IBM Websphere MQ V8.0 delivers improved scalability, enhanced security, and updates to standards and currency - Middleware News
IBM MQ for Multiplatforms, V8.0 (MQ V8) offers a universal messaging
solution. It delivers the messaging you need, where you need it, from
enterprise messaging for secure core business applications to mobile
messaging to extend your business to the Internet of things and mobile
devices. With MQ V8, you have access to the key business data in files
across your business, and simplified messaging access for your
application developers.
The key features of IBM MQ V8 can be grouped mainly into themes of improved scalability, enhanced security, and updates to standards and currency.
Enhancements include:
IBM MQ for Multiplatforms, V8.0 is a robust and secure messaging middleware offering, allowing applications, systems, services, and files to exchange data rapidly and reliably.
For more than 20 years IBM has led the market in messaging middleware, with more than 10,000 businesses across all geographies and industries able to rely on IBM MQ.
IBM MQ V8.0 builds on the functions and capabilities that were added in previous releases of IBM WebSphere® MQ, IBM WebSphere MQ Advanced, IBM WebSphere MQ Advanced Message Security, IBM WebSphere MQ Managed File Transfer, and IBM WebSphere MQ Telemetry.
Customers with an active license can obtain the new and enhanced functions offered in IBM MQ V8 by migrating directly to V8.0 from IBM WebSphere MQ V7.0.1, V7.1, or V7.5, where available, without migrating to an interim version or release.
The key features of IBM MQ V8 can be grouped mainly into themes of improved scalability, enhanced security, and updates to standards and currency.
These updates are in support of the key deliverables that comprise the IBM MQ V8.0 offering. Central in this offering is IBM MQ Advanced V8, which provides combined entitlement to all the core functions and capabilities delivered by the offering, without needing additional separate entitlements for each chargeable component. These separately chargeable components available in IBM MQ Advanced include:
IBM MQ V8 builds on the functions and capabilities that were added in previous releases of WebSphere MQ, WebSphere MQ Advanced, WebSphere MQ Advanced Message Security, WebSphere MQ Managed File Transfer, and WebSphere MQ Telemetry.
The key features of IBM MQ V8 can be grouped mainly into themes of improved scalability, enhanced security, and updates to standards and currency.
Enhanced security
IBM MQ V8 adds the ability to authenticate using an identity defined to the OS instance in which the MQ is running or to retrieve the identity from an external repository. This can be used in place of the existing MQ authentication mechanism. This new authentication feature will help reduce the administration of defining and removing users, especially across multiple systems.
An additional security enhancement in IBM MQ V8 allows CHLAUTH definitions to use DNS (domain) host names instead of being forced to use IP addresses. Use of IP addresses continues to be best practice but users now have the choice of either approach, which can simplify matters when machines move IP addresses. This enhancement will enable the removal of user exits where customers have used these to deliver this capability in the past.
Another security enhancement in IBM MQ V8 is to enable more flexible security configuration of a queue manager. A queue manager can now have multiple certificates, each signed by a different certificate authority. This will now enable a single queue manager to communicate with different partners, each of whom uses a different certificate authority, simply by controlling this through channel definitions.
Enhancements to scalability
IBM MQ V8 has made enhancements to how publish-subscribe can be deployed when using clustering. In this release it is now possible to assign roles to queue managers in a cluster. A subset of those queue managers in a cluster can be configured for more efficient routing of messages. This will assist in the propagation of publications which can then help publish-subscribe configurations scale more effectively.
Further enhancements in scalability in IBM MQ V8 include improved exploitation of the larger symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) machines now available, with increased performance available for real-world deployments rather than tuned for benchmarks.
Updates to standards and currency
With the availability of IBM MQ V8, all MQ queue manager platforms now support 64-bit server implementations, subject to appropriate hardware support and operating system support. In this release support has also been added for JMS 2.0, including new messaging features and API changes. This enables businesses to move up to this new level of JMS as required. There are also enhancements in .NET support, with the MQ .NET classes now supporting SSL without additional component installation required. Microsoft™ Windows™ native certificate stores are also supported with .NET applications. Additionally, the Windows Communication Foundation interface is extended to support non-SOAP, non-JMS messages. These changes all contribute to simplifying the use of IBM MQ in .NET configurations.
Integrated Advanced Message Security
IBM MQ Advanced Message Security has been available for a number of years, but with this release is now available for the first time on the IBM i platform. This therefore allows you to protect the security of your messages from application to application, without the need to change the application code itself, across the widest range of MQ platforms. As with recent releases on other platforms, this capability is integrated into the core IBM MQ V8 installation, making it simpler for users to see the function, and to have it installed should you wish to buy license entitlement to use it. License entitlement is included in IBM MQ Advanced.
Improved application isolation
A previous release of IBM MQ included improved ability to scale for differing workload environments by the ability to configure multiple transmission queues in an IBM MQ clustered environment. This enables applications with different workloads and performance requirements to operate at their own rate without impacting other applications. With IBM MQ V8, this feature is now available for the first time on the IBM i platform.
Increased functionality in IBM MQ Telemetry
IBM MQ Telemetry enables IBM MQ servers to connect to MQTT clients. Prior to IBM MQ V8, this was available in two different licenses: Standard or Advanced. With Standard licensing, MQ servers could connect to MQTT clients. With Advanced licensing, there was entitlement to deploy and connect to the MQ Telemetry Daemon for Devices, which allowed buffering for MQTT messages and acted as a client concentrator. With IBM MQ V8 all of this function is now available with the regular IBM MQ Telemetry license, offering improved flexibility of deployment options at no additional license cost. IBM MQ Advanced still includes licensing for IBM MQ Telemetry deployment for all IBM MQ servers with any amount of IBM MQ Advanced licenses purchased.
Enhancements and changes in Managed File Transfer capabilities
IBM MQ has included Managed File Transfer capabilities for a number of years, allowing users to use the MQ environment to send and receive data in and out of files. This enabled file-to-file transfer, message-to-file transfer, and file-to-message transfer, with configuration and monitoring through MQ Explorer. As announced in Software Announcement 214-038, dated March 11, 2014, the Managed File Transfer capabilities provided with IBM MQ have been enhanced through the additional entitlement to IBM Sterling Connect:Direct for peer-to-peer file transfer, and entitlement to IBM Sterling Control Center which provides event-based monitoring and management for file transfers supporting both IBM MQ Managed File Transfer and IBM Sterling Connect:Direct. This increases the function and capabilities available to users of IBM MQ wanting to reliably and securely move files or file contents. As part of this update and enhancement to previous releases, the WebSphere MQ Managed File Transfer Agent, now available as part of the WebSphere Managed File Transfer Managed Endpoint entitlement, is licensed per Install instead of per Client Device.
A U.S. Section 508 Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) containing details on accessibility compliance can be requested at
The IBM MQ family offers a universal messaging backbone for connectivity between all types of applications and systems, including SOA deployments. It connects new and existing applications, as well as web services, with reliable messaging. IBM MQ provides the reliable and secure messaging needed as a transport layer to underpin an enterprise service bus (ESB). It delivers guaranteed, reliable messaging - as well other qualities of service - offering a choice in the class of delivery.
IBM MQ supports industry-standard Java™ Message Service (JMS 2.0) messaging. It enables simple, RESTful access from Web 2.0 to core back-end applications. IBM MQ integrates virtually any commercial IT system with support for more than 80 platform configurations. It integrates Java Enterprise Edition (JEE) applications, .NET applications, CICS®, IMS™, DB2®, and packaged applications.
IBM MQ can help organizations get more from their IT investments by offering a reliable and flexible integration backbone for exchanging messages between applications and web services.
In addition, the IBM Tivoli® portfolio offers systems management for large-scale IBM MQ solutions. Tivoli OMEGAMON® XE for Messaging can help improve the availability and performance of IBM MQ solutions. It can identify common problems and automate corrective actions using predefined industry best-practice situations, while monitoring key IBM MQ metrics. It can also help improve management of service level agreements (SLAs) by monitoring availability and capacity using real-time and historical data analysis. Out-of-the box capabilities, such as auto-discovery and monitoring of complex IBM MQ environments, can improve IT staff productivity and reduce administration costs.
In addition, SupportPac product extensions offer additional function available as a download from the Internet. Visit
The key features of IBM MQ V8 can be grouped mainly into themes of improved scalability, enhanced security, and updates to standards and currency.
Enhancements include:
- Verification of user ID and password, making use of either operating system definitions or a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) repository
- Use of Domain Name System (DNS) host names in Channel Authentication Records (CHLAUTH)
- Channel-level certificates, allowing multiple certificates to be used in a queue manager
- Routed publish-subscribe in clusters
- Enhanced status reporting for publish-subscribe
- Performance enhancements including queue manager scaling and multiplexed client performance
- Support for updated standards
- Support on all platforms for 64-bit queue managers
- Support for multiple transmission queues defined for use in a clustered queue manager on all platforms
- Availability on all platforms of both Advanced Message Security and Managed File Transfer
| Overview |
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IBM MQ for Multiplatforms, V8.0 is a robust and secure messaging middleware offering, allowing applications, systems, services, and files to exchange data rapidly and reliably.
For more than 20 years IBM has led the market in messaging middleware, with more than 10,000 businesses across all geographies and industries able to rely on IBM MQ.
IBM MQ V8.0 builds on the functions and capabilities that were added in previous releases of IBM WebSphere® MQ, IBM WebSphere MQ Advanced, IBM WebSphere MQ Advanced Message Security, IBM WebSphere MQ Managed File Transfer, and IBM WebSphere MQ Telemetry.
Customers with an active license can obtain the new and enhanced functions offered in IBM MQ V8 by migrating directly to V8.0 from IBM WebSphere MQ V7.0.1, V7.1, or V7.5, where available, without migrating to an interim version or release.
The key features of IBM MQ V8 can be grouped mainly into themes of improved scalability, enhanced security, and updates to standards and currency.
These updates are in support of the key deliverables that comprise the IBM MQ V8.0 offering. Central in this offering is IBM MQ Advanced V8, which provides combined entitlement to all the core functions and capabilities delivered by the offering, without needing additional separate entitlements for each chargeable component. These separately chargeable components available in IBM MQ Advanced include:
- The IBM MQ product itself, which provides the enterprise messaging infrastructure
- IBM MQ Advanced Message Security, which provides policy-based end-to-end encryption of the message contents
- IBM MQ Telemetry, which provides lightweight, scalable connectivity to MQ Telemetry Transport (MQTT)-connected clients and devices
- WebSphere Managed File Transfer, which provides combined entitlement to IBM MQ Managed File Transfer Service, IBM Sterling Connect:Direct®, and IBM Sterling Control Center, as described in Software Announcement 214-038, dated March 11, 2014
IBM MQ V8 builds on the functions and capabilities that were added in previous releases of WebSphere MQ, WebSphere MQ Advanced, WebSphere MQ Advanced Message Security, WebSphere MQ Managed File Transfer, and WebSphere MQ Telemetry.
The key features of IBM MQ V8 can be grouped mainly into themes of improved scalability, enhanced security, and updates to standards and currency.
Enhanced security
IBM MQ V8 adds the ability to authenticate using an identity defined to the OS instance in which the MQ is running or to retrieve the identity from an external repository. This can be used in place of the existing MQ authentication mechanism. This new authentication feature will help reduce the administration of defining and removing users, especially across multiple systems.
An additional security enhancement in IBM MQ V8 allows CHLAUTH definitions to use DNS (domain) host names instead of being forced to use IP addresses. Use of IP addresses continues to be best practice but users now have the choice of either approach, which can simplify matters when machines move IP addresses. This enhancement will enable the removal of user exits where customers have used these to deliver this capability in the past.
Another security enhancement in IBM MQ V8 is to enable more flexible security configuration of a queue manager. A queue manager can now have multiple certificates, each signed by a different certificate authority. This will now enable a single queue manager to communicate with different partners, each of whom uses a different certificate authority, simply by controlling this through channel definitions.
Enhancements to scalability
IBM MQ V8 has made enhancements to how publish-subscribe can be deployed when using clustering. In this release it is now possible to assign roles to queue managers in a cluster. A subset of those queue managers in a cluster can be configured for more efficient routing of messages. This will assist in the propagation of publications which can then help publish-subscribe configurations scale more effectively.
Further enhancements in scalability in IBM MQ V8 include improved exploitation of the larger symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) machines now available, with increased performance available for real-world deployments rather than tuned for benchmarks.
Updates to standards and currency
With the availability of IBM MQ V8, all MQ queue manager platforms now support 64-bit server implementations, subject to appropriate hardware support and operating system support. In this release support has also been added for JMS 2.0, including new messaging features and API changes. This enables businesses to move up to this new level of JMS as required. There are also enhancements in .NET support, with the MQ .NET classes now supporting SSL without additional component installation required. Microsoft™ Windows™ native certificate stores are also supported with .NET applications. Additionally, the Windows Communication Foundation interface is extended to support non-SOAP, non-JMS messages. These changes all contribute to simplifying the use of IBM MQ in .NET configurations.
Integrated Advanced Message Security
IBM MQ Advanced Message Security has been available for a number of years, but with this release is now available for the first time on the IBM i platform. This therefore allows you to protect the security of your messages from application to application, without the need to change the application code itself, across the widest range of MQ platforms. As with recent releases on other platforms, this capability is integrated into the core IBM MQ V8 installation, making it simpler for users to see the function, and to have it installed should you wish to buy license entitlement to use it. License entitlement is included in IBM MQ Advanced.
Improved application isolation
A previous release of IBM MQ included improved ability to scale for differing workload environments by the ability to configure multiple transmission queues in an IBM MQ clustered environment. This enables applications with different workloads and performance requirements to operate at their own rate without impacting other applications. With IBM MQ V8, this feature is now available for the first time on the IBM i platform.
Increased functionality in IBM MQ Telemetry
IBM MQ Telemetry enables IBM MQ servers to connect to MQTT clients. Prior to IBM MQ V8, this was available in two different licenses: Standard or Advanced. With Standard licensing, MQ servers could connect to MQTT clients. With Advanced licensing, there was entitlement to deploy and connect to the MQ Telemetry Daemon for Devices, which allowed buffering for MQTT messages and acted as a client concentrator. With IBM MQ V8 all of this function is now available with the regular IBM MQ Telemetry license, offering improved flexibility of deployment options at no additional license cost. IBM MQ Advanced still includes licensing for IBM MQ Telemetry deployment for all IBM MQ servers with any amount of IBM MQ Advanced licenses purchased.
Enhancements and changes in Managed File Transfer capabilities
IBM MQ has included Managed File Transfer capabilities for a number of years, allowing users to use the MQ environment to send and receive data in and out of files. This enabled file-to-file transfer, message-to-file transfer, and file-to-message transfer, with configuration and monitoring through MQ Explorer. As announced in Software Announcement 214-038, dated March 11, 2014, the Managed File Transfer capabilities provided with IBM MQ have been enhanced through the additional entitlement to IBM Sterling Connect:Direct for peer-to-peer file transfer, and entitlement to IBM Sterling Control Center which provides event-based monitoring and management for file transfers supporting both IBM MQ Managed File Transfer and IBM Sterling Connect:Direct. This increases the function and capabilities available to users of IBM MQ wanting to reliably and securely move files or file contents. As part of this update and enhancement to previous releases, the WebSphere MQ Managed File Transfer Agent, now available as part of the WebSphere Managed File Transfer Managed Endpoint entitlement, is licensed per Install instead of per Client Device.
Accessibility by people with disabilities
IBM MQ V8.0 is capable as of May 23, 2014, when used in accordance with associated IBM documentation, of satisfying the applicable requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, provided that any assistive technology used with the product properly interoperates with it.A U.S. Section 508 Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) containing details on accessibility compliance can be requested at
Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act
IBM MQ V8.0 is capable as of May 23, 2014, when used in accordance with associated IBM documentation, of satisfying the applicable requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, provided that any assistive technology used with the product properly interoperates with it. A US Section 508 Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) can be requested on the following websiteThe IBM MQ family offers a universal messaging backbone for connectivity between all types of applications and systems, including SOA deployments. It connects new and existing applications, as well as web services, with reliable messaging. IBM MQ provides the reliable and secure messaging needed as a transport layer to underpin an enterprise service bus (ESB). It delivers guaranteed, reliable messaging - as well other qualities of service - offering a choice in the class of delivery.
IBM MQ supports industry-standard Java™ Message Service (JMS 2.0) messaging. It enables simple, RESTful access from Web 2.0 to core back-end applications. IBM MQ integrates virtually any commercial IT system with support for more than 80 platform configurations. It integrates Java Enterprise Edition (JEE) applications, .NET applications, CICS®, IMS™, DB2®, and packaged applications.
IBM MQ can help organizations get more from their IT investments by offering a reliable and flexible integration backbone for exchanging messages between applications and web services.
- IBM MQ, the core of application integration, delivers the reliable and proven messaging backbone for SOA connectivity, as the universal, multipurpose data transport. It connects many commercial IT systems, with support for more than 80 platform configurations. IBM MQ supports industry-standard JMS 2.0 messaging and offers a choice of APIs. IBM MQ interoperates with the JMS messaging services embedded in WebSphere Application Server, enabling JEE environments to bridge to other environments. IBM MQ is a flexible connectivity solution that can grow incrementally with changing business needs.
- IBM MQ for z/OS® exploits the capabilities of the IBM System z® platform to deliver a messaging powerhouse.
- WebSphere MQ for HP OpenVMS, WebSphere MQ for HP NonStop Server, and WebSphere MQ for z/VSE® all extend the reach of IBM MQ to these specific computing platforms.
- IBM MQ Advanced Message Security expands the industry-standard security supplied by IBM MQ with end-to-end data protection for applications. It enables enterprise-wide, remote management of security policies on an MQ network and can be deployed to existing production environments without changes to existing IBM MQ applications. This capability is integrated into IBM MQ V8 on all supported platforms but is separately licensed for definition and use of policies. Licensing is included in IBM MQ Advanced.
- WebSphere Managed File Transfer Service and WebSphere Managed File Transfer Endpoints leverage both existing messaging infrastructures to provide reliable, secure managed file transfer between systems without major recoding of applications that produce and consume files instead of messages, or use IBM Sterling Connect:Direct to move files between systems. This capability is further enhanced with IBM Sterling Control Center for event-based monitoring and management of file transfers. Licensing for WebSphere Managed File Transfer is subject to entitlement in addition to IBM MQ entitlement, but licensing for WebSphere Managed File Transfer Service is included in IBM MQ Advanced entitlement.
- IBM MQ Telemetry provides a lightweight client to run on physical devices such as sensors, or mobile devices such as mobile phones, extending the reach of the IBM MQ infrastructure. Connectivity to MQTT clients or the IBM MQ Telemetry Daemon for Devices is available subject to separate entitlement. Included with entitlement to IBM MQ Advanced is entitlement to deploy IBM MQ Telemetry on all MQ servers in the enterprise.
- WebSphere MQ Low Latency Messaging (on Linux™, Microsoft Windows, and Oracle Solaris platforms) extends the IBM MQ product family with low-latency, high-throughput delivery. It is optimized for the very high-volume, low-latency requirements typical of financial market firms and other industries where speed of data delivery is paramount. This is not provided with IBM MQ, but is available separately with separate entitlement. Messages can be exchanged both ways between IBM MQ and WebSphere MQ Low Latency Messaging.
- IBM Integration Bus adds transformation, intelligent routing, and information flow modeling to the IBM MQ messaging backbone. This ESB distributes information and data generated by business events in real time to people, applications, and devices throughout the extended enterprise and beyond.
In addition, the IBM Tivoli® portfolio offers systems management for large-scale IBM MQ solutions. Tivoli OMEGAMON® XE for Messaging can help improve the availability and performance of IBM MQ solutions. It can identify common problems and automate corrective actions using predefined industry best-practice situations, while monitoring key IBM MQ metrics. It can also help improve management of service level agreements (SLAs) by monitoring availability and capacity using real-time and historical data analysis. Out-of-the box capabilities, such as auto-discovery and monitoring of complex IBM MQ environments, can improve IT staff productivity and reduce administration costs.
In addition, SupportPac product extensions offer additional function available as a download from the Internet. Visit
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