Using a remote default queue manager
You can configure an independent integration server to connect to a default queue manager on a remote machine that is running IBM® MQ.
Several IBM App Connect Enterprise capabilities use IBM MQ, such as the MQ nodes (MQInput, MQOutput, and MQGet), statistics and monitoring events, and internal state storage for such things as event-driven processing nodes (aggregation, sequencing, collection, and timer nodes). In App Connect Enterprise, interactions between an independent integration server and IBM MQ can use a client connection to a remote queue manager, by using a default policy setting.
By using a remote default queue manager, you can configure independent integration servers to direct all MQ traffic to a remote MQ server, without configuring policy settings on each message flow node. You can also configure independent integration servers to share queue managers, which simplifies IBM MQ administration. The MQ topology does not need to be adjusted to allow a local queue manager for App Connect Enterprise integration servers, and App Connect Enterprise integration servers can be provisioned independently of the MQ queue managers.
As the default queue manager can be used to store state for the integration server itself, App Connect Enterprise shuts down if the queue manager becomes unavailable; this applies to remote default queue managers and local default queue managers. In a container-based environment with remote queue managers provisioned separately, the container management infrastructure is responsible for restarting the App Connect Enterprise integration server if the queue manager becomes unavailable, and for providing the new instance of the integration server with a working queue manager connection. The integration server will not start if the remote default queue manager is unavailable.
The remote default queue manager is used only if no local default queue manager has been configured for the integration server. If a message flow interacts directly with MQ, the remote default queue manager is used only if there is no explicit MQ configuration and no policy associated with the message flow nodes. Properties that are set on the message flow node take precedence over properties set in a remote default queue manager policy.
For statistics and monitoring functions of the integration server, explicit configuration takes precedence over the default queue manager settings. For internal state storage, the remote default queue manager is used if there is no local default queue manager, and you can use the replacement queue prefix setting to maintain separate state stores for different servers using the same queue manager. The internal queues are typically created in advance for the local default queue manager (using sample scripts provided with the product), but they are created automatically if permissions allow this for both local and remote default queue managers. You can also create queues in advance with a different prefix by modifying the sample scripts and running them on a shared queue manager. From an MQ queue manager perspective, the App Connect Enterprise integration server appears as a standard client application, and all the standard client configuration options are supported. As with other MQ client applications, the queue manager does not provide XA transactional coordination. However, security and performance tuning parameters are supported, as described in the IBM MQ product documentation online.
Only independent integration servers can be configured to use a remote default queue manager; for interactions between integration nodes (or integration servers that are managed by an integration node) and IBM MQ, you must install IBM MQ on the same machine as the integration node, and use a local default queue manager to access the MQ queues.
For information about how to configure a connection to a remote default queue manager, see Configuring an integration server to use a remote default queue manager.