Walkthrough: Enterprise Architect Integration

This walkthrough helps you to set up and use the integration capability of Pro Cloud Server to integrate one Enterprise Architect model with another, via the Cloud installation option.

Using integration with Enterprise Architect you can:

• Link Enterprise Architect elements with their counterparts in an external Enterprise Architect model
• Create local elements based on the external elements, and vice-versa
• Synchronize changes between local and the external elements, as and when needed
• Perform a traceability analysis
• Add discussions to elements from the external model

Prerequisites

In order to set up the integration Enterprise Architect, you must first:

• Be using a licensed installation of Pro Cloud Server with the Integration Plug-ins component, as just discussed
• The source and target models should both be accessible via the Pro Cloud Server
• Select the 'Enable Pro Features (OSLC, WebEA and Integration)' option in the Pro Cloud Server configuration for each model/database manager.
• Have network access between the PCS server and the PCS server hosting the external EA model (this is only applicable if the target model is hosted using a different/external PCS)
• Have user credentials to access the target model
• Be using Enterprise Architect Corporate, Unified or Ultimate edition v14 or later

For this walkthrough we will assume that you are defining the Integration Server options using the 'Integration' tab in the Pro Cloud Server Configuration Client rather than by manually manipulating the registry or configuration files or by using the WebConfig interface.

Configure the Enterprise Architect integration to access the target model

Work through these steps:

1. Double-click on the 'Pro Cloud Config' Desktop icon to open the Pro Cloud Config Client window.
   
2. Select the 'Integration' tab and select the 'Enable Integrations' checkbox. In the 'Port' field type the number of the Port the Integration Server will listen on for requests from the Pro Cloud Server. This can be any valid/available port number of your choosing. In most cases the default value 8080 can be used.
   Note, you can use the Windows Resource Monitor (resmon.exe) utility to help identify which "Listening Ports" are already in use by other applications and services. There is a button to open the Resource Monitor on the "Ports" tab of the Pro Cloud Configuration Client.
3. Click on the Add button. The 'Add Data Provider' dialog displays.
   
4. Select the 'Enabled' checkbox.
5. In the 'Name' field, type an appropriate connection name. This integration will link to a specific target model, so it's a good idea to use a name which helps identify that model. For this example we will use a generic name, 'EA Target Model'.
6. In the 'Provider' field, click on the drop-down arrow and select 'Enterprise Architect'; this automatically adds 'EA' to the 'Prefix' field as well.
7. In the 'Integration Plugin' panel, in the 'Port' field, type the number of the Port that the Integration Server will use to communicate with the Enterprise Architect Plug-in. This can be any valid/available port number of your choosing. Typically the default value can be used (this dialog assigns a number above 8080 which is not already assigned to another integration provider).
8. Note, the following four fields correspond to the Protocol, Server, Port and Model Name which you would enter when accessing the target model via the Cloud Connection option in Enterprise Architect.
9. In the 'Protocol' field, click on the drop-down arrow and select 'http' or 'https'.
10. In the 'Server Name/IP' field, type the server name or IP address of the machine running the Pro Cloud Server which is configured to access the target model.
    Often the source and target model are both defined on the current machine's Pro Cloud Server (where you are configuring the integration). In this case you can enter 'localhost' in this field.
11. In the 'Port' field enter the Port number used to access the target model.
12. In the 'Base URL' field enter the target model name, as you would when connecting to it via Enterprise Architect.
13. If the target model has user security enabled, enter some valid credentials in the 'User' and 'Password' fields.
14. Select the 'Create Items', 'Modify Items', and/or 'Post Discussions' checkboxes as necessary. These options allow users to create or modify elements, or post discussions in the target model.
15. If necessary (e.g. you are using HTTPS with a self signed certificate), check the 'Ignore SSL Errors' option.
    
16. You can leave other fields blank or set to their default values. Click on the OK button to complete the configuration. This returns you to the 'Integration' tab of the Pro Cloud Server Configuration Client window.
17. If you want to integrate with multiple different target models you can achieve this be repeating the steps above (starting at step 3), defining a provider for each target model.

Configure which source models can access the Enterprise Architect Integration

On the 'Integration' tab of the Pro Cloud Server Configuration Client window, you will now see:

• On the lower left of the screen, the 'Data Providers' panel listing Enterprise Architect as a Data Provider
• On the lower right of the screen, the ''Enterprise Architect' is bound to:' panel displaying a check list of the Enterprise Architect models from your Pro-enabled Database Manager(s)

You can either click on the checkbox against each Enterprise Architect model you want to bind to Enterprise Architect Integration (giving access to teh target model), or click on the to select all of them at once.

Click on the Exit button.

Restart the PCS Service to apply the changes you have made.

You can now go into one of your Enterprise Architect "source" models and check the integration with the external "target" model.

Test the integration

In Enterprise Architect open one of the "Source" models you have bound to the external "Target" model.

1. Select the ribbon option 'Specialize > Tools > System Integration'.
2. In the toolbar of the External Data window, click on the drop-down arrow to the right of the 'globe' icon.
   
3. Select 'Enterprise Architect' from the list; this adds the provider to the breadcrumb trail in the toolbar.
4. Click on the integration name (e.g. 'EA Target Model') in the breadcrumb trail, then either 'Browse' or ' Search'.
5. If you selected 'Browse', continue using the bread crumb to drill down into the model, displaying elements in the list below.
   
6. If you selected Search, select a search group (e.g. 'Common Searches'), a search definition (e.g. 'Simple'), then enter a Search Term in the prompt. All elements from the external model, which match the search terms, will be listed below.
   

Review the external model data

When you tested the communication between Enterprise Architect and the external model, on the External Data window, you either browsed, or search for a list of elements.

If this list is too long, you can click on the 'Hamburger' icon in the window toolbar and select options such as:

• 'Linked Items' to show only those elements in the external model, which are linked to elements in the current model.
• 'Items Linked to Current Context' to show only the elements from the external model, which are linked to the currently selected Enterprise Architect element or
• 'Unlinked items' to show only element from the external model, which have not yet been linked to elements in the current model.

Select the appropriate option, if necessary, and then explore the content of selected elements from the external model. Each of the Properties window, Notes window and Inspector window have separate tabs or versions of the window to display any properties, notes and features (respectively) of the selected item. These are illustrated in the External Item Details Help topic.

Working with Enterprise Architect elements and elements from the external model

Having created a working communication between the currently open model and an external model, you can:

• Create a new element in Enterprise Architect linked to an element from the external model
• Create a new element in the external model, which is linked to an element in the current model
• Link an existing element in Enterprise Architect to an element from the external model
• Update elements in the external model with changes to an element in the current model
• Update the elements in the current model with changes from an element in the external model
• Update all linked elements in the current model with any changes to elements in the external model

These actions are all explained in the Linking Items Help topic.