WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition V7.0
WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition V7.0 Graphical user interface overview
This presentation will talk about the WebSphere® MQ File Transfer Edition V7.0 graphical user interface.
Unit objectives
After you complete this unit you will understand: How to create a file transfer request using the GUI Template support The transfer request monitoring and status information provided in the GUI Unit objectives
After you complete this unit, you should have an understanding of the features provided in the WebSphere MQ file transfer edition V7.0 graphical user interface. You will also understand how to create a file transfer request using the GUI and how template support can help you. You will also understand the transfer request monitoring and status information provided in the GUI.
The graphical user interface
The graphical user interface Section
This presentation will now cover the graphical user interface provided in WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition V7.0
WebSphere MQ Explorer plug-in
WebSphere MQ Explorer plug-in WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition provides a graphical user interface plug-in for WebSphere MQ explorer. Available on Windows® and Linux® x86 platforms Requires WebSphere MQ explorer to already be installed on your system Eclipse plug-in Installed from remote tools and documentation CD
WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition V7.0 provides Graphical user interface plug-in for WebSphere MQ explorer. The Eclipse based plug-in is available on all platforms supported by WebSphere MQ explorer. Installation is done from the “remote tools and documentation CD.” the installation of the File Transfer Edition plug-in requires IBM WebSphere MQ explorer to exist in the environment where you install the plug-in.
Slide 5
This screen capture shows the WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition Eclipse plug-in integrated into the WebSphere MQ explorer. You can see a managed file transfer tree node within the MQ explorer navigator, this is circled in red pen. Under this tree node you can see an example of a coordination queue manager called QM_COORD. If you have more than one coordination queue manager in your environment you will also see these defined but in gray text. You can right click the coordination queue manager name and disconnect from an individual queue manager. To connect the GUI plug-in to a disconnected coordination queue manager (in gray text) right click its name and choose “connect.” you will then be able to administer the file transfer requests within that coordination queue manager.
GUI tasks (1 of 2):
GUI tasks (1 of 2): Creating a transfer request Creating a transfer request based on A schedule - future date and time A trigger - an environment condition Create and submit a file transfer template View the details of a pending file transfer request Cancel a transfer currently in progress Cancel a pending file transfer request
The WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition GUI supports many operational tasks. You can create a file transfer request that starts immediately. File transfer requests can be scheduled so the request is submitted at a future time and date. Scheduled requests can optionally repeat. File transfer requests can optionally have environment conditions added to the request, so that for example, a file transfer request is started only if a given file is present within the file system. WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition also supports file transfer request templates. These are created and maintained using the GUI interface. They can be partially completed file transfer requests that can be edited and submitted on an ad hoc basis. Templates often have the majority of the file transfer specification already specified. It is also possible to cancel a transfer currently in progress using the GUI. In the current transfer progress view right click a transfer that is in progress to see the cancel option for the transfer. The transfer will stop, a status record is created in the transfer (history) log with status recorded as cancelled. File transfer requests set to start at a future time and date are known as pending transfers. WebSphere MQ explorer displays all of the pending transfers registered with the coordination queue manager you are currently connected. You can right click the name of a pending file transfer request in the WebSphere MQ explorer view to cancel a pending request.
GUI tasks (2of 2):
GUI tasks (2of 2): View progress of the current file transfers in the system Viewing history of past file transfer requests Can be used for audit purposes Context sensitive help system Native language support
There are several status and monitoring views in the WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition explorer. The “current transfer” view enables you to monitor the progress of current file transfers in the system. The “transfer log” enables you to view history of past file transfer requests; the information in this view can be used for audit purposes. Context sensitive help is also available in the GUI. You can click a folder, properties page, view or dialog in the GUI and press your native OS help key to see the context sensitive help. Note the help key in Windows environments is F1, on Linux environments the key is either the control key and F1 or Shift and F1. The product is currently available in Brazilian Portuguese, Czech, French, German, Hungarian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish, and United States English.
Creating a file transfer request
Creating a file transfer request Section
This presentation will now show how to create a file transfer request using the GUI.
Creating a file transfer request:
Creating a file transfer request: Required: Source and destination agent Source and destination file names Files, partially named files, directories Grouping of the above Overwrite attributes Text or binary transfer (no conversion) Optional: Disable MD5 checksum Remove source files after completion
WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition has a set of required and optional fields when creating a file transfer request. You must specify a source and a destination agent name; this is done through a drop down menu in the GUI. Each agent registers its presence to the coordination queue manager, and the GUI uses this information to populate the drop down. Next you specify source file names and destination file names. You can specify that the destination file name is different to the source file name (for example renaming the file when it arrives at the destination). You can also specify partially named files using an asterisk (*). Contents of whole directories can also be specified in this way. If you are transferring a directory you can also optionally include all its subdirectories in the transfer. For more information on how to specify file names refer to the on-line information center. Files of the same name at the destination agent can be overwritten in a file transfer request or you can allow the transfer request to fail if they do exist. Specifying a file as a text file will automatically convert between the code pages and the end of line conventions for the source and destination systems. Specifying a file or set of files as a binary will cause the file to be transferred with no conversion. By default, an MD5 checksum is computed for each file transfer (either for an individual file or for several files if you used a wildcard character to specify a source file name). You can optionally prevent an MD5 checksum being computed for a particular file transfer. If you do this the MD5 checksum is not displayed in the transfer log. On successful completion of a file transfer request the source files can also be automatically removed.
Slide 10
This picture is a screen capture of the WebSphere MQ File Transfer GUI. To create a new transfer request, right click the transfer log entry in the WebSphere MQ explorer navigator and click “new transfer.” this will open up a dialog window where you specify the required and optional items.
Slide 11
This screen capture shows the new transfer dialog where you specify source and destination agent details and basic attributes of the file transfer. Note you can optionally group files or directories together into one transfer request by clicking “add to group.” all grouped files and directories are sent in the same transfer request. From this dialog you can initiate the transfer request in real time or you can optionally click next where you can enable a scheduled transfer request.
Creating a file transfer request (continued):
Creating a file transfer request (continued): Optionally enable a scheduled transfer Specify a start time base Specify a start date and time Optionally enter a repeat interval Number of: hours; days; weeks; months; years Select when the schedule ends Date and time Number of repetitions Indefinitely
WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition supports the ability to schedule a transfer request for a future time and date. This is known as a scheduled transfer request. The GUI enables you to specify when and optionally repeat a scheduled transfer several times, or a given time interval. Repeated scheduled can end at a specific time and date, after several repetitions or repeat continuously.
Slide 13
This screen capture shows how to enable a scheduled transfer in the WebSphere MQ File Transfer GUI. Clicking the “enable scheduled transfer” check box displays the options on the screen. The time base specifies either which system time you want to use for the scheduled file transfer, or if you want to use coordinated universal time (UTC). Admin is the start and end times used based on the time and date of the local administrator's machine. If you select this option, the time zone of the administrator's machine is displayed next to the time base field. Source is the start and end times used based on the time and date of the source agent's machine. If you select this option, the time zone of the source agent's machine is displayed next to the Time base field. UTC is the start and end times used based on coordinated universal time (UTC). To change the start date you can either click the calendar icon and select a date or you can overwrite the date directly. You can also click the day, month, or year and adjust these values by clicking on the arrows to adjust the individual fields. If you want to repeat the scheduled transfer, click the repeat check box. You can optionally repeat the transfer schedule until a specific date and time; for several repetitions or indefinitely. In this dialog you can also optionally specify additional trigger conditions by clicking the triggers tab.
Creating a file transfer request (continued):
Creating a file transfer request (continued): Optionally enable a conditional or triggered transfer request Specify a file trigger Must be on the source agent’ system Can specify more than one file Specify a trigger attribute Exists Does not exit Exceeds a give size Optionally group trigger conditions
WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition enables you to optionally set up additional trigger conditions for your transfers. This means that a file transfer request will not take place unless these conditions are true. If the conditions are not true the request is discarded. To specify a conditional trigger transfer, you specify a file or more than one file that the trigger condition is based on. If you specify more than one file name the transfer will take place provided a minimum of one of the files meets the trigger condition. The condition to be met on the file is known as the trigger attribute. The trigger attribute can be set to exists. This will cause the file transfer to trigger only if the file exists within the file system on the agents queue manager. Similarly the trigger attribute can be set so the transfer is triggered only if the file specified file does not exist. The size of a file can also be used to trigger a transfer request once it exceeds a given size. Optionally, trigger conditions can be grouped enabling more than one trigger condition to be set for a file transfer request.
Slide 15
This screen capture shows how to specify a conditional trigger transfer request using the GUI.
Creating a file transfer request (continued):
Creating a file transfer request (continued): Optionally specify metadata attribute=value pairs User defined name/value pairs Transported with files Stored with file transfer log data – can be used for audit purposes Can be used to tag transfers with business relevant information Available to user exit routines
WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition supports the ability to specify additional data that can be acted on as part of a file transfer request. This is done through the use of metadata attribute-value pairs. The GUI allows you to specify transfer metadata at the time you create a file transfer request and is valid for all files in a transfer request. The metadata attribute-value pairs are transported with the files to the destination agent and the information is stored in the transfer log data. File transfer metadata is available to WebSphere MQ file transfer edition exit routines enabling the routines to act on information specified as metadata for the file transfer request. An example use in WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition of metadata is to be able to tag file transfer requests with business relevant information.
Slide 17
This screen capture shows how to specify file transfer request metadata in the GUI.
Templates
Templates Templates provide the ability to store common file transfer request settings for repeated or complex transfers Created using the explorer GUI (only) Can use “save as template” option Can be scheduled, conditional (or both) requests Stored in the coordination queue manager Activated by submitting the template Provides the ability to share common file transfer tasks between users
Templates provide the ability to store common file transfer request settings for repeated or complex transfers. Templates can be created using the explorer GUI only, they are not currently available to the command line interface. To create a template you can either use the “create new template for managed file transfer” wizard by right clicking on transfer templates in the navigator view and then clicking “new template.” all file transfer request optional and required items are valid for templates. The difference is that the file transfer specification is stored in the coordination queue manager for later use. When creating a new transfer request, it is also possible to use the “save as template” option. To turn a template into a file transfer request right click the template name in the template log view in the GUI and click submit. Templates provide the ability to share common file transfer tasks between users of the system.
WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition Templates
WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition Templates
This screen capture shows the transfer templates view in WebSphere MQ explorer. Right click a transfer template to see additional maintenance options. Using the submit option on a template will cause a file transfer request to be started using the details specified in the template.
GUI file transfer monitoring information
GUI file transfer monitoring information Current transfer progress log Source and destination agents Transfer start date/time Current file being transferred File number File transfer progress Transfer rate
WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition provides access to two transfer processing logs in the MQ explorer GUI. The “current transfer progress” log view shows the status of file transfer requests in progress. These file transfers can be started from either the command line or the UI interface. The log also shows progress of started scheduled transfers. The “current transfer progress” log includes information that is not included on the historical transfer log. This information includes; the name of the current file being transferred, the file number (if you are transferring more than one file) and the rate of transfer. A progress bar is also available to show how complete the transfer is as a percentage. On restarting the WebSphere MQ explorer, details of past transfers are cleared from this log. Completed transfers can also be removed using the “remove completed transfers” icon.
GUI file transfer monitoring information
GUI file transfer monitoring information Transfer log Source and destination agents Transfer completion state Transfer request owner (initiator) Started and state recorded times
The transfer log contains details of started and past transfer requests. This information remains in the log after you stop and restart the explorer GUI. A button is provided to delete completed transfers if required. Further details about a completed transfer can be seen by expanding the transfer you are interested in using the plus sign. You can then see all of the source and destination file names included in that transfer. Note if the transfer is currently in progress and consists of more than one file, you can only view the files that have already been transferred so far. The information in both the Current Transfer Progress log and the Transfer log is not available in any text based file in the WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition file system. The Information is stored in the coordination queue manager. The format of the messages used to store this information is published. For more information refer to the section describing “message formats for WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition” in the information center.
Slide 22
This screen captures shows the current transfer progress log and transfer log in the WebSphere MQ GUI. Note the completion status records in the file transfer log change color depending on the completion status value. This log can be used to cancel transfers currently in progress by right clicking the transfer record and clicking the cancel option.
Command line only tasks:
Command line only tasks: Tasks that are not possible with the WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition explorer plug-in: Creating and configuring an agent Starting or stopping an agent Listing active agents in the network Deleting agents Nominating a coordination or command queue manager The above administration tasks are available using the command line
There are several WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition V7.0 administration tasks that are not possible using the WebSphere MQ explorer GUI. All agent administration including creating, starting, stopping, deleting, and listing agents is currently done using the command line interface only. Nominating and configuring a queue manager as the WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition coordination or command queue manager is also a command line specific task.
Unit summary
Now that you have completed this unit, you should understand: How to create a file transfer request using the GUI Template support The transfer request monitoring and status information provided in the GUI For more information on the GUI refer to http://ibm.com/webspheremq/filetransfer Unit summary
This presentation has covered how to create a file transfer request using the GUI and its many options. You should also understand template support and have an understanding of the transfer request monitoring and status information provided in the GUI. For more detailed information about the product refer to the information center at the URL specified.
Feedback
Feedback Your feedback is valuable You can help improve the quality of IBM Education Assistant content to better meet your needs by providing feedback. Did you find this module useful? Did it help you solve a problem or answer a question? Do you have suggestions for improvements? Click to send e-mail feedback: mailto:iea@us.ibm.com?subject=Feedback_about_IEA_020_WMQFTE_GUI_Overview.ppt This module is also available in PDF format at: ../IEA_020_WMQFTE_GUI_Overview.pdf
You can help improve the quality of IBM Education Assistant content by providing feedback.
Trademarks