How to use RFHUTILC to connect to a remote

queue manager
September 12, 2017 IBM
Engineeernitesh

How to use RFHUTILC.EXE to connect to a remote queue

manager

RfhUtil is IBM WebSphere MQ Client, use for read data from files and/or queues; write data to files
and/or queues and display data in a variety of formats. However, it is not an editor. While the user
data portion of the message can be displayed in a variety of formats, it cannot be changed.
Prerequisite:
1. Remote system installed with IBM WebSphere MQ.
2. System have RfhUtil Client.
Step 1: Create Queue manager on Remote system and check below option during creation of
Queue Manager.

If you already have Queue Manager than check if SYSTEM.ADMIN.SVRCONNchannel exists or not.
If value not showed Exists than click on Create.
Step 2: Create Queue in newly created Queue Manager.
Step 3: Create new System variable in the system from where you want to connect Remote Queue
manager.
Variable name : MQSERVER
Variable value : SYSTEM.ADMIN.SVRCONN/TCP/IP address of remote system(listener port of
Queue manager)
Step 4: Open rfhutilc.exe

Step 5: Give Queue manager name as created new system variables. Click on Load names, it will
display all Queue name which you have created on remote system.

Step 6: Write data to queue. Click on open file and pass text file or XML file with some value. Go to
MQMD tab and choose “MQSTR” for MQ Message format.
Step 7: Read data from Queue.

Note : If error 2035 is returned you will need to add a authorised user id to the MCA field of
the target queue. I will post solution in my further post.
IBM API Management and Datapower Installation
Guide Step by Step
April 22, 2016 IBM

This is a detailed Step by Step instruction to Installion, Configuration & Validation of IBM API
Management Version 3.0.4
Overview
The two main components of API Management are the Management Node and Gateway Node. In
version 3.0.4 API Manger provides the Analytics and Assembly function and they do not need to be
configured separately.

The Management node [API Management VM] manages the operations of the various nodes in the
IBM API Management environment and provides the tools to interface with the various nodes. The
Environment Console, API Manager and Developer portal user interfaces run on the

Management node.

The Gateway node [IBM Datapower IDG VM] process and manages security protocols and stores
relevant user and appliance authentication data.

To provide high availability in your environment you can deploy two or more of each node type. In an
environment with two Management nodes you need to define an external load balancer to distribute
requests across the Management nodes.

Consider whether you plan to use a combination of physical and virtual appliances, or, only virtual
images.

Required Software
1. VMWare Worskstation or VMPlayer

2. VMWare ESXI 5.5x

3. VMWare vSphere Client 5.5

4. IBM Datapower XI52 or IDG VMWare Hypervisor Image

5. IBM API Management 3.0.4 VMWare Image

Installation of VMWare Tools
1. Install VMWare Player

Shown here is the version of VMWare Player i.e. Version 6.0.3

2. Install ESXi Image

a. Choose the ESXI ISO Image using the New Virtual Machine wizard
b. The VMWare Player Auto detects the Image Name
c. Specify the disk capacity
d. Finalize the Virtual Machine creation
e. Once the Virtual Machine boots up you will enter the below screen
f. The rest of the installation & configuration process is available in the below video

Specify the Static IP Address.

You can specify the IP Address obtained automatically from DHCP as the Static IP Address

Leave the hostname and domain name as localhost and localdomain if you do not have a dedicated
domain

3. Install the vSphere Client

Once the vSphere Client is installed, log into the ESXI server using the static ip address and the
username and password you provided while installing
 The trial license is valid for only 60 days. If you have a permanent license enter the license in the
vSphere client by accessing the Inventory -> Configuration -> Licensed Features -> Edit -> Assign
new license key to host
Installation & Configuration of Datapower IDG VM
The Datapower IDG functions as the Gateway Node

Installation

1. In the vSphere Client, choose File -> Deploy OVA Template and Choose the IDG OVA Image
2. Here we are installing version 7.1.0.1

a. Click Next and Accept the License Agreement

b. In the Configuration, choose Standard or Enterprise Configuration, depending on requirements

c. In the disk format screen, choose Thin Provision. This is my preference. But you can learn more
about it in the below blog

http://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2012/03/thin-provisioning-whats-the-scoop.html

NOTE: If you are planning to run many VMWare Images simultaneously, remember to create a large
datastore during ESXi Installation if you do not have access to create new LUNs or access to SCSI
hard disks. If you are installing in your laptop or desktop create 1 large datastore. In my case a
created a 100GB datastore
In the next screen for Network Mapping just hit Next. All the NICs point to the same VM Network

In the summary screen check if your settings are right and hit Finish

The deploy takes about 3 minutes. Once It is deployed successfully the inventory will be updated
with the entry for WebSphere Datapower IDG

Once the deploy is complete the ESXi inventory is updated with the entry for Datapower
IDG Virtual Appliance Configuration [Gateway Node]

Power on the Virtual Machine

Once the VM is powered on and booted, it will take you to the login Prompt

Login: admin

Password: admin

Answer No to the below 2 questions

1. Enable Secure Backup Mode? N

2. Enable Common Criteria Compatibility Mode? N

It will prompt you to enter new password and confirm. Enter a password you can remember twice

Run the Install Wizard

Step 1: Configure Network Interfaces

Since the ESXi Host is configured with the Static IP address, it will serve as the DNS & Gateway IP
Address.

Here the ESXi IP address is 192.168.16.128. We can increment the last 3 digits by one and assign
the IP Address of 192.168.16.129 to Datapower IDG virtual appliance.

For Home Networks it’s preferable to have the CIDR notation as 192.168.16.129/24

Step 2: Configure Network Services

Here we say ‘Yes’ to both the questions and the IP address of the DNS Server will be the IP address
of ESXi

Step 3: Configure System Identifier

This is an optional parameter that is not required. You can specify a valid identifier
Step 4: Configure Remote Management Access

Choose ‘Yes’ to configure remote management access, Web UI access and enable SSH

The IP Address is the IP specified above for the Datapower IDG VM

Step 5: Configure user account to reset passwords

Specify an account other than ‘admin’. If you specify admin you have to reset the admin password to
something new.

Step 6: Configure RAID Array

This is an optional step. If you would like to create a RAID array, follow the steps below
Step 7: Save the configuration

Validate Web UI Access

Access the Web UI using the IP Address and port number you specified.

Here you specify https://192.168.16.129:9090/

Add the security exception and it will take you to the login page
Enter the admin id and password you specified in the above steps in the login page.
Accept the Software License Agreement

This takes a few minute to complete processing.

Now you have completed the Datapower IDG install. You can follow the same steps for Datapower
XI52 as well

Configure NTP on the Gateway Node

Consider configuring NTP on every node to ensure that there is a consistent time view.

Any differences in the clocks across the nodes can cause problems.

Enable Windows NTP Server

Here I am performing the installation on a Windows 2008 Server.

Go to Local Group Policy Editor -> Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -
> Windows Time Service -> Time Providers -> Enable Windows NTP Service
Enable Datapower NTP Service

Login to Datapower CLI using SSH

1. Log in to the CLI of the Datapower IDG Virtual Appliance

2. Enter co
3. Enter ntp-service
4. Enter admin-state enabled
5. Enter remote-server <IPaddress>
6. Enter exit
7. Enter write mem

To validate:

Enter show time

Enable the XML Management Interface Port

The XML Management Interface port must be enabled for IBM API Management. For each Gateway
node complete the following steps to enable the port number that is used to monitor incoming
management requests
Enable and Save Configuration.
Installation & Configuration of API Management VM
Installation

Deploy the API Management OVA Template.

Configuring the Management Node

The API Management Appliance serves as the management node

Login: admin

Password: !n0r1t5@C
IP Address is automatically assigned. In the below screenshot you can see the IP Address as
192.168.16.131

Run the below commands to verify

By default it is configured to use DHCP. If you want to change this to static, run the below
commands.

1. Set the host name for the management interface:

none/Standalone> net set hostname static appliancehostname

2. Set the DNS domain name:

none/Standalone> net set domain static domain-name

3. Set the DNS name server:

none/Standalone> net set nameserver static dns-ipaddress

4. Set the network address for the management interface:

none/Standalone> net set eth<n> address ipaddress mask netmask [bcast broadcast]

5. Set the address of the default gateway for your TCP/IP network:
none/Standalone> net set gateway static ip-address {eth<n>|none}

We will configure the Gateway using the cloud management console.

Configure Cloud Management Console

Access the cloud management console using the below url.

https://192.168.16.131/cmc
The link will take you to the API Management Login page for Cloud Management Console.

Enter the admin Username and Password. admin, !n0r1t5@C

Accept the License Agreement

You will be prompted to change the password and add an email address.
Upon Initial Login you will see the below screen
 The cluster consists of the first server that you defined during the IBM API Management
installation.

 You must define your initial Gateway cluster before you configure the rest of your API
Management on-premises cloud. A cluster can contain one or more of the same types of
servers.
Upon Initial Login you will see the below screen

To configure the Cloud Management Console settings for the initial Gateway cluster, complete the
following steps:

 In the navigation section of the Cloud Management Console, click the Clusters icon

The Clusters page opens.

 In the Gateway Clusters pane, click Settings.

Optional: To change the name of the name of the Gateway cluster, enter a new value in the
Name field.

 In the Address field, enter the virtual IP address or host name that is to be used for inbound API
calls, or of an external load balancer if one is being used.
Add the Gateway Server. This is the Datapower IP Address and the XML Management Interface port
and the Login and Password.
This configuration completes the initial Management & Gateway cluster configuration

Steps to Access API Manager

Use the API Manager UI to define APIs and to securely manage your API environment. You can also
analyze your API usage by using the analytics that are provided and socialize your APIs in a
developer portal.

Before you can access the API Manager UI, you must activate the user account that your Cloud
Management Console administrator invited you to join. For you to be able to send the invitation you
need to first configure the SMTP Server settings in the Cloud Management Console.

Choose Settings and scroll down to Email settings.

Set the Email SMTP Server Settings. Save and Test the configurations
Create an Organization and Add Owner. You will be prompted to enter an email id for a new user.
Once you save an invitation is sent for API Manager.
Add User

A welcome email will be sent to the specified email address

Click on the link in the email and it will take you to the login page for API Manager.
Shown below is the Home Page for API Manager, for the organization you created.
Add Additional Users for different Roles in the Cloud Management Console. The admin id only
serves as the Cloud Owner. You require additional ids to perform the role of Cloud Administrator and
Organization Manager.
For all new users, an email invite is sent out. You need to click on the link for you to be added as an
active user.
This covers the basic install and configuration for IBM API Management.