Preparing customized migration and deployment instructions

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This topic is shared by BAW, CP4BA. Last updated on 2025-03-13 12:15
To prepare for migration, create a comprehensive set of instructions that are tailored for your environment and solution applications. The instructions serve as a roadmap for the process to follow when you migrate a solution application from the development environment to a test or production environment.

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Ensure that the instructions include the required activities, their order of execution, configuration details and options, and the roles that are involved in the processes, including information about required system privileges. The following types of information are examples of solution migration and deployment process information to include.

Tips:
  • To ensure that assets are imported in the correct order during deployment, you must understand the dependencies between assets. Consult with your development team and system administrators to develop a detailed plan for all types of assets that must be exported and imported.
  • Although this documentation can be created when the deployment process begins, it is more efficient and produces a more complete description if the developers and designers complete the documentation as part of the development process.
Solution packages
Name and location of the solution package that was created when the solution was exported by using the Case administration client. If a solution package was not yet created, include the solution information to must be specified when the solution is exported. Also include the name and location of any other solution packages that must be deployed before this solution is deployed.
FileNet® Deployment Manager information
Instructions for running FileNet Deployment Manager to create the deploy packages of the assets that are managed by Content Cortex tools. If a deploy package was provided as an input to the migration process, this information is not required.
  • Name and location of any existing deployment trees and FileNet Deployment Manager environments with required export manifests. If deployment trees were not already created, information about the environment and the Content Cortex assets to export is needed to facilitate creation of the FileNet Deployment Manager environments and export manifests.
  • Name of the project area from which to export the assets that are managed by Content Cortex.
  • If the Include all document versions include option will not be used, note which assets must be deleted or added to the manifest each time to ensure that the correct version of the asset is included in the export. For a description of the export include options that are typically used for IBM® Business Automation Workflow solution application export, see Include options for assets in FileNet Deployment Manager
  • Which assets must be deployed before or after the solution is deployed, and which assets must be deployed before or after other assets.
Data mapping information
Data maps are used by the IBM Business Automation Workflow administration tool and FileNet Deployment Manager to convert the metadata and content of assets that are exported from the source environment to reflect the information that is specific to the target environment. Information is typically needed about the following sets of data maps:
Object stores
The target object store in the project area that the solution is exported from is mapped to the corresponding object store in the target environment to which the solution is to be deployed. If some assets are located in other object stores, note the names of these object stores and the assets that are in each object store.
Security principals
The user or group in the destination environment that is to be assigned the access privileges of a specific principal from the source environment.
Service data
Service data can represent any number of types of configuration data or services. Information about the configuration or services in the source environment is matched to an entry for the destination environment according to the following information:
  • By its type as extracted from the metadata and content in the deploy dataset. For example, all services of type PESystemAdministration_F_WebServer in the source map are mapped to services of type PESystemAdministration_F_WebServer in the destination map.
  • Labeled source services are matched with destination services that have the same labels and are of the same type. If no destination services have matching labels, the mapping is done by name.
  • Any source services that cannot be mapped to a destination service are added to the data map as unmapped services.
System configuration steps
Configuration steps that are required to complete the deployment of the solution or other assets. All configuration information should be included in the solution documentation. For example, include the following information:
  • System configuration steps to complete before the solution is deployed, such as establishing a web service.
  • Postrequisite steps to complete after the solution is deployed, such as setting up the printers that are expected to be available as a part of the operating environment of the case worker.
  • Security configuration details
  • Audit definition configuration details
Destination environment
Information about the destination environment, such as the following information:
  • Assets that are not directly managed by IBM Business Automation Workflow or Content Cortex tools, such as rules or custom services.
  • Special backup considerations, such as for assets that are managed in an organization-wide technology such as IBM Operational Decision Manager.
Post-migration steps
Information about one-time tasks or special tools that are needed to alter existing case instances to reflect the redeployed solution. Also, include a verification plan for testing the various methods and roles that create and modify cases. It is especially important to test integrations with external components that might not have been available in the development or test environments.