IBM webMethods Integration Flow Pilot: A Beginner's Guide

Part 4: Deploying Your Flow to Integration Server

Part: 4 of 7
Read Time: ~6 min
Difficulty: Beginner
Prerequisites: Parts 1–3 complete, addInts.flow in your workspace, webMethods Integration Server 12.1 running
Product Page: IBM webMethods Integration Flow Pilot

New to Flow Pilot? Start with Introduction: What Is IBM webMethods Integration Flow Pilot? before continuing.

What You Will Do

In this article, you will deploy the addInts flow service you generated in Part 3 to your running Integration Server 12.1 instance. You will use the Flow Pilot "Deploy to Integration Server" command from the command palette to push the service to a new package and folder, confirm the deployment in Service Designer 12.1, and verify the service runs end-to-end using "Run Service".

By the end, you will have a confirmed, working service on your Integration Server with validated output.

Prerequisites

• Parts 1-3 complete
• addInts.flow present in your workspace
• IBM webMethods Integration Server 12.1 running and accessible
• Flow Pilot extension installed and configured (server URL, username, and password set in Part 2)
• webMethods Service Designer 12.1 open and connected to your Integration Server 12.1 instance
• IBM Bob (or your AI agent) open with the workspace active

About the Target Package

Throughout this series, we deploy to a dedicated package and folder rather than the Default package which may contain important metadata. This keeps your work isolated and easy to clean up should you want to delete it later.

You will create this package and folder first, then deploy your service. If you wish to use a package that already exists on your Integration Server, you can select them instead of creating new ones. If you plan to use an existing package and folder, you can skip to Step 3.

Step 1. Create the Target Package for Your Service

Use the left-side bar to navigate and select the "webMethods" icon.

Next to the name of the Integration Server created in Part 2, there are two icons: the plus is "Add Package", and the gear is "Manage Integration Servers". Select the plus icon.

Alternatively, right-click the Local IS header and select "Create Package." In either case, you will be presented with a textbox that allows you to name your new package. We will name the new package testPackage.

Press Enter. You should see that a new package named testPackage was added to the list of packages under Local IS.

Step 2. Create the Target Folder for Your Service

To the right of the testPackage package, select the "Create Folder" icon.

Alternatively, right-click the testPackage package and select "Create Folder." In either case, you will be presented with a textbox that allows you to name your new target folder. We will name the new folder testFolder.

Press Enter. You should see that a new folder named testFolder was added to the list of folders under testPackage.

Step 3. Open the addInts.flow File

In your AI IDE or VS Code, open addInts.flow in the editor so it is the active file.

Make sure this file is open and focused before opening the command palette.

Step 4. Run "Deploy Flow to Integration Server"

Open the command palette with ⌘Cmd + Shift + P on Mac / Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows.

Search for and select "webMethods Flow Script: Deploy to Integration Server".

Alternatively, right-click the .flow file in the Explorer section or use the GUI options at the top of the page (with the .flow file selected). In either case, you will see the option to "Deploy to Integration Server" which works as well. This applies for validating and executing services too.

Step 5. Select the Target Package and Folder

The command will allow you to choose where to deploy the service on Integration Server.

For this series, we will use the new package and folder we created in Steps 1 and 2:

• Package name: testPackage
• Folder name: testFolder

Do not deploy to the "Default" package: keeping your work in a dedicated package makes it easier to manage and remove later.

Select the testPackage package and the testFolder folder.

Selecting testPackage and testFolder will provide values to the "Package" and "Namespace" inputs (shown in the top right of the above image). After selecting the destination, confirm the "Element name". The structure of the "Element name" is:

• [Folder in IS]:[Service Name] = testFolder:addInts

Once you have confirmed that the "Element name" is properly formatted, click the "Finish" button to deploy your service.

Step 6. Confirm the Deployment Succeeded

After confirming, Flow Pilot deploys the service to your Integration Server. After refreshing your IS, you should be able to see the new package, folder, and service deployed to your IS. A success banner will appear in your IDE confirming the deployment completed.

If you see an error instead, see the Troubleshooting section below.

Step 7. Verify in Service Designer (or Other Integration IDE)

Switch to webMethods Service Designer 12.1.

1. Refresh your IS connection in Service Designer: right-click the server in the panel and select Refresh, or reconnect if needed.
2. Expand the testPackage package in the Package Navigator.
3. Expand the testFolder folder.
4. Confirm that addInts appears as a Flow Service.
5. Open the service and confirm the it matches the service you deployed (the interface value may differ which we will discuss later).

Seeing the service in Service Designer confirms the deployment reached Integration Server and the service is registered correctly. Additionally, navigate to the webMethods icon in the left-side panel VS Code and click the Refresh option next to the "WEBMETHODS PACKAGE NAVIGATOR" header to refresh the packages. You will then be able to view your deployed service in Package Navigator within your VS Code environment.

Step 8. Execute the Service

The final verification is to run the service and confirm it returns the correct output.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The addInts.flow file may have an interface that does not correspond to the target folder you deployed the service to in your Integration Server. In order to run this service within VS Code, you may need to update the interface header (i.e. interface flows) to match the target folder (i.e. interface testFolder). Additionally, make sure the name of the service matches the name of the service deployed to the Integration Server.  The first screenshot below shows the old interface that does not match the target folder. The second shows a properly matching interface.

Return to your AI IDE or VS Code. Select the addInts.flow file. Open the command palette with ⌘Cmd + Shift + P on Mac / Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows and search for and select Run Service (the option has the tag wm-integration-skills.executeAssets).

You will now input parameters to run the service. Note that the parameters are String values.

Enter the following input values:

Submit the values. Flow Pilot will execute the service on Integration Server and display the result.

Confirm the response shows:

• Status: Success
• sum: 8

A successful response with sum = 8 confirms the service is deployed, connected, and running correctly on your Integration Server.

Troubleshooting

Problem: Deploy to Integration Server does not appear in the command palette

Solution: Confirm the Flow Pilot extension is installed and enabled. Restart your IDE and try again.

Problem: Deployment fails with a connection error

Solution: Confirm Integration Server is running and that the server URL, username, and password configured in Part 2 are correct. Re-run Configure Integration Server if needed.

Problem: Service does not appear in Service Designer after deployment

Solution: Refresh the IS connection in Service Designer. If the test package is not visible, confirm the deployment success banner appeared and try redeploying.

Problem: Run Service returns an error

Solution: Confirm the service deployed successfully and that IS is running. Also, confirm the service name matches the name of the service within IS and the interface of the service matches the target folder name. Delete the created package and folder, re-deploy, and try Run Service again.

Problem: Run Service returns an incorrect sum

Solution: The FSL logic may be malformed. Ask your AI assistant: Validate the FSL in addInts/flow.flow and fix any errors. Then redeploy.

Summary

If Run Service returned sum = 8 for inputs num1 = 5 and num2 = 3, your addInts flow service is deployed, running, and verified on Integration Server. In Part 5, we'll write a unit test suite for this service.

Next: Part 5 - Writing Unit Tests for Your Flow

Previous: Part 3 - Generating Your First Flow Service

Series Home: IBM webMethods Flow Pilot: A Beginner's Guide: Introduction

IBM webMethods Integration Flow Pilot Product Page

IBM webMethods Integration Flow Pilot: A Beginner's Guide - Part 4 of 7