What's changed in IBM MQ 9.0.0.x Long Term Support

The Long Term Support (LTS) release is a recommended product level for which support, including defect and security updates, is provided over a specified period of time.

Long Term Support releases do not deliver new functional enhancements. They contain only defect fixes and security updates, and are made available at regular intervals. They are intended for systems that demand maximum stability over a long term deployment period.

For more information, see IBM® MQ release types and IBM MQ FAQ for Long Term Support and Continuous Delivery releases.

For Long Term Support for IBM MQ 9.0.0 for Multiplatforms maintenance updates are provided as fix packs or cumulative security updates (CSUs).

Note: From 1Q 2023, for Multiplatforms, there are two types of maintenance:

Fix packs, which contain roll-ups of all defects fixed since the previous fix pack delivery (or GA). Fix packs are produced exclusively for Long Term Support (LTS) releases during their normal support lifecycle.
Cumulative security updates (CSUs), which are smaller updates and contain security patches released since the previous maintenance (GA). CSUs are produced for LTS releases (including releases in extended support), and also for the latest IBM MQ Continuous Delivery (IBM MQ) release, as required to deliver relevant security patches.

For maintenance releases in or after 1Q 2023, the fourth digit in the VRMF represents either a fix pack number or a CSU number. Both types of maintenance are mutually cumulative (that is, they contain everything included in older CSUs and fix packs), and both are installed using the same mechanisms for applying maintenance. Both types of maintenance update the F-digit of the VRMF to a higher number than any previous maintenance: fix packs use "F" values divisible by 5, CSUs use "F" values not divisible by 5.

For maintenance releases before 1Q 2023, the fourth digit in the VRMF always represents the fix pack level. For example, the first fix pack of the IBM MQ 9.0.0 LTS release is numbered 9.0.0.1.

For more information, see Changes to IBM MQ's maintenance delivery model.

For z/OS®, maintenance updates are provided as PTFs or cumulative security updates (CSUs).

IBM MQ 9.0.0 CSU 24

Removal of support for RSA key exchange when operating in FIPS mode

From IBM MQ 9.0.0 CSU 24, the IBM Java 8 JRE removes support for RSA key exchange when operating in FIPS mode. This removal applies to the following CipherSuites: