What's new

Docker support

You can now use a Docker container to install and deploy Sterling B2B Integrator. You can also use the Docker container to upgrade to Sterling B2B Integrator.

Docker is a tool that is designed to make it easier to create, deploy, and run applications by using containers. A container image is a lightweight, stand-alone, executable package of a piece of software that includes everything that is needed to run it: code, runtime, system tools, system libraries, settings.

For more information about Docker and its commands, see Roadmap for installing Sterling B2B Integrator by using Docker.

Sterling B2B Integrator supports Docker in the following platforms:

You can deploy the Sterling B2B Integrator docker image using a single-node or a multi-node cluster.

The number of nodes that you can add depends on your licensing agreement. You can add infinite number of Sterling B2B Integrator containers (ASI, Adapter Containers, and APIs) to the Sterling B2B Integrator cluster dynamically.

With v6.0, though you have the capability to install Sterling B2B Integrator using docker, there are some limitations also which will be addressed in the upcoming releases. For more information, see Docker Limitations in Known issues.

Customizations using UI and REST API

You can now add, edit, or delete the customizations like custom properties, custom jars, custom services, and user exits using the Sterling B2B Integrator UI or B2B REST APIs. Earlier, these customizations were added manually and stored in a file system. The customizations are now stored in a database, which ensures maintainability across releases.

When you upload the customizations through the UI, it is deployed on all the nodes and when you upload using the REST APIs, you have the option to deploy on specific nodes or on all the nodes.

For the changes to take effect, you must restart the Sterling B2B Integrator application.

For more information, see Customizations.

Dynamic scaling of nodes

You can now add a new node to the cluster dynamically. After the node is installed, it is joined automatically to the existing cluster. The existing nodes know the information about the newly added node and become part of the new node without restarting the existing nodes.

IBM MQ for adapter container communications with ASI

From v6.0 onwards, ActiveMQ is no longer bundled with Sterling B2B Integrator. You must install and use IBM MQ 9.0.0.4 (formerly IBM WebSphere MQ) as the messaging queue.

If your current setup has adapter containers, you must install IBM MQ before you upgrade. The adapter containers will not work without completing the step. For more information, see Messaging Queue - IBM MQ.

Due to the removal of Active MQ, the following features are no longer available in Sterling B2B Integrator:

• Scheduled Business processes:
  • RetentionProcessor
  • MESAVisToolkit_RetentionProcessor
• Event listener FIFO adapter configured with internal Active MQ
• Services configured with internal Active MQ:
  • Sterling Community Manager Agreement Conversion Status Service
  • Sterling Community Manager Integration Adapter

If you are using the bundled ActiveMQ for any messaging purpose, you must migrate to IBM MQ or configure external ActiveMQ.

External ActiveMQ is still supported for JMS adapter. If you are already using External ActiveMQ for JMS adapter, you can continue to use it.

Adapter containers decoupled from ASI node

Adapter containers can now be started and included in a Sterling B2B Integrator cluster environment independent of the ASI nodes. We can also scale the number of AC nodes based on the application requirement independent of ASI nodes. The messaging between AC and ASI nodes is channeled through an external MQ which should be configured for all AC and ASI nodes in the clustered environment.

New business process service for AWS S3 integration

A new business process service that allows you to integrate with the Amazon Web Service Simple Storage Service (AWS S3) is introduced. AWS S3 Client Service from Sterling B2B Integrator creates seamless connectivity to the cloud storage environment hosted by Amazon. It is a scalable, reliable, and portable storage solution. Using this service, you can easily get, put and delete files and perform many more operations.

For more information, see Amazon Web Service Simple Storage Service

LDAP adapter configuration to use SSL

The LDAP adapter can now be configured to use SSL/TLS with Sterling B2B Integrator. You must generate the certificate and the keystore to connect to the LDAP Server over SSL. For more information, see Configuring LDAP Adapter to use SSL/TLS with Sterling B2B Integrator.

Changes in bundling of Standards jars and Swift package

From v6.0 onwards, you must download the Standards Map Editor and other executable files and the Swift package from Fix Central. For more information, see Downloading Standards jar and Swift package.

Modified dashboard UI

The Sterling B2B Integrator dashboard UI is now modified to display a new menu option for the Customization module. The link for the customization module is available in the left pane under the sub menu Customization. To access the customization module, you must have APIUser permission.

The URIs are different than the previous releases.

Watson Assistant Help integration with Sterling B2B Integrator

Watson Assistant, a handy cognitive help assistant, is embedded in the Sterling B2B Integrator Admin Console UI. Watson Assistant reduces unnecessary navigation and helps to improve the information experience by answering questions related to the product usage from within the UI itself. It understands natural language and presents the most relevant results to your query immediately. Click ‘Watson Assistant Help’ in the user interface to start chatting with Watson.

B2B REST APIs

The following table lists the B2B REST APIs that are added or updated for this release. For more information, see B2B REST APIs available in Sterling B2B Integrator for information about installing and using the APIs.

Changes that are not backward compatible

Supported stack

For more information, see Software Product Compatibility Report.