crtmqm (create queue manager)

Usage notes

You can use the environment variable MQLICENSE to accept or view the license.

The options you can set the MQLICENSE environment variable to are 'accept' or 'view'. Other values are treated as if the environment variable is not set.

Required parameters

QMgrName

The name of the queue manager that you want to create. The name can contain up to 48 characters. This parameter must be the last item in the command.

Note: The QMgrName is used by IBM MQ applications, other IBM MQ queue managers, and IBM MQ control commands to identify this queue manager.

No other queue manager with the same name can exist on this machine. Where this queue manager is going to connect to other queue managers you must ensure that queue manager names are unique within that group of queue managers.

The QMgrName is also used to name the directories created on disk for the queue manager. Due to filesystem limitations the name of the directories created might not be identical to the QMgrName supplied on the crtmqm command.

In these cases the directories created will be based upon the supplied QMgrName, but might be modified, or have a suffix such as .000 or .001, and so on, added to the queue manager name.

Optional parameters

-a AccessGroup or -ar AccessGroup

Use the access group parameter to specify a Windows security group, members of which will be granted full access to all queue manager data files. The group can either be a local or global group, depending on the syntax used.

Valid syntax for the group name is as follows:

• LocalGroup
• Domain name\GlobalGroup name
• GlobalGroup name @ Domain name

You must define the additional access group before running the crtmqm command with the -a or the -ar option.

If you specify the group using -ar instead of -a, the local mqm group is not granted access to the queue manager data files. Use this option if the file system hosting the queue manager data files does not support access control entries for locally defined groups.

The group is typically a global security group, which is used to provide multi-instance queue managers with access to a shared queue manager data and logs folder. Use the additional security access group to set read and write permissions on the folder or to share containing queue manager data and log files.

The additional security access group is an alternative to using the local group named mqm to set permissions on the folder containing queue manager data and logs. Unlike the local group mqm, you can make the additional security access group a local or a global group. It must be a global group to set permissions on the shared folders that contain the data and log files used by multi-instance queue managers.

The Windows operating system checks the access permissions to read and write queue manager data and log files. It checks the permissions of the user ID that is running queue manager processes. The user ID that is checked depends on whether you started the queue manager as a service or you started it interactively. If you started the queue manager as a service, the user ID checked by the Windows system is the user ID you configured with the Prepare IBM MQ wizard. If you started the queue manager interactively, the user ID checked by the Windows system is the user ID that ran the strmqm command.

The user ID must be a member of the local mqm group to start the queue manager. If the user ID is a member of the additional security access group, the queue manager can read and write files that are given permissions by using the group.

Restriction: You can specify an additional security access group only on Windows operating system. If you specify an additional security access group on other operating systems, the crtmqm command returns an error.

-c Text

Descriptive text for this queue manager. You can use up to 64 characters; the default is all blanks.

If you include special characters, enclose the description in single quotation marks. The maximum number of characters is reduced if the system is using a double-byte character set (DBCS).

-d DefaultTransmissionQueue

The name of the local transmission queue where remote messages are put if a transmission queue is not explicitly defined for their destination. There is no default.

-fe

Specifies that the file system for the queue manager is encrypted. You can optionally specify the encryption passphrase by using the -fp parameter, otherwise you are prompted for the passphrase when you run the command.

-fp Passphrase

Used in conjunction with the -fe parameter, optionally specifies the encryption passphrase. If you specify -fe but omit -fp you are prompted for the passphrase when you run the command. The passphrase can be between 1 and 512 characters. You should store a copy of the passphrase somewhere safe.

-g ApplicationGroup

On AIX and Linux, the name of the group that contains members that are allowed to perform the following actions:

• Run MQI applications
• Update all IPCC resources
• Change the contents of some queue manager directories

The default value is -g all, which allows unrestricted access.

The -g ApplicationGroup value is recorded in the queue manager configuration file, qm.ini.

The mqm user ID and the user running the command must belong to the specified Application Group. For further details of the operation of restricted mode, see Restricted mode.

-h MaximumHandleLimit

The maximum number of handles that an application can open at the same time.

Specify a value in the range 1 - 999999999. The default value is 256.

-ic FilePath

Automatic configuration of MQSC attributes.

Specify the location containing MQSC commands to be automatically applied to the queue manager on every queue manager restart. This can be a filename, or a directory where each file *.mqsc is automatically processed. See automatic configuration from an MQSC script at startup for more details.

-ii FilePath

Automatic configuration of qm.ini file attributes.

Specify a configuration to be automatically applied to the qm.ini file on every queue manager restart. This can be a filename containing INI format information, or a directory where *.ini is automatically processed. See automatic configuration from an INI script at startup for more details.

-iv VARIABLE=VALUE[;VARIABLE=VALUE]

Configuration variable for use with automatic uniform clusters.

Specify a name and associated value for use as an insert during MQSC definitions. This parameter is only used for CONNAME fields in defining cluster receivers for automatic uniform clusters. For example:

-iv CONNAME=QMA.host.name(1414)

-lb BufferSize

The journal buffer size. This is a number in the range 32000 - 15761440. The default is 32000.

-lc

Use circular logging. This method is the default logging method.

-ld LogPath

The directory used to store log files. The default directory to store log paths is defined when you install IBM MQ.

If the volume containing the log file directory supports file security, the log file directory must have access permissions. The permissions allow the user IDs, under whose authority the queue manager runs, read and write access to the directory and its subdirectories. When you install IBM MQ, you grant permissions to the user IDs and to the mqm group on the default log directory. If you set the LogPath parameter to write the log file to a different directory, you must grant the user IDs permission to read and write to the directory. The user ID and permissions for AIX and Linux are different from those for the Windows system:

AIX and Linux

The directory and its subdirectories must be owned by the user mqm in the group mqm.

If the log file is shared between different instances of the queue manager, the security identifiers (sid) that are used must be the same for the different instances. You must have set the user mqm to the same sid on the different servers running instances of the queue manager. Likewise for the group mqm.

Windows

If the directory is accessed by only one instance of the queue manager, you must give read and write access permission to the directory for the following groups and users:

• The local group mqm
• The local group Administrators
• The SYSTEM user ID

To give different instances of a queue manager access to the shared log directory, the queue manager must access the log directory using a global user. Give the global group, which contains the global user, read and write access permission to the log directory. The global group is the additional security access group specified in the -a parameter.

In IBM MQ for Windows systems, the default directory is C:\ProgramData\IBM\MQ\log (assuming that C: is your data drive). If the volume supports file security, the SYSTEM ID, Administrators, and mqm group must be granted read/write access to the directory.

In IBM MQ for AIX or Linux systems, the default directory is /var/mqm/log. User ID mqm and group mqm must have full authorities to the log files.

If you change the locations of these files, you must give these authorities yourself. If these authorities are set automatically, then the log files are in their default locations.

On IBM i the logpath directory is the queue manager library.

-lf LogFilePages

The log data is held in a series of files called log files. The log file size is specified in units of 4 KB pages.

In IBM MQ for AIX or Linux systems, the default number of log file pages is 4096, giving a log file size of 16 MB. The minimum number of log file pages is 64 and the maximum is 65535.

In IBM MQ for Windows systems, the default number of log file pages is 4096, giving a log file size of 16 MB. The minimum number of log file pages is 32 and the maximum is 65535.

Note: The size of the log files for a queue manager specified during creation of that queue manager cannot be changed, so the value that the queue manager starts out with is fixed for the lifetime of the queue manager.

On IBM i this parameter is used to specify the journal receiver threshold.

Note: Each recovery log file additionally has an extend header that is two times 4KB in size.

-ll LinearLogging

Use linear logging.

On Multiplatforms, if you create a queue manager using the existing -ll option, you need to carry out manual management of log extents as previously (LogManagement=Manual).

-lla

Use linear logging with automatic management of log extents (LogManagement=Automatic).

-lln

Use linear logging with archive management of log extents (LogManagement=Archive).

-lr InstanceName

Use log replication. Specify this option when configuring a Native HA group. The InstanceName provided is used by Native HA to identify this copy of log data and must be unique. The InstanceName can contain up to 48 characters. Valid characters in an InstanceName are:

• Uppercase or lowercase alphabetics (A-Z, a-z)
• Numeric characters (0-9)
• Dash (-), the leading character is not permitted to be a dash
• Period (.)
• Underscore (_)

Leading or embedded blanks are not permitted.

-lp LogPrimaryFiles

The log files allocated when the queue manager is created.

On a Windows system:

• The minimum number of primary log files that you can have is 2 and the maximum is 254.
• The total number of primary and secondary log files must not exceed 255 and must not be less than 3.

On AIX and Linux systems:

• The minimum number of primary log files you can have is 2 and the maximum is 510. The default is 3.
• The total number of primary and secondary log files must not exceed 511 and must not be less than 3.

Operating system limits can reduce the maximum log size.

The value is examined when the queue manager is created or started. You can change it after the queue manager has been created. However, a change in the value is not effective until the queue manager is restarted, and the effect might not be immediate.

For more information about primary log files, see What logs look like.

To calculate the size of the primary log files, see Calculating the size of the log.

-ls LogSecondaryFiles

The log files allocated when the primary files are exhausted.

On a Windows system:

• The minimum number of secondary log files that you can have is 1 and the maximum is 253.
• The total number of primary and secondary log files must not exceed 255 and must not be less than 3.

On AIX and Linux systems:

• The minimum number of secondary log files that you can have is 2 and the maximum is 509. The default is 2.
• The total number of primary and secondary log files must not exceed 511 and must not be less than 3.

Operating system limits can reduce the maximum log size.

The value is examined when the queue manager is started. You can change this value, but changes do not become effective until the queue manager is restarted, and even then the effect might not be immediate.

For more information about the use of secondary log files, see What logs look like.

To calculate the size of the secondary log files, see Calculating the size of the log.

-lz ASPInfo

Specify an auxiliary storage pool number (1-32, default 1) or an auxiliary storage pool device name for the IBM i journal.

-md DataPath

The directory used to hold the data files for a queue manager.

In IBM MQ for Windows systems, the default is C:\ProgramData\IBM\MQ\qmgrs (assuming that C: is your data drive). If the volume supports file security, the SYSTEM ID, Administrators, and mqm group must be granted read/write access to the directory.

In IBM MQ for AIX or Linux systems, the default is /var/mqm/qmgrs. User ID mqm and group must have full authorities to the log files.

mqm

For RDQM on Linux systems, the default is /var/mqm/vols/qmgrname/qmgr/.

The DataPath parameter is provided to assist in the configuration of multi-instance queue managers. For example, on AIX and Linux systems: if the /var/mqm directory is located on a local file system, use the DataPath parameter and the LogPath parameter to point to the shared file systems accessible to multiple queue managers.

-oa group|user|UserExternal

On AIX and Linux systems, you can specify whether group or user authorization is to be used. If you do not set this parameter, group authorization is used. You can change the authorization model later by setting the SecurityPolicy parameter in the Service stanza of the qm.ini file (see Service stanza of the qm.ini file).

From IBM MQ 9.3.0, you can use the additional option of UserExternal when creating new queue managers. If you select this option, you can create a non-operating system user name, with a maximum of 12 characters, that:

• Must conform to the Rules for naming IBM MQ objects
• Is not known to the system
• Can be used both for checking and setting authorizations

If you create a non-operating system user name, that user is considered to belong to no groups, except the nobody group. See Principals and groups on AIX, Linux, and Windows for more information.

For further information, see Object authority manager (OAM).

-p PortNumber

Create a managed TCP listener on the specified port.

Specify a valid port value in the range 1-65535, to create a TCP listener object that uses the specified port. The new listener is called SYSTEM.LISTENER.TCP.1. This listener is under queue manager control, and is started and stopped along with the queue manager.

-q

Makes this queue manager the default queue manager. The new queue manager replaces any existing default queue manager.

If you accidentally use this flag and you want to revert to an existing queue manager as the default queue manager, change the default queue manager as described in Making an existing queue manager the default.

-re

Secure all the replication links for an RDQM configuration with TLS. This option secures the HA replication connections for an HA configuration, the DR replication connection for a DR configuration, and both the HA and DR replication connections for an HA/DR configuration.

-red

Secure the DR replication link of an RDQM HA/DR configuration with TLS. The HA replication links are not secured.

-reh

Secure the HA replication links of an RDQM HA/DR configuration with TLS. The DR replication link is not secured.

-rr InstanceType

Create a disaster recovery replicated data queue manager (DR RDQM). Specify -rr p to create the primary instance of the queue manager or specify -rr s to create the secondary instance. You must be root or a user in the mqm group with sudo privileges to use this command.

Use -rr with the -sx or the -sxs parameter to create a DR/HA RDQM.

-rt ReplicationType

Optionally specify whether your DR RDQM configuration uses synchronous or asynchronous replication. Specify -rt s for synchronous and -rt a for asynchronous. Asynchronous is the default.

-rl LocalIP

Specify the local IP address used for replication of data between primary and secondary instances of a DR RDQM.

Use -rl LocalIP,LocalIP,LocalIP with the -sx or the -sxs parameter to create a DR/HA RDQM and specify the three IP addresses used for DR replication on the local HA group.

-ri RemoteIP

Specify the remote IP address used for replication of data between primary and secondary instances of a DR RDQM.

Use -ri RemoteIP,RemoteIP,RemoteIP with the -sx or the -sxs parameter to create a DR/HA RDQM and specify the three IP addresses used for DR replication on the remote HA group. You must specify either the -ri or the -rn parameter when creating a DR/HA RDQM.

-rn RemoteName

Specifies the name of the system that is hosting the other instance of the queue manager. The name is the value that is returned if you run uname -n on that server.

Use -rn GroupName with the -sx or the -sxs parameter to create a DR/HA RDQM and specify name of the remote HA group. The GroupName refers to the group defined in the DRGroup stanza in the rdqm.ini file. You must specify either the -rn or the -ri parameter when creating a DR/HA RDQM.

Note: You should not use -rn in conjunction with the -re or -red parameters to create a DR/HA RDQM.

-rp DRPortx

Specifies the port to use for DR replication.

-sa

Automatic queue manager startup, for the appliance. The queue manager is configured to start automatically when the appliance restarts. This argument is mutually exclusive with -sx.

-sa

Automatic queue manager startup. For Windows systems.

The queue manager is configured to start automatically when the IBM MQ Service starts.

This is the default option if you create a queue manager from IBM MQ Explorer.

-sax

Automatic queue manager startup, permitting multiple instances. For Windows systems only.

The queue manager is configured to start automatically when the IBM MQ Service starts.

If an instance of the queue manager is not already running the queue manager starts, the instance becomes active, and standby instances are permitted elsewhere. If a queue manager instance that permits standbys is already active on a different server, the new instance becomes a standby instance.

Only one instance of a queue manager can run on a server.

-san SubjectAltName

Specifies the group DNS name that is used in the Subject Alternative Name (SAN) of the certificates that are used to secure the replication links in a RDQM DR/HA configuration.

If either the -re or -red option is used to specify that the DR replication link in an RDQM DR/HA configuration is secured with TLS, the SAN in the certificates that are configured for each HA group must contain both the hostname of the RDQM node and a group DNS name. The group DNS name defaults to the value encrypted.remote. Use the -san option to specify a different group DNS name, if the certificates are created with a SAN that contains a group DNS name other than the default value.

If both HA groups are configured with certificates that contain the same group DNS name, specify the group DNS name as a single value for the -san parameter.

If the two HA groups are configured with certificates that contain a different group DNS name, specify two values separated by a comma. The first value is the group DNS name for the local HA group, and the second value is the group DNS name for the remote HA group.

For more information about the certificate requirements when secure replication links are used in a RDQM DR/HA configuration, see Secure replication for DR/HA RDQM.

-si

Interactive (manual) queue manager startup.

The queue manager is configured to start only when you manually request startup by using the strmqm command. The queue manager runs under the (interactive) user when that user is logged-on. Queue managers configured with interactive startup end when the user who started them logs off.

-ss

Service (manual) queue manager startup.

A queue manager configured to start only when manually requested by using the strmqm command. The queue manager then runs as a child process of the service when the IBM MQ Service starts. Queue managers configured with service startup continue to run even after the interactive user has logged off.

This is the default option if you create a queue manager from the command line.

-sx [-fs FilesystemSize] [DR parameters] [secure replication parameters]

Create a high availability replicated data queue manager (HA RDQM) on the primary node for that queue manager (do not specify DR parameters). RDQM is a high availability solution that is available on Linux only. See Creating an HA RDQM for more details about creating an RDQM. You must be root or a user in the mqm group with sudo privileges to use this command. The default size for file system size is 3 GB. You can specify a different file system size using the -fs option. The default unit is GB (so -fs 8 creates an 8 GB file system size). You can specify a different unit, for example, specify -fs 1024M to create a 1024 MB file system size. The queue manager is started automatically.

Specify DR parameters to create a DR/HA RDQM on the primary node for that queue manager. See Creating DR/HA RDQMs for details. The DR parameters are -rr, -ri, -rl, -rn, -rp.

Specify the secure replication parameters to secure the replication links in an RDQM configuration with TLS. The secure replication parameters are -re, -red, and -reh.

-sxs [DR parameters] [-fs FilesystemSize] [secure replication parameters]

Create a replicated data queue manager (RDQM) on a secondary node (do not specify DR parameters). RDQM is a high availability solution that is available on Linux only. See Creating an HA RDQM for more details about creating an RDQM. You must be the root user to use this command. The default size for file system size is 3 GB. The default size for file system size is 3 GB. You can specify a different file system size using the -fs option. The default unit is GB (so -fs 8 creates an 8 GB file system size). You can specify a different unit, for example, specify -fs 1024M to create a 1024 MB file system size.

Specify DR parameters to create a DR/HA RDQM on a secondary node. See Creating DR/HA RDQMs for details. The DR parameters are -rr, -ri, -rl, -rn, -rp.

Specify the secure replication parameters to secure the replication links in an RDQM configuration with TLS. The secure replication parameters are -re, -red, and -reh.

-t IntervalValue

The trigger time interval in milliseconds for all queues controlled by this queue manager. This value specifies the length of time triggering is suspended, after the queue manager receives a trigger-generating message. That is, if the arrival of a message on a queue causes a trigger message to be put on the initiation queue, any message arriving on the same queue within the specified interval does not generate another trigger message.

You can use the trigger time interval to ensure that your application is allowed sufficient time to deal with a trigger condition before it is alerted to deal with another trigger condition on the same queue. You might choose to see all trigger events that happen; if so, set a low or zero value in this field.

Specify a value in the range 0 - 999999999. The default is 999999999 milliseconds; a time of more than 11 days. Allowing the default to be used effectively means that triggering is disabled after the first trigger message. However, an application can enable triggering again by servicing the queue using a command to alter the queue to reset the trigger attribute.

-u DeadLetterQueue

The name of the local queue that is to be used as the dead-letter (undelivered-message) queue. Messages are put on this queue if they cannot be routed to their correct destination.

The default is no dead-letter queue.

-x MaximumUncommittedMessages

The maximum number of uncommitted messages under any one sync point. The uncommitted messages are the sum of:

• The number of messages that can be retrieved from queues
• The number of messages that can be put on queues
• Any trigger messages generated within this unit of work

This limit does not apply to messages that are retrieved or put outside a sync point.

Specify a value in the range 1 - 999999999. The default value is 10000 uncommitted messages.

-z

Suppresses error messages.

This flag is used within IBM MQ to suppress unwanted error messages. Do not use this flag when using a command line. Using this flag can result in a loss of information.

Return codes

Table 1. Return code identifiers and descriptions

Return code	Description
0	Queue manager created
8	Queue manager exists
18	Invalid trigger interval
19	Invalid dead letter queue
20	Invalid default transmit queue
21	Invalid max handles value
22	Invalid max uncommitted messages value
25	Error creating the queue manager directory structure
37	Invalid queue manager description
38	The access group specified cannot be found
39	Invalid parameter specified
49	Queue manager stopping
58	Inconsistent use of installations detected
63	Invalid Native HA instance name
69	Storage unavailable
70	Queue space unavailable
71	Unexpected error
72	Queue manager name error
74	The IBM MQ service is not started
93	Log replication is unavailable on this platform
95	Log replication is incompatible with RDQM
100	Log location invalid
105	The queue manager was created but could not be set as the default queue manager
111	Queue manager created. However, there was a problem processing the default queue manager definition in the product configuration file. The default queue manager specification might be incorrect
115	Invalid log size
119	Permission denied
155	The group ID specified is not valid
156	The owning group ID can only be changed on AIX and Linux systems
157	The group ID chosen is invalid