Integrate With IBM CTG Connector in Mule 4

IBM CTG CICS Architecture Diagram — Figure 1: IBM CICS Transaction Gateway (CTG) Integration Flow

CICS is a transaction processing subsystem that provides services for a user to run applications by request. It enables many users to submit requests to run the same applications, using the same files and programs, at the same time. CICS manages the sharing of resources, integrity of data, and prioritization of execution, while maintaining fast response times.

Usually in migration APIs from IIB to Mule this connector is used to connect with mainframe legacy system.

1Add the Connector Using Exchange

Add the Connector Using Exchange -

Adding IBM CTG Connector from Anypoint Exchange — Figure 2: Finding and importing the IBM CTG connector module from Exchange

2POM Dependency

Also can add pom dependency for IBM CTG module.

pom.xml Dependency

xml

<"text-amber-300">class="text-sky-400 font-semibold">dependency>
  <"text-amber-300">class="text-sky-400 font-semibold">groupId>com.mulesoft.connectors</"text-amber-300">class="text-sky-400 font-semibold">groupId>
  <"text-amber-300">class="text-sky-400 font-semibold">artifactId>mule-ibm-ctg-connector</"text-amber-300">class="text-sky-400 font-semibold">artifactId>
  <"text-amber-300">class="text-sky-400 font-semibold">version>X.X.X</"text-amber-300">class="text-sky-400 font-semibold">version>
  <"text-amber-300">class="text-sky-400 font-semibold">classifier>mule-plugin</"text-amber-300">class="text-sky-400 font-semibold">classifier>
</"text-amber-300">class="text-sky-400 font-semibold">dependency>

3Program Types: Commarea & Channels

This module contains four connectors. Mainly two types of program is there- Commarea and channel. Two type of channel is present – single and multiple.

IBM CTG Connector Operations: Commarea vs Channel — Figure 3: IBM CTG operations available in Mule Palette

4Required JAR Dependencies

For connector configuration need to add the required following dependencies –

ctgserver.jar (CTG Server Library)
cicsjee.jar (CICS JEE)
ccf2.jar (CICS Common Connector Framework)
ctgclient.jar (CTG Client Library)
geronimo-j2ee-connector_1.6_spec.jar

Adding required JAR libraries in connector configuration — Figure 4: Adding driver and client libraries into connector configuration

5Connector Configuration Parameters

Host

Enter the host name of the CICS.

Port

Enter the port on which the CICS is running. Default value is 2006.

Server name

Enter the name of the target CICS server as defined in the CICS configuration file. Optional.

Username

Enter the CICS user ID. Optional, if security is not enabled in the CICS region.

Password

Enter the password for the CICS user ID. Optional, if security is not enabled in the CICS region.

Entering Host, Port, Server Name, and Credentials — Figure 5: Setting general connection details in IBM CTG configuration

6SSL & Keystore Settings

Some additional setting configuration is required if there is any keystore containing the certificates required for an SSL client.

Keystore location

Enter the location of the keystore containing the certificates required for an SSL client.

Keystore Password

Enter the password required to access the keystore for an SSL client.

7Commarea & Channel Execution

While executing with commearea need to define the commareaLength and replyLength

Defining commareaLength and replyLength — Figure 7: Commarea execution parameters

configure the following fields in case of channels (single/ multiple).

Configuring fields in case of channels (single / multiple) — Figure 8: Channel execution configuration parameters

“Thank you for taking out time to read the above post. Hope you found it useful. In case of any questions, feel free to comment below. Also, if you are keen on knowing about a specific topic, happy to explore your recommendations as well.”

About the Author

Soma Mitra

Integration specialist and enterprise solution engineer at DigitalBuzz Software, focusing on MuleSoft middleware, mainframe CICS integration, and enterprise connectivity.

Share this article

All Articles

MuleSoft

Bulk-insert using Database connector

Learn how to implement bulk insert operations using the Mule 4 Database Connector.

Read Article