100: Technical Lab Preparation

Obtain an IBM Cloud Account

If you have an IBM Cloud account you can skip this step.

If you do not have an IBM Cloud account, click this link to create one. After registration, you will be sent an email to activate your account. This can take a few hours to process. Once you receive the confirmation email, follow the instructions provided in the email to activate your account.

Sign Up for Cloud Pak for Data

The Data and AI Live Demos use Cloud Pak for Data services that are provisioned in the IBM cloud Dallas service region. This means you must use Cloud Pak for Data in the Dallas region, and register you account for a Cloud Pak for Data as a Service account in the Dallas region to do the Data fabric labs, even if you have an account in another region.

If you have an IBM Cloud Pak for Data as a Service account in the Dallas region you can skip this step.

If you have not signed up for an IBM Cloud Pak for Data as a Service account in the Dallas region, click this link to sign up for one in the Dallas region.

Follow the instructions below to complete the account registration process and setup your account in the Dallas region:

1. Use the Select a region dropdown to select the Dallas region for your Cloud Pak for Data instance.
2. Select the checkbox to agree to the terms.
3. Click the Log in with your IBMId button.

1. Enter your IBMid. This should be your IBM Cloud Id.

• If you have previously logged in to Cloud Pak for Data and checked the Remember IBMid check box, it may already be filled in for you. If you have multiple Cloud Pak for Data accounts, you can click inside the IBMid area above the Continue button and a list of your available IBM Ids will be displayed for you to choose from.

2. Click the Continue button.

If prompted, and depending on the authentication method you are presented with, enter your IBMId or IBM w3id password.

If you have not logged in to Cloud Pak for Data in a while, you might be presented with an IBM Privacy Statement that you have to agree to. If so, follow these steps:

1. Scroll down to the bottom of the privacy statement page.
2. Click the Proceed button.

You will see the Provisioning your IBM Cloud Pak for Data core services screen with a progress bar.

When Done! appears above the progress bar with a message of: Your IBM Cloud Pak for Data apps are ready to use:

1. Click the Go to IBM Cloud Pak for Data button.

If you are presented with a Welcome to Cloud Pak for Data! dialog:

1. Click the Skip for now button.

Now that you have an activated IBM Cloud account and have registered for a Cloud Pak for Data account in the Dallas region, you can proceed to the next step to request a reservation.

Provision the Services

This step instructs you on how to provision the free IBM Cloud and Cloud Pak for Data Lite services that you will need to perform the technical Data fabric labs. These instructions were created using an empty IBM Cloud and Cloud Pak for Data account with no services provisioned for the benefit of those who have never setup their accounts with provisioned services. Therefore, your environment may look different than the screen shots in these instructions, but the end result should be the same.

Not all of the Lite service plans are in every cloud service region. For example, the IBM Match 360 with Watson and Watson OpenScale services are only available in the Dallas region. DataStage is only available in the Dallas and Frankfurt regions. Therefore, as you can imagine, this is a chaotic matrix of service availability. Therefore, to ensure inclusion, consistency, simplicity, and predictability, the Data fabric labs requires that all of the Lite services are provisioned in the Dallas region.

It is very important that all services be provisioned for the Dallas region (excluding Cloud Object Storage)

Some services take longer than others to provision, so do not be alarmed if a service status does not instantly appear after you provision them, or they have a status of Provisioning. By the time you are done provisioning all the required services they should all be in an Active status.

Lastly, if you make a mistake and choose a pricing plan other than the Lite plan, or assigned a service to the wrong resource group, you can delete the service from the Cloud Pak for Data Services instances section and re-provision the service again. All other changes, like renaming a service, have to be managed from your IBM Cloud account.

2. DataStage Service

The following instructions walk you through provisioning the DataStage service as an example. The remaining service provisioning instructions do not supply detailed screen shots. Only the required service properties and suggested names will be supplied to provision the remaining 8 required services. With that in mind, take the time to follow the detailed DataStage instructions so the other services will be easy to provision.

1. In your Cloud Pak for Data home screen, select the Navigation menu (the 4 stacked horizontal lines in the upper left corner).

1. Select the Services > Services catalog menu item.

1. Select the Databases checkbox on the left.
2. Click the DataStage service tile (it's likely at the bottom).

1. Using the Select a region dropdown, select the Dallas region from the list.
2. Scroll down the service page.

1. Select the Lite plan by clicking on this plan's tile. You will see a checkmark appear on the right of the Lite plan.

1. For the Service name, enter any name you want or accept the supplied default.

This example removes the --xx default characters at the end of the service name and simply names it DataStage. You can name the service whatever you want, or take the default name.

2. Using the Select a resource group dropdown, select a resource group from the list or take the default displayed.

Services have to be assigned to a cloud account resource group. IBM Cloud automatically creates a resource group when you register for an IBM Cloud account. This resource group is named Default. If you have not created any additional resource groups, or renamed the Default resource group, you will only have one resource group and it will be automatically chosen for you and greyed out.

This example shows a resource group named Cloud Pak for Data from the list because the cloud account, where these screen shots that were taken from, has multiple resource groups defined.

3. Click the Create button.

The Create button will be greyed out and turn to Creating.

Upon successful completion, you will be taken to your Cloud Pak for Data account Service instances section. Make sure (look at the highlighted columns on the screen shot) you deployed a Lite service Plan, that it was placed in the Resource Group you specified, and that the service Status is Active.

1. Click the Add service + button to create any additional required Data fabric lab services in the Required Services table above.

Repeat the process you just followed to deploy the DataStage service for all the remaining required services using the information for each service. The Service name provided in the information for each service is only a recommendation. You can name these services whatever you want and assign them to whatever resource group you want. However, make sure you choose the Lite plan so you do not get charged for the services you provision.