Planning for WebSphere Integration Developer to coexist with other Eclipse-based products

Answer

As an Eclipse-based product, WebSphere Integration Developer has the ability to coexist with other Eclipse-based products. The coexistence offers the combined capabilities of the coexisting products, i.e., in a coexisting WebSphere Integration Developer and WebSphere Business Modeler environment, users can perform both business process design offered by Modeler and mediation or bpel development offered by Integration Developer. However, to implement the coexistence environment successfully, you should plan ahead to ensure that the versions of the involved software are compatible.

For example, two of the most popular versions of WebSphere Integration Developer (versions 6.1.2, 6.2 and 7) require the following compatible platforms:

• For WebSphere Integration Developer to coexist with Rational products, the former has to be installed into the same package group as the later. A package group is a location where you can install one or more software products or packages to share a common user interface or workbench. When you install each package, you select whether you want to install the package to an existing package group, or whether you want to create a new one. Fortunately, IBM Installation Manager will block products that are not designed to share or do not meet version tolerance and other requirements.

• If you want WebSphere Integration Developer 6.2 to coexist with a Rational software product (for example, Rational Application Developer for WebSphere Software), the Rational software product must be at version level of 7.5.1 or higher. When you have an earlier version of the Rational software product you must correct this incompatibility by updating the version to 7.5.1 or higher, or choose a new package group. When you want to add a Rational software product to the same package group as WebSphere Integration Developer 6.2, you must install it directly at the required 7.5.1 (or higher) level by searching for available updates during the Rational installation (using Check for Other Versions and Extensions), or by pointing to the 7.5.1 update repository location along with the base Rational repository location. If you want WebSphere Integration Developer 6.1.2 to coexist with a Rational software product (for example, Rational Application Developer for WebSphere Software), the Rational software product must be at version 7.0.0.5 or higher.

• If you want WebSphere Integration Developer 7 to coexist with a Rational software product (for example, Rational Application Developer for WebSphere Software), the Rational software product must be at version level of 7.5.4.