Operation modes
The operation mode that you can use for your integration servers is determined by the license that you purchase.
- Advanced mode. All features are enabled and no restrictions or limits are imposed. This mode is the default mode, unless you have the Developer Edition.
- Nonproduction mode. All features are enabled and no functional limits are imposed, but you can use the product for evaluation, development, and test purposes only.
- Developer mode. All features are enabled, but you can use the product for evaluation, development, and test purposes only. Developer Edition is limited to one message (transaction) per second at the message flow level.
- Standard mode. All features are enabled. If you are using an integration node, you can associate only one integration server with it, but the number of message flows that you can deploy to it is unlimited.
Operation modes typically restrict the number of message flow nodes that are available, and integration server capacity, but many features are available across all modes of operation. For an overview of the main IBM® App Connect Enterprise capabilities, see IBM App Connect Enterprise features.
You must ensure that your integration servers are running in the operation mode for which you have purchased a license.
If you have purchased a license for the full package or the Standard Edition, your integration servers are automatically created in advanced mode unless you specify the correct mode for your license.
Change the mode of your integration node to conform to your license if necessary; see Changing the operation mode. You can also report the current mode of your integration node; see Checking the operation mode.
The IBM App Connect Enterprise Toolkit remains the same in all modes. All the capabilities of the IBM App Connect Enterprise Toolkit are available in all modes. If you try to deploy too many message flows or integration servers for the mode, or try to use a message flow node that is not valid in the mode, the operation is rejected, and an error message is displayed indicating the reason for the failure; see Restrictions that apply in each operation mode. Restrictions for a given mode also apply to the use of message flows generated by IBM App Connect Enterprise patterns.
If you intend to use the IBM App Connect Enterprise features that require MQ functionality, you can install and use IBM MQ within the terms of your IBM App Connect Enterprise license. For more information about using IBM MQ with IBM App Connect Enterprise, see Installing IBM MQ.
Advanced mode
In advanced mode, all features are enabled, and there are no operational limits on the creation of integration servers or on the number of flows that are deployed to an individual integration server. If you want to use all or most of the features available, your integration servers must operate in this mode, and you therefore require the full license. If you do not specify another mode, your integration servers have the mode set to the default value, which is advanced.
Nonproduction mode
In nonproduction mode, all features are enabled. You can use all available function, and no limits are imposed on the number of resources that you can create or the rate at which messages can be processed. The functions that are available in nonproduction mode are the same as in advanced mode, but nonproduction mode can be used for evaluation, development, and test purposes only. When you are ready to move to a production environment, you will need to obtain the full IBM App Connect Enterprise license and change your integration servers to advanced mode.
Developer mode
In developer mode, all features are enabled. You can use all available function, and you are not limited in the number of resources that you can create and maintain. IBM App Connect Enterprise for Developers (Developer Edition) is provided for evaluation, development, and test purposes only.
Developer Edition is limited to one message (transaction) per second at the message flow level. Each message flow is able to process one message per second, irrespective of the number of input nodes that are attached to the message flow, or the number of additional instances. When using Developer Edition, if a policy is deployed to increase the message rate throughput above one message per second, a message is reported in the syslog and event log stating that the message rate cannot be changed in Developer Edition. The policy that is deployed has no effect on the message rate.
You can download Developer Edition at no charge from https://www.ibm.com/marketing/iwm/iwm/web/dispatcher.do?source=swg-wmbfd, and you are free to use it for as long as you require, within the terms of the license. There is no expiry period for the Developer Edition license.
When you have installed Developer Edition, if you subsequently purchase a license and install the full version of IBM App Connect Enterprise, any Developer mode integration servers that are started with the full version are treated as Advanced mode integration servers. In this case, you must also modify the operation mode of these integration servers by using the mqsimode command to reflect the license that you have purchased. For more information, see Changing the operation mode.
Standard mode
In standard mode, all features are enabled. Use this edition if you expect to use all or most of the features that are available, but intend to configure a limited environment because of low capacity requirements.
You can use all the available functions, but are limited in the number of resources that you can create and maintain. You can associate only one integration server with an integration node; for more information, see Restrictions that apply in each operation mode. If you attempt to exceed the limits of this mode, the deployment is rejected.
Development and unit test
Your license also covers use of the product for development and unit test purposes, but check the license to ensure that you conform to any restrictions for development and unit test. You can view the license for IBM App Connect Enterprise by visiting the Software license agreements search website. Search for "IBM App Connect Enterprise" and choose the license that applies to the version you are using.
Contact your IBM representative if you want further details about license agreements, or if you want to purchase additional licenses or change the type of license that you have purchased.
Integration with Tivoli License Manager
If you use IBM Tivoli® License Manager to control and manage your licensed software products, you must ensure that you choose the correct license for the IBM App Connect Enterprise edition that you have purchased. For more information, see Installing IBM License Metric Tool.