How do I migrate process apps from traditional BAW to Cloud Pak for Business Automation?

Question

What is the supported way to move our process applications and toolkits from an on-premises BAW 20.0.0.x Process Center to Workflow Center on CP4BA 24.0? Do we export / import, or is there a migration tool? What about running instances?

Answer 1

Two supported paths, depending on whether you need the running instances:

A. Fresh deployment, move the repository (most projects):

1. Upgrade the traditional environment to a release the containers support importing from (the CP4BA release notes list the minimum; exporting from 20.0.0.2 into 24.0.x works for process apps).
2. Export every toolkit and process app snapshot as .twx (Process Center or BPMExport); import toolkits first, then apps, into Workflow Center: Business Automation Studio > Business automations > Import, or the REST call below.
3. Fix validation errors: heritage human services / coaches must be converted, Java integrations recompiled against Liberty-compatible libraries, server definitions recreated (REST / web service / ECM servers with the new hosts and credentials in Studio > the app's Servers), environment variables and EPVs re-entered per environment.
4. Install snapshots on the Workflow Server(s) (Workflow Center > Servers > install, or the Operations REST install API), re-create teams' LDAP mappings, test.
5. Run both platforms in parallel: new instances start on CP4BA, old instances finish on the traditional servers (drain), then decommission.

B. Database migration (keep in-flight instances): IBM documents a migration of an existing traditional BAW Workflow Server / Process Center to containers that reuses the databases - the traditional installation is brought to the same release as the target containers, the databases are pointed at by the CR, and the operator's migration tasks upgrade the schema and register the containerised server as the successor. It is a big-bang cutover with a rollback that is the old cell; read the "migrating from traditional to containers" chapter for your target version before choosing it.

# import a package into Workflow Center with the Operations REST API (CP4BA)
curl -sk -X POST "https://<workflow-center-route>/ops/std/bpm/containers/install" \
  -H "Authorization: ZenApiKey $(echo -n 'user:apikey' | base64)" -H "BPMCSRFToken: $TOKEN" \
  -F "file=@Claims-2.3.twx" -F "installOnly=false"

# or the classic import into the repository (Workflow Center)
POST https://<workflow-center-route>/rest/bpm/wle/v1/processApps?action=import   (multipart, file=...)

Checklist that saves weeks: an inventory of heritage artifacts (validation report), a list of every Java class used by integrations, all file-system paths in scripts (question on reading files applies - no shared folders unless a volume is mounted), custom Process Portal changes (Workplace replaces them), and the external systems' firewall rules for the new egress IPs.

References

• CP4BA documentation - migrating from traditional Business Automation Workflow
• Installing workflow projects to a server by calling REST APIs
• BAW - migrating and upgrading