Features of IBM App Connect Enterprise v11

IBM App Connect Enterprise combines the existing, industry-trusted technologies of IBM Integration Bus with IBM App Connect Professional and with new cloud native technologies, to deliver a platform that supports the full breadth of integration needs across a modern digital enterprise.Since it has all the features of IIB v10, it can be considered as the latest version. 

Decoupling WebSphere MQ

This feature can be very useful for the organisation who is not going to use the MQ protocols. Earlier version of IBM integration bus, demands the installation of Websphere Messaging Queue as a prerequisite. Now IBM has removed the same which is really good.The license enables the user to  use all the MQ related nodes.

Shared libraries and static libraries

 Shared libraries can be used to deploy components which is common to the Applications .The changes made to the shared libraries will be reflected automatically to the referenced applications without redeploying it.

Suppose if the library is referenced by particular application only,then create it as static library.

Test your message flows by using the Flow Exerciser

It is a tool available from the flow editor and the integration service editor, but not from the REST API Editor. If you want to use the flow exerciser with a REST API, you must locate and open the main message flow of the REST API.

Use this to check that a message flow or integration service is processing messages as expected, you can send messages to the flow by using the Flow Exerciser or an external client. You can then use the Flow Exerciser to show the path that each message took, and view the structure and content of the logical message tree at any point in a message flow.

You can use the Flow Exerciser to perform the following set of tasks:

• Deploy the resource to an integration server and set the message flow to recording mode.
•  Create and send an input message or previously saved recorded message to the input node of the message flow.
• Highlight the message path on the message flow and any subflows that are associated with the message flow.
• Display the content of the message in the logical message tree
• Save the content of the message tree which can be reused

Flexible administration security

Administration security is an optional feature of IBM App Connect Enterprise ,it is not enabled by default. You can enable authentication and select the required authorisation mode, either by using the mqsichangeauthmode command or by setting properties in the server.conf.yaml or node.conf.yaml configuration files.

The following aspects of administration security are supported by IBM App Connect Enterprise:

• Authentication
• Authorisation

Authentication

                       This is the process of establishing the identity of a user or system and verifying that the identity is valid.It support for the following administration interfaces,

• IBM App Connect Enterprise web user interface
• IBM App Connect Enterprise RESTful application programming interface (API)
• IBM App Connect Enterprise Toolkit
• IBM App Connect Enterprise commands.

Authorisation

                                                               
                     This is the process of verifying that they have the required permissions to carry out the requested actions against the specified resources.For integration nodes and their managed integration servers two modes of authorisation are supported as mentioned below,

• File-based authorisation (file mode)

                              File-based authorisation can be configured for integration nodes (and their managed integration servers) .Use mqsichangefileauth command to grant permission or set the permission in node.conf.yaml or server.conf.yaml configuration file

• Queue-based authorisation (mq mode)

                                             Queue-based authorisation can be configured for integration nodes (and their managed integration servers).If the queue-based mode of authorisation is set for an integration node, you specify permissions on authorisation queues, which are defined on the queue manager that is specified on the integration node:

• SYSTEM.BROKER.AUTH :   This queue represents the integration node and its properties. Only one queue exists of this name for each integration node. This queue is defined as a local queue.  
• SYSTEM.BROKER.AUTH.EG :  For each integration server that you define on the integration node, where EG is the name of the integration server. These queues are defined as alias queues.

Using the Environment tree as input data to your transformations

            You can use the environment tree in the graphical mapping editor for all of your transformations 

Develop integration solutions by using REST APIs

           IBM app connect provides REST API contains resources which can be used to host the REST web services. It also provides nodes which can be used for synchronous and asynchronous communication with external REST providers.