Step 3: Set up the Solace Try-Me CLI Tool

You've completed Step 2: Solace EDA Basics.

In step 3, you'll set up the Solace Try-Me CLI tool so you can use it to complete the exercises in subsequent steps.

The Solace Try-Me CLI tool lets you do more than the TryMe! you just used in Broker Manager. It includes a wide range of capabilities for both newcomers and experienced users. It uses default settings for various parameters, such as event topics, message content, and subscriptions, mirroring the defaults documented in the Solace JavaScript API. This setup allows you to start experimenting without significant initial configuration.

After setting up the Solace Try-Me CLI tool, we'll introduce you to the use case that we'll use the tool with.

Downloading the Solace Try-Me CLI Tool

To use the Solace Try-Me CLI tool, you need to download it and connect it to your event broker. For more information about the Solace Try-Me CLI tool and detailed instructions, see the Solace Try-Me CLI README file.

You have three options to download and install the Solace Try-Me CLI tool:

  1. macOS Using Homebrew

  2. Linux or WSL on Windows Using apt-get

  3. Manual Download Option (Windows, macOS, or Linux)

macOS Using Homebrew

To install Solace Try-Me CLI on macOS, use Homebrew with the following commands:

brew tap SolaceLabs/stm
brew install stm

Linux or WSL on Windows Using apt-get

You can use the following steps to install Solace Try-Me CLI on a Linux or Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) on Windows:

  1. Run the following command to add the SolaceLabs repository to apt:

    echo "deb [arch=amd64 trusted=yes] https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SolaceLabs/apt-stm/master stm main" | sudo tee  /etc/apt/sources.list.d/solace-stm-test.list

  2. Install the latest version of Solace Try-Me CLI using the following commands:

    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install stm

Manual Download Option (Windows, macOS, or Linux)

You can also manually download the latest version of the tool by performing the following steps:

  1. Download the latest version of the Solace Try-Me CLI tool for your operating system from Solace Try-Me CLI releases.
  2. Extract the ZIP file.
  3. Follow the instructions in the Solace Try-Me CLI README file to install it on your operating system.

Running the Solace Try-Me CLI Tool

You can run the Solace Try-Me CLI using the following steps:

  1. Open a Command Prompt or terminal.
  2. Start by running the version command to verify that you've installed the latest version:
    stm -v

    The version number returned should match the version you downloaded.

  3. Run the help command to see a list of available commands:

    stm -help

    The results returned show the command structure:

    stm
├── -v, --version                   /* output the version number        */
├── -h, --help                      /* display help for command         */
├── -he, --help-examples            /* display examples                 */
├── send                            /* execute a send command           */
├── receive                         /* execute a receive command        */
├── request                         /* execute a request command        */
├── reply                           /* execute a reply command          */
├── config                          /* manage command configurations    */
│   ├── -h, --help                  /* display help for command         */
│   ├── -he, --help-examples        /* display examples                 */
│   ├── init                        /* initialize command configuration */
│   ├── list                        /* list command configurations      */
│   └── delete                      /* delete command configuratio      */
└── manage                          /* manage connection and resources  */
     ├── -h, --help                 /* display help for command         */
     ├── -he, --help-examples       /* display examples                 */
     ├── connection                 /* manage VPN connection            */
     ├── semp-connection            /* manage VPN SEMP connection       */
     ├── queue                      /* manage queue                     */
     ├── client-profile             /* manage client-profile            */
     ├── acl-profile                /* manage acl-profile               */
     └── client-username            /* manage client-username           */

To use the Solace Try-Me CLI with PubSub+ Cloud, jump down to Connect the Solace Try-Me CLI Tool to PubSub+ Cloud Event Broker Service.

Connect the Solace Try-Me CLI Tool to Your Software Event Broker

You can use the Solace Try-Me CLI tool to communicate with the trial software event broker you set up in Step 1: Set up Your First Event Broker. Software event brokers have default settings for messaging and management.

Messaging settings include:

  • event broker URL for websocket connections (localhost and port 8008)
  • message VPN (default)
  • client username (default)
  • password (default).

Management settings include:

  • event broker SEMP URL (localhost and 8080)
  • message VPN (default)
  • SEMP username (admin)
  • SEMP password (admin).

Running an stm command without a configuration reference automatically creates a default configuration in the following location:

  • On Windows, the configuration files are stored in the %USERPROFILE%\.stm folder.

  • On Linux and macOS, the configuration files are stored in the $HOME\.stmor ~\.stm folder.

You can review a sample default configuration for more information about the default settings.

To configure your software event broker with stm, perform these steps:

  1. In a Command Prompt or terminal, initialize configuration with the following command: 
    stm config init

    You should see the following result:

    ✔  success   success: initialized configuration with default command settings on 'stm-cli-configuration.json' successfully

    The connection configuration is initialized using the default settings of your local software event broker:

    Event Broker ConnectionEvent Broker SEMP Connection

    Event broker URL: ws://localhost:8008

    Event broker SEMP URL: http://localhost:8080/SEMP/v2/config

    VPN Name: default

    VPN Name: default

    Username: default

    SEMP Username: default

    Password: default

    SEMP Password: default

  2. To update the connection settings for messaging commands, run the following command:
    stm manage connection --url ws://localhost:8008 --vpn default --username default --password default

    You should see the following result:

    ℹ  info      info: loading 'connection' command from configuration 'local-broker'
ℹ  info      info: loading configuration 'local-broker'
ℹ  info      info: checking settings for operation - connection
✔  success   success: updated command settings 'connection' on configuration file 'local-broker.json' successfully
  3. To update the SEMP connection settings for managing queues, ACL profiles, client profiles, and client usernames, run the following command: 
    stm manage semp-connection --semp-url http://localhost:8080/SEMP/v2/config --semp-vpn default --semp-username admin --semp-password admin

    You should see the following result:

    ℹ  info      info: loading 'sempconnection' command from configuration 'stm-cli-config.json'
ℹ  info      info: loading configuration 'stm-cli-config.json'
ℹ  info      info: checking settings for operation - sempconnection
✔  success   success: updated command settings 'sempconnection' on configuration file 'stm-cli-config.json' successfully

If you want to create additional configurations for a different event broker, you can create a new configuration by executing the previous commands with an additional parameter of --config <CONFIG_NAME>. You can refer to a named configuration by specifying it in any of the messaging and management commands

Unless you also want to try the Solace Try-Me CLI tool with a PubSub+ Cloud Event Broker Service, you can skip to the use case.

Connect the Solace Try-Me CLI Tool to PubSub+ Cloud Event Broker Service

Unlike a local software event broker, cloud event broker services require explicit initialization because the parameters vary from instance to instance.

To use the Solace Try-Me CLI tool with the event broker service you created in Step 1: Set up Your First Event Broker, you start by collecting the required settings from the event broker service in the Cloud Console.

To configure your event broker service with stm, perform these steps:

  1. In your browser, visit the PubSub+ Cloud login page and sign in using the email address and password that you used when you signed up.
  2. From the navigation bar, select Cluster Manager.
  3. Select your event broker service.
  4. Copy the event broker connection information.
    1. On the Service Details page, select the Connect tab.
    2. In the Solace Web Messaging section, click Expand to view the connection information.
    3. Under Connection Details copy the following information:
      • Username
      • Password
      • Message VPN
      • Secured Web Messaging Host
  5. Copy the SEMP connection information.
    1. On the Service Details page, select Manage tab.
    2. In the SEMP - REST API section, click Expand to view the SEMP connection information.
    3. Under Connection Details copy the following information:
      • Public Internet
      • Username
      • Password
      • Message VPN Name
  6. In a command prompt or terminal, initialize configuration with the following command: 
    stm config init

    You should see the following result:

    ✔  success   success: initialized configuration with default command settings on 'stm-cli-configuration.json' successfully
  7. Update the connection settings for messaging commands by running the following command, using the details you copied in step 4:
    stm manage connection --url wss://mr-connection-xxxx.messaging.solace.cloud:443 --vpn xxxxxxxx --username solace-cloud-client --password xxxxx

    You should see the following result:

    ℹ  info      info: loading 'connection' command from configuration 'stm-cli-configuration.json'
ℹ  info      info: loading configuration 'cloud-broker'
ℹ  info      info: checking settings for operation - connection
ℹ  info      info: [1] url of connection changed: ws://localhost:8008 => wss://mr-connection-xxxx.messaging.solace.cloud:443
ℹ  info      info: [2] vpn of connection changed: default => xxxxxxxx
ℹ  info      info: [3] username of connection changed: default => solace-cloud-client
ℹ  info      info: [4] password of connection changed: default => xxxxx
⚠  warning   warn: VPN Connection settings changed, this would impact all the messaging commands on the configuration
Changes detected in the settings, do you want to overwrite (y/n): y
✔  success   success: updated command settings 'connection' on configuration file 'stm-cli-configuration.json' successfully
  8. Update the SEMP connection settings managing queue, acl-profile, client-profile and client-username by running the following command, using the details you copied in step 5: 
    stm manage semp-connection --semp-url https://mr-connection-xxxx.messaging.solace.cloud:943/SEMP/v2/config --semp-vpn xxxxxxxx --semp-username xxx-admin --semp-password xxxxx

    You should see the following result:

    ℹ  info      info: loading 'sempconnection' command from configuration 'cloud-broker'
ℹ  info      info: loading configuration 'stm-cli-configuration'
ℹ  info      info: checking settings for operation - sempconnection
ℹ  info      info: [1] sempUrl of sempconnection changed: http://localhost:8080 => https://mr-connection-xxxx.messaging.solace.cloud:943/semp/v2/config
ℹ  info      info: [2] sempVpn of sempconnection changed: default => my-broker
ℹ  info      info: [3] sempUsername of sempconnection changed: admin => xxx-admin
ℹ  info      info: [4] sempPassword of sempconnection changed: admin => xxxxx
⚠  warning   warn: VPN SEMP Connection settings changed, this would impact all the management commands on the configuration
Changes detected in the settings, do you want to overwrite (y/n): y
✔  success   success: updated command settings 'sempconnection' on configuration file 'stm-cli-configuration.json' successfully

If you want to create additional configurations for a different event broker, you can create a new configuration by executing the previous commands with an additional parameter of --config <CONFIG_NAME>. You can refer to a named configuration by specifying it in any of the messaging and management commands.

Coffee Shop Use Case

Now that you have your tools set up, let's head to our favorite coffee shop where we'll take a closer look at its order management system (OMS) to see how a basic event-driven architecture (EDA) can be organized.

Solly's Coffee OMS is designed to handle and process orders placed by customers through third-party vendor applications that are accessible through mobile and web platforms. This setup requires the deployment of sophisticated message exchange patterns to ensure seamless communication between the OMS, its various components, and third-party applications.

The following applications are part of the EDA for Solly's Coffee:

  • Third-Party Apps integrate with the OMS and submit new orders from customer-facing apps directly to the OMS.

  • Order Management is the central hub for receiving new orders and orchestrating the fulfillment process.

  • Inventory System provides insights into ingredient and stock levels, to help ensure availability.

  • Kitchen Floor assesses inventory and proceeds with the actual preparation of orders.

  • Barista System provides the customer-facing interface at the front desk, enabling order pickups and providing updates on order status.

The following events facilitate interactions between the applications:

  • OM-New Order is sent by a Third-Party App to the Order Management application when receiving a new order. The event contains details of the order.

  • OM-Order Details is sent by the Order Management application to other applications to provide details of an order.

  • OM-Order Update is sent by the Order Management application to provide real-time updates on the order status to reflect progress through the fulfillment process.

  • KF-Order Prep Started is sent by the Kitchen Floor application to mark the initiation of the order preparation in the kitchen.

  • KF-Order OutOfStock is sent by the Kitchen Floor application when an out-of-stock scenario occurs during order preparation that affects the kitchen's ability to fulfill the order.

  • KF-Order Ready is sent by the Kitchen Floor application when the order has been successfully prepared and is available for pickup at the Barista station.

  • IS-Stock Check is sent by the Kitchen Floor application to the Inventory System application to check the availability of items needed to fulfill an order.

  • BS-Order Completed is sent by the Barista Station application when the order is picked up to mark the completion of order processing and the end of the cycle for a specific order.

The event flows between the applications are illustrated in the following diagram:

Image showing the applications and events described in this section

In the following steps of the tutorial, you're going to set up message exchanges using these applications and events.

Tutorial Steps

You've completed the third step in the tutorial. Click the link to the next lesson to continue.

Step Description

Step 1

Set up Your First Event Broker - Complete

Step 2

Solace EDA Basics - Complete

Step 3

Set up the Solace Try-Me CLI Tool - Complete

Step 4

Try a Publish-Subscribe Message Exchange Pattern - Next Lesson

Step 5

Try a Request-Reply Message Exchange Pattern

Step 6

Explore Consumer Scaling Patterns

Next Steps

You can return to the main Tutorial page at any time.