Synchronizing Files from Maximo Application Suite 8 to a Shared Drive Without OpenShift Integration

In IBM Maximo 7.6 and earlier versions, it was common to have Maximo drop files directly onto a network shared drive connected to your administrative server. This setup allowed for seamless file handling and sharing across your network. With the advent of Maximo Application Suite (MAS) 8, you can achieve similar functionality if the shared drive is integrated as part of your OpenShift storage class (e.g., NFS, CSI). However, there are scenarios where you might not want the shared drive to be part of OpenShift. In this article, we explore how to implement file synchronization from MAS8 to a shared drive without involving OpenShift storage.

Design and Solution Implementation

In this solution, we provide a script that runs as a part of your Orchestrator server, using a kubeconfig file for authentication. Additionally, ensure that the shared drive is mounted to the Orchestrator server. This setup allows you to copy files from the MAXINST pod to the shared drive without integrating the drive into OpenShift.

Why Not Use PVC Directly?

One might argue for moving files directly from a Persistent Volume Claim (PVC) on NFS storage to the mount. However, files may not always be reflected on the PVC in real-time. Therefore, we manipulate the files directly from the source, in the pod.

Step-By-Step Solution

1. Create a Persistent Volume Claim (PVC)

Create a PVC called Maximo_Files, which will be located at /Maximo_Files in the pod.

2. Create Directories Inside the PVC

Inside the Maximo_Files directory, create three directories:

• maximo_sync
• SyncFiles
• backups

3. File Drop and Sync Process

The MAS8 instance will drop files into the SyncFiles directory. The script provided below will look for CSV or any specified file types (extensions can be customized in the script). If such files are present, the script will move them to the maximo_sync directory inside the pod. It will then run the rsync command to sync the maximo_sync directory in the pod to the mount called maximo_sync on the Orchestrator server.

4. Set Up Kubeconfig and Logs Directory

• Ensure the path points to your kubeconfig file: --kubeconfig=/path-to-the-kubeconfig/auth/kubeconfig.
• Create a logs directory at the path /home/<LinuxUser>/SyncFiles-sync, replacing <LinuxUser> with your Linux username. Logs will be created in the Orchestrator server and deleted after 7 days.

Script to Sync Files

Below is the script for the job, copy_script.sh. You will need to run this script as root because accessing the kubeconfig file requires root permissions.

#!/bin/bash

##################
# Magic script syncs the files #
###############################

INSTANCE="mas-masivt810x-manage"

# Directories Path
ROOT_DIR="/home/LinuxUser/SyncFiles-sync"
LOG_DIR="$ROOT_DIR/logs"
LOG_FILE="$LOG_DIR/$(date +"%Y_%m_%d").log"

# Directory to Sync for Printing
STOREDIR="/maximo_sync/"

# Get the maxinst pod name
POD_NAME=$(/usr/local/bin/oc get -n "$INSTANCE" --kubeconfig=/path-to-the-kubeconfig/auth/kubeconfig -l mas.ibm.com/appType=maxinstudb --no-headers=true pods -o name | awk -F "/" '{print $2}')

# Check for .csv files and log if any exist
TMP_FILES_EXIST=$(/usr/local/bin/oc exec --kubeconfig=/path-to-the-kubeconfig/auth/kubeconfig -n "$INSTANCE" "$POD_NAME" -- /bin/bash -c 'find /Maximo_Files/SyncFiles -type f -name "*.csv"')

if [ -n "$TMP_FILES_EXIST" ]; then
    echo "$(date -u) ***************** Found .csv files in the pod. *********************" >> "$LOG_FILE"
    
    # Move files to label directory
    /usr/local/bin/oc exec --kubeconfig=/path-to-the-kubeconfig/auth/kubeconfig -n "$INSTANCE" "$POD_NAME" -- /bin/bash -c 'for File in $(find /Maximo_Files/SyncFiles  -type f ! -name ".snapshot"); do mv $File /Maximo_Files/maximo_sync/; done'
    echo "$(date -u) ***************** Moved the files to the label dir. *********************" >> "$LOG_FILE"
    
    # Sync files from container to local mount
    /usr/local/bin/oc rsync --kubeconfig=/path-to-the-kubeconfig/auth/kubeconfig -n "$INSTANCE" "$POD_NAME:/Maximo_Files/maximo_sync/" "$STOREDIR"
    echo "$(date -u) ***************** Copied files from container to the Mount. *********************" >> "$LOG_FILE"
    
    # Move files to backups directory
    /usr/local/bin/oc exec --kubeconfig=/path-to-the-kubeconfig/auth/kubeconfig -n "$INSTANCE" "$POD_NAME" -- /bin/bash -c 'for File in $(find /Maximo_Files/label -type f ! -name ".snapshot"); do mv $File /Maximo_Files/backups/; done'

else
    echo "$(date -u) ***************** No .csv files found in the pod. *********************" >> "$LOG_FILE"
    
    # Move files to backups directory
    /usr/local/bin/oc exec --kubeconfig=/path-to-the-kubeconfig/auth/kubeconfig -n "$INSTANCE" "$POD_NAME" -- /bin/bash -c 'for File in $(find /Maximo_Files/SyncFiles -type f ! -name ".snapshot"); do mv $File /Maximo_Files/backups/; done'
fi

sleep 2

if [ -z "$(find $ROOT_DIR/* -mtime +7)" ]; then
    echo "$(date -u) finds no log files older than 7 days in Logs directory" >> "$LOG_FILE"
else
    find "$ROOT_DIR"/* -mtime +7 -delete
    echo "$(date -u) deleted log files older than 7 days from Logs directory" >> "$LOG_FILE"
fi

sleep 2
echo "$(date -u) ***************** Done *********************" >> "$LOG_FILE"

Setting Up a Cron Job

To automate the execution of the script, set up a cron job on your orchestrator. The example below schedules the script to run every minute:

crontab -e

#SyncFiles: Sync files
*/1 * * * * /opt/custom_scripts/items_uploads/copy_scripts.sh

Conclusion

By following the steps outlined in this article, we can effectively synchronize files from MAS8 to a shared drive without requiring integration with OpenShift storage. This method provides flexibility and ensures that your files are managed efficiently, even in scenarios where real-time updates are critical.