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IBM Integration Bus and WebSphere Message Broker Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Question & Answer


Question

The following is a list of answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ) about IBM Integration Bus (IIB) and WebSphere Message Broker (WMB) for new and experienced users.

Answer

Index of questions in this document:



1. What are the software requirements for IIB/WMB?


The complete product software requirements and pre-requisites are available on the System Requirements Page.




2. Where can I find more information about IIB/WMB?


  • IIB/WMB product documentation can be found in the Library which provides product Information Centers for each of the current releases. See the IBM Integration Bus Library page or the WMB Product Library page. Each Information Center can be viewed online or through a downloadable version.
  • There are also a number of IBM Redbooks available which provide detailed information about IIB/WMB. See the IBM Redbooks page.
  • IBM developerWorks also has a number of papers published that provide detailed information about specific product functionality. See the IBM developerWorks page




3. What are the main components of IIB/WMB?



The 3 main components in IIB/WMB are Runtime, Development and Administration.
  • Runtime - The broker runtime is the main processing component to which development artifacts are deployed.
  • Development - The Toolkit is used for development of message flows and other development artifacts.
  • Administration - Message Broker Explorer is an administration tool used to perform deploys, create brokers or new execution groups, and enable flow monitoring. WMB V8 provides a WebUI tool to view the broker runtime or resources deployed in a browser.






4. Does IIB/WMB require a database to function?



From Message Broker V7 onwards, there is no database pre-requisite, the product does not require a database for any internal function. You may have database nodes or use databases for other function and so Message Broker does provide functionality to interface with application databases.






5. How do I install IIB/WMB?



IIB/WMB installation comprises of installing a Broker component, the Tookit and Message Broker explorer. On Windows all three components can be installed using Windows Launchpad that is provided with the product. On Unix platforms, installation can be performed through an installation wizard or in silent mode. On z/OS, the installation is performed using SMP/E
Detailed information about installation is provided in the online Information Center


 

6. Getting started with IIB/WMB. Is there a default configuration of IIB/WMB that I can use?



Yes. IIB/WMB provides a default configuration. This can be started through Toolkit Welcome screen. The default configuration wizard creates a broker and all the resources required.

 

7. Where can I find training and education on setting up and using the IIB/WMB Product?



The IBM Education Assistant site has a number of education modules across multiple Message Broker releases. See the IBM Education Assistant: IBM Integration Bus page

IBM Education also offers courses on IIB. See this list of IIB courses being offered.









8. Where can I find samples for IIB/WMB?



A comprehensive set of samples are provided with IIB/WMB. These samples can be found on the Toolkit Welcome page. The samples cover basic concepts as well as advanced areas like WebServices File processing, Monitoring etc. See the complete list of samples available.





9. Are there IBM forums or user groups available for IIB/WMB users?



The following forums and user groups are available for Message Broker.
1. mqseries.net forum - This forum is active with participation by the Message Broker user community.
2. IBM developerWorks forum





10. How do I create a broker?



A broker can be created using Message Broker explorer or from the command line. Specific information on creating a broker is available in the online Information Center under the topic Configuring brokers for test and production > Configuring brokers
Creating a broker




11. What are the major processes for a running broker?


Once a broker is started, the following processes get started and they can be seen in Task Manager (on Windows) and/or ps listing (on UNIX's). On z/OS these processes run under USS.

  • bipservice - This is a bootstrap process that starts the broker runtime
  • bipbroker - This main administration that manages the broker runtime.
  • biphttplistener - This is the http server process that provides HTTP and SOAP functionality in Message Broker
  • DataFlowEngine - This is the Execution Group process which runs message flow threads. Each message flow runs in this process as a thread.





12. Are there any monitoring tools available in IIB/WMB?


Business level monitoring can be configured in IIB/WMB message flows that enables the different nodes in the message flow to emit events when processing messages. These events can be further fed to other applications such as WebSphere Business Monitor for transaction monitoring, transaction auditing, and business process monitoring. More information can be found in the online Information Center under the topic Performance and monitoring > Business-level monitoring







13. What are the High availability options available in IIB/WMB?

Message Broker can be set up to work with the following High Availability options:

  • Multi-instance mode using multi-instance queue manager
  • Existing High Availability manager/Windows cluster such as HACMP or MSCS cluster

Please see the following page for more information on High availability.

 


14. What are the backup and recovery procedures for IIB/WMB?




The details may be found in the online Information Center under the topic Administering existing brokers > Backing up resources




15. Are there any existing message flow patterns/templates that I can use to design my message flows?


Built-in patterns are supplied with the IIB/WMB Toolkit to create resources that are used to solve specific business problems You can also create user-defined patterns by using the pattern creation templates provided with IIB/WMB Toolkit.
Patterns are available to a pattern user in the Patterns Explorer view in the Broker Application Development perspective of the IIB/WMB Toolkit.






16. How do I migrate from a previous version to the newer version?


You can migrate in two different ways:

  • Import all the development artifacts into the Message Broker Toolkit which will migrate them as necessary and deploy them to the new version runtime.
  • Migrate only the runtime by using the mqsimigratecomponents command
    For example, mqsimigratecomponents <broker> -s <source version> -t <target version>

The details may be found in the online Information Center under the topic Reference > Configuration and administration > Commands > Runtime commands > mqsimigratecomponents command





17. Where can I find the latest Fix Pack for IIB/WMB?


A Fix Pack may be downloaded from the following page Recommended fixes for WebSphere Message Broker





18. When is the next Fix Pack available?




See the WebSphere Message Broker planned Fix Pack release schedule






19. Where are the security features provided in IIB/WMB?

IIB/WMB provides a number of security features. Detailed information about all the security features available in IIB/WMB can be found in the online Information Center under the topic Security overview


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Product Synonym

WMB MB WebSphere Message Broker IBM Integration Bus IIB IBMIB MQ Integrator WBIMB WBI-MB MQSI WMQI

Document Information

Modified date:
23 March 2020

UID

swg21632454