server Interim Fix 1 for 1.4.0.4

XL Fortran Runtime for AIX Fix Pack 5 (September 2013 PTF) for 14.1

XL Fortran for AIX Fix Pack 5 (September 2013 PTF) for 14.1

XL C++ Runtime for AIX Fix Pack 3 (September 2013 PTF) for 12.1

XL C/C++ for AIX Fix Pack 5 (September 2013 PTF) for 12.1

XL C for AIX Fix Pack 5 (September 2013 PTF) for 12.1

RSA11_4_2fp5_ifix1

image credit: (c) 2012 WaywardCelt Photography

Here's the most recent list of the latest and greatest downloads which have gone live from Rational Support since June 19th! Presented below to help you find the fixes you need in order to stay up to date and successful with your Rational products....

• IBM Installation Manager 1.6.3.1 Install Kit for AIX
• Rational Rhapsody Fix Pack 4 (7.6.1.4) for 7.6.1
• Rational ClearCase Fix Pack 7 (8.0.0.7) for 8.0
• Rational ClearCase Fix Pack 11 (7.1.2.11) for 7.1.2
• Rational ClearQuest Fix Pack 7 (8.0.0.7) for 8.0
• Rational ClearQuest Fix Pack 11 (7.1.2.11) for 7.1.2
• Rational RequisitePro Fix Pack 7 (7.1.3.7) for 7.1.3
• February 2011 Update for IBM XL C/C++ for AIX, V10.1 Utilities
• Rational Robot Interim Fix 3 for 7.0.3.9
• XL Fortran for AIX Fix Pack 4 (June 2013 PTF) for 14.1
• XL Fortran Runtime for AIX Fix Pack 4 (June 2013 PTF) for 14.1
• XL C for AIX Fix Pack 4 (June 2013 PTF) for 12.1
• XL C/C++ for AIX Fix Pack 4 (June 2013 PTF) for 12.1
• 7.1.3.7-Rational-RRP-WIN-FP07
• PL/I for AIX version 3.1.0.2
• Rational DOORS and Rational DOORS Web Access Fix Pack 1 (9.5.1.1) for 9.5.1
• Runtime for XL Fortran for Linux Fix Pack 8 (June 2013 Update) for 13.1
• XL Fortran for Linux Fix Pack 8 (June 2013 Update) for 13.1
• COBOL for AIX version 4.1.1.9
• Rational Developer for System z 9.0

Don't forget to check out the downloads tag to see the fixes you may have previously missed:

image credit: (c) 2012 WaywardCelt Photography

Performing multirecord updates with Rational ClearQuest Web V8.0.1- A demonstration of performing multirecord updates in IBM Rational ClearQuest Web V8.0.1