FAQ for Sterling B2B Integrator

To better understand IBM® Sterling B2B Integrator and the IBM Global High Availability Mailbox component, these frequently asked questions provide you with answers to questions related to general information, frequently used features, required installation, configuration, and replication-related information.

As a component of IBM Sterling B2B Integrator, Global Mailbox enables licensed customers to optionally pay for an add-on component that provides high availability mailboxing to exchange files. Global Mailbox is a robust and reliable way to store message data from partners in any geography. This HA mailboxing capability allows you to deploy a B2B platform that can sustain continuous operations plus offer differentiating disaster recovery capabilities to the market.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The following Global Mailbox and Sterling B2B Integrator frequently asked questions and answers provide you general and frequently used or required installation, configuration, and replication-related information.

General questions

Installation questions

High availability

Protocol actions

Event management issues

General questions

General questions cover questions that are related to different administrator roles required to operate Global Mailbox and the tasks a Global Mailbox can do in Global Mailbox management node.

Q1 - What are the different administrator roles required in Global Mailbox?

To ensure that the required topology to use Global Mailbox is set up and configured correctly, several administrator roles are required to configure the appropriate infrastructure. Generally these roles install, configure, and maintain the software and hardware, which is part of the solution.
File Storage Administrator, Replication Server Administrators
This role is responsible for installing, configuring, and maintaining the file storage and file replication servers for Global Mailbox.
The File Storage Administrator is responsible for ensuring that the file storage system meets the business requirements. This role is also responsible for ensuring that there is an infrastructure in place to ensure that data is replicated to avoid any data loss. This role must ensure that the file system meets performance expectations of the overall system.
Cassandra and ZooKeeper Administrator
This role is responsible for installing, configuring, and maintaining the Cassandra and ZooKeeper servers.
This administrator is also responsible for ensuring there are enough nodes in the system to account for failures and workload balancing.
Network Administrator
This role is responsible for configuring the network infrastructure for the Global Mailbox, which includes following items:
  • Data center connections
  • Load balancers
  • Firewalls
  • Proxies
The Network Administrator role is also responsible to ensure that the network meets the expected performance criteria of the system.
Sterling B2B Integrator Administrator
Based on your requirement and configuration Sterling B2B Integrator uses Global Mailbox or traditional mailbox or both to store mailbox data. Sterling B2B Integrator is registered in Global Mailbox as an application that is using the features, during the installation.
Single sign-on is supported between Sterling B2B Integrator and Global Mailbox, which allows Sterling B2B Integrator Administrator to go to Global Mailbox user interface and do the required administrator activities.
Global Mailbox Administrator
Global Mailbox Administrator manage mailboxes (creating, deleting, and so on), applications, policies, and permissions within the system by using the Global Mailbox management user interface. Sterling B2B Integrator administrator can flow from Sterling B2B Integrator user interface to the Global Mailbox management user interface without logging on again.
Single sign-on is supported between Sterling B2B Integrator and Global Mailbox, which allows Sterling B2B Integrator Administrator to go to Global Mailbox user interface and do the required administrator activities.
Global Mailbox administrators can perform various actions in the Global Mailbox user interface. For more information, see Global Mailbox management tool.

Q2 - What activities can a Global Mailbox administrator do in Global Mailbox?

Global Mailbox administrators can perform various actions in the Global Mailbox user interface. For more information, see Global Mailbox management tool. Additionally, you can schedule some routine operations to maintain optimal system performance. By using the schedulerConfigUtility script, you can schedule message purging, payload purging, resending of failed events, and many other tasks. For more information, see Scheduler.

Q3 - Why should I keep Sterling B2B Integrator user lists, business processes, and contracts the same and in sync across data centers? What happens if Sterling B2B Integrator configuration data is not in sync?

Because Sterling B2B Integrator clusters in each data centers have separate database clusters, it is important to keep Sterling B2B Integrator configuration data in sync across data centers. If the configuration data is not consistent, it might lead to transactional and processing errors. For example, virtual roots and event rules might not work correctly, processing of a message can fail when the required business process or contract cannot be found.

Q4 - How can I keep Sterling B2B Integrator configuration data the same and in sync across data centers?

You must use the import and export functionality of Sterling B2B Integrator to keep configuration data same across data centers. Based on your business requirements you must create a schedule to periodically import and export Sterling B2B Integrator resources to keep them in sync. For more information, see Resource Management in IBM Knowledge Center for Sterling B2B Integrator.

Installation questions

Installation questions cover questions that are related to a fresh installation of Sterling B2B Integrator and installing Fix Pack in general, and also about installing Global Mailbox in specific.

Q5 - Does installing or updating Sterling B2B Integrator install Global Mailbox?

No, installing or updating to Sterling B2B Integrator does not install Global Mailbox, though Global Mailbox is part of the Sterling B2B Integrator package. Global Mailbox is an optional add-on component for Sterling B2B Integrator, which must be bought separately. Global Mailbox can be installed when you install or update Sterling B2B Integrator or it can be installed separately after you install or update Sterling B2B Integrator.

Q6 - Is it mandatory to install Global Mailbox with Sterling B2B Integrator?

No, it is not mandatory to install Global Mailbox with Sterling B2B Integrator. Based on your business requirements, you can choose to install and use traditional mailbox or Global Mailbox or both.

Q7 - How can I install or update Sterling B2B Integrator?

To install Global Mailbox with Sterling B2B Integrator, you must use IBM Installation Manager.

Note: Sterling B2B Integrator can be installed or upgraded by using Docker or IBM Installation Manager. However, Docker is not supported to install Global Mailbox. You must use IBM Installation Manager to install or upgrade Global Mailbox with Sterling B2B Integrator.

Q8 - From where can I get the Installation Manager kit?

Installation Manager kit for V1.8.8 (64-bit) for all supported platforms is packaged along with Sterling B2B Integrator.

Q9 - Should I install the Installation Manager before starting the installation of Sterling B2B Integrator and Global Mailbox or before starting the installation of Sterling B2B Integrator Fix Pack?

No, it is not mandatory to install the Installation Manager before starting a fresh or update installation of Sterling B2B Integrator and Global Mailbox. It is suggested to use the Installation Manager agent that is provided with package. When you download the media for your version, you must extract the Installation Manager for the required operating system, and the Sterling B2B Integrator and Global Mailbox folders to a common folder, such that the IM_<OperatingSystem>, b2birepo, and gmrepo folders are at the same level. After doing so, to start the Installation Manager, you must go to the IM_<OperatingSystem> folder, and type ./userinst on the command line for Linux servers or type userinst.exe for Windows servers.

The advantage of using the agent that is provided with package is that it adds the repository files for Sterling B2B Integrator and Global Mailbox automatically if you extract the IM_<OperatingSystem>, b2birepo, and gmrepo folders to the same directory.

Q10 - How can I manually add Sterling B2B Integrator and Global Mailbox repositories to Installation Manager.

It is always suggested to extract IM_<OperatingSystem>, b2birepo, and gmrepo folders to the same directory so that the repositories are added automatically. However, if for some reason, for example, you had already installed Installation Manager and the IM_<OperatingSystem>, b2birepo, and gmrepo folders are not in the same directory, you must manually add b2birepo and gmrepo repository files to Installation Manager.

Q11 - As what user type in Installation Manager must I install or update?

It is always suggested to use the Installation Manager as a non-administrator user.

How you start the Installation Manager depends on whether you are using the Installation Manager agent that is provided with the package or whether you have an Installation Manager instance that is installed on your system. It also depends on whether you have 32-bit or 64-bit Installation Manager.

Open a command prompt and do one of the following tasks to start the Installation Manager in GUI mode:
  • Go to the IM_<operating_system> directory and type ./userinst or userinst.exe (Windows) for the following scenarios:
    • If you do not have the Installation Manager that is installed and are using the Installation Manager agent that is provided with media.
    • If you have a 64-bit Installation Manager installed.
    • If you have the Installation Manager installed on a platform that has only one download available for Installation Manager. For example, AIX, Solaris, HP, zLinux.
  • Go to <installation directory>/Installation Manager/eclipse (for Windows system, replace / with \) and type ./IBMIM or IBMIM.exe, if you have 32-bit Installation Manager that is installed on a Linux or Windows system.

Q12 - What installation modes are supported in Installation Manager, to install Sterling B2B Integrator and Global Mailbox?

Graphical user interface (GUI) and silent installation modes are supported in Installation Manager to install Sterling B2B Integrator and Global Mailbox.

Q13 - I did not use Installation Manager to install the current Sterling B2B Integrator. Can I use the Installation Manager to update?

Regardless of whether you used Installation Manager to install the current Sterling B2B Integrator, you must use the Installation Manager to update. For information about updating Sterling B2B Integrator, see Upgrading Sterling B2B Integrator by using the IBM Installation Manager.

Q14 - How can I do a media upgrade to the latest version?

Media upgrade is equivalent to a fresh Sterling B2B Integrator installation, except that the database is upgraded with any new tables and the existing data is retained.

You must select the Create a new package group option and choose a fresh installation directory. Also, ensure to select the This installation is an upgrade from a prior version option.

Q15 - When installing a Fix Pack, why must I select Install option instead of Update if I did not use the Installation Manager to install the current Sterling B2B Integrator?

If you did not use Installation Manager to install the current Sterling B2B Integrator, the Installation Manager does not know that the product is already installed and does not have the information that it needs to know about it for Installation Manager to run the update flow. Therefore, you must select the Install option and select the current installation directory to install the Fix Pack. It is a limitation of the Installation Manager.

If you used Installation Manager, you must use the Update option and proceed with installing the Fix Pack.

Q16 - I installed the current Sterling B2B Integrator with a 32-bit version of the Installation Manager. How can I install the Fix Pack?

If you had used 32-bit version of the Installation Manager, you must download V1.9.1.x of the 32-bit version from Fix Central or Passport Advantage sites, update your Installation Manager, and then install the Fix Pack.
Important: 64-bit version of Installation Manager is packaged with Sterling B2B Integrator, and you can use it, if you used 64-bit version of the Installation Manager to install your current Sterling B2B Integrator. Though 64-bit version is packaged with Sterling B2B Integrator, you can continue to use the 32-bit version. It is not required to change to 64-bit.

Q17 - What is the update script? How can I use it to install the Fix Pack?

The update script installs or updates to Installation Manager V1.8.8, updates Sterling B2B Integrator V5.2.1 or later to the latest version by populating necessary update parameters in a silent response XML file (update.xml), and invoking Installation Managers silent installation mode by using the populated silent response XML as the input.

The script can be used for Linux or UNIX systems only. It cannot be used if you had used the Installation Manager to install or update your current Sterling B2B Integrator.

Using the script to apply Fix Pack is another option. It does not replace the existing options of applying the Fix Pack through Installation Manager user interface or by using a manually modified response file. You can choose the method to apply the Fix Pack based on your requirements and convenience. For more information, see Applying Sterling B2B Integrator V5.2.6 Fix Pack using a script.

Q18 - To install Sterling B2B Integrator the Fix Pack through silent installation mode, can I use the .txt properties file that I used to install the current Sterling B2B Integrator, because the .txt file has most of the parameters required for the update?

You cannot use the .txt properties file to update to the latest version of Sterling B2B Integrator. The Installation Manager needs an XML file in a specific format (response file). You must convert the .txt file to a format that the Installation Manager can use. For more information, see Converting Sterling B2B Integrator .txt silent file to XML.

Q19 - Where do I get the response file for new installation or Fix Pack installation of Sterling B2B Integrator and also Global Mailbox?

You can get the response file in one of the following ways:
  • If you have a .txt properties (silent file) from your current Sterling B2B Integrator installation and want to reuse the contents of the .txt file, you can install the latest Fix Pack by converting the .txt file to an XML file in the format that can be used by the Installation Manager. For more information, see the Converting Sterling B2B Integrator .txt silent file to XML topic.
  • If you are installing the Fix Pack, you can modify the sample response file, responseFile_update_B2Bi.xml that is provided with Sterling B2B Integrator package to suit your environment and use the modified file.
  • If you are doing a fresh installation, you can modify the sample response file, responseFile_B2Bi_GM_V60.xml, that is provided with Sterling B2B Integrator package to suit your environment and use the modified file.
  • If you are doing a new installation, you can record a response file when installing initial Sterling B2B Integrator or Global Mailbox nodes, and use the recorded file to install additional nodes. For more information, see Recording a response file. Before using the recorded response file to install second and subsequent nodes, update the recorded response file to indicate that the installation is for additional nodes, host name or IP address, cluster number, and other details specific to the second and subsequent nodes.

Q20 - Can I install Sterling B2B Integrator and a Fix Pack simultaneously?

You cannot install Sterling B2B Integrator and a Fix Pack simultaneously, even though the Installation Manager user interface lets you to install and even prompts it if you have connected both Sterling B2B Integrator and a Fix Pack repositories to the Installation Manager instance. Doing a simultaneous installation leads to failure.

You must install main Sterling B2B Integrator version first and then apply the subsequent Fix Pack.

Q21 - Sterling File Gateway is not installed currently. Can I install it when installing the Fix Pack by selecting the feature in the Installation Manager?

If Sterling File Gateway is not part of your current Sterling B2B Integrator setup, you cannot install Sterling File Gateway when updating to the latest version. You must install it separately by using the InstallService command. For more information, see Installing Sterling File Gateway (2.2.2 and higher).

Q22 - Sterling File Gateway is installed and part of the current Sterling B2B Integrator setup. Can I update it to V2.2.6 when I install the latest Fix Pack?

Yes, you can update Sterling File Gateway to V2.2.6 by selecting the Sterling File Gateway check box from the features list.

Q23 - Sterling File Gateway is not part of the current Sterling B2B Integrator setup. I am doing a media upgrade. Can I install Sterling File Gateway also?

Yes, if you are doing a media upgrade, then you can install Sterling File Gateway, provided you install into a fresh installation directory.

Q24 - Can I uninstall Global Mailbox and Sterling B2B Integrator?

Contact IBM support to uninstall Global Mailbox and Sterling B2B Integrator.

High availability

High availability questions cover questions that are related to Global Mailbox high availability.

Q25 - What happens if Sterling B2B Integrator, a Sterling B2B Integrator cluster, or one of the protocol adapters is not available?

Global Mailbox load balancer redirects the message or event to another data center.

Q26 - How does Global Mailbox handle session timeouts between Sterling B2B Integrator and Global Mailbox?

The Global Mailbox client API reestablishes the session and uses the following criteria:
  • If using pause and resume, the last chunk is thrown away, negotiating restart point.
  • If not using pause and resume, the system orphans what was received first and restarts from beginning.

Q27 - How does availability or unavailability of Global Mailbox components impact the functioning of Global Mailbox?

Availability of each of the Global Mailbox components impacts the functioning of Global Mailbox in a unique way. For more information, see High availability properties and limitations of Global Mailbox.

Q28 - What happens if the data centers in the topology cannot connect with each other?

If the data centers in the topology cannot connect with each other, it leads to a split-brain situation. For more information on what split-brain is in the context of Global Mailbox and how Global Mailbox handles split-brain, see Split-brain in Global Mailbox.

Protocol actions

Protocol questions cover questions that are related to how file uploads and downloads are handled in Global Mailbox.

Q29 - What can I do if an FTP or SFTP upload transfer is interrupted?

If an FTP or SFTP upload is interrupted, you can resume the transfer. The ability to view and resume incomplete file transfers is disabled by default. To enable it, the FTP and SFTP server adapters must have the following settings:
  • listStagedDocuments = true in the ftpserver.properties or sftp.properties file.
  • Support for concurrent duplicate-named file transfers = Limited (resume of file transfers supported) in the server configuration.

Q30 - Does Global Mailbox handle duplicate messages?

Yes, Global Mailbox supports uploading and downloading of messages with same names (duplicate) through SFTP and FTP. When you download a message with a duplicate name, the newest extractable message is downloaded. If extraction count is configured for the newest file, and if the extraction count of the file reaches 0 remaining extractions, then the next download fetches the next newest duplicate file.

To upload or download a duplicate message, you must set the com.ibm.mailbox.messages.allowDuplicates property to true. If com.ibm.mailbox.messages.allowDuplicates property is set to false, and you upload a message with the same name, the new message overwrites the existing message.

Q31 - What happens when a connection is lost during mid-transfer of a file to or from a trading partner?

If connection is lost during mid-transfer of a file to or from a trading partner, the load balancer tries to move the file transfer to the available node.

Based on the protocol support for pause and resume, you can resume the process or might have to restart the process.

Event management issues

Event management issues cover questions that are related to how events are handled between Global Mailbox and Sterling B2B Integrator.

Q32 - What does Global Mailbox do when Sterling B2B Integrator does not receive event notification?

If one or more events were unsuccessfully processed, administrators can resend events that apply to a specific message, or a specific application.

An event might be unsuccessfully processed because a node, or data center, failure in the Global Mailbox system.

You can check the processing status of an event by viewing the message properties. A message with a status of Process Failed means that Sterling B2B Integrator might not process the event.

Message event processing can fail for the following list of reasons:
  • The event rule configuration does not match with the configuration in Sterling B2B Integrator.
  • The business process or user who is specified for an event rule are not available in Sterling B2B Integrator.
  • The system business process RoutingRuleGMMsgStatusMonitor is deleted.

In such cases, the Global Mailbox administrator or Sterling B2B Integrator administrator must make appropriate changes to the event rule configuration or the business process and resend the events.