Hi Neil,
Thanks for the response and insight as to your experiences.
That does not seem to explain the following anomaly, regarding LTS maintenance -
Both the V9.0.0.x & V9.01.0.x "New & What's Changed" state the following:
<main>
"Long Term Support releases do not deliver new functional enhancements. These releases are intended for systems that demand maximum stability over a long term deployment period."
</main>
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSFKSJ_9.0.0/com.ibm.mq.pro.doc/q128130_.htmhttps://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSFKSJ_9.1.0/com.ibm.mq.pro.doc/q128130_.htmMQ V9.0.0 LTS base only supported up to WIN2012 Server. WIN2016 support was then added in FixPack2 (9.0.0.2). So there is precedent that fixpacks for LTS provide additions to what Windows servers are supported, especially since Windows and IBM have a business relationship.
What is also odd is that we were able to install and apply V9.1.0 LTS base and then install FixPack2 on two WIN2019 servers, but the FixPack3 & FixPack4 installers are broken. It seems like something changed with the way the installers are built, that they no longer tolerate WIN2019.
There does not seem to be easy migrations to LTS once CD is installed, per the FAQs. So, as a larger business customer, we have a separate server team under mandate to upgrade Windows servers, and the MQ team is under similar stability requirement mandates. Yet now, either one or the other has to bend this mandate because WIN2019 LTS support seemed to have fallen through the cracks.
Regards,
Wayne
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Wayne Myers
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Original Message:
Sent: Tue January 14, 2020 04:39 PM
From: Neil Casey
Subject: MQClient V9.x LTS Is Not Supported on WIN 2019 Servers, but V9.x CD Is Supported
Hi Wayne,
this is not an official IBM answer, but I asked a similar question related to an upgrade at a customer site recently.
The answer I received basically came down to the following...
Support for a new OS (Windows 2019) is considered a new feature. New features are not released after the LTS base release. Only problem fixes are delivered in the LTS stream until the next LTS is available (approx every 2 years).
New features are available continuously in the CD stream however, so if you need Windows 2019 support it is available there.
Also, it should be noted that CD releases are fully supported, and ifix support is available for 12 months after each release, not just until the next CD release.
Given that MQ v9.1 was released in mid 2018, it is reasonable to expect an LTS release supporting Windows 2019 in the middle of 2020, or you can use the latest CD now, and you should have 6 months or so to transition from that CD release to an LTS release that supports Windows 2019 before support on the CD release ends.
Regards,
Neil
--
Neil Casey
Senior Consultant | Syntegrity Solutions
Analyse >> Integrate >> Secure >> Educate
Original Message------
Hi,
We are upgrading all of our Windows Servers to WIN2019 to provide currency, and MQ Client V9.x LTS is not supported. The highest Windows Server MQ LTS supports is WIN2016.
When just testing V9.1.0.2 will install cleanly, but FixPack3 & Fixpack4 experience "InstallAnywhere Flexeraaw2$aaa: Windows DLL failed to load" errors when attempting to install them on a WIN2019 server.
It is odd that the V9.x CD product supports WIN2019 while the LTS version seems to have been forsaken. MQ V9.x has been out for quite a while, which does not explain why the LTS version still lacks this support. WIN2019 went GA back on October 2, 2018.
Are there any plans to provide comparable WIN2019 support for MQ Clients V9.x or is the direction to keep LTS customers on WIN2016 or have them search for MQ alternatives?
Regards,
Wayne
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Wayne Myers
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