Creating an example with the i2 Connect gateway

An installation of i2 Analyze includes example settings for deploying the server with support for i2 Connect. i2 Connect enables analysts to search for and retrieve data from external data sources by using the Opal quick search functions, and then analyze the results on a chart in Analyst's Notebook Premium.

Before you begin

Install IBM i2 Analyze and any software prerequisites. For more information, see Installing i2 Analyze. You do not need IBM HTTP Server.

Before you create the example deployment of i2 Analyze with the i2 Connect gateway, you must download and install Node.js to host the example connector. Download Node.js for your operating system from: https://nodejs.org/en/download/. You can install Node.js with the default settings.

About this task

To use a deployment with the i2 Connect gateway, you must obtain or create a custom connector to the external data source that you want to search. The i2 Analyze toolkit contains an example configuration for the deployment, and an example connector.

The example deployment demonstrates a working i2 Analyze system that can query and retrieve data from an external data source by using the i2 Connect gateway and an example connector. You can log in by using an example user. In the example deployment, i2 Analyze runs with the example security schema and matching Liberty security groups and users. The example user has the following credentials:

The user name is Jenny
The password is Jenny

Procedure

Create the configuration directory:
1. Navigate to the \toolkit\examples\configurations\daod-opal directory.
  This directory contains the preconfigured files that you require to deploy a system that uses the i2 Connect gateway to connect to an external data source.
2. Copy the configuration directory to the root of the toolkit.
  For example, C:\IBM\i2analyze\toolkit\configuration.
Specify the credentials to use for the deployment.
For more information about credentials, see Modifying the credentials.
1. Using a text editor, open the toolkit\configuration\environment\credentials.properties file.
2. Enter the user name and password to use with the Solr index.
3. Enter the password to use to encrypt LTPA tokens.
4. Save and close the credentials.properties file.
Run the setup script to create the example deployment.
1. Open a command prompt and navigate to the toolkit\scripts directory.
2. To deploy the example, run the following command:
```
setup -t deployExample
```
Download and start the server that hosts the example connector.

Note: The example connector uses port number 3700. Ensure that no other processes are using this port number before you start the connector.
1. In a command prompt, navigate to the toolkit\examples\connectors\example-connector directory.
2. To install the dependencies that are required for the example connector, run the following command:
```
npm install
```
  Note: You must be connected to the internet to install the dependencies.
3. To start the Node.js server, run the following command:
```
npm start
```
Start i2 Analyze.
1. Open a command prompt and navigate to the toolkit\scripts directory.
2. To start i2 Analyze, run the following command:
```
setup -t start
```

What to do next

When you start i2 Analyze, the URI that users must specify to connect to it from Analyst's Notebook Premium is displayed in the console. For example, This application is configured for access on http://host_name:9082/opaldaod.

Install Analyst's Notebook Premium and connect to your deployment. For more information, see Installing IBM i2 Analyst's Notebook Premium and Connecting IBM i2 Analyst's Notebook Premium to IBM i2 Analyze.

Production deployments of i2 Analyze use client-authenticated SSL communication between i2 Analyze and any connectors. This example does not use it, Analyst's Notebook Premium displays a warning to that effect when you open the external searches window. For more information about configuring client authenticated SSL, see Client authenticated Secure Sockets Layer with IBM i2 Connect.

You can create your own connectors to use with the deployment of i2 Analyze. For more information about creating your own connectors, see IBM i2 Analyze and i2 Connect.