Deploying the sample external data service

You modify the sample external data service for your content classes and then deploy the service in the web application server.

About this task

An Eclipse project is provided with the sample EDS service. You must modify the libraries that are referenced in the project to fit your configuration. For example, the \navigator\build\lib\j2ee\j2ee.jar might not be the correct path to your j2ee.jar file. Find the equivalent JAR file for your environment and update the project configuration to point to that JAR file.

Procedure

To deploy the sample external data service:

  1. Copy the sample external data service from the installation directory into a dynamic web project in a development application such as Rational® Application Developer.
  2. Modify the JSON files in the sample so that the correct custom properties are aligned with the actual classes and custom properties in your IBM Content Cortex or IBM Content Manager repository.
  3. Compile the project and build a WAR file.
    You can use the build.xml file that is included in the sample as a starting point.
  4. Deploy the WAR file into your web application server.
  5. Register and configure the external data service support plug-in, which is called edsPlugin, to use the sample external data service:
    1. Load the edsPlugin.jar file. In the IBM Content Navigator administration tool, in the configuration options for the plug-in, define the URL or the file path to the location of the edsPlugin.jar file that the IBM Content Navigator web application server can access:
      • Enter the path to the file that is installed on the local server, for example:
        • Microsoft Windows: C:\Program Files\IBM\ECMClient\plugins\edsPlugin.jar
        • Linux® or AIX®: /opt/IBM/ECMClient/plugins/edsPlugin.jar
        The ECMClient folder is the IBM Content Navigator installation directory.
      • Enter the URL to the file that is in the deployed IBM Content Navigator path, for example: http://host_name:port_number/ICN_web_app_deployment_context/edsPlugin.jar

        To make the edsPlugin.jar file available in the deployed IBM Content Navigator path, you must copy the edsPlugin.jar file from the installation path (for example, C:\Program Files\IBM\ICN_installed_path\plugins\) to the deployment path (for example, ICN_deployed_path\navigator.ear\navigator.war).

    2. After the edsPlugin.jar file is loaded, you must specify the URL to where the EDS service is deployed.
    3. Click Save and Close.
    4. Refresh your web browser.

Results

When you select values from choice list properties, the list contains the values from your external data source, which is specified by the external data service.

What to do next

In the IBM Content Navigator client, verify that the fields and properties are showing the correct data and are behaving as you expect.