Websphere MQ versions in differences

1. What's new in WebSphere MQ v5.3
   

   MQSeries was rebranded to IBM Websphere MQ with the release of version 5.3 launched in 2002.
   Some of the new major features introduced as part of this version are summarized below.
   
   1.Added security using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), the Internet standard for secure communication.
   

   The biggest new feature I've learned about is that channel can utilize SSL security. This feature is enabled at the 'channel definition' level, not from the application, so recompiling is not required! This provides a secure method to transport messages over the internet. 

   2.Enhanced performance, especially for Java™ Message Service (JMS) applications, making WebSphere MQ the JMS provider of choice.
   

   With version 5.3 JMS is packaged with the Product.

   3.Queue file size up to 2 Terabytes from 2GB.
   

   Queue file limit on certain platform is initially set at 2 GB. And can go beyond that on Windows automatically.

   4. Introduced support for wildcard characters in setmqaut command.
   

   For e.g. setmqaut -n AB.* -t q +put -p fred

   5.DISPLAY QSTATUS command that was introduced in WMQ V5.3.

   This shows all of the processes that have a queue open, both application programs and channels. The channel programs keep a cache of recently used queue handles, which might keep a queue in use. Although the channel eventually releases that handle, the DISPLAY QSTATUS information shows the channel name so you can force it to end immediately if necessary. 

2. What's new in WebSphere MQ v6.0

   1. An extensible Eclipse-based configuration user interface on Microsoft™ Windows™ and Linux x86 platforms.
   

   The WebSphere MQ Explorer is supplied with WebSphere MQ V6.0 installations for desktop platforms, such as Microsoft Windows and Linux (x86). The WebSphere MQ Explorer is a graphical user interface (GUI) for monitoring and administrating a WebSphere MQ infrastructure from a desktop workstation.

   2. 64-bit Queue Managers introduced with version 6.0
   
   

   The most significant functional difference between WebSphere MQ V5.3 and
   WebSphere MQ V6.0 on AIX 5L, Solaris™, and HP-UX is that queue managers
   on these platforms are now 64 bit.

   3. Introduced Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6)
   

   In WebSphere MQ Version 6.0, queue managers can communicate using the IPv6 protocol, in addition to the existing IPv4 protocol.

   4. Introduced GSKit for SSL in Windows  
   

   WebSphere MQ for Windows V6.0 uses GSKit to provide SSL functionality, inline with other platforms.

   5. Built-in publish/subscribe broker
   

   In WebSphere MQ V6.0, the publish/subscribe broker is supplied with the product and can be automatically started and stopped with a queue manager. The WebSphere MQ publish/subscribe broker was previously supplied separately to the WebSphere MQ product in SupportPac MA0C.

   6. Introduced functionality to use WMQ v6.0 for Web services
   

   WebSphere MQ V6.0 is supplied with the functionality required to allow a WebSphere MQ infrastructure to be used as a transport for Web services.

   7. Identify Application Connections to Queue Manager with DISPLAY CONN command
   
   

   WebSphere MQ V6.0 provides new functionality to identify all applications connected to a queue manager, see details of how that application has connected to the queue manager, and to see a complete list of the queues that are open for each one of those applications. This functionality is available from the Application Connections window in the WebSphere MQ Explorer. It is also available using the DISPLAY CONN and STOP CONN MQSC commands.

   8.  Listeners can be administered as MQ objects defined in Queue Manager

   In WebSphere MQ V6.0, on all platforms except z/OS where the behavior is unchanged, listeners can be administered as WebSphere MQ objects in the same way as any other object defined on a queue manager.Listeners can be administered graphical using the WebSphere MQ Explorer or be performed using the DEFINE/START/STOP/DISPLAY LISTENER and DISPLAY LSSTATUS MQSC commands.

   9. Custom services started and stopped with a queue manager
   
   

   Applications specified by an administrator can be automatically started and stopped with a queue manager on all platforms except WebSphere MQ for z/OS. This is performed by defining Service WebSphere MQ objects. These objects can be administered graphically using the WebSphere MQ Explorer, or using the DEFINE/START/STOP/DISPLAY SERVICE and DISPLAY SVSTATUS MQSC commands

3. What's new in WebSphere MQ v7.0

   
   1. Integrated Publish/Subscribe engine
   

   WebSphere MQ V7.0 provides a new Publish/Subscribe engine that is integrated into the queue manager. This is a major enhancement because the queue manager now internally manages all the Publish/Subscribe functionality. The queue manager receives messages from publishers and subscription requests from subscribers for a range of topics, which is responsible for queuing and routing these messages to the target subscribers.

   
   2. WebSphere MQ Client enhancements including read ahead, conversation sharing, and asynchronous put
   
   

    Full Duplex :-The protocol that MQ uses over the TCP/IP channel between a client and a queue manager has been converted from half duplex to full duplex.Full duplex means that information can be sent from either end of the session at any time.

   Channel Sharing :- Multiple connections established by threads of a client program can share one instance of a TCP/IP client channel rather than running their own instances. Conversation sharing is controlled by value of the SHARECNV parameter on both SVRCONN-type channels and CLNTCONN-type channels.

   Read Ahead :- While the client program is requesting the messages by making repeated calls to MQGET, the MQ client libraries read ahead on the queue and store additional non-persistent messages in memory on the client system. If the requested message is in memory, it is immediately returned to the MQGET.  Read ahead reduces the overall number of interactions on the client channel and the latency for each MQGET call to communicate with the queue manager and wait for the response to come back.

   Asynchronous put :- It allows messages to be put to a queue without waiting for a status response from the queue manager containing the Completion Code and Reason Code. The status response can be obtained after the messages have all been put.

   3. Improved JMS MQ integration
   

   Read ahead :- The read ahead feature in WebSphere MQ V7.0 allows messages from a destination to be streamed to the WebSphere MQ classes for JMS ahead of the JMS application requesting the messages. This saves the classes from having to send a separate request to the WebSphere MQ queue manager for each message that the JMS application consumes and allows the messages to be consumed with improved performance.

   Asynchronous Put :- Prior to WebSphere MQ V7.0,the WebSphere MQ classes for JMS had to wait for a response back from the queue manager for every message sent by the JMS application. Using the enhanced asynchronous put feature in WebSphere MQ V7.0, the WebSphere MQ classes for JMS forwards each message to the queue manager and does not wait for a response. Control is immediately returned back to the JMS application and the application can proceed to send the next message.

   Asynchronous Consume :- An application that needs to consume a message asynchronously registers a callback function for a destination. When a suitable message is available at the destination, WebSphere MQ calls the function and passes the message as a parameter. The function can then process the message asynchronously.

   Conversation sharing :- It is a new feature in WebSphere MQ V7.0. It allows a single TCP/IP socket to multiplex multiple connections, provided that the two ends of the connection belong to the same process. All Java Message service applications by default use multiplexing of sessions without any code modifications.

   4. Administration enhancements including new MQSC commands and MQ Explorer views
   

   Remote queue managers administration :- This new MQ Explorer feature allow remote instances of MQ Explorer to administer local queue managers.

   The crtmqm command has three new options, available on WebSphere MQ for
   Windows only:
   -sa: Automatic queue manager startup
   -si: Interactive (manual) queue manager startup
   -ss: Service (manual) queue manager startup

   The strmqm command has two new options, available on WebSphere MQ for
   Windows only:
   -si: Interactive (manual) queue manager startup
   -ss: Service (manual) queue manager startup 

4. What's new in WebSphere MQ v7.1

   
   1. Multi-Version Installation Introduced in WebSphere MQ v7.1
   
   

   WebSphere MQ v7.1 makes it possible to install multiple versions of the product on a single system.This means along with WMQ v7.0.1.6 which is the minimum version required for this feature to work, you can install multiple versions of WMQ v7.1 and higher.Some of the highlights of this are below. We can,

   Install update or remove WebSphere MQ installations while Queue Manager is running.

   Switch Queue Manager to a different installation.

   Develop and test applications against multiple WebSphere MQ releases on a single system.

   Run applications which connect simultaneously to queue managers in different installations.

   Every WebSphere MQ Installation has a name and cannot be changed after Installation.

   Each system supports a maximum of 128 installations.

   One instllation may be designated as a primary installation with system wide resources and other non-primary installations created using setmqenv command.

   2.  WebSphere MQ Telemetry is introduced as an optional component during installation.
   

   MQ Telemetry Transport (MQTT) is a lightweight network protocol used for publish/subscribe messaging between devices.WebSphere MQ Telemetry provides small client libraries that can be embedded into smart devices like sensors running on a number of different device platforms. Applications built with the clients use WebSphere MQ Telemetry Transport (MQTT) and the WebSphere MQ Telemetry service to publish and subscribe messages reliably with WebSphere MQ.Basic MQTT is a Pub/Sub architecture while WebSphere MQ can provide either Pub/Sub or point-to-point message delivery.

   3.  Channel authentication records for more control over connecting systems at channel level.
   

   If a client attempts to connect to a queue manager using a blank user Id we can block access to those clients using channel authentication records. Also we can block access from specific IP addresses.We can map an asserted user id on client to a valid user id on server.We can create, modify, or remove channel authentication records using the MQSC command SET CHLAUTH.

   4.  Relocatable Installations
   

   On AIX®, HP-UX, Linux, and Solaris, it is now possible with WebSphere v7.1 to install WebSphere MQ to a location of your choice.

   5.  Dead letter queue usage on Channels and Topics
   

   USEDLQ attribute can be configured so that some functions of the queue manager use the dead-letter queue, while other functions do not. This attribute enables the configuration of selected channels to not use the Dead-Letter queue. USEDLQ also enables topics to be individually configured to determine whether the Dead-Letter queue is to be used for messages that cannot be delivered to subscribers. 

   6. Dump MQ Configuration
   

   From WebSphere MQ v7.1 the new Dump MQ configuration command (dmpmqcfg) on UNIX, Linux, and Windows system  can dump the configuration of queue managers in various scripting formats including MQSC. The scripts produced by the Dump MQ Configuration command can be used to restore or rebuild a queue manager. The previously used SupportPac MS03 - Save Queue Manager is replaced by this command instead.

   7. MQ Configuration data removed from Windows Registry
   

   Before version 7.1 all WebSphere® MQ configuration information, and most queue manager configuration information, was stored in the Windows registry. From version 7.1 onwards all configuration information is stored in files.

   C:\Program Files\IBM\WebSphere MQ\qmgrs\QMNAME\qm.ini

   C:\Program Files (x86)\IBM\WebSphere MQ\mqs.ini 

5. What's new in WebSphere MQ v7.0.1

   
   1. Introduced Multi-Instance Queue Managers
   
   

   Enables automatic failover to a standby Queue Manager instance in the Multi-Instance Active Queue Managers event of an incident or planned outage.This means that in the event of the failure of the MQ queue manager, or the machine it is running on, a standby instance will automatically takeover and client connections will be transferred to this new instance.The key technical feature in achieving this is the placement of the queue manager data, including its logs, in networked storage.This means that all instances of a queue manager can access the same data.Multiple instances of a queue manager can then be defined on different machines that all have access to the networked file system. It should be noted that the instances must all be running on the same operating systems.

   2.  Automatic Client Reconnect
   
   

   Provides Client-connected applications with automatic detection of failures and reconnects to alternative Queue Managers.With Auto-reconnection, the connection is automatically restored and the handles to open objects are all restored after a failure.Uses the list of addresses in CONNAME to find queue manager.

   3.  Enhanced Governance
   

   Service Definition wizard generates WSDL describing MQ apps.The service definition wizard simplifies the process of creating WMQ service definitions and is integrated into the WMQ Explorer.

   4. Enhanced SSL Security
   

   Supports certificate checks with Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) as well as to Certificate Revocation Lists (CRL). Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) determines whether a certificate has been revoked, and therefore, helps to determine whether the certificate can be trusted.

   5. Enhanced .NET support
   

   Provides IBM Message Service Client for .NET developers. Supports use of WebSphere MQ as custom channel within Windows Communication Foundation.

   
   
   

   What's new in WebSphere MQ v7.1 

             Multi-Version Installation

   1. MQ on Unix and Windows can install multiple levels on a system 

      Relocatable to user-chosen directories

      Can have multiple copies even at the same fixpack level

   2. Permits a single copy of V7.0.1 to remain on system , So existing systems can be migrated. 

       Must be 7.0.1.6 or later

   3. V7.5.0.1 is available as both install and update images

   4. Multi-install gives lots of routes to get to latest code with minimal disruption

   Security: Channel Access Control
   Simplifying configuration for channel accessFrom clients and from queue managers

   SET CHLAUTH definitions control who can use channels.

    

   Block connections from specific IP addresses

   Block connections from specific Userids

   Set MCAUSER value used for any channel coming from a specific IP address

   Set MCAUSER value used for any channel having a specific SSL or TLS DN

   Set MCAUSER value used for any channel connecting from a specific Qmgr

   Block connections claiming to be from a particular Qmgr unless from a specific IP address

   Block connections claiming to be from a particular Client Userid from a specific IP address

   Block connections presenting a particular certificate unless from a specific IP address.

    

   Easy to test rules that you define

    

   DISPLAY CHLAUTH can “execute” rules

   Rules can be applied in WARNING mode

   Not actually blocked, but errors generated

   
   

   
   

   
   

   What's new in WebSphere MQ v7.5v
   

   Clustering – Split Transmit Queue 

    

   1.With V7.5 a queue manager can automatically define a PERMANENT-DYNAMIC queue for each CLUSSDR channel.
   –Dynamic queues based upon new model queue “SYSTEM.CLUSTER.TRANSMIT.MODEL”
   –Well known queue names: “SYSTEM.CLUSTER.TRANSMIT.<CHANNEL-NAME>”

   2 .Controlled via attribute affecting all cluster-sdr channels on the queue manager

             Also have manual definitions
   –Multiple queues can be defined to cover all, or a subset of the cluster channels.

   3.Automatic and Manual are not mutually exclusive
   –They could be used together
   ALTER QMGR DEFCLXQ( SCTQ | CHANNEL )
   DEFINE QLOCAL(APPQMGR.CLUSTER1.XMITQ)
   CLCHNAME(CLUSTER1.TO.APPQMGR) USAGE