Set Up the ESREST Enterprise Server Instance

Walks you through the process of creating and configuring an enterprise server instance, ESREST, to use in this tutorial.

Restriction: This topic applies only when the Enterprise Server feature is enabled.

To successfully deploy, and run or debug, a REST Web service, you must have an enterprise server instance configured and started in Enterprise Server. For this tutorial, you create the ESREST enterprise server instance, set its listener port, and optionally configure a deployment folder for it to use.

Start the Server Explorer

The Server Explorer expandable ribbon is visible in Visual Studio on the top left side of the IDE by default when using Visual COBOL. However, if it is not visible:

In Visual Studio, click View > Server Explorer.

Attention: You might encounter an Enterprise Server Sign On dialog box as you perform the steps required to create, configure, start, or stop an enterprise server instance from the Server Explorer. If you do, ensure that the Server requires credentials, Use specific server credentials, or Server is secured box is unchecked, and then click OK. Also, if prompted to disable password recovery, click No.

Start Enterprise Server Common Web Administration (ESCWA)

On the Server Explorer, right-click Micro Focus Servers, and then click Administration.
ESCWA starts in your default browser.

Create ESREST

In this section, you create the ESREST enterprise server instance from the ESCWA Administration page.

In ESCWA, click Native.
In the navigation pane, expand Directory Servers, and then click Default.
In the right pane, click New.
In the Name field, type ESREST.
Uncheck MSS Enabled.
Click Save.

Configure ESREST

By default, your new enterprise server instance is already configured for REST Web services; however, you must make some adjustments, which include enabling dynamic debugging, setting an endpoint address for the Web Services and J2EE listener, and if you do not have Administrator privileges to the Visual COBOL installation folder, defining a deployment folder.

Enable Dynamic Debugging

On Region and Server List page, hover over the ESREST entry, and then click the Edit icon that appears to the right of the Security column.
Under Startup Options, check Allow Dynamic Debugging.
Click Apply.

Configure Listeners

In the navigation pane, be sure that ESREST is selected.
On the General drop-down list, select Listeners.
Expand Communications Process 1, and click Web Services and J2EE.
In the Port field, type 9003.
Click Apply.
Click the Web communication process.
Change the value of the Requested Status field to Stopped.
Click Apply.

Important: The default deployment directory used by Enterprise Server is a subdirectory, deploy, within your Visual COBOL installation directory structure. If you have Administrator privileges to this subdirectory, or if you started Visual Studio using Run as Administrator, you are not required to complete the following tasks. Otherwise, you must complete them to create and configure an alternative deployment directory.

Create and configure a deployment directory

Create the deploy directory

Without Administrator privileges, you cannot deploy to Enterprise Server from the default Visual COBOL deployment folder. To ensure successful deployment, create a deploy subdirectory in your project.

In the Solution Explorer, right-click the project, and then select Add > New Folder from the context menu.
Type deploy, and then press Enter.

Import the .mfdeploy file

The new deploy folder must contain the .mfdeploy configuration file. You import the file from the Solution Explorer.

From the Solution Explorer, right-click the deploy folder; then select Add > Existing Item.
Browse to the %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Micro Focus\Visual COBOL\deploy folder.
Set the filter drop-down list to All Files (*.*).
Double-click the .mfdeploy file.

Define the deployment directory in ESCWA

Now you need to configure your enterprise server instance by defining the new deploy project folder as the deployment folder.

In ESCWA ensure that your enterprise server instance is selected in the navigation pane, and the Communications Processes page is open in the right pane.
Under Communications Process 1, select Web.
In the Listener Properties pane, scroll down to the Custom Configuration field.
Within the Custom Configuration field, scroll down until you find the relevant code, then change:
```
uploads=<ES>/deploy
```
to:
```
uploads=c:/tutorials/IMTK/project-name/deploy
```
where project-name is the name of the project.
Click Apply.