MQ connectivity issues

MQ connectivity issues can be split into two categories:
  • Network configuration
  • MQ channel definition configuration

Network configuration

Basic network layer connectivity issues are mainly due to incorrect firewall configurations at either the IBM Sterling® Order Management System firewall layer or the customer firewall IP layer. You must look out for and confirm the following points:
  • Ensure that the IP addresses are public IP addresses for hosts. These will usually be IP addresses with NAT. Do not provide the local IP address of a host.
  • Public IP addresses may need to be enabled for both inbound and outbound connections on the firewalls.
  • To test basic connectivity at a network level, use commands such as telnet, netcat and traceroute commands.
  • Once basic network connectivity is proven, then you can troubleshoot the connectivity between JMS or MQ Client to IBM Sterling Order Management System MQ Queue Manager server.

MQ channel definition configuration

Once the network is opened at a firewall level, then you can check the JMS or MQ Client to IBM Sterling Order Management System MQ Queue Manager connection. Please consider the following points:
  • The IBM Sterling Order Management System MQ QMGR uses an MQI SSL channel.
  • The customer is always the JMS or MQ client. IBM Sterling Order Management System QMGR is always the server. The client initiates all the connections.
  • The default MQI channel definition configuration to be used is as follows:
    
JMS Server Type :  WebSphere MQ
Connection Type :  Single Connection
MQ Hostname : <cust_code>-oms.<env>.coc.ibmcloud.com
Public Port : 1415
Queue Manager : OM_QMGR
Channel : SYSTEM.SSL.SVRCONN
Use SSL : Yes
SSL Cipher : TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_128_CBC_SHA256

    Ensure that this configuration is in place for the channel connections. It may be necessary to use a different SSL CIPHER value depending upon your JMS or MQ client. It is advised that the client makes use of the recommended IBM JAR classes for the Cipher mentioned in the configuration.

  • IBM provides the IBM Sterling Order Management System MQ SSL Self-Signed certificate for authentication. Ensure that this certificate is imported into the local client keystore.
  • Check the permissions for keystore file, and ensure that the JMS or MQ client is able to read the keystore file.
  • Check that the IBM Sterling Order Management System MQ SSL certificate is in the correct format for the local JMS or MQ client to read. This may differ across client platforms.
  • It is highly recommended that the standard IBM MQ Client is installed to troubleshoot and verify connectivity between the MQ Client and QMGR. For more information, see Installing and configuring the MQ Client.
  • Check the IBM Sterling Order Management System INT server polling of queues through the QMGR. If too many connections are created to the QMGR, further connections are blocked. It is recommended to stop the INT server instances for queues to clear the QMGR session overheads.
  • Refer the IBM MQ KC error codes for specific MQ connectivity errors.