Using XA-compliant Resources (XARs)

XA-compliant Resources (XARs)

For Enterprise Server to work properly with an RM, an XAR must be defined. An XAR definition must include:

• An xa_open string
• An RM switch module
• An XAR ID

xa_open string

A string that includes standard RM fields and values, and optionally, additional Enterprise Server-specific fields and values.

RM switch module

A Micro Focus RM switch module is COBOL code that obtains the address of the XA switch data structure (xa_switch_t) provided by the RM, typically a database vendor. In addition, Micro Focus RM switch modules contain code that facilitates ease of use in Enterprise Server environments. RM switch modules are differentiated by their type, which is determined by the database vendor or other RM type. For example, you use an Oracle RM switch module type with Oracle databases, a WebSphere MQ switch module type for MQ resources, and so on.

With the exception of WebSphere MQ, Enterprise Developer provides the COBOL source code you need to build the appropriate switch modules. Once built, you deploy an RM switch module to Enterprise Server, and then include it in an XAR definition.

XAR ID

The XAR ID uniquely identifies your XAR, and is used to:

• Identify the XAR to use in batch jobs, namely:
  • The SYSTEM parameter for IDAEFT01
  • The CONNECT function's subsystem parameter for DSNALI
  • The IDENTIFY function's subsystem parameter for DSNRLI
• Provide a value for the XAID compiler directive option when compiling source code, if required.

For further details, see JCL Support and the XAID compiler directive option for COBSQL, OpenESQL or DB2 ECM.

XARs in Enterprise Server

In Enterprise Server, you can define XARs, and edit and delete XAR definitions. You can also control which XARs are loaded when a specific enterprise server region starts.