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IBM MQ, IBM MQ for z/OS and IBM MQ Appliance firmware 9.2.4 Continuous Delivery releases are available

By Ian Harwood posted Thu November 18, 2021 09:44 AM

  

IBM MQ 9.2.4 is our next Continuous Delivery update.  Here are your MQ and MQ Appliance options at this point:

New MQ Appliance M2002 models will ship with the 9.2 LTS firmware onboard by default, but you can move at any time to the CD firmware if there is function of interest.

Where can I get IBM MQ 9.2.4 from?

MQ 9.2.4 delivers concurrently on distributed platforms, MQ for z/OS, MQ Appliance and IBM MQ on IBM Cloud managed service platforms. For any queries about what each Program entitles you to install check out the MQ license information page.  

  • Distributed platforms: Download instructions for AIX, Linux and Windows
  • z/OS
    • shopZ for z/OS - will be available on 3rd Dect 2021
    • PTFs are available now - PH41169 (MQ base)PH41170 (MQ Advanced for z/OS VUE).
      Note that on z/OS there are CD and LTS orderable features in shopZ. They are functionally identical at 9.2.0 but you must ensure you install the one that matches the upgrade path you wish to follow - LTS or CD
    • z/OS offerings are:
      • 5655-MQ9 – IBM MQ for z/OS
      • 5655-VU9 – IBM MQ for z/OS Value Unit Edition
      • 5655-AV9 – IBM MQ Advanced for z/OS
        This is a bundle of MQ Advanced Message Security and MQ Managed File Transfer capability (no MQ entitlement included)
      • 5655-AV1 – IBM MQ Advanced for z/OS Value Unit Edition
        This is a bundle of MQ Advanced Message Security, MQ Managed File Transfer and MQ for z/OS Value Unit Edition capability
  • MQ Appliance: On Fix Central and applied to the M2002 and M2001 hardware models.
  • IBM MQ Advanced certified containerDeployment instructions
  • IBM MQ on IBM Cloud: IBM MQ on IBM Cloud managed service, which has different T-shirt size plans and options for placing the queue manager in an IBM Cloud or AWS data center.

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What’s new in the MQ 9.2.4 CD release?

IBM MQ and MQ Appliance 9.2.4 announcement letters:

Note the Statement of general direction on the intended minimum operating system levels for the next Long Term Support release.

There is also a new MQ focused Podcast available from www.DoYouMQ.comSpotify or Apple Podcasts featuring MQ experts, customers and business partners sharing their knowledge and insights about MQ capabilities. If you have suggestions for topics let us know! Take a look at the introduction to Season 2.

MQ updates on distributed platforms

What's new/changed - IBM MQ

  • Most MQ downloadable files are now signed and have a published SHA256 checksum
    Downloadable .zip, .tar.gz files are now signed. Installable .rpm and .deb files are also signed. Where possible the signature is embedded in the file. For file formats that do not allow this a separate .sig file is made available containing the signature that can be validated. IBM MQ public certificates, checksums and .sig files are initially available for the Continuous delivery stream and can be obtained from https://ibm.biz/mq92signatures. The accompanying documentation on how to validate the signatures can be found here.
  • Updates for uniform clustering intelligent workload rebalancing
    In MQ 9.2.4, transactional applications and request-and-reply applications can be connected to a uniform cluster for improved message availability and workload balancing of messaging traffic. In addition, .NET clients can now participate in a uniform cluster.
  • Security enhancements
    • TLS 1.3 is now enabled in the IBM Java 8.0 runtime shipped with IBM MQ 9.2.4 and Java components of IBM MQ can use TLS 1.3 cipherspecs .
    • TLS-only mode can be configured in using the SecureCommsOnly property in qm.ini. If secure comms are not enabled a warning message is written out on queue manage start up.
    • Further enhancements to how passwords stored by MQ are encrypted.
    • The MQ .NET client now support SNI headers (Server Name Indicators) over TLS.
  • New Java 17 runtime support for client applications
    Oracle and Adoptium Java 17 runtimes are now supported for MQ client applications.
  • New Java 11 runtime support for client applications
    IBM Semeru and Adoptium Java 11 runtimes are now supported for MQ client applications. This is in addition to Oracle Java 11 and AdoptOpenJDK w/openJ9 runtimes. 
  • Message contents can now be viewed in the MQ web console 
    The prior previewing capability has been enhanced to enable the complete message content to be viewed or downloaded.
  • Improved MQ Managed File Transfer logs
    Transfer logs provide additional information on successful and failed file transfers for faster self diagnosis of issues and capturing more detailed diagnostics if required by any IBM Support cases.

    MQ for z/OS

    What's new/changed - IBM MQ

    • Greater control of IBM System Management Facilities (SMF) monitoring data
      The interval for queue manager statistics (SMF 115 records) and application accounting data (SMF 116 records) can be reduced and also set independently. This additional flexibility can help provide operational insights and early warning of adverse issues.
    • Application Transparent Transport Layer Security (AT-TLS) best practices for MQ
      AT-TLS can create a secure session on behalf of an application and provide encryption and decryption of data based on policy statements rather than requiring TLS to be implemented by every application that requires a secure connection.
      Our MQ for z/OS product manager, Matt Sunley, writes more about the benefits and scenarios here.
    • Message contents can now be viewed in the MQ web console 
      The prior previewing capability has been enhanced to enable the complete message content to be viewed or downloaded.

    MQ Appliance

    What's new/changed - IBM MQ Appliance

    • REST administration updates
      The MQ REST administration API has been enhanced to enable MQ Appliance users to query whether the queue manager is configured for high availability, disaster recovery and whether a high availability floating IP address is set.
    • Enhancements inherited from the MQ software product 
      The uniform clustering, MQ Managed File Transfer logs and MQ web console enhancements mentioned above are also available ont he MQ Appliance

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    Can I get a copy of IBM MQ for development purposes?
    IBM%2BMQ%2BDeveloper%2BEssentials.png

    The LearnMQ site is regularly updated with a mix of tutorials and essential getting started information, and offers you the opportunity to earn an IBM MQ Developer Essentials badge.

    The full list of Developer download options are below.

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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 9.2 Continuous Delivery (CD) and Long Term Support (LTS) updates for each component. Be sure to know which you require!

    Main product:


    Fix packs:


    Checksums and Signatures (from MQ 9.2.4):

    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 the IBM MQ Appliance Documentation

    MQ 9.2 operating system support
    MQ 9.2.2 CD MQ 9.2 LTS Removed compared to MQ 9.1
    AIX 7.1 TL5, 7.2 TL3 7.2 TL2
    IBM i 7.3, 7.4 7.2
    Linux

    Added Ubuntu 20.04

    RHEL 7.6+, 8.0+
    SLES 12 SP4, 15 SP1
    Ubuntu 18.04

    RHEL 7.3, 7.4, 7.5
    SLES 12 SP2, SP3, 15 SP0
    Ubuntu 16.04
    Windows Windows Server 2016, 2019
    Windows 10
    Windows Server 2012 R2
    Windows 8.1
    z/OS 2.3, 2.4 2.2


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    What function has released in previous updates?

    IBM MQ and IBM MQ Appliance 9.2 Long Term Support Release
    IBM MQ and IBM MQ Appliance 9.2.1 Continuous Delivery Release
    IBM MQ and IBM MQ Appliance 9.2.2 Continuous Delivery Release
    IBM MQ and IBM MQ Appliance 9.2.3 Continuous Delivery Release

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    Remind me how the Continuous Delivery support model works…

    Its worth reminding you what the Continuous Delivery support model means for MQ.

    • MQ 9.2 LTS is supported for a minimum of 5 years from its availability in July 2020, and will receive fix only updates through fixpacks versioned 9.2.0.1, 9.2.0.2 and so on.
    • MQ CD updates will be delivered with the 3rd digit change – 9.2.1, 9.2.2 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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