Expert Guide, Use CaseHow to add Operations Center to an existing IBM Storage Protect installation and configure SSL

We originally installed IBM Storage Protect without OC and ran it for a long time without OC. The request to install it retrospectively was then made.

We assume a standard installation of IBM Storage Protect which followed the IBM instructions to the letter, so no surprises here. We took the opportunity during a standard maintenance upgrade by first using Upgrade Packages in the installer to upgrade the existing installation.

After doing the usual checks on the ISP to confirm that it is running again, you may proceed by installing the OC.

Installation of the Operations Center (OC) in IBM Storage Protect

We can then continue with the installation of the OC.:

• It is always a good practice to launch an installer from tmux or screen, so you can recover your session easily in case you have a loss of connection during your installation.
• After launching the installer, select Install instead of Update.
• Select IBM Spectrum Protect Operations Center as the only option and confirm your selection in the next menu. Select Next to continue.
• Important: Check if Existing package group is selected, which is your current ISP installation. Do not select New package group. Continue with Next.
• Review and confirm with Next.
• Write down your desired password and type it in. You will need it.
• Keep the default port (11090) or select another one.
• Continue with Next, then Install, which should be done after about 30 to 60 seconds.
• Quit the installer after the OC has been installed using Finish, then Exit.

Configuration of the certificate for Operations Center (OC) in IBM Storage Protect

Now you are facing the problem that OC cannot connect to your ISP server because it does not have the certificate required to secure the connection between OC and ISP.

You need to add it manually, assuming that the cert256.arm file is located under /tsminst1, the default directory of the IBM Storage Protect instance.

Please use the following command to install your server's certificate (adjust if necessary):

/opt/tivoli/tsm/ui/jre/bin/ikeycmd \
-cert \
-add \
-db /opt/tivoli/tsm/ui/Liberty/usr/servers/guiServer/gui-truststore.jks \
-file /tsminst1/cert256.arm \
-label tsm01 \
-type jks \
-format ascii \
-trust enable

We chose tsm01 as label here in our case; please replace -label by whatever value which suits you or your environment.

The command will ask you for the password which you entered during install. After that, you should restart the OC using systemctl restart oc-server.

Now you can open the Operations Center at https://example.com:11090/oc and continue with the configuration:

• Replace the default certificate for the web interface according to https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/storage-protect/8.1.20?topic=communication-between-operations-center-web-browsers
• Login with a sufficiently privileged password.
• Select your options as you would usually do.

This article hopefully provided you with some assistance. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions!