Access local SB2BI & SFG VM Ware externally

Now when more and more cloud services are emerging, there is sometimes a need for accessing local back-end solutions remotely. In my case I have several solutions running on local VMWares on my MacBook. Those VMWares don’t have a public IP (nor have my host machine) and is thus not very easy to access from outside. Normally this is not any issue, but when cloud-only services are introduced, this has to be solved.

In my case I have locally installed Sterling B2B Integrator and Sterling File Gateway, and would like to utilize our Partner Engagement Manager, which is Cloud only. So a need for exposing my local SFG environment arises.

The way I will try to solve this is by using IBM Bluemix, and more especially the IBM Secure Gateway Service offered through Bluemix.

In this example I will create access to the GUI of SB2BI and SFG. This is mostly because it is simple to test since there are only two alternative outcomes. Either the GUI shows or not.

Prerequisites

Access to IBM Bluemix is off course needed. It is possible to sign up for a 30-day trial for free. I also will need to install a Client on my VMWare server where I am hosting my Sterling environment. I chose to use a Docker Client, and thus need to have Docker installed on my VMWare server.

Install Docker

I need Docker installed on my VMWare server to be able to install the Secure Gateway Client. I run RedHat Enterprise Linux 7. Docker is not in my default Yum Repositories, so I need to add the repository first. Then I use Yum to install Docker.

When Docker is installed it needs to be enabled and started.

Setup of IBM Secure Gateway

When in Bluemix, search for Secure Gateway. And create a new instance of it.

 

Give your instance a name and Connect It.

I select to use the Docker version of the Client. I then get a pre-made Command Line I can just copy and paste in my shell for the local Sterling VMWare server.

I past the Command Line in my Shell on my local VMWare server and it installs the Secure Gateway Client. When it is installed, press enter to get to the command line.

In the Secure Gateway Client there is an Access Control List that tells what connections is allowed and not. By default this list is empty, so no connections are allowed. So I have to add my local server IP address and port number to the ACL. This is done by running a simple allow command.

The last step is to add a Destination in Bluemix to my VMWare server. So click on Add Destination.

Then click “I’m Done”. You will then see the destination, and by clicking on the “i” for Information you will see the Cloud Host which is the remotely available address to my local Sterling VMWare Server.

 

Testing

I copy the Cloud Host : Port into a browser and get to the SB2BI Login page.