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IBM MQ, IBM MQ for z/OS and IBM MQ Appliance firmware 9.4.4 Continuous Delivery releases are available

By Ian Harwood posted Thu October 16, 2025 09:10 AM

  

IBM MQ 9.4.4 is the next Continuous Delivery Release in the MQ 9.4 series of releases. 

Here are your MQ and MQ Appliance supported options at this point:


Where can I get IBM MQ 9.4.4 from?

For further information about what each Program entitles you to install check out the MQ license information page.  

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What’s new in the MQ 9.4.4 release?

MQ updates

The MQ 9.4.4 Announcement letter contains information about the new capabilities added in this first Continuous Delivery update of the MQ 9.4 release.
What's new/changed - IBM MQ 9.4.4
What's new/changed - IBM MQ Appliance 9.4.4.

  • IBM MQ, IBM MQ for z/OS and IBM MQ Appliance
    • Native HA is now available outside of containers
      • A long standing requirement since Native HA first emerged was to have the capability available outside of containerized environments. The MQ 9.4.4 release add the ability to do just that on Linux platforms.
    • Security
      • FIPS 140-3: MQ on Linux x86-64 and PPCLE operating systems are now compliant with the latest FIPS 140-3 standard.
      • FISMA Ready: MQ 9.4.4 has the necessary controls to help you achieve FISMA compliance.
      • .NET: For both the MQ and XMS MQ clients, a custom certificate path may be specified from where to load TLS certificates.
      • RDQM: The data replication links between systems can be secured with TLS.
      • New TLS 1.2 CipherSpecs have been added. See the What's new/changed link at the top of this section.

    • MQ Console
      • Custom filters can be created for tables enabling you to show only the information you are interested in. Filters may be saved and switched between

    • Currency
      • Java 21: The Java runtime package with IBM MQ has been updated to Semeru 21. For the moment Java components on z/OS still prereq an IBM Java 8.0 runtime.
        IBM MQ Clients support a wide range of Java runtimes from Java 8.0 to 21.0 See the system requirements for the full list.
      • Removals:
        Take a look at the IBM MQ Deprecated, Stabilized and Removed features page to understand what has changed in the MQ 9.4.4 release.
        • .NET and XMS.NET methods and classes for serialization and deserialization of objects.
        • SSLv3 and TLS 1.0
        • 3DES and RC4 CipherSpecs for TLS
        • Use of IBM z/OSMF to automate IBM MQ actions.
        • x64 support in the IBM MQ Toolkit for macOS

  • IBM MQ Operator and Container
    • The IBM MQ Operator can now deploy MQ under all available license entitlements, without requiring manual correction of License Service pod annotations.
    • A new diagnostic 'must-gather' tool has been created to facilitate faster problem diagnosis if you need to contact IBM Support. The tool ensures all available information is collected first time for support engineers to review.

    • IBM MQ Operator preview on Amazon EKS
      • The previously announced preview of the IBM MQ Operator on Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) has been updated for MQ 9.4.4.  The preview allows you to deploy the MQ Operator on EKS.  The preview release is not supported, but you can get started now by installing the MQ Operator Helm chart from GitHub.  Raise any issues or join in with a discussion on the github repo to let us know what you think.

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Can I get a copy of IBM MQ for development purposes?

  • Yes, you can. A free download to use for development on Windows and Linux x86-64, and Linux ARM64. See the Developer download options below.

  • An IBM MQ Advanced for Developers container image is also available on IBM Container Registry

  • An IBM MQ Managed File Transfer Agent for Developers container image on IBM Container Registry

The IBM Developer site for MQ is regularly updated with a mix of learning paths, tutorials, essential getting started information, and patterns for application development. See the What's New section above for recent additions.

There is also the opportunity to obtain recognition for MQ skills you have gained by completing the IBM MQ Developer Essentials badge or the IBM MQ on AWS Cloud Developer Essentials badge.
IBM MQ Developer Essentials
IBM MQ on AWS Cloud Developer Essentials badge

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    Downloadable resources

    A number of MQ components are made available on IBM Fix Central and elsewhere for ease of download. Below are the links to the available components. Where applicable, they will show the latest 9.3 Continuous Delivery (CD) and Long Term Support (LTS) updates for each component. Be sure to know which you require.

    Main product install image and fix pack download documentation:


    Maintenance quick links:


    Checksums and Signatures:

    Clients:

    Components:


    Containers:


    Development:

    Tip: Try opening the links in a private browsing tab if they don’t correctly resolve.

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    MQ System Requirements and documentation

    The system requirements are documented at the links below. IBM MQ Continuous Delivery releases are being made available on z/OS, Microsoft Windows, Linux on x86-64, Linux on IBM z Systems, Linux on Little Endian Power (RHEL, SLES and Ubuntu) and AIX.

    Further information can be found in the IBM MQ Documentation and IBM MQ Appliance Documentation.


    MQ 9.4 operating system support

    MQ next LTS
    Minimum levels
    Statement of Direction

    		 MQ 9.4 LTS Removed compared to MQ 9.3 LTS
    AIX 7.2 TL5, 7.3 TL3 7.2 TL5, 7.3 TL1 7.3 TL0
    IBM i 7.5 7.4, 7.5 7.3
    Linux

    RHEL 8.10, 9.6
    SLES 15 SP7
    Ubuntu 24.04

    RHEL 8.8+, 9.2+
    SLES 15 SP4
    Ubuntu 22.04

    		 RHEL 7.9, 8.4, 8.6. 9.0
    SLES 12, 15 SP2 & SP3
    Ubuntu 20.04
    Windows Windows Server 2022
    Windows 11 24H2    		 Windows Server 2019, 2022
    Windows 11 23H2 or later    		 Windows 10
    z/OS 3.1 2.5, 3.1 2.4

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    What function has released in previous updates?

    IBM MQ and IBM MQ Appliance 9.4.3 Continuous Delivery Release
    IBM MQ and IBM MQ Appliance 9.4.2 Continuous Delivery Release
    IBM MQ and IBM MQ Appliance 9.4.1 Continuous Delivery Release
    IBM MQ and IBM MQ Appliance 9.4 Long Term Support Release
    IBM MQ and IBM MQ Appliance 9.3 Long Term Support Release

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    Remind me how the Continuous Delivery support model works…

    It's worth reminding you what the Continuous Delivery support model means for MQ.

    • MQ 9.4 LTS is supported for a minimum of 5 years from its availability in June 2024, and will receive fix only maintenance through updates versioned 9.4.0.1, 9.4.0.2 and so on.
    • MQ CD updates will be delivered with the 3rd digit change – 9.4.1, 9.4.2 and so on. Defect support for a CD release is available for 12 months from the availability of the release or while it remains one of the two most recent CD releases, whichever is longer, so you need to keep moving forward with the MQ CD releases.
    • MQ CD updates will be delivered with new function enabled by default.
    • The IBM MQ FAQ for Long Term Support and Continuous Delivery Releases will hopefully answer most of your questions.

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