Defining host details externally

As an alternative to defining connection details manually, you can enter the connection data from a file.

About this task

You can define information about the z/OS® host, DB2® database, and schema for the interdependency data in the Connections pane in the Preferences window. These details are saved in the file system so that, when the CICS® IA plug-in is stopped and restarted, the details do not have to be reentered each time.

Instead of manually defining the details on the Connection preferences page, you can enter the connection information for the CICS IA plug-in from a file. Use of the file might be useful, for example, if you want to create a version of the CICS IA plug-in that you can distribute to users with all the details about your host connectivity already entered, or if you want to easily switch between different databases.

To define the connection details externally you must create a .ini file that contains information about host and DB2 connectivity parameters, and change the configuration to read this file when the CICS IA plug-in is started.

Procedure

  1. Create the .ini file in the root directory of the CICS Explorer® installation. The screen capture below shows the file host_details.ini that has been created in the folder C:\CICS_Explorer. Note that the folder name CICS_Explorer might be different in your particular installation of CICS Explorer. The choice of the file name host_details.ini is an example; you can use any name you want, provided that it matches the entry in the config.ini file described below.
    Screen capture of the installation directory of CICS Explorer
  2. Add a line to the file /configuration/config.ini that points to the host_details.ini file with a key of eclipse.pluginCustomization and a value of the file name, for example: eclipse.pluginCustomization=host_details.ini
  3. Add lines to the host_details.ini file to define the defaults that the CICS IA plug-in will use. The following table contains a list of all of the valid .ini file entries, together with a description of each:
    .ini file entries Description
    com.ibm.cics.ia.runtime/SERVER_NAME = MYABCSERVER.MYCORP.COM IP address of the z/OS host system where the DB2 database with the interdependency files used by the Collector resides.
    com.ibm.cics.ia.runtime/DATABASE_NAME = DSN7102E Name of DB2 database containing the dependency files.
    com.ibm.cics.ia.runtime/USER_ID = FRED User ID that has RACF® authory to access the DB2 database.
    com.ibm.cics.ia.runtime/PASSWORD = ABC123XYZ The password to be used. Before recording passwords inside the .ini file, ensure there is no security risk. If passwords are not recorded in the .ini file, the CICS IA plug-in will prompt for the password each time it is started.
    com.ibm.cics.ia.runtime/SAVE_PASSWORD = true If set to true, the Save Password check box on the Connection Preferences page is selected.
    com.ibm.cics.ia.runtime/PORT_NUMBER=448 The port number that DB2 is listening on for connections from the CICS IA plug-in.
    com.ibm.cics.ia.runtime/SCHEMA_NAME=EXAMPLE The name of the DB2 schema containing the interdependency files used by the Collector.
    com.ibm.cics.ia.runtime/WSAA_SERVER_NAME = wsaa.mycorp.com If WebSphere® Studio Asset Analyzer is installed, the location of the server address.