Maximo Filter data using LOOKUPS whereclause tag

What ? Apply filter/whereclause on lookup values 

Why ? Easier to apply a condition on a list of values without a table domain. 

Some Maximo fields like WORKORDER.WORKTYPE have a field level class and adding a table domain would add more complexity for applying a list where condition. Instead a custom lookups.xml configuration in application designer is simple approach to achieve it.

How ?  Sample use case: Display items in Work Order plans tab that are in ACTIVE status or PENDOBS (Pending Obsolesce)  status having current balance greater than zero.

Follow the below steps to filter values from a lookup

• Export the LOOKUPS.xml from Application Designer
• Open the xml file and add/modify new table section
• Add whereclause attribute on the table tag

<table id="activeitem" inputmode="readonly" selectmode="single" 

whereclause="status='ACTIVE' or (status='PENDOBS' and exists (select 1 from inventory a, invbalances b 

       where a.itemnum = item.itemnum and a.itemsetid = item.itemsetid and a.itemsetid = b.itemsetid and a.location = b.location 

   and a.itemnum = b.itemnum and a.siteid = b.siteid and b.curbal &gt; 0 and a.status in ( 'ACTIVE', 'PENDOBS')))">

• We can't use greater than and lesser than symbol directly in the lookup.xml, so replace them with equivalent characters.

         greater than  (>) -->  &gt;      lesser than (<) -->  &lt;

• Condition in whereclause runs from Item table, so use item.itemnum inside the subquery

• Import the LOOKUPS.xml

• Link the custom lookup "activeitem" to the WOTRACK.xml application on the ITEM field under the Planned Materials section 

References :  limiting-lookups-using-whereclause

Maximo server host name for hyperlink in BIRT report

What?  get the server hostname of the environment where the BIRT report is running.

Why? In a few scenarios, we need to form a URL in hyperlink property to point it to Maximo record or any other integrated application specific to environment.

Maximo BIRT framework don’t support implicit variable :HOSTNAME. This variable is handy on getting the server host name inside Maximo applications like communication template.

How? In order to achieve it inside BIRT, we need to run the sql query in MAXPROPVALUE table from the system property mxe.hostname on the beforeOpen method of the dataSet; it can also be from any instance or custom system property.

Store the hostname in a Global variable - hostname to use them inside the report.

Use the variable in a cell hyperlink property to point to specific Maximo host name

"https://" + reportContext.getPersistentGlobalVariable ("hostname") + "/maximo/ui/login?event=loadapp&amp;value=asset&amp;additionalevent=sqlwhere"

+"&amp;additionaleventvalue=assetid = (select assetid from asset where siteid = '"+row["siteid"]+"' and assetnum = '"+row["assetnum"]+"')"

report file - hostname_hyperlink_design_file

Courtesy: Madhavan

Maximo MBO Change Status Based on Other MBO Conditions using Automation script

Change Status of MBO (PO or WORKORDER) based on other MBO Conditions using Automation Script Action Launch Point.

Why we need an Automation Script for changeStatus Action ? 

If the change status of a MBO (WORKORDER or PO) is a straightforward one like close WO after status Completion or close PO after receipts field value = COMPLETE, we can use an Action record of type "Change Status".

 

In real business scenarios, we need to changeStatus of a MBO based on conditions involving other MBOs, for example, complete a PO if its POLINES are invoiced and acknowledged by an external system or move an Inventory record to OBSOLETE if it's in PENDOBS status for 3 months without any current balance in INVBALANCES.

To build such complex requirements, we need to use an Action Launch point Automation script.

Maximo Configurations and Script

Create an Action launch point automation script with Object = PO. 

Code GitlabCode-actionlaunchpoint/poactionchangestatus.py

Don't call MboSet.save method inside the action as the changeStatus method will take care of it.

Maximo creates an Action record when we create an Action launch point script and populates its parameters [Script Name, Launch Point Name, Action Name]. 

Create an escalation to get the records against which the action need to be executed; Here, we have taken Approved PO with competed receipt.s 

Invoke Direct Print of Maximo BIRT Report using Automation Script

Auto-Initiate Maximo BIRT Direct Print Function from an Automation Script.

Why we need this option ? 

We need this feature to print records automatically on event trigger or user action, for example, a scenario of printing item or PO report on receiving items.

 

Please find the steps on how to implement it: 

• Create a custom field "Is Print" on non persistent object RECEIPTINPUT
• Use this field to select the records for printing on the "Select Ordered Items" dialog

• Create a script with attribute launch point on this "Is Print ?" field validation class code receiptinput.isprint.val.py .ITEMNUM field from RECEIPTINPUT object will be collected and stored in a field in PO object.

• Create 2 attributes PRINTLIST and NPPRINTLIST (non persistent) in PO object to store the list of items selected to be printed
• On "Before Save" of PO object, copy the values from NPPRINTLIST to PRINTLIST on an automation script of launch point PO with event as before save
• On "After save" event of PO object, trigger direct print of a report based on the values selected on the "Select Ordered Items" dialog code po.directprint.obj.as.py

References: direct-print-using-automation-script
Courtesy: Madhavan

Maximo SSL certificate for Integration between Systems

SSL Certificates for Maximo Integrations using Enterprise Service and Publish Channels with an External System using https connection. 

Maximo (or external system) which calls the https service needs to store the SSL certificate on their server to successful connect to the end point. It's usually set up at the start of building the Integration. But, if you encounter the error during the application maintenance, we need to replace the expired certificate with the renewed one in the server. 

Enterprise Service: When External System is connecting to Maximo Web Service URL (https://<hostname>/meaweb_mif/services/EXTERNALSYSTEM_EnterpriseService), it need to have Maximo SSL certificate on their server. If not, we end up in the below error

PKIX path building failed: sun.security.provider.certpath.SunCertPathBuilderException: unable to find valid certification path to requested target

To resolve the connection issue, we need to extract the Maximo certificate from Web browser and share it with External system.  

Open the Maximo URL, Click on the yellow highlighted lock icon on the address bar

 

Click on "Connection is Secure" option

                                   

Click on Details tab on the Certificate window

Download the SSL certificate and share it to External System for uploading / updating in their server.

Publish Channel/End Point - When Maximo wants to connect an outbound SSL service using HTTP End point or Publish Channel, we need to collect the certificate from external party and upload it to trusted certificates into IBM Websphere (Maximo 7.6.1.x) or WAS Liberty (MAS) where Maximo is hosted. 

If you don't have certificate present in the server, then you might face an below error. 

psdi.util.MXSystemException:BMXAA1482E - The response code received from the HTTP request from endpoint is not successful 

Please collect the SSL certificates from the target endpoint system and upload them into Maximo server

Reference: adding-trusted-external-certificates

Courtesy: Siddhartha Upadhyaya

MAS DB2 wont support Oracle Supported SQL - DB2_COMPATIBILITY_VECTOR registry to ORA

MAS DB2 won't support Oracle Compatible SQL commands due to security concerns. 

Database parameter DB2_COMPATIBILITY_VECTOR registry won't be set to ORA by the Support team, which was supported in SaaS Flex Maximo 7.6 version.

As part of Upgrade, application development team need to re-write queries in Maximo BIRT reports and relationships. 

Following are some of the queries that can be referred for conversion:

• rownum vs fetch first n rows only

SaaS Flex DB2: siteid=:siteid and ponum = :ponum and rownum=1

MAS DB2: siteid=:siteid and ponum = :ponum FETCH FIRST 1 ROWS ONLY

• CONNECT BY PRIOR vs WITH Clause

Classification Hierarchy Path generation from Maximo. Both the queries work in Out of Box Maximo

SaaS DB2 with Oracle Compatibility

SELECT

    level, classstructureid, parent, classificationid,

    sys_connect_by_path(classificationid, '**') AS path

FROM   maximo.classstructure

START WITH   parent IS NULL

CONNECT BY

    PRIOR classstructureid = parent

ORDER BY

    level, parent, classstructureid

MAS DB2 recursive sql using WITH clause

WITH classhier  ( level, classstructureid, parent, classificationid, path )

 AS (

    SELECT

        1, classstructureid, parent,  classificationid,

        '' || classificationid

    FROM  maximo.classstructure

    WHERE  parent IS NULL

    UNION ALL

    SELECT

        level + 1, c1.classstructureid, c1.parent,  c1.classificationid,

        classhier.path  || '\'  || c1.classificationid

    FROM  maximo.classstructure c1, classhier

    WHERE classhier.classstructureid = c1.parent  AND c1.parent IS NOT NULL

)

SELECT * FROM  classhier

Reference: db2-compatibility-vector-registry-variable

MAS Manage 8.x Supports Barcode fonts in BIRT report

In MAS, IBM Product team supports bar code fonts in BIRT.

Currently, there are 3 fonts that are validated in MAS: Free3Of9 Extended, IDAutomation and 3 of 9 Barcode.

In order for bar codes to work, we need to install them in Maximo server and client machine. 

Bar Code fonts in developer (or Client Machine) 

A bar code is a type of font and it needs same steps for installation in a system. Download the font, open it and click on Install button.

Enabling bar code font on MAS 

There are 2 files fontsConfig.xml and fontsConfig_pdf.xml in the BIRT jar file org.eclipse.birt.report.engine.fonts_4.3.1.v201308301349 located in Maximo installed path IBM/SMP/maximo/applications/maximo/maximouiweb/webmodule/WEB-INF/birt/platform/plugins

Rename the extension of .jar to .zip and view the list of font configuration files. 

fontsConfig.xml - add highlighted line 

fontsConfig_pdf.xml - add highlighted line 

After modifying the .xml files, update the files in .zip file, then rename it to .jar

Customization zip file need to be prepared for MAS pod. It will be applied on every deployment of the Maximo application.

Create a path "\applications\maximo\maximouiweb\webmodule\WEB-INF\birt\platform\plugins" -> Copy the updated .jar file in this path -> create a customization.zip with this path (don't have any blank or special characters for zip name). 

Deployment of the customization zip file and creation of volume object for ttf font file will be done by the IBM Infrastructure support team. 

If Maximo report don't display the barcode, please raise a case to IBM Product Support team.

Sample report: inventory_barcode_mas.rptdesign

Reference: Bar Code font for MAS BIRT

Maximo Manage MAS HTTP End Point with OAuth Configuration

Maximo Manage supports OAuth 2.0 client credentials grant type where we send client ID and secret ID to an OAuth provider URL for authentication and receive an access token.

OAuth authenticated service API can be accessed from Maximo Manage for End Points HTTP handler and WEBSERVICE-JAX-WS handler.

Steps to create OAuth enabled End point

1. Most of OAuth using TLS or SSL handshakes, so we must upload the Manage trust store with the certificates from the OAuth provider 

2. Access to object Structure MXAPIOAUTHCLIENT should be given to the security group.

3. Configure the OAUTH client properties in the End Point applications -> "Add/Modify OAuth Clients" Action

Sample values for reference

4. Check the table MAXOAUTHCLIENT to confirm whether the token is generated correctly. 

The OAuth provider specifies an expiration interval for the access token. After expiration, a new token is generated when a new authentication request occurs. 

5. Use the OAuth Client parameter in the HTTP Handler End point to use this authentication mechanism.

6. To test the HTTP end point with oauth, create an automation script with invokeEndPoint function to get the response. code oauthhttpendpointmas.py

 

Reference: 

https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/maximo-manage/continuous-delivery?topic=handlers-configuring-oauth-access

Maximo 7.6.x HTTP end point with OAUTH 2.0 Authentication

OAuth 2.0 (Open Authorization) is standard to provide consented access and restricts actions of what a client application can perform on resources, hosted by other applications, on behalf of the user, without sharing the user's credentials.

OAuth 2.0 has different grant types to address different scenarios and they are the set of steps a client has to perform to get resource access authorization.

In this article, we will see client credentials grant type which is used for non-interactive applications e.g., automated processes, microservices, IoT etc. 

Prerequisites:

• If the Oauth APIs are https, we need to upload the certificates in the Web Sphere server (or) whitelist the Maximo server IP by receiving End point to avoid SSL Handshake error
• OAuth 2.0 is supported only from Maximo 7.6.1.3 and MAS. For lower versions of Maximo, we need to customize the End point to make calls to OAuth enabled resources

Maximo Components:

• Common library script to retrieve token
• A HTTP End point with basic configuration (URL + HTTP_METHOD)
• A calling script to get token from library script, pass on token, URL parameter and header parameter to End point and store the response for more processing 

A common library script to retrieve token from URL is written by a script without any launch point. 

The variables defined in the statements left hand side are taken as input and those on the right side are output ones code common_lib_gettoken.py 

    

Create a End Point as HTTP Handler with basic information as URL and HTTPMETHOD.  

The calling script of any launch point passes the required parameters to library script to get the token.

This token is used as the header parameter "Authorization". The token value is concatenated with String "Bearer".

Header params and URL properties (or query parameters) are defined as HashMap. 

metaData.put(HTTPHandler.HTTP_HEADERPROPS, headers)

metaData.put(HTTPHandler.HTTPGET_URLPROPS, urlProps)  

service.invokeEndPoint("ENDPOINTNAME",metaData,"") will call the end point by adding header and query parameters code oauthhttpendpoint.py

service.error("iface",response)  will throw the output as error message in the Test script to validate the output during development phase.

Once you receive the required response, you can parse them for fields to be stored into Maximo.

References: autoscript-endpoint-access-oauth2-yasutaka-nishimura/

https://auth0.com/intro-to-iam/what-is-oauth-2

https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6831321

Maximo Resend failed transactions via Publish channel using Automation Script

What ?
Resending failed transactions from Maximo to External System via Publish Channel using Automation Script

Why ? 

In Maintenance projects, we are requested to resend a bulk of transactions to External System on cases where outage/connection failure in the middleware.

Data Export functionality in External System --> Publish Channel tab offers the way to retrigger the records to End point. But, for the large number of records, it will take a lot of time.

How ?

We can automate it using an Object Launch Point Automation Script.

code resendpublishchannel.py

Use Maximo MeaGlobal directory to store the file and read it from the automation script:

• SaaS Maximo 7.6.x MeaGlobal directory = ./MeaGlobalDirs
• MAS 8.x  MeaGlobal directory =  /MeaGlobalDirs

sample whereClause file

How to run the script ?

Activate the script and launch point to execute the script

Click on the "Test Script" button

If you have enabled the Message Tracking for the publish channel in the script, you can view the outbound message sent to End point.

Please disable the Launch Point and Automation Script after resending the transactions, because it will impact the Maximo functionality on the Action application.

Note: Resending transactions to External System would cause financial mismatch or reconciliation with Maximo. Please consult with end users before resending them.