Importing and Exporting Business Collaborations

 

You can facilitate setup for trading partners by creating what they require, then transferring it to them. This section describes how you can export and import the necessary components of a business collaboration. It includes the following topics:

• Business Collaboration Components

• Export and Import Overview

• Exporting from WebLogic Collaborate

• Importing to WebLogic Collaborate

• Exporting a Workflow Package

• Importing a Workflow Package

 

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Business Collaboration Components

The components of a business collaboration include:

• Trading partner definitions

• Collaboration agreements

• Conversation definitions

• Collaborative workflows

  A collaborative workflow includes the template definition and any associated:

  • Business operations

  • Business calendars

  • Plug-ins

  • Event key tables

  • XML entities (for example, XML documents, schema files, or XSLT templates)

Many of the same components of a business collaboration are used by multiple trading partners. For example, all parties who are assigned the same role in a collaboration agreement for a given conversation definition will require the same conversation definition and public workflow template. To support peer-to-peer exchange between trading partners, both trading partners must have trading partner definitions for themselves and the other party.

To facilitate trading partner setup, the components of a business collaboration can be defined by one partner, then exported for import by other trading partners. Trading partner definitions, collaboration agreements, and conversation definitions can be exported and imported from the WebLogic Collaborate Administration Console. Collaborate workflows can be exported and imported from the WebLogic Process Integrator Studio.

Although many components of a business collaboration are identical between trading partners, there are some that require minor modification after import. For example, if a trading partner definition for a remote trading partner is exported then imported by the remote trading partner, that trading partner will need to change the trading partner type property from remote to local before the imported definition can be used. Workflow templates and conversations too often require modification of the specified organization because different trading partners often have a different organization structure in the WebLogic Process Integrator Studio.

 

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Export and Import Overview

To export the required components for a WebLogic Collaborate exchange:

1. Export the required trading partner definitions, conversation definitions, and collaboration agreements from the WebLogic Collaborate Administration Console.

   Typically, you can simply export the required collaboration agreement with the Export all referenced entities option set. This will export the collaboration agreement, associated conversation definition, and trading partners.

   Note: When you use the Export all referenced entities option, only the referenced objects are exported. For example, even though a trading partner definition may have many delivery channels associated with it, when you export a collaboration agreement with the Export all referenced entities option set, only those parts of the trading partner definition required for the collaboration agreement are exported (only the required party identifiers, delivery channels, document exchanges, transports, and certificates).

   The export procedure is described in Exporting from WebLogic Collaborate.

2. Export the collaborative workflow package required by the other trading partner to implement their role in the conversation.

   The workflow export procedure is described in Exporting a Workflow Package.

To import and modify the exported components for use:

1. Import the trading partner definitions, conversation definitions, and collaboration agreements provided.

   One or more XML files may be provided. The import procedure is described in Importing to WebLogic Collaborate.

2. Verify the imported components by viewing in the WebLogic Collaborate Administration Console. Make adjustments as required for use. For example:

   • Reset the trading partner type property for each imported trading partner (from local to remote or vice versa). Typically, the trading partner type in an imported trading partner definition does not reflect the type required on your system.

   • Update the certificates and security configuration as required.

   • Reset the organization specified for the workflow template in the conversation definition. Typically, the organizations defined in WebLogic Process Integrator Studio on your system will not be the same as those defined for other trading partners. The organization specified should reflect the organization you will designate for the workflow.

3. Import the collaborative workflow package required to implement your role in the conversation.

   The workflow import procedure is described in Importing a Workflow Package.

 

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Exporting from WebLogic Collaborate

To export entities from the WebLogic Collaborate Administration Console:

1. Click WebLogic Collaborate (WLC) in the navigation tree to display the WLC page.

2. If it is not already selected, click the Configuration tab.

3. Click the Export tab. The export options are displayed as shown in the following figure.

   Figure 5-1 WebLogic Collaborate (WLC) Export Tab

   
    

4. Do one or more of the following to select the entities to export:

   • Click the All checkbox to export all repository data.

   • Click the checkbox to the left of the entity label to export all entities of that type.

   • Click the Browse button to the right of the entity label to display the entity selection page as shown following figure. Click the checkboxes as desired to select specific entities, then click the OK button to return to the Export tab.

     Figure 5-2 Entity Selection

     
      

5. Select the Format.

   The default is standard. The extensive format includes system info such as update-count and timestamps.

6. Click the Export all referenced entities to include all entities referenced by the selected entities.

7. Click the Export button to export to an XML file.

   When the export is complete a message is displayed as a link at the bottom of the page, as shown in the following figure.

   Figure 5-3 Export Succeeded

   
    

8. Right-click the link, then select Save Link As from the shortcut menu.

   The Save As dialog box is displayed to allow you to select the location or rename the file (the default filename is exportConfig.xml).

9. When you have selected target directory, click Save.

 

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Importing to WebLogic Collaborate

Before importing data, you must shutdown WebLogic Collaborate as described in Stopping from the WebLogic Collaborate Administration Console.

To import from the WebLogic Collaborate Administration Console:

1. Click WebLogic Collaborate (WLC) in the navigation tree to display the WLC page.

2. Click the Monitoring tab, then click the General tab.

3. Verify that the Status is Inactive.

4. Click the Configuration tab, then click the Import tab. The import options are displayed as shown in the following figure.

   Figure 5-4 WebLogic Collaborate (WLC) Import Tab

   
    

5. Click Browse to display the Upload File dialog box.

6. Select the XML file that contains the data to be imported, then click the Open button.

7. Unless it is your intention to delete all existing data, verify that Initialize Database is set to No.

8. Select the Transaction level.

   • Default
     A transaction is initiated for each entity type. Entities of the same type are imported in a single transaction. If invalid data is detected during any one of the transactions, that transaction is rolled back and processing continues for the next entity type.

   • All
     The data contained in the selected file is imported as a single transaction. If invalid data is detected the entire transaction is rolled back.

9. Click Import to import the data.

   Note: If any entities have the same name as entities in the repository, they will be overwritten.

10. Restart WebLogic Collaborate as described in Restarting from the WebLogic Collaborate Administration Console.

 

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Exporting a Workflow Package

WebLogic Process Integrator Studio allows you to select and export template definitions and related workflow components. The components you select are packaged into a Java Archive (JAR) file known as a workflow package.

When you export a workflow package, you can:

• Password protect the package to prevent unauthorized access to the contents.

• Publish the package to make the components read only. When you publish a package, trading partners can employ the workflow components, but are unable to modify them.

The Studio client supports the export of template definitions, business operations, business calendars, plug-ins, event key tables, and XML repository items. The only elements that cannot be exported are the organizations, users, and roles, defined in Studio. When you export a template definition, it is disassociated from the current organization. When imported to a target system, a new organization must be selected for the template.

To export a workflow package from Studio:

1. Start the Studio client as described in Starting WebLogic Process Integrator Studio.

2. Choose Tools—>Export Package from the Menu bar.

   The Export: Select File dialog box is displayed.

3. Enter the location and filename of the JAR file to be created.

   Note: If you use Browse to select a JAR file, the export will overwrite the file.

4. Click Next to display the Export: Select Components to Export dialog box as shown in the following figure.

   Figure 5-5 Export: Select Components to Export

   
    
    

   The dialog lists all items currently defined. When you select an item, items referenced by the selection are automatically selected.

   Note: Items in the XML Repository are not automatically selected. You must select these items manually.

5. Select the items to export.

6. Click Export.

   When complete, the Export: Review Export Summary dialog box displays the following message:
   Components were exported to JAR file: path/filename.jar

7. Click Close to dismiss the dialog box.

 

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Importing a Workflow Package

To import a workflow package from Studio:

1. Start the Studio client as described in Starting WebLogic Process Integrator Studio.

2. Choose Tools—>Import Package from the Menu bar.

   The Import: Select File dialog box is displayed.

3. Click Browse, locate the file to import, then click Open.

4. Click Next to display the Import: Select Components to Import dialog box as shown in the following figure.

   Figure 5-6 Import: Select Components to Import

   
    
    
    

   The dialog lists all items contained in the JAR file.

5. Deselect any items you choose not to import.

6. Select the target organization from the drop-down list.

7. To avoid having to activate the workflows after import, check the Activate workflows after import checkbox.

8. Click Import.

   If any items have the same name as a an existing item, the Import Confirmation dialog is displayed as shown in the following figure.

   
    

9. When complete, the Import: Review Import Summary dialog box is displayed as shown in the following figure.

   Figure 5-7 Import: Review Import Summary

   
    

10. Click Close to dismiss the dialog box.