Configuring and Securing Application Credentials via Environment Variables - NIM SM

Products

• Common Components and Services for z/OS

Issue/Introduction

This article describes the recommended workflow for configuring application credentials for NIM SM by utilizing environment variables during initial deployment, followed by the necessary steps to secure those credentials.

Environment

• Product: NIM SM
• Release: 3.3.4 and later
• Database: H2 (Internal)

Resolution

To ensure secure credential management while allowing for initial environment setup, follow these steps:

1. Define the required credentials (User ID and Password) as environment variables within the environment configuration script (e.g., TOMENVPR or equivalent Tomcat bin script).
2. Start the NIM SM application. Upon the first start, the application detects that the internal H2 database does not exist and utilizes the defined environment variables to initialize the database structure and store the credentials.
3. Verify that the application is running and accessible.
4. Remove the environment variable definitions (export lines) from the configuration scripts.
5. Restart the Tomcat server.