Maximo inbound Web Services tutorial

Web Services are the most flexible and powerful technology to integrate Maximo with other systems.

In this article I will describe the steps required to configure an inbound Web Service to create or update assets.

Setup test tool (SoapUI)

To test the Web Service you need an application to simulate inbound HTTP calls.
I strongly suggest to use SoapUI. It may seems complex at the beginning but is a very powerful and easy tool in the real world. You can download SoapUI client from here.

Maximo configuration

There are two important properties that need to be set before deploying a Web service in Maximo. Open the System Properties application (GoTo > System Configuration > Platform Configuration > System Properties) and check the following two properties.

mxe.int.globaldir: This property specifies the root folder where all the integration configuration files are located. If this value is null, the folders are created under the current working directory of the application server (for example: C:\IBM\WebSphere\AppServer\profiles\AppSrv01).
mxe.int.webappurl: This specifies the integration Web application URL. It is important to ste the hostname and port you use to connect to the Maximo UI.
mxe.int.containerdeploy: This setting determines where you will deploy the WebService (more details later)

Object Structure (MXD-ASSET)

The first element of the MIF chain is the Object Structure.
Open the Object Structures application (Go To > Integration > Object Structures) and create the following Object Structure:

Object Structure: MXD-ASSET
Description: Assets Object Structure (MaximoDev)
Consumed By: INTEGRATION
Source Object: ASSET

Enterprise Service (MXD-ASSETES)

The second element of the MIF chain is the Enterprise Service. Open the Enterprise Services application (Go To > Integration > Enterprise Services) and create the following entry:

Enterprise Service: MXD-ASSETES
Description: Assets Enterprise Service (MaximoDev)
Operation: Sync
Object Structure: MXD-ASSET
Adapter: MAXIMO

External System (MXD-EXTSYS)

The third step is to define the External System.
Open the External Systems application (Go To > Integration > External Systems) and create the a new entry:

System: MXD-EXTSYS
End Point: not set
Description: Sample External System (MaximoDev)
Enabled: Yes

Add the MXD-ASSETES Enterprise Service in the Enterprise Services tab, and enable it.

Deploy the Web Service

Now the Web Service can be deployed.

Open the Web Services Library application (Integration > Enterprise Services) and select Create WebService > Create Web Service from Enterprise Service.
Select the MXD-EXTSYS_MXD-ASSETES entry and click on the Create button.
Open MXD-EXTSYS_MXD-ASSETES record and select Deploy to Product Web Service Container > Deploy Web Service.
The following message will be displayed: BMXAA1277I - A web service is deployed for the MXD-EXTSYS_MXD-ASSETES service.

Test the Web Service

If the Web Service has been correctly deployed, the WSDL is downloadable from the server at the following address: http://[MAXIMOHOST]/meaweb/wsdl/MXD-EXTSYS_MXD-ASSETES.wsdl
Paste this link in a web browser to verify that it has been published correctly.

Now launch SoapUI application and create a new project specifying the WSDL link in the 'Initial WSDL' field.

Replace the entire content of the sample request with this (setting the correct SITEID).

<soapenv:Envelope
  xmlns:soapenv="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/"
  xmlns:max="http://www.ibm.com/maximo"> 

  <soapenv:Header/>
  <soapenv:Body>
  <max:SyncMXD-ASSET>
    <max:MXASSETSet>
      <max:ASSET>
        <max:SITEID>BEDFORD</max:SITEID>
        <max:ASSETNUM>001</max:ASSETNUM>
        <max:DESCRIPTION>My desc</max:DESCRIPTION>
      </max:ASSET>
    </max:MXASSETSet>
  </max:SyncMXD-ASSET>
  </soapenv:Body>
</soapenv:Envelope>

Now if you click on the small arrow on the upper left side of the request window you should receive a message back from the server. Fix any error until you get a success message and the asset is created on Maximo. This screenshot shows what you should see.

Labels: advanced, integration