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.
- Prepare an existing Spring Boot REST API for onboarding
- Add Zowe API enablers to your service
- Add API ML onboarding configuration
- Externalize API ML configuration parameters
- Test your service
- Review the configuration examples of the discoverable client
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Prepare an existing Spring Boot REST API for onboardingThe 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:
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.
Update your service configuration file to include Zowe API Mediation Layer specific settings.
Externalize the API ML site-specific configuration settings.
Test your changes.
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Add Zowe API enablers to your serviceIn 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:
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 therepositories
block.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 thegradle.properties
, you do not need to hardcode the username, password, and read-only repo URL in yourgradle.build
file.Example:
In a Maven build system, follow these steps:
a) Add the following code to the
pom.xml
file: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.c) Copy the
settings.xml
file inside the${user.home}/.m2/
directory.
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:
- If you use Spring Boot release 1.5.x in a Maven build system, add the following code to the
pom.xml
file:
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 thedependencies
block:If you use the Spring Boot release 2.0.x in a Maven build system, add the following code to the
pom.xml
file:
- 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
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:
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.
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Add API ML onboarding configurationAs 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:
Add the following #MFAAS configuration section in your
application.yml
:Important: Add this configuration also to the
application.yml
used for testing. Failure to add this configuration to theapplication.yml
will cause your tests to fail.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 theapplication.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,
andport
), 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:If the customer system administrator sets the service ID to vantageprod1, the API URL in the API Gateway appears as the following URL:
mfaas.discovery.locations
Specifies the public URL of the Discovery Service. The system administrator at the customer site defines this parameter.
Example:
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 tofalse
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
orhttp
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:
- If your API service does not use an extra prefix in the URL (for example,
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:
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.
eureka.instance.metadata-map.apiml.apiInfo.apiId
Specifies the API identifier that is registered in the API Mediation Layer installation. The API ID uniquely identifies the API in the API Mediation Layer. The same API can be provided by multiple services. The API ID can be used to locate the same APIs that are provided by different services. The creator of the API defines this ID. The API ID needs to be a string of up to 64 characters that uses lowercase alphanumeric characters and a dot:
.
. We recommend that you use your organization as the prefix.eureka.instance.metadata-map.apiml.apiInfo.gatewayUrl
The base path at the API gateway where the API is available. Ensure that it is the same path as the gatewayUrl value in the routes sections.
eureka.instance.metadata-map.apiml.apiInfo.documentationUrl
(Optional) Link to external documentation, if needed. The link to the external documentation can be included along with the Swagger documentation.
eureka.instance.metadata-map.apiml.apiInfo.swaggerUrl
(Optional) Specifies the HTTP or HTTPS address where the Swagger JSON document is available.
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:
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
andapiPattern
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
andapiPattern
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). IfbasePackage
orapiPattern
are not defined, all endpoints in the Spring Boot app are exposed.
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Setup keystore with the service certificateTo register with the API Mediation Layer, a service is required to have a certificate that is trusted by API Mediation Layer.
Follow these steps:
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:
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.Update the configuration of your service
application.yml
to contain the HTTPS configuration by adding the following code:
Note: You need to define both keystore and truststore even if your server is not using HTTPS port.
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Externalize API ML configuration parametersThe 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}:
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:
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Test your serviceTo test that your API instance is working and is discoverable, use the following validation tests:
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Validate that your API instance is still workingFollow these steps:
- Disable discovery by setting
discoveryEnabled=false
in your API service instance configuration. - Run your tests to check that they are working as before.
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Validate that your API instance is discoverableFollow these steps:
Point your configuration of API instance to use the following Discovery Service:
Start up the API service instance.
Check that your API service instance and each of its endpoints are displayed in the API Catalog
Check that you can access your API service endpoints through the Gateway.
Example:
Check that you can still access your API service endpoints directly outside of the Gateway.
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Review the configuration examples of the discoverable clientRefer to the Discoverable Client API Sample Service in the API ML git repository.