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IBM MQ, IBM MQ for z/OS and IBM MQ Appliance firmware 9.4.1 Continuous Delivery releases are available

By Ian Harwood posted 27 days ago

  

IBM MQ 9.4.1 is the first Continuous Delivery Release following our roll up of the previous set of new capabilities into MQ 9.4 LTS. This begins the next period of innovation for the MQ team, incrementally delivering updates to ensure the IBM MQ product offerings remain current and are delivering what users need.

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


Where can I get IBM MQ 9.4.1 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 9.4.1 release?

MQ updates

The MQ 9.4.1 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 9.4.1 (incl. z/OS).

 What's new/changed - IBM MQ Appliance 9.4.1.

  • Purchasing license entitlement through AWS Marketplace and Azure Marketplace
    • In addition to IBM Passport Advantage it is now possible to purchase MQ license entitlement through AWS Marketplace and Azure Marketplace, streamlining the procurement process using existing cloud credits or a credit card.
  • IBM MQ
    • Installable MQ Advanced for Developers for Linux ARM64
      This is a new addition for Linux ARM64 alongside the non-install Linux ARM64 packaging for building container images and can be downloaded from here as .deb installation images. 

    • Configuring Native High Availability in Kubernetes
      An example procedure for configuring Native HA in containers for a production deployment on Kubernetes is not included in our product documentation. This includes configuring Mutual TLS, complete YAML for the different artefacts that need to be defined, such as ConfigMaps, Services, ServiceAccounts and StatefulSets followed by some steps to confirm the deployment is correctly configured.

    • Checking certificate expiry 
      A new dspmqcert command has been added to show information about SSL/TLS certificates, including the number of days to expiration. This provides an interface for much better monitoring of certificates enabling forward planning to request and renew certificates based on live data reported from MQ. This delivers on popular idea MESNS-I21 Warn users about SSL certificate expiration.

    • HTTPS now supported for accessing a CCDT through a URL
      Https has been added alongside http, ftp and file as methods of accessing Client Channel Definition Tables (CCDTs). Https protects the integrity of the CCDT file when it is being retrieved over a network link.

    • Support for deployments on container runtimes in addition to OpenShift.
      There are no more options for where the pre-built IBM MQ Advanced container image can be deployed. The image can be deployed on to container runtime environments provided by containerd, cri-o, Podman or Docker, and is available from the IBM Container Registry.

    • Deploying non-production workloads with container
      When deploying the IBM MQ Advanced container image using the IBM MQ Advanced for Non-Production environment entitlement, selecting the Non-Production license will ensure correct pod annotations are set for the IBM License Service and manual overrides are no longer required.

    • Updated IBM MQ Kafka connectors
      The latest available source and sink connectors are included with MQ 9.4.1, providing a supported way to integrate and share data between IBM MQ and Kafka applications.

  • Deprecations and removals
    Take a look at the IBM MQ Deprecated, Stabilized and Removed features page to understand what has changed in the MQ 9.4.1 release.
    New deprecations statements:
    • RSA key exchange CipherSpecs, following a recommendation from NIST.
    • SSL 3.0 and TLS 1.0 protocols in IBM MQ .NET, These protocols have been previously deprecated for other MQ interfaces.
    • MQIPT service on Linux®, due to System V init no longer being supported by some more recent releases of Linux. 

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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 New for 9.4.1 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 9.4 LTS Removed compared to MQ 9.3 LTS
    AIX 7.2 TL5, 7.3 TL1 7.3 TL0
    IBM i 7.4, 7.5 7.3
    Linux

    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 2019, 2022
    Windows 11 23H2 or later    		 Windows 10
    z/OS 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 Long Term Support Release
    IBM MQ and IBM MQ Appliance 9.3.5 Continuous Delivery 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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