Where does 100Custom.xml go on Cloud Pak for Business Automation, and how do I set BAW server properties in containers?

Question

On WebSphere we tune the process engine with 100Custom.xml (e-mail server, cache sizes, portal settings). On the Cloud Pak there is no profile directory. How are these settings applied to the Workflow Server pods, and do they survive operator upgrades?

Answer 1

The same XML is still used - it is delivered to the pods through a secret referenced from the custom resource, and the operator mounts it as 100Custom.xml on every workflow pod. Because it lives in the CR / secret, it survives pod restarts and operator upgrades.

# 1. write the file exactly as on traditional BAW
cat > 100Custom.xml <<'X'
<properties>
  <server merge="mergeChildren">
    <email merge="mergeChildren">
      <mail-server-address merge="replace">smtp.example.com</mail-server-address>
      <mail-server-port merge="replace">587</mail-server-port>
      <default-from-address merge="replace">workflow@example.com</default-from-address>
    </email>
    <portal merge="mergeChildren"><max-search-results merge="replace">500</max-search-results></portal>
  </server>
</properties>
X
# 2. store it in a secret (key name is fixed: sensitiveCustomConfig)
oc create secret generic baw-custom-xml --from-file=sensitiveCustomConfig=100Custom.xml -n cp4ba
# 3. reference it in the CR (workflow server section; the authoring section has the same field)
spec:
  baw_configuration:
  - name: bawins1
    lombardi_custom_xml_secret_name: baw-custom-xml
# 4. the operator restarts the pods; verify inside a pod
oc exec <baw-server-pod> -- cat /opt/ibm/wlp/usr/servers/defaultServer/config/100Custom.xml

Other settings have their own CR fields and should not be put into the XML: JVM options (jvm_customize_options), heap and replicas (resources, replicas), database and LDAP (datasource_configuration, IAM), TLS trust (trusted_certificate_list), Liberty server.xml snippets (the custom Liberty configuration secret for data sources, JMS resources, mail sessions), environment-specific process app values (still Process Admin / Workflow Center per server: /ProcessAdmin is deployed on containers too). Changing the secret alone does not trigger a restart on every release - edit the CR (for example bump an annotation) or delete the pods to reload.

References

• CP4BA documentation - customizing Business Automation Workflow configuration in containers
• BAW - 100Custom.xml properties