Configuring an IBM Cloud Object Storage external storage manager

Content Manager OnDemand supports data storage in an IBM Cloud Object Storage repository. More information on IBM Cloud Object Storage can be found at: https://www.ibm.com/cloud-computing/infrastructure/object-storage/

Updating the ARS.CFG file

Perform these steps to configure IBM Cloud Object Storage on a z/OS server.

Two new entries must be added to the ARS.CFG file.
```
ARS_ICOS_CONFIG_FILE=/usr/lpp/ars/V10R5M0/config/ars.icos
       ARS_ICOS_CONFIG_DIR=/usr/lpp/ars/V10R5M0/config
```
The ARS_ICOS_CONFIG_FILE entry specifies an existing IBM Cloud Object Storage configuration file which the server uses by default.

The ARS_ICOS_CONFIG_DIR entry specifies the directory in which any alternate configuration files are kept. This directory is used if additional IBM Cloud Object Storage configuration files are defined. The names of these additional configuration files can be specified when defining storage nodes in Content Manager OnDemand. If no configuration file is specified in the storage node, the default configuration file is used.

The configuration file name and directory path shown in the examples are the recommended values for these entries.
The ARS_STORAGE_MANAGER entry in the ARS.CFG file might also need to be changed. If you specify ARS_STORAGE_MANAGER=CACHE_ONLY, this disables all storage managers supported by Content Manager OnDemand.

To configure the Content Manager OnDemand server to use IBM Cloud Object Storage as a storage manager, the value must be set to the following:

ARS_STORAGE_MANAGER=NO_TSM

This setting will enable all external storage managers supported by Content Manager OnDemand except Tivoli® Storage Manager, which is not supported on z/OS. This setting is used when the additional software to support Tivoli Storage Manager is not installed and Tivoli Storage Manager is not required as an external storage manager.

Creating an IBM Cloud Object Storage configuration file

An IBM Cloud Object Storage configuration file for Content Manager OnDemand contains entries specific to your IBM Cloud Object Storage implementation. You specify the location and name of the default configuration file in the ARS.CFG entry. Required entries must be specified. Optional entries are not required in the configuration file unless those values need to be changed.

The following list describes the entries that can be specified in an IBM Cloud Object Storage configuration file.

ARS_ICOS_SERVER

Specifies the IBM Cloud Object Storage server name. Do not include http:// or https:// in the name. This entry is required.

ARS_ICOS_USE_SSL

Indicates whether or not to use SSL in server communications. The possible values are:

0 - SSL will not be used.
1 - SSL will be used.

The default value is 0. This entry is optional.

ARS_ICOS_CONNECT_ TIMEOUT

Specifies the maximum number of seconds that Content Manager OnDemand waits for a response from the storage manager. The default is 60. This entry is optional. Warning: Setting this value too low might cause connection failures.

ARS_ICOS_FORCE_COMPLIANCE

Indicates whether or not to force Content Manager OnDemand to assume that the ICOS server is compliant instead of checking for compliance. If you want to use an older ICOS system which does not support the compliance features such as object hold, Content Manager OnDemand will fail to store or to delete data unless this entry is set to a value of 0. The possible values are:

0 - Force compliance is not enabled. Content Manager OnDemand checks for compliance before attempting to store or delete data.
1 - Force compliance is enabled. Content Manager OnDemand considers the ICOS server to be compliant without checking for compliance and places a legal hold on all objects it stores to protect against deletion before the data has expired.

The default value is 1. This entry is optional.

ARS_ICOS_HLD

Specifies the high-level directory name. This attribute is available to group sets of Content Manager OnDemand data together which might be needed if sharing external storage among multiple Content Manager OnDemand servers. Warning: Once this value is set, it must not be changed. If it is changed, any data that is already stored will not be retrievable. There is no default value. This entry is optional.

As an example, for a URL such as http://sample.cleversafe.com/, the IBM Cloud Object Storage configuration file contains:

ARS_ICOS_SERVER=sample.cleversafe.com

Defining an IBM Cloud Object Storage storage node with the Administrator client

You can define the settings for using the IBM Cloud Object Storage access method on the Add a Primary Node dialog of the OnDemand Administrator client.

The Storage Node field becomes Vault Name when the Access Method is set to IBM Cloud Object Storage. The vault name must exist in your repository or access to IBM Cloud Object Storage will fail.

The Logon and Password fields contain the IBM Cloud Object Storage logon and password that Content Manager OnDemand needs to access your IBM Cloud Object Storage repository.

The Access Method radio button is set to IBM Cloud Object Storage. The Configuration File Name defaults to the value specified by the ARS_ICOS_CONFIG_FILE parameter in the ARS.CFG file if no value is entered. Otherwise, Content Manager OnDemand looks for the configuration file in the directory defined by the ARS_ICOS_CONFIG_DIR parameter specified in the ARS.CFG file.