IBM MQ Configuration (Formerly WebSphereMQ)

This topic describes how to install IBM MQ on your system and set up a basic configuration.

  1. Install IBM MQ and IBM MQ Explorer

    1. Download and Install IBM MQ

      1. Go to the IBM MQ Downloads page.

      2. Select the appropriate installer for your operating system.

      3. Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

    2. Download and Install IBM MQ Explorer

      1. Go to the IBM MQ Explorer installation page.

      2. Download the installer for your platform.

      3. Run the installer and complete the setup process.

    3. Open IBM MQ Explorer

      1. Launch IBM MQ Explorer after installation.

      2. To set up a basic configuration, follow the steps in the Create a Queue Manager section.

      IBM MQ Explorer launch screen after installation

  2. Create a Queue Manager

    Create a queue manager before creating a queue. The queue manager handles application connections, manages queues, executes commands, triggers events, and routes messages to the correct queues. To create a queue manager:

    1. Create a New Queue Manager: In the Navigator panel, right-click Queue Managers and select New > Queue Manager.

      Context menu in IBM MQ Explorer for adding a new queue manager

    2. Specify a Name: Enter a name for the queue manager. Use this name later when you configure destinations.

      Dialog box in IBM MQ Explorer with field to enter the queue manager name

    3. Configure Port Settings: Click Next three times to accept the default settings until you reach the Listen on port number field. Enter your port number, or keep the default 1414 if it applies to your setup.

    4. Finish the Setup: Click Finish to create the queue manager. If the Finish button is inactive, the selected port is already in use. In this case, select a different port to continue.

  3. Create a Queue

    In IBM MQ, queues are used to store and manage messages. Once an application is connected to a queue manager, it can retrieve or add messages to a queue. To create a queue:

    1. Create a New Queue: In the Navigator panel, right-click QueueManagerName > Queues and select New > Local Queue.

      Context menu for creating a new local queue in IBM MQ Explorer

    2. Specify a Queue Name: In the New Local Queue dialog, enter a name for the queue.

      Dialog box in IBM MQ Explorer with field to enter the new queue name

    3. Finish the Setup: Click Finish to create the queue with the default settings. Alternatively, click Next to configure advanced queue properties.

  4. Create a Server-Connection Channel

    A server-connection channel enables communication between MQ clients and servers. It allows remote applications (clients) to connect to an MQ queue manager. Configure this channel on the server and use TCP/IP for client-server communication. To create a server-connection channel:

    1. Create a New Server-Connection Channel: In the Navigator panel, right-click Channels under QueueManagerName. From the context menu, select New, then click Server-connection Channel.

      Context menu to create a new Server-connection Channel in IBM MQ Explorer

    2. Specify a Channel Name: In the New Server-connection Channel dialog, enter a name for the channel.

      Dialog box in IBM MQ Explorer with input field to enter the server-connection channel name

    3. Finish the Setup: Click Finish to create the channel with the default settings. Alternatively, click Next to configure advanced channel properties before finalizing the creation.

  5. Create an Initial Context

    An initial context defines connection details and enables name resolution. Without it, the application cannot connect to a queue. To create an initial context:

    1. Add Initial Context: Right-click JMS Administered Objects, and then click Add Initial Context.

      Right-click menu showing Add Initial Context option under JMS Administered Objects in IBM MQ Explorer

    2. Select File System Option: In the Add Initial Context dialog, select the File System option.

    3. Specify the Binding Directory: In the Binding directory field, specify the path to an empty folder.

      Dialog box in IBM MQ Explorer showing Binding directory field with path

    4. Finish the Setup: Click Finish to complete the setup.

    Important

    Make sure to save the Factory class and Provider URL values so you can use them when creating a plugin or establishing a manual connection.

  6. Create a Connection Factory

    A connection factory is a Java object that clients use to create a connection to the JMS provider. To create a connection factory in IBM MQ:

    1. Add a New Connection Factory: Right-click Connection Factories under Initial Context, and then select New and choose Connection Factory from the submenu.

      Select New Connection Factory option from context menu in IBM MQ Explorer

    2. Specify a Factory Name: In the New Connection Factory dialog, enter the name of the connection factory.

      Dialog box in IBM MQ Explorer with input field to enter the connection factory name

      Important

      Save the connection factory name. You will need it when creating a plugin or establishing a manual connection.

    3. Configure Transport Settings: Click Next twice to reach the Transport section, then select MQ Client from the drop-down list.

      Transport settings dialog in IBM MQ Explorer with Transport drop-down set to MQ Client

    4. Configure Connection Properties: Click Next twice to reach the Connection property section. Select Base Queue Manager, and choose the queue manager name created in Step 2: Specify a Name of the Create a Queue Manager procedure.

      Connection properties dialog in IBM MQ Explorer with Base Queue Manager selected

    5. Configure Channel Properties: Click Channels property, and in Channel, select the queue manager created in the Create a Queue Manager procedure.

      Channel properties dialog in IBM MQ Explorer with queue manager selected

    6. Finish the Setup: Click Finish to complete the factory setup of the connection.

  7. Create Destinations for Queues

    Destinations define the target queues that applications interact with. To create a destination for a queue in IBM MQ:

    1. Add a New Destination: In the Initial Context folder, right-click Destinations. Select New, then choose Destination from the submenu.

      Selecting New Destination option from context menu in IBM MQ Explorer

    2. Specify a Destination Name: In the subsequent dialog, enter a name for the destination. Then, click Next twice to proceed.

    3. Configure Queue Manager and Queue: First, in the Queue manager field, enter the name of the queue manager you created earlier. Next, in the Queue field, enter the queue name you created earlier.

    4. Finish the Setup: Close the dialog.

  8. Configure SSL Connection between IBM MQ and ReadyAPI

    Note

    This step is optional and only necessary if you require an SSL connection.

    1. Set up Keystore and Truststore

    2. Configure SSL in IBM MQ Explorer

      1. Open Queue Manager Properties

        • Right-click your queue manager and select Properties.

          Right-click menu on queue manager showing Properties option in IBM MQ Explorer

        • Click on SSL.

      2. Specify SSL Settings

        • In the SSL Key repository field, enter the path to the server keystore (for example, QM3.kdb).

        • In the SSL Key repository password field, enter the password for the keystore file.

        • In the Certificate label field, enter the label used when creating the KDB file.

        Dialog box in IBM MQ Explorer showing fields for SSL Key repository path, password, and certificate label

    3. Configure the Server-Connection Channel

      1. Open Channel Properties

        Expand Channels under your queue manager, then right-click the server-connection channel and select Properties.

        Right-click menu on server-connection channel under Channels for opening Properties dialog

      2. Specify SSL Channel Settings

        • Go to the SSL tab.

        • Select the SSL Cipher Spec.

        • Choose SSL Authentication as Optional or Required. If you select Required, also specify the Certificate label.

        Selecting SSL Cipher Spec and setting SSL Authentication to Optional or Required

    4. Configure Connection Factories

      1. Open Connection Factory Properties

        Right-click Connection Factories under the Initial Context and select Properties.

        Right-click menu on Connection Factories under Initial Context showing Properties option in IBM MQ Explorer

      2. Configure SSL Settings

        • Click SSL.

        • Set the CipherSuite to match the one selected in the channel configuration.

        Dialog with SSL tab open and CipherSuite field selected

      3. Restart the Queue Manager

    5. Configure SSL in ReadyAPI

      1. Add Required Libraries

      2. Configure SSL Options

      If the truststore and keystore contain only IBM MQ certificates, do the following:

      • Create a ssl.properties file and include the following:

        com.ibm.ssl.keyStore=<path_to_keystore>
com.ibm.ssl.keyStoreType=JKS or PKCS12
com.ibm.ssl.keyStorePassword=<keystore_password>
com.ibm.ssl.trustStore=<path_to_truststore>
com.ibm.ssl.trustStoreType=JKS or PKCS12
com.ibm.ssl.trustStorePassword=<truststore_password>

      • Add the following VM options to the ReadyAPI.vmoptions file:

        -Dcom.ibm.ws.sib.client.ssl.properties=path/to/ssl.properties
-Dcom.ibm.mq.cfg.useIBMCipherMappings=false

      If the truststore and keystore contain multiple certificates (not only IBM MQ), do the following:

      • Add these VM options directly:

        -Dcom.ibm.mq.cfg.useIBMCipherMappings=false
-Djavax.net.ssl.keyStore=<path_to_keystore> 
-Djavax.net.ssl.keyStorePassword=<keystore_password>
-Djavax.net.ssl.trustStore=<path_to_truststore>
-Djavax.net.ssl.trustStorePassword=<truststore_password>

    6. Restart ReadyAPI: Restart the application to apply the new SSL settings.

    For more information, see the IBM MQ SSL Documentation.

See Also

Installing JMS Providers

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