1. Connections 8 – Get it
and make it your own!
Upgrade & Customization
Martin Leyrer / Matthias Schneider

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Copyright © 2022 HCL Technologies Limited | www.hcltechsw.com
Connections Cedar (8) is there

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1 Features, functions and other good
reasons
2 Upgrade path
C7 to C8 & your nightm...miracle way to C7
3 The new UI
What about my customizations?
4 Summary
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Agenda

4. Connections Releases: 6.0 to 6.5 CR1
Features
6.0
2017
CR3-4
2018
CR5-6
2019
6.5
2019
CR1
2020
Connections Mail •
Connections Sidebar for embedding in any website • •
Touchpoint for improved onboarding • •
Easily invite external users • •
Activities Plus to manage tasks and actions more effectively • •
Create Community on mobile devices • • •
Transfer File Ownership • • •
Wiki and Community UI Improvements • • •
Share file via link, Lock wiki to avoid edit conflicts • • • •
New layout, deduplication of newsletters and email alerts • • • •
UI Enhancements: Clean, modern theme; Highlights Community overview page;
redesigned community catalog
• • • •
Orient Me home page • • • • •
Enhanced designs for Community homepages and top navigation; Copy community
layout
• • • • •
My Drive sync files and folders to desktop • • • • •

5. Features
C7
2020
C8
2022
LEAP Entitlement •
New Navigation and customizable look and feel •
New Search UX •
Universal Upload and Share •
Export to PDF • •
Community templates and creation wizard • •
Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Outlook and Office integration • •
Connections Releases: 7.0 to 8 CR1
Try out Connections 8+ at https://preview.hclconnections.net
Registration: https://leap.hcltechsw.com/apps/anon/org/app/61b615e9-2bf8-4213-8b25-aaa0b70488ff/launch/index.html?form=F_Form1

6. 7 | Technology for the next decade, today
Connections 8 ⎼ Navigation reimagined
Go beyond… Tap into your network
2nd, 3rd level navigation
for Connections apps are
consistent and intuitive
Navigation puts focus
on consistency
• Configurable logo, color and
environment name.
• Always-present search bar
with updated search.
experience from start-to-find.
• Left main navigation with
access to key apps.
• Important-to-Me bar now
always to the right.
7
Connections Presentation | October 2022

7. 8 | Technology for the next decade, today
Connections 8 ⎼ Supercharged search
Centrally located
search bar
• Always in the same spot,
the search bar changes
context to the current app.
• Newly designed results
page for visual and
intuitive filtering of results.
8
Connections Presentation | October 2022

8. 9 | Technology for the next decade, today
Connections 8 ⎼ Ubiquitous Sharing
• Any page can be shared
within Connections,
Sametime, or Teams.
• Share with People or
Communities ⎼ permissions
enforced on private content.
Easily share currently
viewed page
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Connections Presentation | October 2022

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The 3 features shown require the new UI – Enable it if you are ready (until CR2!)
Connections 8 with „Legacy UI“ Connections 8 with new UI (the only UI from >CR2)

10. Beyond functionality – why should I upgrade?
https://support.hcltechsw.com/csm?id=kb_article&sysparm_article=KB0102116

11. Copyright © 2023 HCL Software Limited | Confidential
Your way to
Connections 8
Upgrade path

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Plan for your platform
Overall requirements in terms of servers, RAM, CPU are very similar to Connections 7 and
even 6.5. Consider usage of new features like CEC, PDF Export and new integration
patterns (e.g. Teams) and plan growth accordingly.
Requirements:
https://support.hcltechsw.com/csm?id=kb_article&sysparm_article=KB0102973
Notices:
• Current Linux (>8) is RedHat only
• Windows 2016 / 2019
• WebSphere 8.5.5 FP22 + PH49497
• DB/2 11.5.6
• Kubernetes 1.25.1 with containerd 1.6.9
• OpenSearch instead of ElasticSearch
• Helm 3.7.2

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Upgrade Strategy for HCL Connections v8.0
https://support.hcltechsw.com/csm?id=kb_article&sysparm_article=KB0101180
Upgrading and updating
https://opensource.hcltechsw.com/connections-doc/v8-cr1/admin/migrate/c_upgrade_migrate_overview.html
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Read the documentation carefully!!
(It is good if you start from a Connections 7 baseline…)
Clearly define your steps and consider side-effects!!
Did you do the Docs 2.0.2 upgrade to replace the Oracle “Stellent” technology for thumbnail preview by
LibreOffice?
It is not a good idea to mix these parts…
At least take a look at the Ansible way…
https://github.com/HCL-TECH-SOFTWARE/connections-automation/blob/main/documentation/QUICKSTART.md

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Read the documentation carefully!!!
“Upgrades to HCL Connections 8 are performed using side-by-side, in-place, or hybrid
upgrade methods. The upgrade path can occur from Connections 7 or directly from earlier
versions, in which case additional database schema updates would be required.”
This is true for the “BLUE” stack – aka
“Connections on WebSphere”
This could be true for the Kubernetes
Stack BUT…

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Read the documentation carefully!!!
Connections 6.0 Kubernetes Reference Implementation:
The Component Pack was validated on a Kubernetes v1.11.6 cluster that was set up on virtual machines using the
kubeadm tool. The validated deployment included the following options:Red Hat 7.6 and Cent OS 7.6
Docker 17.03 (CE or EE - configured with devicemapper storage) / Docker 18.06.2+ (CE - configured with devicemapper
storage).
If you are a Docker CE customer, it is recommended that you install/upgrade to 18.06.2+. This is due to the runc
vulnerability: CVE-2019-5736 .
If you are a Docker EE customer, it is recommended that you install/remain on 17.03.x.
Kubernetes version 1.11.9
Stacked masters - etcd members and control plane nodes (master nodes) co-located
Calico v3.3 used as the network add-on
Helm v2.11.0

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From a Connections 7 baseline, the upgrade is clear
Connections 7.0 WebSphere Stack
In-Place or Side-by-Side
• (Upgrade +) update databases.
• Make sure the Installation Manager is current!
• Upgrade WAS to current FP.
• Disable customizations.
• Run the upgrade to 8.0.
• Run the upgrade to 8.0 CR2.
• Update SDI / SDISOL.
Connections 8.0 CR2 WebSphere Stack
I am here…somewhere
Some magic happens
Connections 7.0 Component Pack
(ZIP-based)
In-Place or Side-by-Side
• Setup user IDs for CR2 non-root initContainers.
• Create Harbor credentials.
• Get Kubernetes 1.25 / containerd up + running.
• Setup additional PVs + NFS.
• Run Mongo5 build on Internet-enabled Docker box.
• Remove old parts (k8s-psp, Ingresses…).
• Install the new charts.
• Migrate Mongo3 to 5 and ElasticSearch data to
OpenSearch.
Connections 8.0 CR2 Component Pack
(Harbor-based)
Some REAL magic happens
Note: This is the current state of documentation and support!

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From a Connections 7 baseline, the upgrade is clear, but…
In-Place or Side-by-Side
• (Upgrade +) add + update databases.
• Make sure the Installation Manager is
current!
• Run the upgrade to latest 6.0 CR.
• Upgrade WAS to FP23.
• Run the upgrade to 6.5 CR1.
• Run the upgrade to 7.0 + ICXT parts.
• Update configuration + customizations.
Connections 7.0 WebSphere Stack
I am here on 6.0 / 6.5 with Component Pack
In-Place or Side-by-Side*
• Get Kubernetes 1.19* 1.17 (Docker) or 1.24
(containerd)** up + running.
• Setup + fill Docker registry from Component Pack ZIP.
• (In-Place only) Setup Helm3 in parallel to Helm2 (for
ES migration).
• Setup additional PVs + NFS.
• (In-Place only) Remove old parts (connections-
volumes, bootstrap, infrastructure, cnx-ingress…).
• (In-Place only) Migrate Helm2 to Helm3.
• Install the new charts.
• Migrate ElasticSearch5 to ElasticSearch7
• (In-Place only) Delete ElasticSearch5 chart.
• Switch Metrics to ElasticSearch7.
• (Optional) Deploy + configure new C7 components
(Community Templates, Teams integration, …).
Connections 7.0 Component Pack
*simplified for the 6.0 part, see Pitfalls / Recommendations
**not personally tested
Note: This is the current state of documentation, support and best practices!

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The following documents might help, but they are not replacing the official
documentation
Upgrading from Connections 6.5 to 7 Whitepaper (hcltechsw.com)
Upgrading from Connections 6.5 to 7: The Side by Side Approach Whitepaper (hcltechsw.com)
Currently being revised

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KB0103910
In-Place or Side-by-Side
• (Upgrade +) add + update databases.
• Make sure the Installation Manager is
current!
• Run the upgrade to latest 6.0 CR.
• Upgrade WAS to FP23.
• Run the upgrade to 6.5 CR1.
• Run the upgrade to 7.0 + ICXT parts.
• Update configuration + customizations.
Connections 7.0 WebSphere Stack
I am here on 6.0 / 6.5 with Component Pack
Side-by-Side
• Get Kubernetes 1.25 with containerd up + running.
• Install Component Pack from Harbor.
• Get and install ElasticSearch 7 from FlexNet.
• Setup PVs + NFS.
• Migrate ElasticSearch5 to ElasticSearch7.
• Switch Metrics to ElasticSearch7.
• (Optional) Deploy + configure new C7 components
(Community Templates, Teams integration, …).
Connections 7.0 / 8.0 CR2* Component Pack
*missing the migration steps from C7 to C8 (Mongo, ES to OpenSearch)
Using Component Pack images on Harbor with pre-8.0 Connections base versions (hcltechsw.com)

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Pitfalls / Recommendations
A RUNNING C7 is a good baseline!
Still on 6.0 with Cognos…?
https://help.hcltechsw.com/connections/v6/admin/install/es_metrics_migrate_intro.html
Consider database requirements – not only on schema but also on DB version!
Consider security / hardening, e.g. by enforcing TLS 1.2.
Validate PDF Export: Spring dependencies (only from Cfix.70.2208) – just in case your AppServer shows
errors.
https://support.hcltechsw.com/csm?id=kb_article&sysparm_article=KB0099835
Recommended parts of your C7 milestone:
• Consider SDI 7.2 FP8: Upgrade to Java 8 plus removal of Spring dependencies
https://support.hcltechsw.com/csm?id=kb_article&sysparm_article=KB0094191

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Pitfalls / Recommendations
A RUNNING C7 is a good baseline!
If you run Orient Me with Solr in a 6.0 environment, migrate to ElasticSearch from Component Pack.
https://help.hcltechsw.com/connections/v65/admin/install/cp_install_upgrade_es_for_om.html
Site-by-Site approach for an upgrade to 7 for the Kubernetes parts will increase your personal lifetime.
ElasticSearch Stand-Alone is no longer supported since C7: Migrate ES5 data via backup / restore into
Component Pack’s ES5 before upgrading to 7. Don’t try to run a migration from ES5 Standalone to ES7!
Consider Kubernetes versions and dependencies if you try In-Place upgrade!
Consider new 8.0 CR1 requirements related to non-root initContainers! The user IDs to create for Mongo and
OpenSearch are 1001 and 1000. While the Mongo user (1001) can be changed in the Dockerfile, 1000 is a
default user requirement for OpenSearch.
Ensure a rock-solid network, proxy (if REALLY needed…to access Harbor!!) & DNS configuration
before doing anything!!

22. Copyright © 2023 HCL Software Limited | Confidential
The new UI
…and how to hook into it

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Basics
The new React-based UI is part of the “Common” App – so it is core “good old” WebSphere.
(And yes, for some reasons you might chose the option to directly modify the “Common” app…)
{ "navbarmenus":
{ "main_menus": [
{
"id": "homepage",
"link": "/homepage",
"alternate_links": [],
"icon": "data:image/svg+xml;,…",
"order": 1000,
"submenu": [],
"coreCnxService": "homepage"
},

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Customization options
There are 2 options to customize the C8 UI: via Application Registry / Customizer or via direct JavaScript
Injection.
The second approach does NOT require the Component Pack installation.
If you enable the new UI, JSP-based “Legacy” customizations need to be reworked…CSS modifications will
continue to work.
The best starting point on C8 customization is here:
https://github.com/HCL-TECH-SOFTWARE/connections-ui-docs
A bit outdated, but still a good source:
https://github.com/hclcnx/customizer/blob/master/docs/HCLConnectionsCustomizer.md

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Customizing
Connections 8

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The recommended way – using the AppReg
Steps to follow:
Setup the Connections BLUE stack.
Setup the Component Pack stack with the Customizer chart.
https://opensource.hcltechsw.com/connections-doc/v8-cr1/admin/install/cp_install_services_tasks.html
Enable the “extensionRegistry” Service in your LotusConnections-config.xml.
<sloc:serviceReference bootstrapHost="admin_replace" bootstrapPort="admin_replace" clusterName="" enabled="true"
serviceName="extensionRegistry" ssl_enabled="true">
<sloc:href>
<sloc:hrefPathPrefix>/appregistry</sloc:hrefPathPrefix>
<sloc:static href="admin_replace" ssl_href="admin_replace"/>
<sloc:interService href="admin_replace"/>
</sloc:href>
</sloc:serviceReference>
Define a set of users / groups that should be granted access to Customizer and assign the “admin” role of the
Common app to them.
Navigate to https://<yourConnections>/appreg/.

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The recommended way – using the AppReg

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The recommended way – using the AppReg
“Final” browser code is no longer generated on the Connections server.
Instead, the Customizer proxy does the modifications.
Pros:
• No restart needed, just reload the page.
• More flexible.
• Granular, you can apply changes for specific users (like developers) only.
• Less impact on the platform.

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The “other” way – using JavaScript Injections
Steps to follow:
Setup the Connections BLUE stack.
Create the known “customization” folder structure.
Take a copy from the header.jsp that resides
in the WebSphere “Common” app and place it in
“customization/common/nav/templates”.
On load, your header will look for a custom config via JavaScript (“window.connectionsExtension” object).
If this definition exists, it will evaluate the extension (e.g. "com.hcl.connections.custom.style“) and modify the
component.
“Legacy” customization rules apply – regarding restart, caching.

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The “other” way – using JavaScript Injections

31. Copyright © 2023 HCL Software Limited | Confidential
Summary

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Your way to Connections 8 – Deployment plan
The new UI is just great, as it provides a completely new and clean user experiences for critical Connections
capabilities: Aggregating access points, searching and finding content and sharing it.
Technical upgrade can be separated from functional upgrade: Your Connections 8 can look like your
Connections 7 platform – enable the new feature set as needed.
If you start from Connections 7, the upgrade should work smoothly
If you start from an older Connections release with no Component Pack installed, the upgrade should work
smoothly – Connections 7 as a step between is recommended because of the new features introduced with
6.5 and 7. In case of any trouble, it is just easier to test and track changes.
If you start from an older Connections release with either Component Pack or Standalone components like
ElasticSearch installed and there is no requirement to migrate any Metrics data, the previous statement
applies. If your baseline includes Standalone components, plan for a Component Pack-only step between,
before upgrading to Connections 7.
If you start from an older Connections release with either Component Pack or Standalone components like
ElasticSearch installed and Metrics data migration is required, clearly define your steps. If your baseline
includes Standalone components, plan for a Component Pack-only step between, before upgrading to
Connections 7. Testing the Connections 7 milestone is strongly recommended.
Complexity

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Your way to Connections 8 – Making it your own
Customizations made for older Connections releases need to be tested and might need modification – best
practice is to disable them for upgrade.
Generally spoken, these JSP / CSS / JavaScript customizations should work in the Connections 8 “Legacy” UI.
Consider migrating your customizations to the new UI.
Customizer / Application Registry provides a flexible way to customize the new Connections 8 User Experience:
• without having to write JSP code anymore
• without loosing your existing style guide definitions (CSS)
• without impacting all users
• without requiring application or server outages for each and every change
• without requiring extensive testing through different stages – changes can be applied for specific users only
or could be tested even locally with GreaseMonkey
JavaScript Injection works without AppReg (no Component Pack required) but follows the same syntax rules,
so you can implement your changes and later move them to Customizer (Note: Disable the JSP JavaScript
code first.).

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Questions?

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