Deploying a web service

To implement a BOI web service, you must generate the WSDL file that defines this service and then deploy the WSDL file to the web server. You perform both tasks in the web application of the Connector for Web Services, on various web pages of the c4ws servlet.

To deploy a BOI web service:

  1. Start the c4ws web application.

    Ensure the Connector for Web Services is running. For detailed information on how to start and stop the connector web application, see Starting and stopping the connector.

    When the connector is started, you can view its index page by specifying this URL address in your web browser:

    http://<web server host>:<port nr>/c4ws/

    The access of the web pages of the connector is restricted with Tomcat authentication. Therefore, you must log on as a user with Tomcat Manager privileges.

  2. Check Baan IV connections.

    On the ERP Servers page of the connector, check whether the connections to the required Baan IV servers are appropriately configured. To navigate from the connector's index page to the ERP Servers page, click ERP Servers.

    For more information about the configuration of Baan IV server connections, see Configuring Infor LN or Baan application servers and Add/Modify an ERP Server page.

    Note: You can also directly navigate to the ERP Servers page by entering the page's URL address: http://<web server host>:<port nr>/c4ws/cp.jsp.
  3. Deploy a BOI web service.

    On the Deploy BOI Web Services page of the connector, select a BOI web service from a Baan IV server, generate the corresponding WSDL file in the connector application, and deploy the WSDL file to the Tomcat web server.

    Complete these steps:

    1. Navigate from the connector's index page to the Deploy BOI Web Services page by clicking Deployed Web Services page and Deploy BOIs.
    2. On the Deploy BOI Web Services page, indicate which Baan IV server you want to access by selecting a server from the drop-down list of the ERP Server field. This list only contains the ERP Servers for which the connection with the connector has been configured. The connector lists all the BOI proxies that are available on this web server. The web services are named after the associated BOI business objects, for example, Customer or Purchase Order.
    3. Select one of the available BOI web services.
    4. Click Deploy. The Deployment Result page shows whether the deployment of the web service was successful.
After successful deployment, a web client can use the web service to call methods on the involved BOI business object by sending SOAP messages that conform to the imported WSDL file. To retrieve this WSDL file, click WSDL on the connector's Web Services Status page ( http://<web server host>:<port nr>/c4ws/services).

The <soap:address> in the <ws: port> element of the WSDL file denotes the end point of the SOAP message, which is the URL address where the message is delivered. This address contains the location of the web server, the name of the web application, and the location of the server. In our case, the location of the server is indicated by the Identifier of the Baan IV server hosting the BOI business object that is exposed by the web service.

This example shows the <soap:address> in a WSDL file of a web service to expose Areas BOIs: 

<wsdl:service name="AreasService">
  <wsdl:port binding="bo:AreasSoapBinding" name="AreasSoapPort">
    <soap:address location="http://localhost:8080/c4ws/services/Areas/MyBackEnd123" /> 
  </wsdl:port>
</wsdl:service>