Syncpoints in IBM WebSphere MQ in UNIX, Linux, and Windows systems

Syncpoint support operates on two types of units of work: local and global.

A local unit of work is one in which the only resources updated are those of the WebSphere® MQ queue manager. Here syncpoint coordination is provided by the queue manager itself using a single-phase commit procedure.

A global unit of work is one in which resources belonging to other resource managers, such as databases, are also updated. WebSphere MQ can coordinate such units of work itself. They can also be coordinated by an external commitment controller such as another transaction manager or the IBM® i commitment controller.

For full integrity, use a two-phase commit procedure. Two-phase commit can be provided by XA-compliant transaction managers and databases such as IBM's TXSeries® and UDB. WebSphere MQ products (except WebSphere MQ for IBM i and WebSphere MQ for z/OS®) can coordinate global units of work using a two-phase commit process.