Last updated 4.13.21
Is Rules Manager considered a customization?
ANSWER: Yes.
Do the MAS upgrades have to be done in a new image?
ANSWER: Yes.
Is the Lockout Tagout Module from TRM considered a customization?
ANSWER: Yes.
Is it possible to upgrade to MAS and still use Windows vs. Open Shift/Red Hat?
ANSWER: No. The MAS containers will be running a Linux kernel. The OpenShift nodes will be running RHEL or RCOS.
We are a fluid analysis laboratory. Many of our customers are using Maximo. We already have a REST service API that customers can access their fluid analysis data. However, our customers are having difficulty integrating their fluid analysis data into Maximo. Can we have a follow up discussion to see how we could support mutual customers?
ANSWER: Yes, a TRM representative will be in touch.
With OpenShift / MAS are there plans to allow versioning control for internal customizations? (IE using something like Subversion/Tortiose SVN versioning of autoscripts/Application XML etc.)
ANSWER: These will remain in the DB. Connecting them to a source control system like SVN will remain the same as you do today (where you would pull them from the database to a file system using REST etc. to push/pull/commit to source control).
With Interface/MIF using the JMS Queues in WAS, would those need to be reconfigured into the cron task/Kafka?
ANSWER: Yes. The content of the JMS queue will not be upgraded.
Are AppPoints shared between all Maximo environments? How are AppPoints handled for internal roles?
ANSWER: Starting with MAS 8.4, you can have multiple Maximo environments (e.g., PRD, TST, DEV) point to the Suite License Server (SLS) server that manages your purchased AppPoints (e.g., 1,000 AppPoints can be shared between those environments). Alternatively, you can allocate and track AppPoints by Maximo environment (e.g., 800 AppPoints for PRD, 150 AppPoints for TST, 50 AppPoints for DEV). All users, regardless of which instance they are using (PRD, TST, DEV), consume points from the AppPoints pool.
In 7.6.x, SAML required a deployment of a WebSphere SAML application, does MAS include something similar?
ANSWER: The SAML configuration is performed in the MAS administration page, where you would generate your SP metadata, and import the IdP metadata. There is no need to add the SAML application.
In past, we used PA to download updates/upgrades, will OpenShift replace this?
ANSWER: Yes, the Entitled Registry is the equivalent of iFix central and PA.
How is the conversion handled for add-ons to AppPoints? Limited Transportation = how many AppPoints for example.
ANSWER: Full access to all industry solutions is included with premium license type. Modules from an industry solution can also be one of the three modules that can be accessed by limited users. In your example, that would equate to 10 AppPoints.
How will new versions of Industry Solutions will be delivered?
ANSWER: Yes.
How will the conversion from LDAP happen if we will be moving from Windows servers to Linux servers?
ANSWER: Yes.
Can you give us a Demo of the process of building (with customization) and deployment of Maximo into Dev or Test environment?
ANSWER: Yes.
Is automation script supported?
ANSWER: Yes.
What about changes to and differences for different environments Dev, Test..etc. in openshift container. Can these changes be in source control (e.g., SVN)? (container differences/changes)
ANSWER: There are many mechanisms to commit differences between environments to source control, even though they are containerized. You will be able to download ConfigMaps, version your customization archive, download your YAMLs, and even pull files (like dbcs, etc.) from containers themselves.
If Messaging requires a Cron Task, does that essentially eliminate the concept of a Continuous Queue and synchronous interfaces? But doesn’t that basically eliminate the ability to provide a synchronous response to the calling system?
ANSWER: Multiple cron tasks should be configured to process continuous queue in order to process messages concurrently. Synchronous integration does not utilize queues.
How is RulesManager affected by the MAS architectural changes?
ANSWER: RulesManager works as it does today in a liberty workload containerized environment.
Do RulesManager rules have to be put into the DB in order to work with MAS or can MAS still read XML files?
ANSWER: While containerized Maximo running RM will still be able to read XML files, it will be recommended to move to RMDB.
Can OpenShift run as a VM on a Windows machine? If not, what do you recommend for people who need to have Maximo running on a laptop for testing or demo purposes?
ANSWER: There is an OpenShift developer version (code ready containers, https://www.okd.io/) that runs as a VM on a Windows machine. However, at this stage, we
have not successfully been able to have MAS running on a VM because of how resource intensive it is.
Currently, we can view and modify/fix .dbc files before doing an upgrade. Will we still have access to those upgrade directories in MAS?
ANSWER: Yes, IBM has made reference to an admin pod for doing updatedb/configdb etc., where those type of functions are performed.
Is the primary advantage to paying for MAS with AppPoints the ability to access the MAS components i.e. Visual Inspection and APM4E&U etc.? And do we have to pay for install points in ALL environments?
ANSWER: There are pros and cons of the new model. For some organizations, the App Point model will result in more access for the same price; for others, it may result in way higher costs for the same usage, and discounts on trade up licenses will be necessary to bring cost into a reasonable range. In other words, the amount an organization pays for S&S is a significant factor in cost for app points.
Also, at this time install points are required for all environments.
Did the first example shown, during the MAS 8: Understanding AppPoints webinar, show app point requirements for different environments?
ANSWER: Install app points required per environment. This applies only to Spatial (20), ERP Adapter (80), Assist (150), and APM for EU (60)
Please explain the difference between ‘Limited’ and ‘Express’ licenses.
ANSWER:
Limited Use licenses can be used with any three modules excluding the Administrative modules and applications.
Express User allows for viewing reports, read-only access, status changes, and updates to assigned work orders.
Can industry solution add–ons be used with the same app points?
ANSWER: Yes. Full access to all Industry solutions is included with Premium license types. Modules from an industry solution can also be 1 of the 3 modules that can be accessed by Limited Users.
How does app point consumption work if a user uses industrial solution applications?
ANSWER: See question 4.
The Maximo for Utilities license currently includes Spatial. Will the Spatial Install license be included when Utilities is installed?
ANSWER: The spatial installation license is not included in the Maximo for Utilities industry solution in MAS.
Can you get some App Points just for Mobile and stay on existing license for Core Maximo?
ANSWER: Not at this time – organizations must migrate to App Points for access to Mobile.
Is CloudPak for Data specific to DB2?
ANSWER: DB2 and DB2 Warehouse are components of Cloud Pak for Data.
Is IBM Control Desk included in Manage?
ANSWER: No...ICD sits outside of MAS.
Will the existing License Usage Monitoring (LUM) app still be used for tracking compliance?
ANSWER: App point usage will be monitored and controlled using the app point license server that is embedded in MAS. The licenses usage monitor apps in Maximo will be available in Manage, and can provide guidance for assigning license types to users, but assigning license type to MAS users is manual.
Are the install licenses per environment or per server? In other words, if I have 5 JVMs running my Production environment, will each JVM consume the Install App Points?
ANSWER: Install licenses are per environment.
The elimination of Named licenses is a huge concern that I hope you address when discussing the conversion to App Points. Currently, if I have a total of 300 users and 50 of them are logged in most of the time while the other 250 are occasional users where no more than 50 ever log in simultaneously, I could buy 50 Named licenses and 50 Concurrent licenses. Assuming a price of $3000 per Named and $9000 per Concurrent, my cost would be (50 * 3000) + (50 * 9000) = $600,000. Without the Named option, I would have to buy 100 Concurrent licenses which would cost 100 * 9000 = $900,000.
ANSWER: It is true – under the legacy license model, giving named licenses to the most frequent Maximo users increased the number of individuals per concurrent license. This isn’t possible with the app point model. If the cost of App Points is significantly higher than current S&S, discounts will likely be available.
Please explain the 5:1 Named to Concurrent conversion on slide 14. Is IBM only going to give you App Points for 1 Concurrent license for every 5 Named license? For most clients I know, the ratio is more like 2:1 when Power Users and Occasional Users are blended together.
ANSWER: Generally, IBM will use a ratio of 3:1, not 5:1. Our experience is that 5 to 1 is reasonable, but this will vary from one organization to another. Analysis of the LOGINTRACKING data should be done prior to requesting a quote.
Other than Install licenses, are App Points required for Non-Prod environments?
ANSWER: No.
I think the examples you give are a little deceptive – as most of us will have at least 4 environments so this means 4 times the app points for spatial, visual inspection, Oracle/SAP Adapter. For example this could be as high a cost in points of 1400 without a single user being signed in.
ANSWER: Refer to question #1.
The slide of the new model doesn’t include the “Integrations” from the previous slide. . .Control Desk, Inventory Optimizer, etc. What happens to them?
ANSWER: These solutions are not yet available in MAS.
$100/month per point = at least $6000 per user per year. Ouch.
ANSWER: Its $6,000 per concurrent user. 5 users per concurrent license is a reasonable estimate, which brings the cost down to $1,200 per user. Current S&S costs is a huge factor in determining the future cost. If the cost of App Points is WAY higher than the cost of current S&S, discounts should be available.
I’m told that the “read-only to anything” ability available to Express or better today, is available for Base and above in the new model.
ANSWER: Read only access to everything is available to LIMITED, BASE and PREMIUM user types.
We have a Reporting database that does not have a Maximo application server. It is just a database with our data. I am assuming this is not considered an environment. We also have other full environments for Dev and QA and Prod.
ANSWER: Correct, db’s are independent and can be hosted either containerized or remote (outside of OpenShift) and are not considered an environment.
Does the trade up of 40 per month get removed from the 100 per month? Is that how you would calculate it?
ANSWER: List price for the trade up part number is $44. If you need 1,000 app points the cost (at List price) will be $44 x 1000 x 12 = $528,000. Please refer to previous comments about discounts.
If an environment uses both ESRI Spatial and SAP Adapter, do they both take a point away from the points if Premium = 15… leaving 13 remaining?
ANSWER: Install App Points are not based on usage, they are withdrawn from the App Point pool when the environment is Activated. User App Points are withdrawn from the pool when a user logs in and are returned when the user logs out.
We are using Tokens and license server. We have, for example, 1000 tokens. How might they be converted into the AppPoints?
ANSWER: Guidance from IBM is that you need to complete the subscription term for your token contract before you can migrate to App Points. There may be options to convert earlier, but you will need to discuss with IBM.
Is there a separate cost / subscription for Kafka?
Answer: Kafka is licensed by an opensource Apache 2.0 license and is free to use. To install Kafka into OCP you would use the Strimzi operator.
Is external SQL Server database supported by MAS?
Answer: Yes. MAS Manage does support SQL Server/DB2/Oracle outside of OpenShift containers.
Do you do a POC for on-prem OCP?
Answer: Yes. We would need to follow-up to find out more information.
Can we use existing OCP or it should be a brand new OCP install for Maximo?
Answer: MAS can be installed in an existing OCP or new OCP.
For Database, does the DB software need to reside in the same OCP environment or can external (IE Oracle Linux/RAC) still be used?
Answer: Manage can support Databases external to the OCP environment. The other MAS applications such as Monitor/IoT/Predict require the Database to reside within the same OCP environment.
For Licensing, where are custom applications handled/licensed?
Answer: Included in the MAS licensing (MAS app points that you subscribe to).
Isn’t Kafka a form of JMS? What will happen to our interfaces using the MIF with continuous and sequential inbound queues and sequential outbound queues?
Answer: No. Kafka is not a form of JMS. Instead, Kafka is configured to act as messaging Queues. Three (3) MIF Queues that are present in Manage, but the existing messaging Queues will NOT be brought forward during upgrade.
What is MongoDB? Is it required regardless of which DB you’re using for Maximo?
Answer: MongoDB is used for MAS configurations such as licensing, users, deployed and activated apps. Yes, it is required.
There is a different version of WebSphere, right? And WebLogic does go away, right?
Answer: Yes, Manage utilizes WebSphere Liberty 19, and WebLogic goes away.
Is the DB2 DB required for the “Warehouse” even if were using Oracle or SQL Server for the application?
Answer: DB2 is not required for Manage, but it is required for other MAS applications.
Does the MAS Security still maintain the MaxUser table in MAM?
Answer: The MaxUser table will still exist. Authentication (SSO or useAppServerSecurity) is done by MAS.
Are current MIF Web Services still supported for Synchronous interfaces?
Answer: With no change in the data model/structure, we presume yes, but will need to validate with MAS 8.4 is released.
Currently, a Web Service can send a message to the Continuous Queue and get an immediate response or just get a confirmation that the message was written to the queue. If a Cron Task is required to read the queue, doesn’t that really eliminate the concept of a Continuous Queue?
Answer: Kafka messages are organized as topics and partitions. Continuous Queue is composed of multiple partitions, where one cron is set up for each partition to process multiple messages concurrently.
What’s required to keep OpenShift updated/supported?
Answer: OpenShift can be easily updated between minor versions via the web console or CLI. Please see https://docs.openshift.com/container-platform/4.5/updating/updating-cluster-between-minor.html for details
Does WebSphere go away with MAS OpenShift?
Answer: No, WebSphere Liberty is deployed with the installation.
How would EAM MAS integrate to any on Premise applications?
Answer: I think question pertains to accessing the DB or Maximo. Maximo can be exposed via REST or Kafka topics once MEA is configured. Further, the DB can be exposed for external access if it resides inside OCP (OpenShift Container Platform). The DB can also exist outside OCP and access can be achieved as it is now. A OpenShift route needs to be established to enable access to a containerized database.
When is end of life for 7.6?
Is IBM Maximo Spatial in MAS?
Answer: Yes, Manage includes Spatial, which requires a separate install.
Do we need to buy OpenShift directly from RedHat?
Answer: No. Purchasing MAS application points includes OpenShift Container Platform (OCP) entitlements with restrictions on use.
Is there still an http server deployed within the new container-based model?
Answer: Yes, an http server is part of the workload container deployed to OCP.
Do the container images always pull from the IBM repository or are you able to store them locally and make changes?
Answer: Images are always pulled from IBM entitlement registry. You’re able to pre-pull (download and store) the images into a local registry for use in “air-gapped” installations, that is installations without access to the internet. We believe it would require customizing some of the YAMLs in the installation process. More will be known once MAS 8.4 is released.
Can we skip 7.6.1.2 and go straight to version 8?
Answer: Maximo required to be at version 7.6.1.2 or higher prior to MAS upgrade.
Do you lose functionality by not having a connection to the cloud for analytics and Watson learning?
Answer: Watson Machine learning (a component of Cloud Pak for Data (CP4D)) is only required for Maximo Health and Predict. But there is no requirement for a connection to IBM Cloud to run Watson Machine Learning. The service is self-contained in CP4D and therefore is supported in any environment including on-prem.
Up until Maximo 7.6, IBM has been providing things like WebSphere and other required tools to install and run. Will IBM continue to provide tools and underlying products for MAS 8?
Answer: Yes. WebSphere is included as part of the MAS license and installed and configured as part of the MAS install.
Is Cloud a MAS requirement? We may host our own infrastructure.
Answer: MAS can be run on-prem or in the Cloud (public or private). But regardless of where MAS is located, it requires OpenShift.
Will MAS 8 work with 7.6.1.2?
Answer: Yes, as of MAS 8.3 it will work with Maximo 7.6.1.2. However current Maximo users that have not yet transitioned to AppPoints are not entitled to MAS (including Mobile or Monitor). Organizations that do make the transition to AppPoints will be entitled to MAS, but are not required to replatform right away. In other words, you will able to stay on your existing Maximo infrastructure and be entitled to the other solutions in the Application Suite, such as Monitor, Mobile, Health and Predict.
Do you pay for what your users USE or what they have access to?
Answer: Both usage and access affects AppPoints consumption. Consumption is based on concurrent usage. The amount of AppPoints consumed by a user is first determined by their User Type which is based on their security profile (ie. “what they have access to”). The User Types are Limited (5 points), Base (10 points) and Premium (15 points). There are also Install Points required for certain Industry Solutions and Add-ons such as Spatial and ERP integration adapters.
When a user logs in, the AppPoints associated with their User Type is consumed from the AppPoint pool. When they log-off, the points are returned to the pool.
It’s important to note that all User Types (Limited, Base, and Premium) include usage of Monitor AND Mobile. This provides a lot of incentive to take advantage both of Monitor and Mobile.
Where is the data for Monitor stored? Historian tools are designed to store data changes rather than individual data points. Is Monitor replacing Historians or reading data from them?
Answer: Data coming into Monitor can be stored into the data lake established by the User/Admin. Monitor can read from historians or consume the data directly from the devices.
Where does all that monitor data get stored? We have existing SCADA historians that store that data. Does Maximo also store it, or just connect to an existing SCADA historian?
Answer: Same as above.
How do “AppPoints” differ from “License Server”?
Answer: There is a license server embedded in MAS to manage the app point pool. When a user logs in they consume a number of AppPoints based the license types they are assigned, when they log out these AppPoints are returned to the pool.
Regarding the predict module, you mention that there are some pre-defined models included. Can the user implement their own module?
Answer: Yes they can.
Can you give the URL to your blog for more content on MAS 8?
Answer: https://www.trmnet.com/tag/mas-8/
Where does oil and gas fit in?
Answer: Full access to Oil & Gas is a Manage Industry Solution (IS) and can be accessed by Premium User Types (15 AppPoints). There is an Oil and Gas “Limited” option available that can be accessed by a Limited User (5 AppPoints). There are no Install points required for Oil & Gas.
A Limited Industry Solution user follows the same rules as standard Limited. They are restricted to using 3 modules. In the case of the Industry Solution variety one of those modules could be selected from an industry solution or include applications within it that are industry solution specific. Specific Limited IS licenses were also previously sold under the same guidelines – 3 modules only.
Does MAS have anything to do with MEA/MIF?
Answer: The Maximo Integration Framework remains a part of MAS Manage. There are some changes that may affect MIF integrations.
What do I need to know about OpenShift?
Answer: Unlike previous versions of Maximo, MAS is built using a containerized software architecture. The container technology MAS utilizes is Docker. The MAS Docker containers are run on the IBM Red Hat OpenShift orchestration platform. The OpenShift platform runs on dedicated servers and/or VMs which can reside on-premise, in the private cloud, public cloud or a combination of these. OpenShift provides advanced operations capabilities such as auto-scaling and fault tolerance as makes it easy to shift MAS workloads between datacenters, if desired. IBM’s Cloud Pak for Data is also required for MAS. OpenShift and Cloud Pak for Data licenses are included with MAS Application Points.
See our blog articles on MAS architecture and OpenShift to learn more:
- What to know about IBM MAS Architecture and Your Business
- What are Kubernetes and Application Containers?