Websphere MQ for z/OS V6.0

By

Don Fowler, MCE Inc. August 2005

 

  IBM WebSphere® MQ for z/OS, Version 6.0 software, available on June 24, 2005, connects applications in a consistent, reliable and easy-to-manage way, providing a trustworthy basis for an enterprise service bus.

An enterprise service bus (ESB) provides the same function for business applications as a telephone system does for humans. An ESB enables software applications running on different platforms, written in different programming languages and using different programming models to communicate with each other, without needing expensive, time-consuming reengineering.

 

WebSphere MQ, the core of the application integration, which integrates many platforms. Providing the messaging foundation for an enterprise service bus, and assuring reliable message delivery, it can be used alone or combined seamlessly with WebSphere Application Server or via adapter to CICS TS.

 

For the current MQ user, there are significant benefits to migrating to V6.0:

• The 63 KB limit on shared queues has been removed. The maximum message length on shared queues is increased to 100 MB, which is the same as messages on all other queues.
• More system resources (such as buffers, pagesets, and buffer pools) can be modified online and there are increases in permitted limits.
• Multiple TCP/IP stacks can be used.
• SupportPac™ MO12 (Log Extract Program) has been integrated.
• Many channel initiator (CHIN) configuration parameters, including some SSL configurations, can be changed online.
• Pagesets can increase to 64 GB. Pagesets and buffer pools can be added and removed dynamically. Buffers can be added and removed dynamically from buffer pools. Log datasets can be added dynamically (for example, if the current log becomes full). Pagesets can be expanded dynamically before they become full.
• All channel types now support data compression, which can improve network bandwidth usage and may also improve performance of encrypted SSL channels.
• New attributes for queues and cluster channels extend the range of cluster workload algorithms.

o       The MQXCLWLN call is now supported on z/OS.

o       A new cluster cache configuration option allows the cluster cache to expand dynamically if required.

o       New rank, priority, use-queue, most recently used, and weight attributes for queues, queue managers and cluster channels provide better control over workload distribution.

• WebSphere MQ can now track the route that a message would be expected to take through its network. New flags can request that queue managers that process the message should send back an activity report (for example: which channel, queue manager, and transmission queue have been used).
• Java™ Message Service (JMS) V1.1. The latest version of the JMS standard is supported. The older version of the interface is also included for backward compatibility.
• Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6). IPv6 is the latest version of the IP protocols and provides many more IP addresses than under IPv4. WebSphere MQ fully supports IPv6 networks.
  

 

There is a new license finance option (SALC) for this level of MQ available to WLC and EWLC-type systems. See our article on the various software pricing options available to the mainframe user today for detail on the SALC.

 

There are several actions a current MQ user can take in preparation of a future order and installation of Websphere MQ for z/OS V6.0. Doing these suggested actions now will properly positioning your current environment for accelerating the installation of V6.0. Read about these actions in our paper on MQ V6 Readiness.

 

If you are not currently performing performance management and capacity planning of your MQ components, you might consider downloading the SupportPac MP16. The SupportPac can be used to assist in setup and tuning and/or doing capacity planning for WebSphere MQ for z/OS V6.0, V5.3, or previous release system. It can also be used to gain an understanding of what factors affect performance.

 

If you are planning to begin implementing large messages (1mb or greater), you should review the developer works tutorial and their additional recommended SupportPac offerings.