Course Outline
Advanced Queue Manager Configuration
- Implementing custom startup and shutdown procedures for queue managers using strmqm and endmqm.
- Configuring dead letter queues and alias queues to facilitate complex message routing.
- Developing and registering channel exits and message exits for customized processing.
- Setting up advanced TCP and LU62 listener configurations with custom port ranges.
Channel Authentication with CHLAUTH
- Creating and managing CHLAUTH records through SET CHLAUTH rules.
- Blocking or mapping remote connections based on IP address, SSL subject, or MCAUSER.
- Establishing channel authentication rules for granular access control.
- Auditing and validating CHLAUTH configurations to ensure compliance with security policies.
LDAP Authorization on Distributed Platforms
- Connecting queue managers to LDAP directories using AUTHINFO objects.
- Mapping LDAP groups to IBM MQ permissions via setmqaut.
- Configuring authorization policies for both users and applications.
- Managing authentication information objects and connection refresh mechanisms.
TLS/SSL Certificate Management
- Creating and managing CMS and PKCS12 key databases using runmqakm and runmqktool.
- Generating self-signed and CA-signed certificates for queue managers and channels.
- Configuring SSLCIPH and SSLPEER settings on sender and receiver channels.
- Performing certificate renewal, revocation, and rotation with minimal operational downtime.
Clustering Architecture and Design
- Distinguishing between full repository and partial repository queue managers.
- Building and maintaining cluster channels (CLUSSDR and CLUSRCVR) and cluster queues.
- Designing scalable cluster topologies suited for production workloads.
- Implementing overlapping clusters and gateway queue managers for multi-site routing.
Cluster Workload Balancing and Advanced Routing
- Configuring cluster workload algorithms and priorities using CLWLWGHT.
- Utilizing CLWLUSEQ and CLWLRANK for targeted message distribution.
- Executing manual and automatic workload rebalancing across cluster members.
- Troubleshooting cluster channel failures and addressing naming conflicts.
High Availability with Multi-Instance Queue Managers
- Planning architecture and shared file system requirements for multi-instance queue managers.
- Configuring active and standby queue manager instances on separate hosts.
- Testing automatic failover and configuring automatic client reconnection.
- Monitoring instance health and recovering failed standby instances.
Replicated Data Queue Managers (RDQM)
- Understanding RDQM architecture and its disaster recovery advantages.
- Creating and managing replicated queue managers across multiple nodes.
- Executing failover scenarios and recovery procedures using rdqmadm.
- Tuning network and storage settings to optimize RDQM replication performance.
REST API Administration
- Enabling and securing the IBM MQ REST API on the mqweb server.
- Creating and deleting queue managers via HTTP POST and DELETE requests.
- Managing queues and channels using REST endpoints with JSON payloads.
- Automating administrative tasks using Python or curl REST clients.
IBM MQ Console Administration
- Installing and configuring the IBM MQ Console on the mqweb server.
- Managing queue managers, queues, and channels through the web interface.
- Configuring role-based access and user authentication via mqwebuser.xml.
- Monitoring dashboards and setting alert thresholds for queue depth and channel status.
Advanced Message Security
- Configuring AMS policies for message signing and encryption using setmqsp.
- Setting up keystore files and certificates for Advanced Message Security interceptors.
- Enabling end-to-end payload protection between publishers and subscribers.
- Diagnosing AMS policy errors and keystore misconfigurations using error logs.
Publish/Subscribe Security
- Securing topic hierarchies with administrative topics and topic access controls.
- Controlling subscriber and publisher access with setmqaut on topic objects.
- Using topic aliases and proxy subscriptions for namespace isolation.
- Auditing pub/sub activity and investigating access violation errors.
PCF Command Automation
- Understanding PCF command and response message structures.
- Automating queue manager tasks with PCF programs and the MQ AI.
- Using the MQ Command Server and configuring model reply queues.
- Building custom administration scripts with PCF to replace runmqsc for bulk changes.
Performance Monitoring and Tuning
- Tuning buffer pools and page sets for optimal queue manager memory usage.
- Adjusting channel tuning parameters to reduce throughput latency.
- Configuring queue monitoring and queue depth events with event queues.
- Using amqsmon and MQ statistics to identify performance bottlenecks.
Troubleshooting Tools and Techniques
- Reading and interpreting error logs, FDC files, and FFST reports.
- Configuring and analyzing channel traces and API exits for problem diagnosis.
- Using dspmqrte to trace message routing through queue managers and clusters.
- Identifying common failure patterns and applying targeted recovery steps.
Recent Updates and Modern Practices
- Selecting between IBM MQ 9.4 Continuous Delivery and Long Term Support based on operational requirements.
- Applying new security defaults, including TLS 1.2 minimum protocols and strengthened CHLAUTH rules.
- Deploying queue managers in containers and integrating with IBM Cloud Pak for Integration.
- Leveraging recent REST API and MQ Console enhancements for automated administration.
Requirements
- A solid grasp of IBM MQ fundamentals, encompassing queue managers, queues, channels, and messages.
- Practical experience with distributed operating systems such as Linux, Windows, or AIX.
- Familiarity with networking principles and TLS/SSL certificates.
Audience
- System administrators.
- MQ administrators.
- DevOps engineers tasked with messaging infrastructure.
Testimonials (3)
Possibility to perform independent exercises in the training environment.
Tomasz - PKO Zycie Towarzystwo Ubezpieczen S.A.
Course - Kafka for Administrators
the technical preparation of teachers
Giorgio - Asystel-BDF S.p.A.
Course - Creating a Service Mesh with Istio and Kubernetes
Very practical examples. The trainer has tried to keep a pace where everybody is able to go with even though the group was quite inhomogeneous regarding the knowhow. He has provided a lot of support to basically everybody who asked for it :)