Looking back on 2015

In this post we look back on the year that was 2015 and what happened in both IBM MQ, and MQGem Software.

New Versions

Both IBM MQ and MQGem Software products had a number of new releases in 2015.

MQGem Software products

Three new versions of our premier product, MO71 – a graphical administrative product for IBM MQ. Version 8.0.2 was released in January, 8.0.3 was released in April, and 8.0.4 was released in November.

A new version of MQSCX – our extended MQSC product, version 8.0.1, was released in May.

A new product, QLOAD V8.0.1 was released in June, with an initial three month free trial period.

IBM MQ Fix Packs and new function

One new Fix Pack on IBM WebSphere MQ V7.0.1. Fix Pack 7.0.1.13 was released in August. Two new Fix Packs on IBM WebSphere MQ V7.1. Fix Pack 7.1.0.7 in November, and 7.1.0.6 in January. One new Fix Pack on IBM WebSphere MQ V7.5. Fix Pack 7.5.0.5 was released in May.

Three new Fix Packs on IBM MQ V8. Fix Pack 8.0.0.2 in February – introducing new Command Level 801, 8.0.0.3 in June – introducing new Command Level 802 and new function, and 8.0.0.4 in October also adding new function.

IBM delivered the new MQ Appliance M2000 in February. Here’s the Announce Letter, Blog Post and Video. An IBM Redbook was released in November: Integrating the IBM MQ Appliance into your IBM MQ Infrastructure. Later in the year, it then delivered on the SoD with the DR capability added to the appliance – read more about it in How the IBM MQ Appliance Brings MQ and High Availability Together.

IBM provided the MQLight function, and AMQP client protocol in IBM MQ, as part of FixPack 8.0.0.4 in October. Read more about it in MQ support for MQ Light and AMQP 1.0 released in 8.0.0.4.

Videos

At your request, dear customers, MQGem Software has created a number of videos of our products. Each product has a playlist.

YouTube

The MO71 playlist contains the following 7 videos.

The MQSCX playlist contains the following two videos.

Conference Events

There have been quite a number of events throughout 2015 that have had IBM MQ content delivered at them. I hope you were able to attend at least one. The presentation material is online for many of these events, and download links are shown below where we are aware of them.

Online articles

There have been some really great blog posts written throughout 2015. Lots of the guys in IBM Hursley have been blogging about the new features they have been releasing throughout the year. The IBM MQ Blogosphere has really grown over 2015. Read more in IBM MQ Blogosphere.

 
2015 has been a great year for all things MQ. MQGem wishes all its customers, readers, and friends a Happy and Prosperous 2016. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

MQGem products support the MQ Appliance

MQ Appliance

The MQ appliance – photo taken at InterConnect

With the recent releases of MQSCX V8.0.1 and MO71 V8.0.3, both these MQGem Software products now support the MQ Appliance.

The MQ Appliance is a Command Level 801 queue manager in an appliance form factor. Lots of great information about the MQ Appliance can be found at ibm.biz/MQApplianceMoreInfo and if you’re on Twitter check out the hashtag #MQAppliance.

Read more about the other features in these new releases of our products:-

MQSCX version 8.0.1 is released

MQGem Software is pleased to announce that a new version of MQSCX, our command line extended MQSC tool for IBM MQ, is now available.

The main features of the release are as follows:-

MQ 801 Goody Bag

Support for IBM MQ Command Level 801

Read What is an 801 Queue Manager? and What’s in Command Level 801 to learn more about Command Level 801 and how to use it.

UPDATE: And in the latest revision, MQSCX also supports Command Level 802 which was introduced in Fix Pack 3.

Support for IBM MQ Appliance

The MQ Appliance is a Command Level 801 queue manager in an appliance form factor. Lots of great information about the MQ Appliance can be found at ibm.biz/MQApplianceMoreInfo

Various user requested usability improvements

As always, there are many customer requests for enhancements. Here are a few that were added in V8.0.1. Thank you for your requests. If you have a request for an enhancement to MQSCX, please free free to drop me a line at support@mqgem.com.

  • Send MQSCX output to a file
    A new =output command to allow the user to write a portion of the command stream (and responses) to a file.
  • Parameterise imported files
    A parms(…) parameter has been added to the =import command. This allows enabled setting of the _Parm[] array..
  • Default import file path
    It is now possible to set the default file path which will be used by the =import command. The path can be set either by a parameter to MQSCX or with the =set filepath(…) command..
  • New debug trace
    The parameter -Dt will invoke debug trace in filemode. Debug trace will output the command being processed to the stderr file stream.
  • Control wait time for initial command server interaction
    A new wait() parameter on the =conn command allows the user to control how long MQSCX should wait for the initial exchange with the command server to determine platform and version.
  • Cancelling a continuation command
    In interactive mode you can now cancel a continuation command by clearing the command line when it is already empty. By default then pressing ESCAPE twice will cancel a continuation command.

The new version can be downloaded from the MQSCX Download Page. Any current licensed users of MQSCX can run the new version on their existing licence. If you don’t have a licence and would like to try out MQSCX then send a note to support@mqgem.com and a 1-month trial licence will be sent to you.


There is now a newer version of MQSCX, V9.0.0. Read more about it in MQSCX version 9.0.0 is released.

MO71 version 8.0.3 is released

MQGem Software is pleased to announce that a new version of MO71, our GUI Administrative tool for IBM MQ, is now available.

The main features of the release are as follows:-

MQ 801 Goody Bag

Support for IBM MQ Command Level 801

Read What is an 801 Queue Manager? and What’s in Command Level 801 to learn more about Command Level 801 and how to use it.

UPDATE: And in the latest revision, MO71 also supports Command Level 802 which was introduced in Fix Pack 3.

Support for IBM MQ Appliance

The MQ Appliance is a Command Level 801 queue manager in an appliance form factor. Lots of great information about the MQ Appliance can be found at ibm.biz/MQApplianceMoreInfo

Object Name Checking

MO71 will now validate any defined names against your installation naming conventions. Read more in Following your naming convention.

Object Name Comparison matching

MO71 can now compare the object definitions of two Queue Managers where the names are not the same. For example, comparing Q1.TST and Q1.PRD on test and production Queue Managers. Read more in Following your naming convention.

Trace Route Messaging

MO71 now allows you to use the trace message functionality in the IBM MQ base product. By selecting a source Queue Manager and putting one or more trace messages to a target destination, MO71 will automatically show you the route the message took in a diagram like this one:-
Example Trace Message Diagram

Disable the use of SSL V3.0 CipherSpecs

In line with the change in the IBM MQ product to, by default, disable the selection of SSL V3.0 CipherSpecs, MO71 also, by default, does not offer them as a choice for you when defining a channel. Read more about why it is important to move off SSL V3.0 in Know your protocol.

Web Access Improvements

Displaying your MQ objects from a browser have been improved by using iframes, enabling displays such as this:-
Default MO71 Web Access layout

Various user requested usability improvements

As always, there are many customer requests for enhancements. Here are a few that were added in V8.0.3. Thank you for your requests. If you have a request for an enhancement to MO71, please free free to drop me a line at support@mqgem.com.

  • Location Name
    The length of the location name in a location definition has been increased from 49 bytes to 99 bytes.
  • MQSC from Command Menu in MO71MQSC command available in the Commands context menu
    To make it easier to access the MQSC dialog command has been added to the commands context menu.
  • MQSC can now auto export multiple commands
    Auto export was added to the MQSC dialog in the previous release but multiple commands were not supported. In this release you can now issue multiple commands, such as reading the commands from a file, and have them auto-exported to a file.
  • Support for DISPLAY SUB(*) DISTYPE
    When you display the list of subscriptions you can decide whether the returned topic strings should contain the topic object stems or just contain the defined values.
  • Queue load feature now supports explicit setting of Read-Ahead and Async-Put options
    Previously MO71 would use the default setting for these values. This could be inconvenient if you want applications to use one setting and MO71 to use another. So, you can now explicitly set whether you want to set these values on. They are on by default since they can offer a significant performance advantage over slow client links and there is little real disadvantage in using the options.

The new version can be downloaded from the MO71 Download Page. Any current licensed users of MO71 can run the new version on their existing licence. If you don’t have a licence and would like to try out MO71 then send a note to support@mqgem.com and a 1-month trial licence will be sent to you.


There is now a newer version of MO71, V8.0.4. Read more about it in MO71 version 8.0.4 is released.

Know your protocol

There are times when it is important to know more about your SSL/TLS secured channel than just that it is running. More recently it has become important to know not just the CipherSpec that it is using but the Protocol as well. By protocol I mean, is it using the old SSL V3.0 protocol, or have you set it up to use one of the more modern TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.2 protocols?

When can this be important to know? Well, unless you’ve been sleeping in a hut in the outback recently you’ve probably been aware of the POODLE vulnerability and the push to get people off the SSL V3.0 protocol and onto something more modern. Also, in IBM MQ V8 the use of per channel certificate labels requires the use of a TLS CipherSpec (because it relies upon a feature in the TLS protocol that isn’t in the SSL protocol).

So how do you know what the protocol is. Well there are two ways:-

  • If you are pre-801, then you can look up the cipherSpec your channel is using in the table in Knowledge Center, and look for the column entitled “Protocol Used”.
    A few rows pulled from the table in Knowledge Center to demonstrate the columns
    Platform Support CipherSpec Name Protocol Used Data Integrity Encryption Algorithm Encryption Bits FIPS Suite B
    All TRIPLE_DES_SHA_US SSL 3.0 SHA-1 3DES 168 No No
    All TLS_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA TLS 1.0 SHA-1 3DES 168 Yes No
    All TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256 TLS 1.2 SHA-256 AES 128 Yes No
  • If you have an 801 Queue Manager (see What is an 801 Queue Manager?) then when your channel is running, there is a new attribute displayed when you use the DISPLAY CHSTATUS command which will show you exactly which protocol is in use.

Security Protocol as part of Channel Status

Here are some examples. I have set up certificates and defined three channels, each with a different CipherSpec. I have deliberately chosen one from each protocol as you can see if you compare these definitions to the table above.

1 : DISPLAY CHANNEL(QM1.TO.QM2.SSL*) SSLCIPH

AMQ8414: Display Channel details.

CHANNEL(QM1.TO.QM2.SSL01) CHLTYPE(SDR)

SSLCIPH(TRIPLE_DES_SHA_US)

AMQ8414: Display Channel details.

CHANNEL(QM1.TO.QM2.SSL02) CHLTYPE(SDR)

SSLCIPH(TLS_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA)

AMQ8414: Display Channel details.

CHANNEL(QM1.TO.QM2.SSL03) CHLTYPE(SDR)

SSLCIPH(TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256)

When I run these channels on a queue manager that has V8.0.0 FixPac 2 installed (and has re-enabled the SSL V3.0 protocol – see later), then the output I can view shows me the Security Protocol being used by each channel as you can see in the example output below.

1 : DISPLAY CHSTATUS(QM1.TO.QM2.SSL*) SECPROT

AMQ8417: Display Channel Status details.

CHANNEL(QM1.TO.QM2.SSL01) CHLTYPE(SDR)

CONNAME(127.0.0.1(1702)) CURRENT RQMNAME(QM2)

SECPROT(SSLV3) STATUS(RUNNING) SUBSTATE(MQGET) XMITQ(QM2.SSL01)

AMQ8417: Display Channel Status details.

CHANNEL(QM1.TO.QM2.SSL02) CHLTYPE(SDR)

CONNAME(127.0.0.1(1702)) CURRENT RQMNAME(QM2)

SECPROT(TLSV1) STATUS(RUNNING) SUBSTATE(MQGET) XMITQ(QM2.SSL02)

AMQ8417: Display Channel Status details.

CHANNEL(QM1.TO.QM2.SSL03) CHLTYPE(SDR)

CONNAME(127.0.0.1(1702)) CURRENT RQMNAME(QM2)

SECPROT(TLSV12) STATUS(RUNNING) SUBSTATE(MQGET) XMITQ(QM2.SSL03)

This information is also available via the PCF interface, so tools like MQ Explorer and our MO71 GUI Administrator can also show you the Security Protocol Used (get MO71 V8.0.3 for this functionality).

Security Protocol MO71

MQGem’s MO71 GUI Administrator showing the Security Protocol in use

Note: At the time of the writing, the MQ Explorer does not have the Security Protocol displayable. This has been reported, and I hope to be able to bring you a screenshot of that at a future time.

SSL Protocol disabled by default

I mentioned earlier that I had to re-enable the SSL protocol in order to run this demonstration. That’s the other thing that has changed in V8.0.0 FixPack 2. The SSL protocol is now disabled by default. Trying to define a channel using one of the SSL V3.0 protocol CipherSpecs will result in an error as follows:-

1 : DEFINE CHANNEL(QM1.TO.QM2.SSL01) CHLTYPE(SDR) TRPTYPE(TCP) SSLCIPH(TRIP

LE_DES_SHA_US) CONNAME(‘localhost(1701)’) XMITQ(QM2.SSL01)

AMQ8242: SSLCIPH definition wrong.

If you still have a requirement (hopefully a short term one) to use an SSL V3.0 CipherSpec it is possible to re-enable the SSL V3.0 protocol by editing the qm.ini file:-

SSL:

AllowSSLV3=Y

or by setting the AMQ_SSL_V3_ENABLE=1 environment variable.

UPDATE: TLS 1.0 protocol can be disabled

A recent fix released by IBM allows the TLS 1.0 protocol to be disabled in the same way as the above SSL protocol can be disabled.

You can turn off the TLS 1.0 protocol by editing the qm.ini file:-

SSL:

AllowTLSV1=NO

or by setting the AMQ_TLS_V1_DISABLE=1 environment variable.

The message is very clear however, make sure that you know what protocol you are using. Regularly review your channel CipherSpecs to see whether they still meet your business needs, and STOP using SSL V3.0 CipherSpecs.

IBM resources on the same subject:-


IBM Certified Specialist

Morag Hughson is a Certified IBM MQ Specialist
IBM Certified System Administrator – MQ V8.0
Find her on: LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/moraghughson   Twitter: https://twitter.com/MoragHughson   SlideShare: http://www.slideshare.net/moraghughson

What’s in Command Levels 801 and 802

MQ 801 Goody Bag

IBM MQ V8.0.0 Fix Pack 2 introduces a new Command Level, 801, and Fix Pack 3 introduces Command Level 802. Read What is an 801 Queue Manager? for details on how to enable these new Commmand Levels.

This post captures the changes that are available once you have an 801 or 802 Queue Manager.

LDAP Authorization

The V8.0.0 Connection Authentication feature which checked your user ID and password has been extended in V8.0.0.2 to allow LDAP authorization as well. The new fields that allow you to configure this on an AUTHTYPE(IDPWLDAP) Authentication Information object are protected by the 801 Command Level.

New Attribute MQSC name
See DEF AUTHINFO
Look for KC 8002 indicator
PCF constant and values
See Create Authentication Information
Look for KC 8002 indicator
LDAP Auth Method

AUTHORMD

  • OS
  • SEARCHGRP
  • SEARCHUSR

MQIA_LDAP_AUTHORMD (263)

  • MQLDAP_AUTHORMD_OS (0)
  • MQLDAP_AUTHORMD_SEARCHGRP (1)
  • MQLDAP_AUTHORMD_SEARCHUSR (2)
LDAP Group Object Class CLASSGRP

MQCA_LDAP_GROUP_OBJECT_CLASS (2133)

  • String of length MQ_LDAP_CLASS_LENGTH (128)
LDAP Base DN Group BASEDNG

MQCA_LDAP_BASE_DN_GROUPS (2132)

  • String of length MQ_LDAP_BASE_DN_LENGTH (1024)
LDAP Group Attr Field GRPFIELD

MQCA_LDAP_GROUP_ATTR_FIELD (2134)

  • String of length MQ_LDAP_FIELD_LENGTH (128)
LDAP Find Group FINDGRP

MQCA_LDAP_FIND_GROUP_FIELD (2135)

  • String of length MQ_LDAP_FIELD_LENGTH (128)
LDAP Group Nesting

NESTGRP

  • NO
  • YES

MQIA_LDAP_NESTGRP (264)

  • MQLDAP_NESTGRP_NO (0)
  • MQLDAP_NESTGRP_YES (1)

PAM Authentication

The V8.0.0 Connection Authentication feature which checked your user ID and password has been extended in V8.0.0.3 to allow PAM authentication as a choice. The new field that allows you to configure this on an AUTHTYPE(IDPWOS) Authentication Information object is protected by the 802 Command Level.

New Attribute MQSC name
See DEF AUTHINFO
Look for KC 8003 indicator
PCF constant and values
See Create Authentication Information
Look for KC 8003 indicator
Authentication Method

AUTHENMD

  • OS
  • PAM

MQIA_AUTHENTICATION_METHOD (266)

  • MQAUTHENTICATE_OS (0)
  • MQAUTHENTICATE_PAM (1)

Channel Status

Channels now show the security protocol in use – helping those people who were unsure how to answer the oft-asked question after the POODLE vulnerability, “are you still using an SSL CipherSpec?” Now instead of looking up your CipherSpec in the table in Knowledge Center, you can instead see this information output in the channel status display. Read more about this in Know your protocol.

New Attribute MQSC name
See DIS CHSTATUS
Look for KC 8002 indicator
PCF constant and values
See Inquire Channel Status
Look for KC 8002 indicator
Security Protocol

SECPROT

  • NONE
  • SSLV3
  • TLSV1
  • TLSV12

MQIACH_SECURITY_PROTOCOL (1645)

  • MQSECPROT_NONE (0)
  • MQSECPROT_SSLV30 (1)
  • MQSECPROT_TLSV10 (2)
  • MQSECPROT_TLSV12 (4)

AMQP Channel

In support of the MQLight in IBM MQ Beta, there is a whole new channel type with an associated set of channel attributes added. This is not yet documented in Knowledge Center but is visible when operating a queue manager at Command Level 801, and in the header files for PCF applications. Along with the Beta download that enables some of these attributes, there is a PDF of instructions on how to use the attributes available at the above link for the Beta. Be aware that although you can view and set all these attributes, not all of them are implemented by the current Beta. Get involved with the Beta program and read the PDF file mentioned above to see which attributes are currently usable.

New Attribute MQSC name PCF constant and values
Channel Type

CHLTYPE

  • AMQP

MQIACH_CHANNEL_TYPE (1511)

  • MQCHT_AMQP (11)
Description DESCR

MQCACH_DESC (3502)

  • String of length MQ_CHANNEL_DESC_LENGTH
Port PORT

MQIACH_PORT (1522)

  • Value in the range 1 – 65335
Local Address LOCLADDR

MQCACH_LOCAL_ADDRESS (3520)

  • String of length MQ_LOCAL_ADDRESS_LENGTH
SSL/TLS Certificate Label CERTLABL

MQCA_CERT_LABEL (2121)

  • String of length MQ_CERT_LABEL_LENGTH
SSL/TLS Cipher Spec SSLCIPH

MQCACH_SSL_CIPHER_SPEC (3544)

  • String of length MQ_SSL_CIPHER_SPEC_LENGTH
SSL/TLS Client Auth SSLCAUTH

MQIACH_SSL_CLIENT_AUTH (1568)

  • String of length MQ_SSL_CIPHER_SPEC_LENGTH
SSL/TLS Peer Name SSLPEER

MQCACH_SSL_PEER_NAME (3545)

  • String of length MQ_SSL_PEER_NAME_LENGTH
Alteration Date ALTDATE

MQCA_ALTERATION_DATE (2027)

  • String of length MQ_DATE_LENGTH
Alteration Time ALTTIME

MQCA_ALTERATION_TIME (2028)

  • String of length MQ_TIME_LENGTH
AMQP Keep Alive AMQPKA

MQIACH_AMQP_KEEP_ALIVE (1644)

  • Values in the range 0 – 99 999
  • MQKAI_AUTO
Use Client Identifier

USECLTID

  • YES
  • NO

MQIACH_USE_CLIENT_ID (1629)

  • MQUCI_YES (1)
  • MQUCI_NO (0)
Max Message Length MAXMSGL

MQIACH_MAX_MSG_LENGTH (1510)

  • Values in the range 0 – 100MB
MCA UserId MCAUSER

MQCACH_MCA_USER_ID (3527)

  • String of length MQ_MCA_USER_ID_LENGTH
Max Instances MAXINST

MQIACH_MAX_INSTANCES (1618)

  • Values in the range 0 – 999 999 999

Display Connection

With the introduction of the AMQP channel in CommandLevel 801, there is also a new attribute returned when you display application connections.

New Attribute MQSC name
See DIS CONN
Look for KC 8002 indicator
PCF constant and values
AMQP Client ID CLIENTID

MQCACF_AMQP_CLIENT_ID (3207)

  • String of length MQ_AMQP_CLIENT_ID_LENGTH (256)

Queue Manager Object

With the introduction of the AMQP channel in CommandLevel 801, there is also a new attribute on the queue manager object.

New Attribute MQSC name PCF constant and values
AMQP Capability

AMQPCAP

  • NO
  • YES

MQIA_AMQP_CAPABILITY (265)

  • MQCAP_NOT_SUPPORTED (0)
  • MQCAP_SUPPORTED (1)

You can get the equivalent information for earlier Command Levels from these posts.


IBM Certified Specialist

Morag Hughson is a Certified IBM MQ Specialist
IBM Certified System Administrator – MQ V8.0
Find her on: LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/moraghughson   Twitter: https://twitter.com/MoragHughson   SlideShare: http://www.slideshare.net/moraghughson

What is an 801 Queue Manager?

So you’ve been told you need an 801 queue manager for some new function. But what does that mean exactly?

What is MQ 801?

What is MQ 801?


IBM MQ has two sets of numbers that are important when identifying what queue manager you have. You have the 4-digit version number V.R.M.F – that’s Version, Release, Modification and FixPack. This is the number you will see output by the dspmqver command. Its purpose to identify what level of code you are running, and service will always be interested to know your full V.R.M.F. if you raise a PMR for example.

Name: WebSphere MQ

Version: 7.5.0.2

Level: p750-002-131001_DE

BuildType: IKAP – (Production)

Platform: WebSphere MQ for Windows

Mode: 32-bit

The other number you will encounter is the command level. This is the number you will see output by the DISPLAY QMGR command in the CMDLEVEL field (the VERSION is also part of this command’s output in newer versions of MQ). The purpose of CMDLEVEL is to convey what commands, object types and attributes the command server understands, and is thus used by administration tools to ensure that they send appropriate commands to the command server. It has been available since the very first version of MQ, so you can ask any queue manager for its CMDLEVEL and it will be able to respond. It is also an MQINQ-able field as another way to discover it.

1 : DISPLAY QMGR CMDLEVEL VERSION

AMQ8408: Display Queue Manager details.

QMNAME(QM1) CMDLEVEL(750)

VERSION(07050002)

It is generally the case that the V.R.M part of the 4-digit number matches the Command Level (as in the above V7.5.0 examples), but not always. If new attributes, object types or commands are introduced in a FixPack, then the command level must be increased (to allow administrative tools to discover that the command server will accept these new attributes) but the V.R.M.F only changes in the 4th digit. This happened in FixPack V7.1.0.2 where Command Level 711 was introduced to cover the new attribute CERTVPOL, and it has happened again in FixPack V8.0.0.2 where Command Level 801 has been introduced to cover a number of new attributes.

Since this is new function being shipped through the Service stream, it is not enabled by default. FixPacks can be removed and so the queue manager must be able to revert to running without the code from a FixPack. It cannot revert once a change has been made to the Command Level. So the user wishing to make use of the new features protected by the Command Level has to do a positive action to enable the new Command Level which at the same times confirms that this queue manager will not be able to revert back to previous level.

So what is this action that must be done to choose to use the new Command Level? It’s an extra parameter on the strmqm command. Note that when you issue this command it only alters the Command Level, it doesn’t actually start the queue manager. So once complete, you must then issue a normal strmqm command.

strmqm -e CMDLEVEL=801 QM2

When you issue this command to upgrade the Command Level with the above command, you’ll see a message confirming this at the end of the start-up messages.

WebSphere MQ queue manager ‘QM2’ starting.

The queue manager is associated with installation ‘800FP2’.

5 log records accessed on queue manager ‘QM2’ during the log replay phase.

Log replay for queue manager ‘QM2’ complete.

Transaction manager state recovered for queue manager ‘QM2’.

Migrating objects for queue manager ‘QM2’.

Default objects statistics : 3 created. 0 replaced. 0 failed.

New functions up to command level 801 enabled.

As you can see from the above messages, this also migrates the queue manager. This is always the case the first time a queue manager starts up with a new command level, and is true whether the change to the command level was caused as the result of a version-to-version upgrade, or this method of selecting a command level delivered in a Fix Pack. Remember that migration is never reversible. You can read more in Maintenance, upgrade, and migration.

This post equally applies if you need an 802 queue manager, just change the number accordingly. The 802 Command Level was released with V8.0.0 Fix Pack 3.

Now you have an 801 queue manager! To find out what you can do with it, read What’s in Command Level 801


IBM Certified Specialist

Morag Hughson is a Certified IBM MQ Specialist
IBM Certified System Administrator – MQ V8.0
Find her on: LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/moraghughson   Twitter: https://twitter.com/MoragHughson   SlideShare: http://www.slideshare.net/moraghughson