Administering the RPC Server for XML/SOAP using the Command Central GUI

This document describes how to administer the EntireX RPC Server for XML/SOAP, using the Command Central graphical user interface. It covers the following topics:

See also Administering the RPC Server for XML/SOAP using the Command Central Command Line. The core Command Central documentation is provided separately and is also available under Guides for Tools Shared by Software AG Products on the Software AG documentation website.

Logging in to Command Central

Open an Internet browser and specify the URL of the Command Central Server as follows: http://<Command_Central_host>:<Command_Central_port>. This takes you to the Command Central Login page.

On Windows you can also get to the Login page from the Command Central Start Menu entry.

Provide your user credentials in the Login page and click Log In. This takes you to the page Home > Instances:

graphics/admin-cc-gui_logon.png

Creating an RPC Server Instance

Start of instruction setTo create an RPC Server for XML/SOAP instance

  1. In the Command Central home page, click the Installations tab.

    graphics/admin-cc-gui_create-1.png

  2. Click on the desired installation, for example Local, where you want to add an RPC Server for XML/SOAP instance.

    graphics/admin-cc-gui_create-2.png

  3. Click the Instances tab.

    graphics/admin-cc-gui_create-3.png

  4. Click the graphics/gui_plus.png button in the upper right corner above the list and choose EntireX RPC Server for XML/SOAP.

    graphics/admin-cc-gui_create-4.png

  5. In the Create Instance wizard, fill in the fields in the main screen and in the Server, Broker and Deployment tabs.

    graphics/admin-cc-gui_create-5a.png

    Main Screen

    Parameter Description
    Instance name Required. Name of the runtime component, for example "MyRpcServer".
    Register Windows Service for automatic startup Optional. Register Windows Service for automatic startup. Default is not checked. If this parameter is checked, the RPC server can be controlled by the Windows Service Control Manager.

    Server Tab

    Parameter Description
    RPC Server address Required. The case-sensitive RPC server address has the format: CLASS/SERVER/SERVICE.
    Administration port Required. The administration port in range from 1025 to 65535.

    Broker Tab

    Parameter Description
    Connection
    Transport Transport over TCP or SSL. Default is TCP.
    Broker host Required. EntireX Broker host name or IP address.
    Broker port Required. Port number in range from 1025 to 65535.
    SSL trust store Optional. Specifies the location of SSL trust store.
    Credentials
    User Optional. The user ID for secured access to the broker.
    Password Optional. The password for secured access to the broker.

    Deployment Tab

    Here you can enable the RPC Server for XML/SOAP to accept dynamic configuration and deployment of XML mapping files with the Designer.

    Parameter Description
    Allow dynamic configuration and deployment of XML Mapping Files (*.xmm). Default is false.

  6. Press Next to get to the Summary page to verify your input.

  7. Press Finish.

    graphics/admin-cc-gui_create-7.png

    The new instance myRpcServer appears in the list.

Migrating a Configuration File

After you have created an RPC Server for XML/SOAP using Command Central, you can copy an existing configuration file entirex.xmlrpcserver.configuration.xml to your newly created server.

Start of instruction setTo migrate an existing configuration file to an RPC Server for XML/SOAP that was created using Command Central

  1. Copy file entirex.xmlrpcserver.configuration.xml to <EntireX home>/config/rpc/EntireXCore-RpcServerXml-<instance name>.

  2. Remove file connections.cfg.

  3. Rename file entirex.xmlrpcserver.configuration.xml to connections.cfg.

Configuring an RPC Server Instance

Start of instruction setTo configure an RPC Server for XML/SOAP instance

  1. In the Command Central home page, click the Instances tab.

    graphics/admin-cc-gui_config-1.png

  2. Click on the link associated with this instance to select the RPC server instance you want to configure.

    graphics/admin-cc-gui_config-2.png

  3. Click the Configuration tab. EntireX supports the following configuration types, which are presented in a drop-down box when you click the down arrow below the Configuration tab label:

    graphics/admin-cc-gui_config-3.png

    Note:
    All configuration changes require a restart of the instance to take effect.

    Broker

    Parameter Description
    Connection
    Transport Transport over TCP or SSL. Default is TCP.
    Broker host Required. EntireX Broker host name or IP address.
    Broker port Required. Port number in range from 1025 to 65535.
    Encoding Required. Encoding used for the communication between the RPC server and EntireX Broker.
    SSL trust store Optional. Specifies the location of SSL trust store.
    SSL verify server Optional. The RPC server as SSL client checks the identity of the broker as SSL server.
    Credentials
    User Optional. The user ID for secured access to the broker.
    Password Optional. The password for secured access to the broker.

    Configuration File

    Here you can view/edit the configuration file of the RPC Server for XML/SOAP.

    Deployment

    Here you can enable the RPC Server for XML/SOAP to accept dynamic configuration and deployment of XML mapping files with Software AG designer.

    Parameter Description
    Allow dynamic configuration and deployment of XML Mapping Files (*.xmm). Default is false.

    HTTP(S)

    Here you can modify the HTTP(S) parameters of the RPC Server for XML/SOAP.

    Parameter Description
    Proxy Setting for HTTP
    Host Optional. The host name or IP address of the proxy server for HTTP connection.
    Port Optional. The port number of the proxy server for HTTP connection.
    User Optional. The user name of the proxy server for HTTP connection.
    Password Optional. The password of the proxy server for HTTP connection.
    Proxy Setting for HTTPS
    Host Optional. The host name or IP address of the proxy server for HTTPS connection.
    Port Optional. The port number of the proxy server for HTTPS connection.
    User Optional. The user name of the proxy server for HTTPS connection.
    Password Optional. The password of the proxy server for HTTPS connection.
    SSL Trust Store
    Location Optional. Specifies the location of the SSL trust store used for HTTPS connection.
    Non Proxy Hosts
    Host name Optional. List of the hosts that should be accessed without going through the proxy. Asterisk notation is allowed.

    Licences

    Here you can view/set the license file in the EntireX installation. For details see Point to the License Key for an Instance or Component under Working with Standalone Product Installation in the Command Central documentation.

    Note:
    The license file is used for all EntireX instances in this installation.

    Monitoring KPIs

    Here you can modify margins of monitored key performance indicators (KPIs) available for the RPC Server for XML/SOAP: Active Workers and Busy Workers.

    Key performance indicators (KPIs) enable you to monitor the health of your RPC Server for XML/SOAP. The following KPIs help you administer, troubleshoot, and resolve performance issues:

    KPI Setting
    Absolute number of Active Workers entirex.generic.kpi.1.max=20
    Critical alert relative to maximum entirex.generic.kpi.1.critical=0.95
    Marginal alert relative to maximum entirex.generic.kpi.1.marginal=0.80
    Absolute number of Busy Workers entirex.generic.kpi.2.max=20
    Critical alert relative to maximum entirex.generic.kpi.2.critical=0.95
    Marginal alert relative to maximum entirex.generic.kpi.2.marginal=0.80

    Do not change the other properties!

    Server

    Here you can specify the RPC Server settings.

    Parameter Description
    RPC Server
    RPC Server address Required. The case-sensitive RPC server address has the format: CLASS/SERVER/SERVICE.
    Administration port Required. The administration port in range from 1025 to 65535.
    Reconnection attempts Required. Number of reconnection attempts to the broker. When the number of attempts is reached and a connection to the broker is not possible, the RPC Server for XML/SOAP stops.
    Worker Scalability
    Worker model You can either have a fixed or dynamic number of workers. Default is dynamic (true). For more information see Worker Models.
    Fixed number Required. Fixed number of workers. Must be a number in range from 1 to 255.
    Minimum number Required. Minimum number of workers. Must be a number in range from 1 to 255.
    Maximum number Required. Maximum number of workers. Must be a number in range from 1 to 255.

    Trace

    Here you can set the trace level of the RPC Server for XML/SOAP.

    Parameter Value Description
    Trace level 0-3 One of the following levels:
    0 - None - No trace output (default).
    1 - Standard - Minimal trace output.
    2 - Advanced - Detailed trace output.
    3 - Support - Support diagnostic. Use only when requested by Software AG support.

    XML Mapping Files

    Here you can show the list of XML mapping files configured for this RPC server. You can add/delete XML mapping files or modify the settings for a listed XML mapping file.

    Parameter Description
    Mapping
    XML Mapping file Required. Absolute location including name of XML mapping file.
    Web service connection URL Required. URL of the web service to call.
    Time Out (sec.) HTTP(S) connection timeout (seconds).
    Soap version
    SOAP version RPC Server for XML/SOAP communicates with SOAP version 1.1 or 1.2.

    Note:
    Mapping using pure XML is not affected by this setting.

    Web Service Transport Security
    Basic authentication Disable/enable the basic authentication for web service connection.
    No authentication Disable basic authentication.
    For defined user/password The basic authentication uses the credentials defined for user and password
    Using RPC client credentials The basic authentication uses the credentials set by RPC client application. For how to send the RPC user ID/password pair from an RPC client, see Using the Broker and RPC User ID/Password (.NET Wrapper | DCOM Wrapper | Java Wrapper | C Wrapper | PL/I Wrapper | DCOM Wrapper | Web Services Wrapper | IDL Tester | Listener for XML/SOAP | Listener for IBM MQ). For non-RPC clients, see Using the Broker and RPC User ID/Password under EntireX XML Tester in the XML/SOAP Wrapper documentation..
    User User for basic authentication.
    Password Password for basic authentication.
    Web Service Message Security
    UsernameToken type Authenticate user with UsernameToken security.
    No UsernameToken security Payload does not contains a UsernameToken.
    The password in plain text The UsernameToken in payload contains the plain text password. We strongly recommend secure transport (HTTPS) when sending the password in plain text.
    The digest of the password The UsernameToken in payload contains digest of the password.
    WSDL for Advanced Configuration of Web Service e.g. Schema Validation or WS Policy
    Wsdl file Optional. Absolute location including name of WSDL file. If you are using a WSDL file, the address of the web service is retrieved from this.
    Wsdl service Optional. The service name to use must be defined in WSDL file and match the selected SOAP version. If the service name is unique for the SOAP version, it can be omitted.
    Wsdl port Optional. The port name to use must be defined in WSDL file and match the selected SOAP version. If the port name is unique for the SOAP version, it can be omitted.

  4. Click Edit to modify the parameters on your selected configuration type.

  5. Click Test to check the correctness of your input or Apply to save your changes.

Viewing the Runtime Status

Start of instruction setTo view the runtime status of the RPC server instance

  • In the Command Central Home page, click the Instances tab and select the RPC Server for XML/SOAP instance for which you want to see the runtime status (same as Step 1 under Configuring a Broker Instance).

    graphics/admin-cc-gui_runtimeStatus.png

    The visual key performance indicators (KPIs) and alerts enable you to monitor the RPC Server for XML/SOAP's health.

    KPI Description
    Active Workers Number of active workers.
    Busy Workers Number of busy workers.

Starting an RPC Server Instance

Start of instruction setTo start an RPC Server for XML/SOAP instance from the Instances tab

  1. In the Command Central home page, click the Instances tab.

    graphics/admin-cc-gui_start-1.png

  2. Select the status, and from the context menu choose Start.

Start of instruction setTo start an RPC Server for XML/SOAP instance from its Overview tab

  1. In the Command Central home page, click the Instances tab and select the RPC Server for XML/SOAP instance you want to start (same as Step 1 under Configuring a Broker Instance).

    graphics/admin-cc-gui_start-2.png

  2. Select the status, and from the context menu choose Start.

Stopping an RPC Server Instance

Start of instruction setTo stop an RPC Server for XML/SOAP instance from the Instances tab

  1. In the Command Central home page, click the Instances tab.

    graphics/admin-cc-gui_stop-1.png

  2. Select the status, and from the context menu choose Stop.

Start of instruction setTo stop an RPC Server for XML/SOAP instance from its Overview tab

  1. In the Command Central home page, click the Instances tab and select the RPC Server for XML/SOAP instance you want to stop (same as Step 1 under Configuring a Broker Instance).

    graphics/admin-cc-gui_stop-2.png

  2. Select the status, and from the context menu choose Stop.

Inspecting the Log Files

Start of instruction setTo inspect the log files of an RPC Server for XML/SOAP instance

  1. In the Command Central home page, click the Instances tab, then click the link associated with the RPC Server for XML/SOAP instance for which you want to inspect the log files (same as Step 1 under Configuring a Broker Instance).

  2. Click the Logs tab:

    graphics/admin-cc-gui_logFiles-2.png

  3. In the Alias column, click the link of the log file you want to inspect, for example server.log:

    graphics/admin-cc-gui_logFiles-3.png

Changing the Trace Level Temporarily

Start of instruction setTo temporarily change the trace level of an RPC Server for XML/SOAP instance

  1. In the Command Central home page, click the Instances tab then click the link associated with the RPC Server for XML/SOAP instance for which you want change the trace level temporarily (same as Step 1 under Configuring a Broker Instance).

  2. In the Administration tab, select the trace level and press Update.

    graphics/admin-cc-gui_admin-3.png

Note:
If you want to set the trace level permanently, see Trace under Configuring an RPC Server Instance.

Deleting an RPC Server Instance

Start of instruction setTo delete an RPC Server for XML/SOAP instance

  1. In the list of EntireX RPC Server for XML/SOAP instances for your selected installation (for example Local), select the instance you want to delete and click the graphics/gui_minus.png button in the upper right corner above the list.

    graphics/admin-cc-gui_delete.png

  2. Click OK to confirm the uninstall of this RPC Server for XML/SOAP instance.

  3. In the next window, click Finish. The selected instance is removed from the list.