Notes from Rational Support

I have a script that was recorded against a server that didn't use HTTPS.  I want to play back against a server using HTTPS.  However I couldn't just change the server name and add a SSL connection to the server config.  The new server uses WebSeal and all the requests from the non-HTTPS test had to be prefaced with "/wp".

 

To illustrate this technique I made a small test recorded against Wikipedia:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would want, for example

/portal/wikipedia.org/assets/img/Wikibooks-logo_sister_1x.png

to be changed to

/wp//portal/wikipedia.org/assets/img/Wikibooks-logo_sister_1x.png

for that specific request as well as all the others.

 

This could be done with search and replace in RPT but the changes wouldn't be persistent and would have to be done with each new recording.  In addition, search and replace may replace the string that's already correlated.  We want the change to affect URL's used in requests that are not correlated.

This can be done rather easily using data correlation rules.  Here's how to do it.

 

1. Create a variable with the value of the prefix, I called mine wp_slash.  We have to use variable instead of a reference because the value "/wp" will not be returned in any response content before we do the first substitution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Find the first "/" in the test, highlight it, then right mouse click and chose Substitute -> Select Data Source....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Select the variable we just made, slash_wp

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Do the substitution and then save the test.  Don't try to substitute everything at this point.  Our goal is to create a rule to do this and the rule will do the substitution for us

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Now lets look at the rule. Note the regular expression for the substituter.  It's .* which means it will replace the entire string with "/wp/".  We don't want that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.  Change the regular expression to "^(/)" when means substitute only the leading "/"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Save the rule and apply it to the test

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. It probably looks like nothing's changed, but compare the test with the previous picture of the test.  All the /'s are now purple. 

Do a hoover over one of them and it'll show that the / is substituted from slash_wp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Run the test.  I expect it to fail because for Wikipedia the URL is invalid but the test log will show that /wp was prefaced for all the requests

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A given version of IBM Rational Application Developer for WebSphere (RAD) will typically only ship with a single version of a WebSphere Portal (WP/WPortal/Portal) server. This is usually close to the latest version of the RAD version newly available to customers. It is separately installed just as you would any Portal server provided by WebSphere Portal.

However, a given version of RAD will typically support the two most recent versions of WebSphere Portal (WP/WPortal) for development purposes, at  the time that RAD version was released. You may test remotely or locally with any supported WPortal server version purchased separately (as for production) , or locally with a WP server shipped with a previous RAD version for which you are licensed and also have that RAD version installed on the same machine. The key is to ensure the Server tools feature for the required WebSphere Portal server versions have been selected when installing RAD using IBM Installation Manager (IM) or later using IM > Modify.

 

IBM PassPort Advantage parts list:
- Rational Application Developer for WebSphere Software eAssembly Parts List
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg27044039
[Tabs] for 9.5 9.1.1, 9.1.0, 9.0, 8.5.1, 8.5

 

RAD versions:
 

RAD 8.0.0.,x (End of Service - Sept 30 2015) shipped with  WPortal 7.0 on WAS ND 7.0.0.11
RE: Passport Advantage parts list - Rational Application Developer v8.0.x [8.0.4 install image tab]
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg24027295

RAD 8.5.x 
- ships WPortal 8.0 with WAS ND 8.0.0.3
  (RE 1 - above)
- supports development for WPortal 8.0 on WAS 8.0 (and WP70/WAS70)
  RE-RAD855 KC: - Planning what to install
  http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSRTLW_8.5.5/com.ibm.rad.install.doc/topics/c_plan_install_feature_product.html

RAD 9.0.x 
- ships WPortal 8.0 with WAS ND 8.0.0.3
  (RE 1 - above)
- supports development for WPortal 8.0 on WAS 8.5  (and WP80/WAS80, WP70/WAS70)
  RE-RAD901 KC: - Planning what to install
  http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSRTLW_9.0.1/com.ibm.rad.install.doc/topics/c_plan_install_feature_product.html

RAD 9.1.x
- ships WPortal 8.5 with WAS ND 8.5.5
  (RE 1 - above)
- supports development for WPortal 8.5 on WAS 8.5  (and WP80/WAS80, WP80/WAS85)
  RE-RAD911 KC: - Planning what to install
  http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSRTLW_9.1.1/com.ibm.rad.install.doc/topics/c_plan_install_feature_product.html

 

RAD 9.5.0
- ships WPortal 8.5 with WAS ND 8.5.5
  (RE 1 - above)
- supports development for WPortal 8.5 on WAS 8.5  (and WP80/WAS80, WP80/WAS85)
  RE-RAD950 KC: - Planning what to install
  http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSRTLW_9.5.0/com.ibm.rad.install.doc/topics/c_plan_install_feature_product.html

 

 

 

How do you exclude the CSM  (CLM Server Monitoring ) code statements that are intermingled with the normal log4j.properties statements?

Here is an example of an error thrown as a result of CSM code statements:

eg: ERROR com.ibm.team.server.monitoring.ActiveResourceQueue : java.lang.NullPointerException

Note: The above error message is not related to the CSM generation during the scrub actions that are failing, as we are constantly running the ARQ and it's being cleared eventually.  The conflict is likely due to the cleanup from the bulk load and is occurring at the same time. Furthermore, the resource queue is behind on the other removals from the mass number of other activity happening under the covers due to that interaction. Take a closer look, and we can see this  in the CSM data.

 

The resources are either already removed by another process or scrubbed on the next run and so this should be considered just log spam. The log message can be "No Suppressed" with a log4j.properties setting explicit to the class to either no longer show or pipe to a different log file instead ( I would recommend the second option). There is no such concern to CLM running, and the message can be removed, moved or ignored using log4j until the server is upgraded ( It's fixed in the CSM 6.0.x , so already fixed upstream.)

Procedure:

In the  {CLM install directory}/server/conf/{application context root}/log4j.properties file add an entry for the class from the error (com.ibm.team.server.monitoring.ActiveResourceQueue) to change the message level being logged.
We recommend FATAL because there may be a message that the system is found to be unstable detected by the monitoring which would be good to capture.

Note: The settings for CSM Plugin Monitoring goes in the log4j.properties of /conf/jts/log4j.properties, /conf/ccm/log4j.properties, /conf/rm/log4j.properties,  and so on because the plugin resides in the applications

       1) Add the below value line in log4j.properties file:
           
        #Only accept FATAL messages from the ActiveResourceQueue class in com.ibm.team.server.monitoring package

        log4j.logger.com.ibm.team.server.monitoring.ActiveResourceQueue=FATAL

 

or

     2) You can also just filter off all of the monitoring CSM plugin entries to a different rotating file by instead adding, please find the example for your reference.
         ##################### <CSM Plugin Monitoring to another file> #################################
         #Move monitoring messages from rm logs to rm-monitoring logs
         #Create the appender that will handle the logger data (csmplugin) and choose a place and a name unique to the context root to have the file
        log4j.appender.csm=org.apache.log4j.RollingFileAppender
        log4j.appender.csmplugin.MaxFileSize=10MB
       log4j.appender.csmplugin.MaxBackupIndex=5
       log4j.appender.csmplugin.File=logs/rm-csmplugin.log
       log4j.appender.csmplugin.layout=org.apache.log4j.PatternLayout
       log4j.appender.csmplugin.layout.ConversionPattern=%d{ISO8601} [%30t] %5p %-50.50c  - %m%n
       #Create a new logger for the package, or class.
       #This can be set to TRACE|DEBUG|INFO|WARN|ERROR|FATAL as needed and will only affect the scope in he logger name.
      #Also assign the logger to use the new file appender by name
       log4j.logger.com.ibm.team.server.monitoring=INFO, csmplugin
       #additivity removes the logger from appearing in the rootLogger in log4j, since we are trying to move all data elsewhere around this logger
      log4j.additivity.com.ibm.team.server.monitoring=false
    ##################### </CSM Plugin Monitoring to another file> #################################

    IF you are not familiar with log4j, it is the open source logging facility from Apache that CLM uses across the products.
    Take a look at https://jazz.net/wiki/bin/view/Deployment/ManipulatingCLMLog4j  and the Apache http://logging.apache.org/log4j/1.2/ documentation and wiki page.

 

    3) Reload the log4j settings, log on to the server and enter  this URL in the address bar:

       Note: Please do it for all the applications, you don't need to restart the server.

       https://hostname.example.com:9443/application_contextroot/admin#action=com.ibm.team.repository.admin.reloadLoggingSettings

        Click Reload Log Settings.

        The text Log Settings reloaded = [true] appears below the
        Reload Log Settings button indicating that the reload was successful.

 

 

It is quite useful to be able to get notifications when a run completes. This feature is available in IBM Rational Performance Tester (RPT) 8.7. 

 

To stop a test gracefully without causing incomplete page hits, select the Active actions are allowed to complete if stop requested check box at Window > Preferences > Test > Test Execution.

 

To receive email notification for the status of the run, specify the email properties in Window > Preferences > Test > Test Execution.

 

Procedure

 

1. In the Test Navigator, expand the project until you locate the schedule or test.
   
    
2. Right-click the schedule or test, and then click Run As > Performance Schedule or Run As > Test.

Note: If you run an HTTP schedule on a remote Macintosh computer, the test fails. The cipher suite that is used for recording must be available in Oracle JDK on the Macintosh computer. For example, you can use TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA on Macintosh.

 

 

Using this feature you can get notified after your schedule, test and compound test run completion.  Multiple email addresses can be separated by comma. Sample email message that would be sent.

 

 

 

Related material:

Rational Performance Tester 8.7.0 Knowledge Center

Email notification does not work when run completes (Video)

If you are looking for a simple tool to perform GET operation(s) on IBM Rational Quality Manager (RQM), then you are looking at the right post.

 

The RQM artifacts are exposed in XML format through the RQM's Reportable REST (REpresentation and State Transfer) API's.  If you are in need to perform a quick GET (get XML) of the RQM artifacts without having to worry about the REST syntax and other nitty-gritties, then the "RQM GET" utility is a good option.  This utility is built on the basis of the RQMUrlUtility and provides an interactive way to download the artifact XML using the artifact web IDs.

Requirements 

RQMGET requires a Java 6 (1.6) or greater.

Running RQM GET Utility 

java -jar rqmget.jar [arguments]

Argument Reference 

RQMGET -user -password -url [-help]

Command Lines Arguments explained  

-user       : Login user name

-password   : Login Password

-url        : Https Url for the RQM application

Example: java -jar rqmget.jar -user clmadmin -password clmadmin -url https://clm.net:9443/qm/

 

Here is a sample command line trace of events on the RQM GET utility used to download artifact from an RQM server.

C:\>java -jar rqmget.jar -user clmadmin -password clmadmin -url https://clm.net:9443/qm
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
       <<<<<----- [ RQM GET Utility ] ---->>>>>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

RQMGET: Connecting to RQM server at : https://clm.net:9443
RQMGET: Exploring RQM project's at : https://clm.net:9443/qm/

RQMGET: Found 7 project areas....

.........................................
ID      |       Project Area Alias
.........................................
1       |       RQMprojectx1
2       |       TestRQM_x2+%28Quality+Management%29
3       |       TestQM
4       |       TestRQMproject
5       |       TestRQM_team1+%28Quality+Management%29
6       |       CLMintegrationTest
7       |       testCLM+%28Quality+Management%29
.........................................

Enter index of project you would like to explore:
2
Enter index of artifact type to explore in "TestRQM_x2+%28Quality+Management%29"
---------------------------------
1.Test Plan --> [4 Found]
2.Test Suite --> [3 Found]
3.Test Case --> [31 Found]
4.Test Script --> [27 Found]
5.Test Case Execution Record (TCER) --> [100 Found]
6.Test Suite Execution Record (TSER) --> [4 Found]
7.Test Case Result (TCR) --> [100 Found]
8.Test Suite Result (TSR) --> [3 Found]
9.Test Environment (TE) --> [14 Found]
10.Test Phase --> [0 Found]
11.Keyword --> [2 Found]
---------------------------------
4
To download "Test Script" XML --> Enter [1]

Enter integet other than 1 to exit
1
Enter the id(s) of "Test Script" you want to download [eg: 1 4 7]?
13
#################################

RQMGET: Test Script #13 from "TestRQM_x2+%28Quality+Management%29" is at: C:\\Test Script__13.xml

#################################
RQMGET: Done!
RQMGET: Disconnecting from the IBM Rational Quality Manager server.

You can download the RQM GET utility by clicking on RQMGETUtility.zip.

 

How to do a silent install of IBM Rational Performance Tester (RPT), or the RPT Load agent is a common topic.  To do one on Linux is a bit trickier than on Microsoft Windows because most people are more familiar with Windows than Linux.  Don't worry, it's still relatively easy and straight forward.

The approach I took was:

1. download IM 1.8.2 and the RPT 8.7 Agent repositories

2. copy from Windows machine to Linux machine using pscp, a Windows version of scp (secure copy)

3. install the standalone Installation Manager 1.8.2 for Linux

4. run that Installation Manager in GUI mode to create a response file needed for the silent install

5. then run Installation Manager from the command line using the response file generated in step 4 to install the agent silently.

 

Here's the steps

1. download IM 1.8.2 from http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg24039012

2. copy to Linux machine, I'm copying to /tmp/IM182

Z:\>c:\temp\misc\pscp agent.installer.linux.gtk.x86_64_1.8.2000.20150303_1526.zip root@citmx373:/tmp/IM182
root@citmx373's password:
agent.installer.linux.gtk |       2140 kB | 1070.0 kB/s | ETA: 00:02:29 |   1%

3. unzip on Linux machine to /tmp/IM182

[root@citmx373 IM182]# unzip agent.installer.linux.gtk.x86_64_1.8.2000.20150303_1526.zip

4. install IM

[root@citmx373 IM182]# pwd
/tmp/IM182
[root@citmx373 IM182]# ./installc -acceptLicense
Installed com.ibm.cic.agent_1.8.2000.20150303_1526 to the /opt/IBM/InstallationManager/eclipse directory.
[root@citmx373 IM182]#

5. copy the agent to the Linux machine, I'm copying to /tmp/RPT87Agent

Z:\>c:\temp\misc\pscp.exe RPT_Agent_Controller_8.7.zip root@citmx373:/tmp/RPT87Agent
root@citmx373's password:
RPT_Agent_Controller_8.7. |       5488 kB | 457.3 kB/s | ETA: 02:02:21 |   0%

6. unzip it

[root@citmx373 RPT87Agent]# pwd
/tmp/RPT87Agent
[root@citmx373 RPT87Agent]# ls
RPT_Agent_Controller_8.7.zip
[root@citmx373 RPT87Agent]# unzip RPT_Agent_Controller_8.7.zip

7. run IM in GUI mode to create a response file

[root@citmx373 eclipse]# pwd
/opt/IBM/InstallationManager/eclipse
[root@citmx373 eclipse]# ./IBMIM -record /tmp/MyResponse.xml -skipInstall /tmp/agentinfo
add "/tmp/RPT87Agent/RPTAGENT_SETUP/disk1/diskTag.inf" as repository
uncheck "Search service repositories during installation and updates"
add a valid RPT workbench for workbench hostname
choose appropriate "Select the offering that the Agent is being installed with"

 

8. Verify creation of response file

root@citmx373 eclipse]# ls /tmp
agentinfo          keyring-Fi5U1T  keyring-Vxytag      perfadmin           ssh-OoNDSt2214
ciclogs_perfadmin  keyring-fSXnEK  Majordomo_port.dat  pulse-42memf88rX2w  vmware-tools-distrib
ciclogs_root       keyring-gkxDzU  MyResponse.xml      pulse-AttIBRpZ9KaO
IM182              keyring-KwcHfX  orbit-gdm           pulse-M6UeBiS6Qhgq
keyring-9Ed6ze     keyring-mu69eN  orbit-ibmadmin      RPT87Agent
keyring-C8KvlR     keyring-nNOcf1  orbit-root          ssh-kEslpR2351

 9. Do the silent install using the response file just created

[root@citmx373 eclipse]# pwd
/opt/IBM/InstallationManager/eclipse
[root@citmx373 eclipse]# ./IBMIM --launcher.ini silent-install.ini -input /tmp/MyResponse.xml -log /tmp/silent.log -acceptLicense
Installed com.ibm.rational.performance.tester.agent_8.7.0.RPTAO87-I20150303_1703 to the /opt/IBM/SDP directory.
[root@citmx373 eclipse]#

10. Verify installation. 

Check that the majordomo.config file exists and has the right hostname of the RPT workbench. Then check if the agent is started.

[root@citmx373 Majordomo]# pwd
/opt/IBM/SDP/Majordomo
[root@citmx373 Majordomo]# cat majordomo.config
<MajordomoConfig xmlns="http://www.example.org/MajordomoConfiguration">
    <debug>false</debug>
    <canonicalHostName></canonicalHostName>
    <ipAddress></ipAddress>
    <pollInterval>10</pollInterval>
    <workbenches>
        <hostName>citmx124</hostName>
        <port>7080</port>
    </workbenches>
</MajordomoConfig>
[root@citmx373 Majordomo]# ./MDStart.sh
Majordomo is already running on pid 25430
[root@citmx373 Majordomo]#

 11, Check agent status on RPT workbench by clicking on the agent status icon

From our friends at IBM Rational User Education, here are nine more how-to videos surrounding key topics core to Rational Team Concert v4.0:

 

Rational Team Concert: Create and edit a text file - This video describes how to create and edit a text file in the Rational Team Concert web client v4.0.

 

Click through to the videos below for even more how-to style quick guides!

Rational Team Concert: Accept changes from other team members - This video describes how to accept changes from other team members in Rational Team Concert.

Rational Team Concert: Add files and folders to a stream - This video describes how to add files and folders to a stream in the Rational Team Concert web client v4.0.

Rational Team Concert: Create a Repository Workspace from a Stream - This video describes how to create a repository workspace from a stream in Rational Team Concert v4.0.

Rational Team Concert: Deliver Changes and Resolve a Work Item - This video describes how to deliver changes and resolve a work item in Rational Team Concert v4.0.

Rational Team Concert: Lock, Download, and Edit a File - This video describes how to lock, download, and edit a file in the Rational Team Concert web client v4.0.

Rational Team Concert: Build definitions and build engines - This video describes how to use build definitions and build engines in Rational Team Concert v4.0.3.

Rational Team Concert: Request a build - This video describes how to request a build in Rational Team Concert v4.0.3.

Rational Team Concert: Build results - This video describes how to view build results in Rational Team Concert v4.0.3.

 

Even more information can be found at:  http://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSYMRC_4.0.0/com.ibm.rational.clm.doc/helpindex_clm.html 
and at https://jazz.net/products/clm/

 

 

 

Scheduled Jenkin Build Should run only if there are "changes accepted "

The Rational Team Concert (RTC) / Jenkins setup  for continuous integration. On the "Jazz Source Control" tab the check boxes labeled "Accept latest changes before loading" and "Build  only if there are changes accepted" are selected.

The expected behavior for this config is: The build will run whenever new change sets show up in the stream selected as flow target for the build repository workspace. In reality the build is started every minute regardless if there are changes or no changes.

Its not supposed to catch CI builds on the RTC side. The builds have to be driven from the Jenkins side. It will use the information from Jazz SCM tab to do the CI part, but it has to be Jenkins figuring out if a build is necessary.

So set up a the build in Jenkins to do the Poll SCM for a build trigger and setup a schedule there, and everything should work.

1) Configure the Jenkins project from the below link: 
https://jazz.net/wiki/bin/view/Main/JazzScmWithJenkinsPlugin

2) Jenkins should be driving the build schedule using the plugin.

Enable the Poll SCM under Build Triggers, which takes the cron argument.

For example: so */5 * * * * * is every 5 minutes, looks the information that the change set is available and accept the changes and trigger the build
every 5 minute.

1.    MINUTES Minutes in one hour (0-59)
2.    HOURS Hours in one day (0-23)
3.    DAYMONTH Day in a month (1-31)
4.    MONTH Month in a year (1-12)
5.    DAYWEEK Day of the week (0-7) where 0 and 7 are Sunday

If you want to schedule your build every 5 minutes, this will do the job : */5 * * * *
If you want to schedule your build every day at 8h00, this will do the job : 0 8 * * *

The scheduled builds have to be driven from the Jenkins side. It will use the information from Jazz SCM tab to do the CI part, but it has to be Jenkins.

Note: The above configuration will give us continues integration. On the "Jazz Source Control" using the Jenkins cron argument  and also it will stop the scheduled build if there are no changes accepted.
 

Instrumenting and installing iOS apps in Rational Test Workbench 8.6- This video shows the different methods to instrument and install iOS apps by using IBM Rational Test Workbench (RTW) 8.6. Native and hybrid iOS applications must be instrumented before you can use them to record or play back a test. The application can be instrumented for testing on an iOS device or an iOS Simulator. To instrument an application, you must have the Xcode project for the application under test (AUT) on a Macintosh computer. 

Author - Eric Solomon