Run the following command to verify the operator pod is running
You should get a response with a pod that starts with ibm-appconnect- and in running status
Create the NGINX Controller for external access to the cluster resources
We need to create an ingress controller to allow external access to the app connect resources. The appendix one has the awsnginxcontroller.yml file. Copy the provided text and create the awseksnginxcontroller.yml file. To create the ingress controller execute the following steps.
1. Create the namespace for the ingress controller with the following commands.
Kubectl create namespace ingress-nginx
kubectl config set-context --current --namespace=ingress-nginx
2. Create the ingress controller executing the following command.
kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes/ingress-nginx/controller-v1.3.0/deploy/static/provider/cloud/deploy.yaml -n ingress-nginx
After completing the execution of the command you should see something like the following picture.
3. Verify the ingress controller
We need to verify the ingress cotroller creation and the access to the external IP. It is important to mention that the assignment of the external IP or DNS takes a few minutes. Execute the following commands to verify your ingress controller
Kubectl get svc -n ingress-nginx
You should get something similar to the following:
Take note of the External IP value of the ingress-nginx-controller service. Next we need to verify if the external ip is accessible. We will use CURL for this. Execute the following CURL command (I am using GitBash on Windows for this).
curl -v External IP Address
You should get something similar to the following screen.
Take note of the IP Address is the response. We will use this address to provision the first App Connect resource (Dashboard). Another option to verify the external ip is accessible is to use a web browser with the external ip value. You should get the 404 Not Found Nginx html as a response.
If all is good you can proceed to the next step which is provisioning the first App Connect resource.
Creating the App Connect Dashboard
In this section we will create an App Connect Dashboard to deploy integrations in a runtime environment. Before creating the dashboard we need to verify we have the required storage class available.
Storage requirements
The App Connect Dashboard requires a ReadWriteMany storage class. Copy the following text and create the file azurepremiumstorageclass.yml
kind: StorageClass
apiVersion: storage.k8s.io/v1
metadata:
name: my-azurefile-csi-premium
provisioner: kubernetes.io/azure-file
mountOptions:
- mfsymlinks
- actimeo=30
- dir_mode=0777
- file_mode=0777
- uid=1000
- cache=strict
parameters:
skuName: Premium_LRS
reclaimPolicy: Delete
volumeBindingMode: Immediate
Execute the following command to create the storage class
kubectl apply -f azurepremiumstorageclass.yml -n appconnectee
Before creating the dashboard.yml file you should go to the License Reference for IBM App Connect Operator 13 page in the following link https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/app-connect/13.0?topic=resources-licensing-reference-app-connect-operator . In this scenario we are using the AppConnectEnterpriseNonProductionFREE license with value -> L-KPRV-AUG9NC (See the yml file below).
1. Create the following yml file – appconnectdashboard1.yml
apiVersion: appconnect.ibm.com/v1beta1
kind: Dashboard
metadata:
name: appconnecteedashboard1
labels:
namespace: appconnectee
spec:
license:
accept: true
license: L-KPRV-AUG9NC
use: AppConnectEnterpriseNonProductionFREE
pod:
containers:
content-server:
resources:
limits:
memory: 1024Mi
requests:
cpu: 200m
memory: 100Mi
control-ui:
resources:
limits:
memory: 1024Mi
requests:
cpu: 200m
memory: 500Mi
authentication:
integrationKeycloak:
enabled: false
authorization:
integrationKeycloak:
enabled: false
ingress:
domain: XX.XX.XX.XX.nip.io
api:
enabled: true
storage:
size: 5Gi
type: persistent-claim
class: my-azurefile-csi-premium
displayMode: IntegrationServers
replicas: 1
version: '13.0'
It is important to mention the following:
· Name of the dashboard is appconnecteedashboard1
· License.use is the AppConnectEnterpriseNonProductionFREE
· License.value L-KPRV-AUG9NC
· Authentication and authorization are disabled (false)
· The ingress domain is build with the external ip value you got from nslookup or/and the curl command + nip.io -> XX.XX.XX.XX.nip.io
· Storage.class: my-azurefile-csi-premium
2. Create the dashboard executing the following command
kubectl apply -f appconnectdashboard1.yml -n appconnectee
3. Verify the creation of the dashboard.
Wait for a minute and execute the following commands to obtain the dashboard and service details.
kubectl get dashboard -n appconnectee
You should get something similar to the following screen.
Verify the status of the dashboard is Ready. Now execute the following command.
kubectl get svc -n appconnectee
You should get something similar to the following screen.
Note the name of the service. It is built with the dashboard name + -dash. In this example is appconnecteedashboard1-dash. Take note of this name. We will use it to create the ingress resource to the service that will allow to access the dashboard UI.
1. Create the ingress resource for the dashboard
Copy the following text to create the azureingress1.yml file.
# Please edit the object below. Lines beginning with a '#' will be ignored,
# and an empty file will abort the edit. If an error occurs while saving this file will be
# reopened with the relevant failures.
#
apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
annotations:
nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/backend-protocol: HTTPS
nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/proxy-buffer-size: 16k
creationTimestamp: "2025-03-14T13:00:16Z"
generation: 4
labels:
app.kubernetes.io/component: control-ui
app.kubernetes.io/instance: appconnecteedashboard1
app.kubernetes.io/managed-by: ibm-appconnect
app.kubernetes.io/name: appconnecteedashboard1
appconnect.ibm.com/kind: Dashboard
release: appconnecteedashboard1
name: appconnecteedashboard1-ui
namespace: appconnectee
spec:
ingressClassName: nginx
rules:
- host: appconnecteedashboard1-ui-appconnectee.XX.XX.XX.XX.nip.io
http:
paths:
- backend:
service:
name: appconnecteedashboard1-dash
port:
number: 8300
path: /
pathType: Prefix
status:
loadBalancer:
ingress:
- ip: XX.XX.XX.XX
Update the value of the ip address on the spec.host and status.loadBalancer.ingress.ip elements. Note the value of the host is built with dashboardname + -ui- + namespace + .externalip + .nip.io
Create the ingress resource executing the following command.
kubectl apply -f azureingress1.yml -n appconnectee
2. Access the dashboard
Open your web browser and go the following URL:
https://dashboardname + -ui- + namespace + .externalip + .nip.io . In this case is https://appconnecteedashboard1-ui-appconnectee.XX.XX.XX.XX.nip.io where XX.XX.XX.XX is your external ip address obtained with curl when the nginx-controller was created.
Accept the security warning messages and proceed to the URL
3. You should see the App Connect EE dashboard UI.
Deploy an integration to test the App Connect installation
In this section we will deploy a simple REST Service integration built with the App Connect toolkit. The REST service receives 2 numbers as input parameters and returns the sum of the numbers. We will deploy the integration and test it with Postman.
1. Deploy the integration
On the Dashboard click on Deploy integrations and on the Deploy integrations page click on Quickstart integration and then click Next
On the next page upload your bar file. In this case is the MathAPIproject.generated.bar file. The bar file is available on the following github repository jeanpaultabja/appconnect: Assets for App Connect installation tutorial
Click Next and on the configurations page Click Next again. In the next page enter the name of the integration, the channel and the license information and the click on Create.
Wait for a couple of minutes and you should have an integration server on the servers tab with Ready status.
You should have your integration on the integrations tab
Click on the integration to see the details of the REST Service API – MathAPI. Clid the Get /getSum operation for complete details.
2. Create the ingress resource for the deployed integration artifact
We need to create the ingress resource for the deployed integration artifact. Copy the following text and create the mathapiingress.yml file
apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
name: mathapi-service-ingress
namespace: appconnectee
annotations:
kubernetes.io/ingress.class: "nginx"
spec:
rules:
- host: is-01-quickstart-is-appconnectee.XX.XX.XX.XX.nip.io
http:
paths:
- path: /
pathType: ImplementationSpecific
backend:
service:
name: is-01-quickstart-is
port:
number: 7800
Note the name of the host is built using integrationname-namespace.externalip.nip.io . In this example integration name is is-01-quickstart-is . Execute the following command to create the ingress resource for the integration.
kubectl apply -f mathapiingress.yml -n appconnectee
The next step is to test the integration with Postman
3. Test the integration
Open PostMan and configure the test with the following parameters.
- Operation: GET
- URL: http://is-01-quickstart-is-appconnectee.XX.XX.XX.XX .nip.io/mathapi/v1/getSum (where XX.XX.XX.XX is your external ip)
- Input variables:
The following screen shows the Postman configuration for the test
Execute the operation with Send. You should get the result like in the following screen.
You have completed the App Connect 13 installation on Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS).