Assessing your readiness

At the start of your transformation journey, assess your current readiness of adopting a container deployment of FileNet Content Manager.

About this task

Deploying products in a container environment can be faster and easier than a standard traditional WebSphere Application Server installation. Additionally, updating software in a container environment can be simpler and less disruptive. You might want to choose a container deployment if you want better resource usage and management and better resiliency for your applications.

If you have any of the following requirements, you might want to choose or maintain a standard traditional WebSphere Application Server installation:

  • Your platform and software choices are currently not supported by the container platform. For more information, see the Software and Product Compatibility Report.
    • You use database or LDAP software versions that are not supported by the container platform.
    • You use custom step processors.
  • You use custom applications that use the Content Platform Engine EJB protocol.
  • You use Content Platform Engine Virtual Member Manager directory configuration. VMM is not supported by WebSphere Liberty.
  • You use IBM® FileNet® Content Federation Services for Content Integrator that is not supported by the container platform.
  • You use External Data Service, which needs to communicate with an external database.

If your software choices, for example, LDAP server version, are not supported, and you want to continue with the move, update your supporting software before you start the move or upgrade.

If you decide to move your traditional WebSphere Application Server deployment of FileNet Content Manager to a container deployment, consider the following scenarios:

Table 1. Move Scenarios
Your Chosen Scenario Follow This Path
Upgrade from a V5.2.x or V5.5.x traditional WebSphere Application Server environment to a container deployment. Option 1 (Best practice): Upgrade your traditional WebSphere Application Server installation, including updating your database and directory server software to the supported versions, with FileNet Content Manager deployed to the traditional WebSphere Application Server. After the upgrade is complete, move to the container deployment, and decommission your traditional WebSphere Application Server deployment. This method separates the two changes (upgrading and moving to containers) in case you need to troubleshoot issues.

Option 2: Perform your deployment as an upgrade. In both options, all systems and data are upgraded to the new container-based version, and only container-based interactions are supported.

Keep your traditional WebSphere Application Server installation and introduce components of the same version that are deployed in containers. All components must be on the same version and can share access to the same back-end data:
  • Use traditional WebSphere Application Server Navigator or other IBM component or client installation against the traditional WebSphere Application Server Content Platform Engine.
  • Use the container-deployed Navigator, other IBM component, or other client installation against the container-deployed Content Platform Engine.
  • Workflow transfer must be initiated from the container environment; a workflow transfer initiated from traditional non-container environment fails.
Upgrade to a higher version in containers, but keep your current installed traditional WebSphere Application Server version. Not supported. When the data is connected to the container deployment, it is upgraded to the new version.
Move from your earlier container-deployed version on another Kubernetes platform to the latest container deployment on an OpenShift Cloud Platform deployment. Set up your OpenShift Cloud Platform cluster and operator, prepare for deployment, enter all the values for your existing back-end data and systems into your custom resource file, and apply the custom resource file. Your environment is updated to the latest version and replaces your other container environment.

The following components are available for inclusion in a container environment:

  • Content Platform Engine
  • Content Search Services
  • Content Management Interoperability Services
  • External Share
  • Content Services GraphQL API
  • IBM Content Navigator
  • Task Manager

For this move of your deployment to containers, your data remains in the original location. Ensure that your container deployment is geographically near to your original data location.

What to do next

To prepare your source FileNet Content Manager environment, see topic Preparing your source FileNet Content Manager environment for the move.