Tracing IBM MQ on Red Hat OpenShift clusters

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You can enable, configure, update, and disable IBM MQ Tracing in containerized environments like Red Hat OpenShift.

Enabling IBM MQ Tracing

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You can enable IBM MQ Tracing by any one of the following methods:

Option 1: IBM MQ Operator

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Install IBM MQ Operator 2.2.0 and later for native tracing. To get native support, use IBM MQ queue manager container image 9.3.1.0-r2 or later versions.

To enable IBM MQ Tracing for queue managers that are deployed by using IBM MQ Operator 2.2.0 or later versions on an IBM Cloud Pak for Integration cluster or a Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform cluster, see IBM MQ guide. IBM MQ Tracing is supported on Linux on x86_64, ppc64le, and s390x Kubernetes nodes.

Note: To enable IBM MQ Tracing by using IBM MQ Operator on a Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform cluster, you must use an IBM Cloud Pak for Integration license with the IBM MQ Operator.

Option 2: Instana AutoTrace webhook (deprecated)

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Important: Instana Autotrace webhook support for IBM MQ is deprecated. Effective 31 May 2027, Instana officially ends support and declares this feature end of life (EOL). This feature is replaced by IBM MQ operator.

Alternatively, you can use Instana AutoTrace webhook to enable Instana IBM MQ Tracing for the IBM MQ on an IBM Cloud Pak for Integration cluster. Instana AutoTrace webhook supports only IBM MQ queue manager container image versions earlier to 9.3.3.0 and Linux/amd64 Kubernetes nodes.

For more information about how to enable tracing for IBM MQ containers that run on an IBM Cloud Pak for Integration cluster, see Enabling webhook instrumentation for IBM MQ and ACE.

Configuring IBM MQ Tracing

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To change the configuration of IBM MQ Tracing for a queue manager running on a Red Hat OpenShift cluster, add new environment variables to the queue manager pod.

The environment variable name must match the configuration item name that is listed in the Configuring IBM MQ Tracing for on-premises IBM MQ section. To add an environment variable for a queue manager pod, complete the following steps:

  1. Log in to your Red Hat OpenShift cluster web console.
  2. From the navigation menu, click Operators > Installed Operators . All installed Operators in the specified project are displayed.
  3. Select IBM MQ Operator. The IBM MQ Operator window is displayed.
  4. Go to the queue manager tab. The queue manager Details window is displayed.
  5. Select the queue manager for which you want to change the tracing configuration.
  6. Go to the YAML tab.
  7. Add the environment variable in the spec > template > pod > containers > env section. For example, use the following snippet to change the log level of IBM MQ Tracing to debug: 
    template:
 pod:
   containers:
     - env:
         - name: LOG_LEVEL
           value: debug
  8. Save the updated queue manager YAML file.

Upgrading IBM MQ Tracing

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To upgrade IBM MQ Tracing on a Red Hat OpenShift cluster, complete one of the following steps:

  • If IBM MQ Tracing is enabled by using IBM MQ Operator 2.2.0 or later versions, upgrade IBM MQ queue manager.
  • If IBM MQ Tracing is enabled by using Instana AutoTrace webhook, deploy the Instana AutoTrace webhook again, and restart queue manager pods.

Disabling IBM MQ Tracing

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To disable IBM MQ Tracing on a Red Hat OpenShift cluster, complete one of the following steps:

  • If IBM MQ Tracing is enabled by using IBM MQ Operator version 2.2.0 or later, set the Enable Instana tracing toggle to false in IBM Cloud Pak for Integration Platform UI or the Red Hat OpenShift web console. See the IBM MQ guide.

  • If IBM MQ Tracing is enabled by using the Instana AutoTrace webhook, complete one of the following steps: