Solution migration and deployment

You can migrate a solution from one development environment to another development environment, a test environment, or a production environment. After you develop and test a case management solution, you must deploy the solution in the production environment to make the solution available for your case workers.

When you migrate a solution, you move the solution definition data and its related assets to a different environment. When you deploy a solution, you make the solution operational in the target environment.

Several types of assets must be exported from the development environment and imported into the target environment. Some assets, such as class definitions and property templates, are usable immediately after migration. Other assets, like workflow definitions, must be deployed to become usable. After migration, the various assets are combined to re-create the solution in the target environment.

Different tools are required to migrate and deploy different assets:
IBM® Business Automation Workflow assets
Use the IBM Business Automation Workflow administration client to migrate the solution and IBM Business Automation Workflow assets from one environment to another. These assets include assets that were created in Case Builder when the solution was designed, such as the solution definition, Content Platform Engine configuration, and solution pages.
Other IBM FileNet® P8 assets
If your solution package contains assets that were created with other FileNet P8 tools, use FileNet Deployment Manager and Process Configuration Console to migrate the assets from one environment to another. These assets include classes, properties, workflow definitions, workflow system component queues, and content-based objects like forms, search templates, and form templates.
Other IBM and external assets
If your solution package includes assets that were developed outside of IBM Business Automation Workflow and FileNet P8 tools, consult with your solution developer for migration assistance. These assets might include assets that are managed by other IBM products and tools or assets that are managed by external products and tools. Examples include analytics, rules, data services, custom widgets, and custom deployable code.

Migration and deployment task flow

The following steps depict the general task flow for migrating and deploying a solution:
  1. Before you migrate a solution, you must test the solution and ensure that the solution works correctly in the development environment.
  2. A solution package consists of assets that are stored in the solution folder in a case management design object store. You use the IBM Business Automation Workflow Case administration client to export the solution package from the development environment.
  3. If the solution includes solution application assets that were created with other FileNet P8 tools, use FileNet Deployment Manager and Process Configuration Console to export the assets from the development environment.
  4. If the solution includes assets that are managed by other IBM products or tools or external products or tools, use tools and processes that are native to those products and tools to migrate the assets from the development environment.
  5. Use the IBM Business Automation Workflow administration client to import the previously exported solution package to the staging object store of the test or production environment. (If you migrate a solution from one development environment to another, import the solution package to the design object store of the target development environment.)
  6. If you exported solution application assets that are managed by other FileNet P8 tools, use FileNet Deployment Manager and Process Configuration Console to import the assets to the test or production environment. Importing these assets also deploys the assets in the target environment.
  7. Use the IBM Business Automation Workflow administration client to deploy the migrated solution in the test or production environment.
  8. If you exported assets that are managed by other IBM products or tools or external products or tools, use tools and processes that are native to those products and tools to make the assets operational in the test or production environment.
  9. Depending on the solution application, you might need to configure the environment after you deploy the solution. For example, you might need to import security settings and audit settings. If the solution is translated, you must migrate the translated user interface elements.
  10. Test the solution to ensure that it works correctly before you release the solution to your case workers.