IBM BPM, V8.0.1, All platforms > Authoring services in Integration Designer > Services and service-related functions > Access external services with adapters > Configure and using adapters > IBM WebSphere Adapters > Email

Plan for adapter implementation

You need to consider various factors before setting up and using the WebSphere Adapter for Email.

For example, before you configure the adapter, consider whether to set up the adapter in a clustered environment, in which the workload of the server is distributed across multiple machines. Also, if you are migrating from an earlier version of WebSphere Adapter for Email, perform any migration tasks.

1. Before you begin
   Before you begin to set up and use the adapter, you must possess a thorough understanding of business integration concepts, the capabilities, and requirements of the integration development tools and runtime environment that you are going to use, and the mail server environment where you build and use the solution.
2. Security
   WebSphere Adapter for Email supports user name and password authentication methods of Java™ 2 as implemented in J2C. By supporting authentication, the adapter provides protection for sensitive user data in log and trace files. Java 2 has other security methods, such as Kerberos, which is not supported. The authentication details are configured using the external service wizard. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) can be configured to protect the integrity of information being passed between the mail server and the adapter and, for users who require it, the adapter can be configured to run in support of the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140.
3. Required folders for inbound processing
   Several folders are required for activities such as archiving and storage before you run the adapter for inbound processing.
4. User authentication
   The adapter supports several methods for supplying the user name and password that are needed to connect to the mail server. By understanding the features and limitations of each method, you can pick a method that provides the appropriate level of security and convenience for your application.
5. Deployment options
   There are two ways to deploy the adapter. You can either embed it as part of the deployed application, or you can deploy it as a stand-alone RAR file. The requirements of your environment affect the type of deployment option you choose.
6. WebSphere Adapters in clustered environments
   

   You can improve adapter performance and availability by deploying a module on a clustered server environment. Clusters are groups of servers that are managed together to balance workloads and to provide high availability and scalability.

7. Migrating to version 7.5.0.3 of WebSphere Adapter for Email
   By migrating to version 7.5.0.3 of WebSphere Adapter for Email, you automatically upgrade from the previous version of the adapter. Additionally, you can migrate your applications that embed an earlier version of the adapter, so that the applications can use features and capabilities present in version 7.5.0.3.
8. Migrating WebSphere Business Integration applications
   

   You need to migrate the WebSphere Business Integration applications so that they become compatible with Version 7.5.0.3 of your adapter.

WebSphere Adapter for Email documentation

Next topic: Configure the module for deployment