Java REST APIs with Spring Boot

Zowe API Mediation Layer (API ML) provides a single point of access for mainframe service REST APIs. For a high-level overview of this component, see API Mediation Layer.

Note: Spring is a Java-based framework that lets you build web and enterprise applications. For more information, see the Spring website.

As an API developer, use this guide to onboard your REST API service into the Zowe API Mediation Layer. This article outlines a step-by-step process to make your API service available in the API Mediation Layer.

1. Prepare an existing Spring Boot REST API for onboarding
2. Add Zowe API enablers to your service
3. Add API ML onboarding configuration
4. Externalize API ML configuration parameters
5. Test your service
6. Review the configuration examples of the discoverable client

Prepare an existing Spring Boot REST API for onboarding

The Spring Boot API onboarding process follows these general steps. Further detail about how to perform these steps is described later in this article.

Follow these steps:

1. Add enabler annotations to your service code and update the build scripts:

   • @EnableApiDiscovery

     This annotation exposes your Swagger (OpenAPI) documentation in the Zowe ecosystem to enable/make your micro service discoverable in the Zowe ecosystem.

     Note: The @EnableApiDiscovery annotation uses the Spring Fox library. If your service uses this library already, some fine tuning may be necessary.

   • @ComponentScan({"com.ca.mfaas.enable", "com.ca.mfaas.product"})

     This annotation makes an API documentation endpoint visible within the Spring context.

2. Update your service configuration file to include Zowe API Mediation Layer specific settings.

3. Externalize the API ML site-specific configuration settings.

4. Test your changes.

Add Zowe API enablers to your service

In order to onboard a REST API with the Zowe ecosystem, you add the Zowe Artifactory repository definition to the list of repositories, then add the Spring enabler to the list of your dependencies, and finally add enabler annotations to your service code. Enablers prepare your service for discovery and swagger documentation retrieval.

Follow these steps:

1. Add the Zowe Artifactory repository definition to the list of repositories in Gradle or Maven build systems. Use the code block that corresponds to your build system.

   • In a Gradle build system, add the following code to the build.gradle file into the repositories block.

     maven {

     url 'https://zowe.jfrog.io/zowe/libs-release'

     }

     Note: You can define the gradle.properties file where you can set your username, password, and the read-only repo URL for access to the Zowe Artifactory. By defining the gradle.properties, you do not need to hardcode the username, password, and read-only repo URL in your gradle.build file.

     Example:

     # Artifactory repositories for builds

     artifactoryMavenRepo=https://zowe.jfrog.io/zowe/libs-release

   • In a Maven build system, follow these steps:

     a) Add the following code to the pom.xml file:

     <repository>

     <id>Zowe</id>

     <url>https://zowe.jfrog.io/zowe/libs-release</url>

     </repository>

     b) Create a settings.xml file and copy the following XML code block which defines the login credentials for the Zowe Artifactory. Use valid credentials.

     <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

     <settings xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/SETTINGS/1.0.0"

     xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"

     xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/SETTINGS/1.0.0

     https://maven.apache.org/xsd/settings-1.0.0.xsd">

     <servers>

     <server>

     <id>Zowe</id>

     </server>

     </servers>

     </settings>

     c) Copy the settings.xml file inside the ${user.home}/.m2/ directory.

2. Add a JAR package to the list of dependencies in Gradle or Maven build systems. Zowe API Mediation Layer supports Spring Boot versions 1.5.9 and 2.0.4.

   • If you use Spring Boot release 1.5.x in a Gradle build system, add the following code to the build.gradle file into the dependencies block:
   compile group: 'com.ca.mfaas.sdk', name: 'mfaas-integration-enabler-spring-v1-springboot-1.5.9.RELEASE', version: '0.3.0-SNAPSHOT'
   • If you use Spring Boot release 1.5.x in a Maven build system, add the following code to the pom.xml file:
   <dependency>

   <groupId>com.ca.mfaas.sdk</groupId>

   <artifactId>mfaas-integration-enabler-spring-v1-springboot-1.5.9.RELEASE</artifactId>

   <version>0.3.0-SNAPSHOT</version>

   </dependency>

   • If you use the Spring Boot release 2.0.x in a Gradle build system, add the following code to the build.gradle file into the dependencies block:

     compile group: 'com.ca.mfaas.sdk', name: 'mfaas-integration-enabler-spring-v2-springboot-2.0.4.RELEASE', version: '0.3.0-SNAPSHOT'

   • If you use the Spring Boot release 2.0.x in a Maven build system, add the following code to the pom.xml file:

     <dependency>

     <groupId>com.ca.mfaas.sdk</groupId>

     <artifactId>mfaas-integration-enabler-spring-v2-springboot-2.0.4.RELEASE</artifactId>

     <version>0.3.0-SNAPSHOT</version>

     </dependency>

3. Add the following annotations to the main class of your Spring Boot, or add these annotations to an extra Spring configuration class:

   • @ComponentScan({"com.ca.mfaas.enable", "com.ca.mfaas.product"})

   • @EnableApiDiscovery

     Example:

     package com.ca.mfaas.DiscoverableClientSampleApplication;

     ..

     import com.ca.mfaas.enable.EnableApiDiscovery;

     import org.springframework.context.annotation.ComponentScan;

     ..

     @EnableApiDiscovery

     @ComponentScan({"com.ca.mfaas.enable", "com.ca.mfaas.product"})

     ...

     public class DiscoverableClientSampleApplication {...

     You are now ready to build your service to include the code pieces that make it discoverable in the API Mediation Layer and to add Swagger documentation.

Add API ML onboarding configuration

As an API service developer, you set multiple configuration settings in your application.yml that correspond to the API ML. These settings enable an API to be discoverable and included in the API catalog. Some of the settings in the application.yml are internal and are set by the API service developer. Some settings are externalized and set by the customer system administrator. Those external settings are service parameters and are in the format: ${environment.*}.

Important! Spring Boot configuration can be externalized in multiple ways. For more information see: Externalized configuration. This Zowe onboarding documentation applies to API services that use an application.yml file for configuration. If your service uses a different configuration option, transform the provided configuration sample to the format that your API service uses.

Tip: For information about how to set your configuration when running a Spring Boot application under an external servlet container (TomCat), see the following short stackoverflow article: External configuration for spring-boot application.

Follow these steps:

1. Add the following #MFAAS configuration section in your application.yml:

   ##############################################################################################

   # MFAAS configuration section

   ##############################################################################################

   mfaas:

   discovery:

   serviceId: ${environment.serviceId}

   locations: ${environment.discoveryLocations}

   enabled: ${environment.discoveryEnabled:true}

   endpoints:

   statusPage: ${mfaas.server.scheme}://${mfaas.service.hostname}:${mfaas.server.port}${mfaas.server.contextPath}/application/info

   healthPage: ${mfaas.server.scheme}://${mfaas.service.hostname}:${mfaas.server.port}${mfaas.server.contextPath}/application/health

   homePage: ${mfaas.server.scheme}://${mfaas.service.hostname}:${mfaas.server.port}${mfaas.server.contextPath}/

   info:

   serviceTitle: ${environment.serviceTitle}

   description: ${environment.serviceDescription}

   # swaggerLocation: resource_location_of_your_static_swagger_doc.json

   fetchRegistry: false

   region: default

   service:

   hostname: ${environment.hostname}

   ipAddress: ${environment.ipAddress}

   catalog-ui-tile:

   id: yourProductFamilyId

   title: Your API service product family title in the API catalog dashboard tile

   description: Your API service product family description in the API catalog dashboard tile

   version: 1.0.0

   server:

   scheme: http

   port: ${environment.port}

   contextPath: /yourServiceUrlPrefix

   eureka:

   instance:

   appname: ${mfaas.discovery.serviceId}

   hostname: ${mfaas.service.hostname}

   statusPageUrlPath: ${mfaas.discovery.endpoints.statusPage}

   healthCheckUrl: ${mfaas.discovery.endpoints.healthPage}

   homePageUrl: ${mfaas.discovery.endpoints.homePage}

   metadata-map:

   routed-services:

   api_v1:

   gateway-url: "api/v1"

   service-url: ${mfaas.server.contextPath}

   api-doc:

   gateway-url: "api/v1/api-doc"

   service-url: ${mfaas.server.contextPath}/api-doc

   mfaas:

   api-info:

   apiVersionProperties:

   v1:

   title: Your API title for swagger JSON which is displayed in API Catalog / service / API Information

   description: Your API description for swagger JSON

   version: 1.0.0

   basePackage: your.service.base.package.for.swagger.annotated.controllers

   # apiPattern: /v1/.* # alternative to basePackage for exposing endpoints which match the regex pattern to swagger JSON

   discovery:

   catalogUiTile:

   id: ${mfaas.catalog-ui-tile.id}

   title: ${mfaas.catalog-ui-tile.title}

   description: ${mfaas.catalog-ui-tile.description}

   version: ${mfaas.catalog-ui-tile.version}

   enableApiDoc: ${mfaas.discovery.info.enableApiDoc:true}

   service:

   title: ${mfaas.discovery.info.serviceTitle}

   description: ${mfaas.discovery.info.description}

   client:

   enabled: ${mfaas.discovery.enabled}

   healthcheck:

   enabled: true

   serviceUrl:

   defaultZone: ${mfaas.discovery.locations}

   fetchRegistry: ${mfaas.discovery.fetchRegistry}

   region: ${mfaas.discovery.region}

   ##############################################################################################

   # Application configuration section

   ##############################################################################################

   server:

   # address: ${mfaas.service.ipAddress}

   port: ${mfaas.server.port}

   servlet:

   contextPath: ${mfaas.server.contextPath}

   spring:

   application:

   name: ${mfaas.discovery.serviceId}

   Important: Add this configuration also to the application.yml used for testing. Failure to add this configuration to the application.yml will cause your tests to fail.

2. Change the MFaaS parameters to correspond with your API service specifications. Most of these internal parameters contain "your service" text.

   Note: ${mfaas.*} variables are used throughout the application.yml sample to reduce the number of required changes.

   Tip: When existing parameters set by the system administrator are already present in your configuration file (for example, hostname, address, contextPath, and port), we recommend that you replace them with the corresponding MFaaS properties.

   a. Discovery Parameters

   • mfaas.discovery.serviceId

     Specifies the service instance identifier to register in the API ML installation. The service ID is used in the URL for routing to the API service through the gateway. The service ID uniquely identifies instances of a microservice in the API ML. The system administrator at the customer site defines this parameter.

     Important! Ensure that the service ID is set properly with the following considerations:

     • When two API services use the same service ID, the API Gateway considers the services to be clones. An incoming API request can be routed to either of them.

     • The same service ID should be set for only multiple API service instances for API scalability.

     • The service ID value must contain only lowercase alphanumeric characters.

     • The service ID cannot contain more than 40 characters.

     • The service ID is linked to security resources. Changes to the service ID require an update of security resources.

     • The service ID must match the spring.application.name parameter.

       Examples:

     • If the customer system administrator sets the service ID to sysviewlpr1, the API URL in the API Gateway appears as the following URL:

       https://gateway:port/api/v1/sysviewlpr1/endpoint1/...

     • If the customer system administrator sets the service ID to vantageprod1, the API URL in the API Gateway appears as the following URL:

       http://gateway:port/api/v1/vantageprod1/endpoint1/...

   • mfaas.discovery.locations

     Specifies the public URL of the Discovery Service. The system administrator at the customer site defines this parameter.

     Example:

     http://eureka:password@141.202.65.33:10311/eureka/

   • mfaas.discovery.enabled

     Specifies whether the API service instance is to be discovered in the API ML. The system administrator at the customer site defines this parameter. Set this parameter to true if the API ML is installed and configured. Otherwise, you can set this parameter to false to exclude an API service instances from the API ML.

   • mfaas.discovery.fetchRegistry

     Specifies whether the API service is to receive regular update notifications from the discovery service. Under most circumstances, you can accept the default value of false for the parameter.

   • mfaas.discovery.region

     Specifies the geographical region. This parameter is required by the Discovery client. Under most circumstances you can accept the value default for the parameter.

   b. Service and Server Parameters

   • mfaas.service.hostname

     Specifies the hostname of the system where the API service instance runs. This parameter is externalized and is set by the customer system administrator. The administrator ensures the hostname can be resolved by DSN to the IP address that is accessible by applications running on their z/OS systems.

   • mfaas.service.ipAddress

     Specifies the local IP address of the system where the API service instance runs. This IP address may or may not be a public IP address. This parameter is externalized and set by the customer system administrator.

   • mfaas.server.scheme

     Specifies whether the API service is using the HTTPS protocol. This value can be set to https or http depending on whether your service is using SSL.

   • mfaas.server.port

     Specifies the port that is used by the API service instance. This parameter is externalized and set by the customer system administrator.

   • mfaas.server.contextPath

     Specifies the prefix that is used within your API service URL path.

     Examples:

     • If your API service does not use an extra prefix in the URL (for example, http://host:port/endpoint1/), set this value to /.
     • If your API service uses an extra URL prefix set the parameter to that prefix value. For the URL: http://host:port/filemaster/endpoint1/, set this parameter to /filemaster.
     • In both examples, the API service URL appears as the following URL when routed through the Gateway:
       http://gateway:port/serviceId/endpoint1/

   c. API Catalog Parameters

   These parameters are used to populate the API Catalog. The API Catalog contains information about every registered API service. The Catalog also groups related APIs. Each API group has its own name and description. Catalog groups are constructed in real-time based on information that is provided by the API services. Each group is displayed as a tile in the API Catalog UI dashboard.

   • mfaas.catalog-ui-tile.id

     Specifies the unique identifier for the API services product family. This is the grouping value used by the API ML to group multiple API services together into "tiles". Each unique identifier represents a single API Catalog UI dashboard tile. Specify a value that does not interfere with API services from other products.

   • mfaas.catalog-ui-tile.title

     Specifies the title of the API services product family. This value is displayed in the API Catalog UI dashboard as the tile title

   • mfaas.catalog-ui-tile.description

     Specifies the detailed description of the API services product family. This value is displayed in the API Catalog UI dashboard as the tile description

   • mfaas.catalog-ui-tile.version

     Specifies the semantic version of this API Catalog tile. Increase the version when you introduce new changes to the API services product family details (title and description).

   • mfaas.discovery.info.serviceTitle

     Specifies the human readable name of the API service instance (for example, "Endevor Prod" or "Sysview LPAR1"). This value is displayed in the API Catalog when a specific API service instance is selected. This parameter is externalized and set by the customer system administrator.

     

     Tip: We recommend that you provide a good default value or give good naming examples to the customers.

   • mfaas.discovery.info.description

     Specifies a short description of the API service.

     Example: "CA Endevor SCM - Production Instance" or "CA SYSVIEW running on LPAR1". This value is displayed in the API Catalog when a specific API service instance is selected. This parameter is externalized and set by the customer system administrator.

     Tip: We recommend that you provide a good default value or give good naming examples to the customers. Describe the service so that the end user knows the function of the service.

   • mfaas.discovery.info.swaggerLocation

     Specifies the location of a static swagger document. The JSON document contained in this file is displayed instead of the automatically generated API documentation. The JSON file must contain a valid OpenAPI 2.x Specification document. This value is optional and commented out by default.

     Note: Specifying a swaggerLocation value disables the automated JSON API documentation generation with the SpringFox library. By disabling auto-generation, you need to keep the contents of the manual swagger definition consistent with your endpoints. We recommend to use auto-generation to prevent incorrect endpoint definitions in the static swagger documentation.

   d. Metadata Parameters

   The routing rules can be modified with parameters in the metadata configuration code block.

   Note: If your REST API does not conform to Zowe API Mediation layer REST API Building codes, configure routing to transform your actual endpoints (serviceUrl) to gatewayUrl format. For more information see: REST API Building Codes

   • eureka.instance.metadata-map.routed-services.<prefix>

     Specifies a name for routing rules group. This parameter is only for logical grouping of further parameters. You can specify an arbitrary value but it is a good development practice to mention the group purpose in the name.

     Examples:

     api-doc

     api_v1

     api_v2

   • eureka.instance.metadata-map.routed-services.<prefix>.gatewayUrl

     Both gateway-url and service-url parameters specify how the API service endpoints are mapped to the API gateway endpoints. The gateway-url parameter sets the target endpoint on the gateway.

   • metadata-map.routed-services.<prefix>.serviceUrl

     Both gateway-url and service-url parameters specify how the API service endpoints are mapped to the API gateway endpoints. The service-url parameter points to the target endpoint on the gateway.

     Important! Ensure that each of the values for gatewayUrl parameter are unique in the configuration. Duplicate gatewayUrl values may cause requests to be routed to the wrong service URL.

     Note: The endpoint /api-doc returns the API service Swagger JSON. This endpoint is introduced by the @EnableMfaasInfo annotation and is utilized by the API Catalog.

   e. Swagger Api-Doc Parameters

   Configures API Version Header Information, specifically the InfoObject section, and adjusts Swagger documentation that your API service returns. Use the following format:

   api-info:

   apiVersionProperties:

   v1:

   title: Your API title for swagger JSON which is displayed in API Catalog / service / API Information

   description: Your API description for swagger JSON

   version: 1.0.0

   basePackage: your.service.base.package.for.swagger.annotated.controllers

   # apiPattern: /v1/.* # alternative to basePackage for exposing endpoints which match the regex pattern to swagger JSON

   The following parameters describe the function of the specific version of an API. This information is included in the swagger JSON and displayed in the API Catalog:

   

• v1

  Specifies the major version of your service API: v1, v2, etc.

• title

  Specifies the title of your service API.

• description

  Specifies the high-level function description of your service API.

• version

  Specifies the actual version of the API in semantic format.

• basePackage

  Specifies the package where the API is located. This option only exposes endpoints that are defined in a specified java package. The parameters basePackage and apiPattern are mutually exclusive. Specify only one of them and remove or comment out the second one.

• apiPattern

  This option exposes any endpoints that match a specified regular expression. The parameters basePackage and apiPattern are mutually exclusive. Specify just one of them and remove or comment out the second one.

  Tip: You have three options to make your endpoints discoverable and exposed: basePackage, apiPattern, or none (if you do not specify a parameter). If basePackage or apiPattern are not defined, all endpoints in the Spring Boot app are exposed.

Setup keystore with the service certificate

To register with the API Mediation Layer, a service is required to have a certificate that is trusted by API Mediation Layer.

Follow these steps:

1. Follow instructions at Generating certificate for a new service on localhost

   When a service is running on localhost, the command can have the following format:

   <api-layer-repository>/scripts/apiml_cm.sh --action new-service --service-alias localhost --service-ext SAN=dns:localhost.localdomain,dns:localhost --service-keystore keystore/localhost.keystore.p12 --service-truststore keystore/localhost.truststore.p12 --service-dname "CN=Sample REST API Service, OU=Mainframe, O=Zowe, L=Prague, S=Prague, C=Czechia" --service-password password --service-validity 365 --local-ca-filename <api-layer-repository>/keystore/local_ca/localca

   Alternatively, for the purpose of local development, copy or use the <api-layer-repository>/keystore/localhost.truststore.p12 in your service without generating a new certificate.

2. Update the configuration of your service application.yml to contain the HTTPS configuration by adding the following code:

   server:

   ssl:

   protocol: TLSv1.2

   ciphers: TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA,TLS_DHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA,TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256,TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384,TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256,TLS_ECDH_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384,TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256,TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384,TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256,TLS_ECDH_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA384,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256,TLS_ECDHE_ECDSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384,TLS_EMPTY_RENEGOTIATION_INFO_SCSV

   keyAlias: localhost

   keyPassword: password

   keyStore: keystore/localhost.keystore.p12

   keyStoreType: PKCS12

   keyStorePassword: password

   trustStore: keystore/localhost.truststore.p12

   trustStoreType: PKCS12

   trustStorePassword: password

Note: You need to define both keystore and truststore even if your server is not using HTTPS port.

Externalize API ML configuration parameters

The following list summarizes the API ML parameters that are set by the customer system administrator:

• mfaas.discovery.enabled: ${environment.discoveryEnabled:true}
• mfaas.discovery.locations: ${environment.discoveryLocations}
• mfaas.discovery.serviceID: ${environment.serviceId}
• mfaas.discovery.info.serviceTitle: ${environment.serviceTitle}
• mfaas.discovery.info.description: ${environment.serviceDescription}
• mfaas.service.hostname: ${environment.hostname}
• mfaas.service.ipAddress: ${environment.ipAddress}
• mfaas.server.port: ${environment.port}

Tip: Spring Boot applications are configured in the application.yml and bootstrap.yml files that are located in the USS file system. However, system administrators prefer to provide configuration through the mainframe sequential data set (or PDS member). To override Java values, use Spring Boot with an external YML file, environment variables, and Java System properties. For Zowe API Mediation Layer applications, we recommend that you use Java System properties.

Java System properties are defined using -D options for Java. Java System properties can override any configuration. Those properties that are likely to change are defined as ${environment.variableName}:

IJO="$IJO -Denvironment.discoveryEnabled=.."

IJO="$IJO -Denvironment.discoveryLocations=.."

IJO="$IJO -Denvironment.serviceId=.."

IJO="$IJO -Denvironment.serviceTitle=.."

IJO="$IJO -Denvironment.serviceDescription=.."

IJO="$IJO -Denvironment.hostname=.."

IJO="$IJO -Denvironment.ipAddress=.."

IJO="$IJO -Denvironment.port=.."

The discoveryLocations (public URL of the discovery service) value is found in the API Meditation Layer configuration, in the *.PARMLIB(MASxPRM) member and assigned to the MFS_EUREKA variable.

Example:

MFS_EUREKA="http://eureka:password@141.202.65.33:10011/eureka/")

Test your service

To test that your API instance is working and is discoverable, use the following validation tests:

Validate that your API instance is still working

Follow these steps:

1. Disable discovery by setting discoveryEnabled=false in your API service instance configuration.
2. Run your tests to check that they are working as before.

Validate that your API instance is discoverable

Follow these steps:

1. Point your configuration of API instance to use the following Discovery Service:

   http://eureka:password@localhost:10011/eureka

2. Start up the API service instance.

3. Check that your API service instance and each of its endpoints are displayed in the API Catalog

   https://localhost:10010/ui/v1/caapicatalog/

4. Check that you can access your API service endpoints through the Gateway.

   Example:

   https://localhost:10010/api/v1/

5. Check that you can still access your API service endpoints directly outside of the Gateway.

Review the configuration examples of the discoverable client

Refer to the Discoverable Client API Sample Service in the API ML git repository.