IBM WebSphere MQ Monitoring

Creating a new IBM WebSphere MQ monitor

Prerequisites for monitoring IBM WebSphere MQ metrics: Click here

Using the REST API to add a new IBM WebSphere MQ monitor: Click here

Supported Versions : 5.x, 6.x, 7.x, 8.x and 9.x

To create a IBM WebSphere MQ Monitor, follow the steps given below:

  1. Click on New Monitor link.
  2. Enter the Queue Manager Name.
  3. Give the Hostname of the host where IBM WebSphere MQ runs.
  4. Enter the Listener Port.
  5. Give the Coded Character Set Identifier (CCSID).
  6. Enter the ServerConnection Channel.
  7. SSL Enabled checkbox - If SSL authentication is enabled on the server connection channel, then select this option and also provide SSL Cipher specifications. To configure SSL authentication in Applications Manager, refer here.
  8. Authentication Enabled checkbox - Provide the monitor-specific authentication information, such as Username and Password.
  9. If the timezone of the MQ server is different from that of Applications Manager, select the appropriate Timezone from the dropdown. If both have the same timezone, then choose the timezone as Default.
  10. Filter System Objects checkbox - Add the System Objects to Monitor. This option to Include / Exclude the SYSTEM Queues, Channels and Inactive Channels is added will be helpful in reducing unnecessary data in monitor details page. User can use either INCLUDE_QUEUES or EXCLUDE_QUEUES, INCLUDE_CHANNELS or EXCLUDE_CHANNELS and INCLUDE_INACTIVE_CHANNELS: true/false.
    • INCLUDE_QUEUES: SYSTEM.DEAD.*, *.ADMIN.COMMAND.QUEUE
    • EXCLUDE_CHANNELS: SYSTEM.AUTO.SVRCONN
    • INCLUDE_INACTIVE_CHANNELS:true/false. (Note: if this entry is not available in filters then it will be considered as false by default.)
  11. Check the Discover Message Broker checkbox to discover the broker. For Version10.x and Above, you can provide the Broker Port. If Broker Authentication is Enabled, provide the Broker username and password.
  12. Set the Polling Interval.
  13. Click Test Credential.
  14. If you are adding a new monitor from an Admin Server, select a Managed Server.
  15. Choose the Monitor Group from the combo box with which you want to associate IBM WebSphere MQ Monitor (optional). You can choose multiple groups to associate your monitor.
  16. Click Add Monitor(s). This discovers IBM WebSphere MQ from the network and Applications Manager starts monitoring it.
Know the Prerequisites that are required to monitor IBM WebSphere MQ ( jar files must be added to the respective locations).
Discover Message Broker checkbox:
To discover Message Broker, the following jars are required: Copy the two jar files to <Applications Manager Home>\working\jre\lib\extdirectory.
  • ConfigManagerProxy.jar located at <Broker Home Directory> \classes directory.
  • ibmjsseprovider2.jar located at <Broker Home Directory>\jre\lib directory.

Monitored Parameters

IBM WebSphere MQ servers are monitored based on the attributes such as listener stats, channel monitoring, etc. and the different web applications and EJB deployed in the server. You can also monitor the operation of the queue managers through event logs. The monitoring details of IBM WebSphere MQ server are represented graphically that helps to understand the parameters with ease. You can also configure thresholds to the attributes monitored by the server based on these details.

  • Availability tab gives the Availability history for the past 24 hours or 30 days.
  • Performance tab gives the Health Status and events for the past 24 hours or 30 days.
  • List view tab enables you to perform bulk admin configurations.

The IBM WebSphere MQ server attributes monitored are classified under the following tabs in Applications Manager:

Monitor Information

Parameter Description
Name The Display name of the Monitor
Health Represents the health status
Last Polled at Time at which the previous poll had started
Next Poll at Time at which the next poll has been scheduled
Availability Shows the current status of the server - available or not available.

Performance Overview

Parameter Description
Name The Display name of the monitor
Health Represents the health status
Command Server Status Specifies the status the command server. It used to check whether the command server on the target queue manager is running or not
Channel Initiator Status Specifies the status the channel initiator. It used to check whether the channel initiator on the target queue manager is running or not
Active Connections The current number of connections to the queue manager.
Graphical View of Events Count Count of events occurred in the below category in last data collection.
  • Queue Manager
  • Channel
  • Performance
  • Configuration
  • Command
  • Logger

Queues

Parameter Description
Queue Monitoring
Queue Name Name of the Queue
Current Depth Current queue depth.
% of Queue Occupied Percentage of Queue Depth occupied against the max Queue Depth.
Open Input Count Open input count (parameter identifier: MQIA_OPEN_INPUT_COUNT).
Open Output Count Open output count (parameter identifier: MQIA_OPEN_OUTPUT_COUNT)
Health Health of the Queue based on all the above attributes
Queue Usage Graph Graphical view queue depth percentage against the max Queue Depth
% of Queue Free Percentage of Queue Depth free against the max Queue Depth
Uncommitted Messages It indicates whether there are any uncommitted changes (puts and gets) pending for the queue.
  • YES - There are uncommitted changes pending.
  • NO - There are no uncommitted changes pending.
Latency The interval, in seconds, between messages being put on the queue and then being destructively read.
Trigger Control It indicates whether the triggering on the queue enabled or not.
  • On triggering enabled for this queue.
  • Off triggering not enabled for this queue.
Queue Statistics
Queue Name Name of the Queue
Last Get Time Date and time at which the GET operation was last performed.
Last Get Since Amount of time elapsed since the last GET operation was performed (in minutes).
Last Put Time Date and time at which the PUT operation was last performed.
Last Put Since Amount of time elapsed since the last PUT operation was performed (in minutes).
Oldest Message Age The age of the oldest message on the queue (in seconds).

Channels

Parameter Description
Channel Name Name of the Channel
Status Status of the channel - running
Bytes Sent Number of bytes sent
Bytes Received Number of bytes Received
Buffers Sent Number of buffers sent
Buffers Received Number of buffers Received
Availability Availability of Channel,based on the status attribute.If the status of the channle is RUNNING then it is considered to be available .If the channel is in other states
then it is considered to be down.
Health Health of the Channel based on all the above attributes
Compression Time The amount of time per message, displayed in milliseconds, spent during compression or decompression.
Compression Rate Rate of compression achieved in percentage.

Listeners

Parameter Description
Listener Name Specifies the name of the listener
Status The current status of the listener. The value can be:
  • Initializing
  • Running
  • Stopping
Session Count The number of sessions that the listener can use. This is valid only on Windows.
Backlog The number of concurrent connection requests that the listener supports.
Health Health of the Listener based on all the above attributes

Services

Parameter Description
Name Name of the service
Mode Specifies on which mode the service was started
  • Manual - The service is not to be started automatically or stopped automatically. It is to be controlled by user command.
  • Queue Manager - The service is to be started and stopped at the same time as the queue manager is started and stopped
  • Queue Manager Start - The service is to be started at the same time as the queue manager is started, but is not request to stop when the queue manager is stopped.
Type Type of the service
  • Server - Only one instance of the service can be executed at a time
  • Command - Multiple instances of the service can be started
Start Time Specifies at which time the service was started.It is applicable only for Server type of service
Alteration Time Specified at which time the service configuration was last altered.
Status Status of the service:
  • Starting
  • Running
  • Stopped
It is applicable only for the server type of service

Event Log

WebSphere MQ events provide information about errors, warnings, and other significant occurrences in a queue manager. You can monitor the operation of the queue managers by analyzing these events. When an event occurs, the queue manager puts an event message on the appropriate event queue. The event message contains information about the event.

Search Options :

We have provided the On-demand event search with multiple search options in 'Event Log' tab. You can also export the event search result to PDF.

  • Event Category
  • From Date
  • To Date
  • Event Type
  • Any keyword in the event message
Note:
  • All the messages in the event queue will be cleared when you restart the queue manager.
  • If the event queue reaches the max depth limit then the further events will not be stored in the queue. So set the threshold for '% of Queue Occupied' property for the event queues to avoid loss of event message.
  • All the events are not enabled by default. You can check the enabled or disabled events in the Event Log tab of the MQ monitor details page. Events can be enabled using MQSC commands.
  • Enable only necessary events. Because it will slightly affect the performance of the queue manager. Check the following link to control events: http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/wmqv7/v7r0/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.ibm.mq.csqzax.doc%2Fmo10670_.htm
  • Currently, we are only displaying the count of events occurred in each category. We do not have the option to monitor the events.

Events & Corresponding Queues

Events Queues
SYSTEM.ADMIN.QMGR.EVENT Local, Remote, Inhibit, Authority, Start & Stop
SYSTEM.ADMIN.CHANNEL.EVENT IMS Bridge, Channel, SSL
SYSTEM.ADMIN.PERFM.EVENT Performance
SYSTEM.ADMIN.CONFIG.EVENT Configuration
SYSTEM.ADMIN.COMMAND.EVENT Command
SYSTEM.ADMIN.LOGGER.EVENT Logger

Event Categories:

Events Queues
Start and Stop Events
Event Name Identifier Reason Code
Queue Manager Active MQRC_Q_MGR_ACTIVE 2222
Queue Manager Not Active MQRC_Q_MGR_NOT_ACTIVE 2223
Performance Events
Event Name Identifier Reason Code
Queue Depth High MQRC_Q_DEPTH_HIGH 2224
Queue Depth Low MQRC_Q_DEPTH_LOW 2225
Queue Full MQRC_Q_FULL 2053
Queue Service Interval High MQRC_Q_SERVICE_INTERVAL_HIGH 2226
Queue Service Interval OK MQRC_Q_SERVICE_INTERVAL_OK 2227
Configuration Events
Event Name Identifier Reason Code
Change Object MQRC_CONFIG_CHANGE_OBJECT 2368
Create Object MQRC_CONFIG_CREATE_OBJECT 2367
Delete Object MQRC_CONFIG_DELETE_OBJECT 2369
Refresh Object MQRC_CONFIG_REFRESH_OBJECT 2370
Channel Auto Definition Events DISABLED
Channel Events
Event Name Identifier Reason Code
Channel Activated MQRC_CHANNEL_ACTIVATED 2295
Channel Auto-Definition Error MQRC_CHANNEL_AUTO_DEF_ERROR 2234
Channel Auto-Definition OK MQRC_CHANNEL_AUTO_DEF_OK 2233
Channel Blocked MQRC_CHANNEL_BLOCKED 2577
Channel Conversion Error MQRC_CHANNEL_CONV_ERROR 2284
Channel Not Activated MQRC_CHANNEL_NOT_ACTIVATED 2296
Channel Not Available MQRC_CHANNEL_NOT_AVAILABLE 2537
Channel Started MQRC_CHANNEL_STARTED 2282
Channel Stopped MQRC_CHANNEL_STOPPED 2283
Channel Stopped By User MQRC_CHANNEL_STOPPED_BY_USER 2279
Command Events
Event Name Identifier Reason Code
MQSC command is executed MQRC_COMMAND_MQSC 2412
PCF command is executed MQRC_COMMAND_PCF 2413
SSL Events
Event Name Identifier Reason Code
Channel SSL Error MQRC_CHANNEL_SSL_ERROR 2371
Channel SSL Warning MQRC_CHANNEL_SSL_WARNING 2552
Remote Events
Event Name Identifier Reason Code
Default Transmission Queue Type Error MQRC_DEF_XMIT_Q_TYPE_ERROR 2198
Default Transmission Queue Usage Error MQRC_DEF_XMIT_Q_USAGE_ERROR 2199
Queue Type Error MQRC_Q_TYPE_ERROR 2057
Remote Queue Name Error MQRC_REMOTE_Q_NAME_ERROR 2184
Transmission Queue Type Error MQRC_XMIT_Q_TYPE_ERROR 2091
Transmission Queue Usage Error MQRC_XMIT_Q_USAGE_ERROR 2092
Unknown Default Transmission Queue MQRC_UNKNOWN_DEF_XMIT_Q 2197
Unknown Remote Queue Manager MQRC_UNKNOWN_REMOTE_Q_MGR 2087
Unknown Transmission Queue MQRC_UNKNOWN_XMIT_Q 2196
Authority Events
Event Name Identifier Reason Code
Not Authorized Type MQRC_NOT_AUTHORIZED 2035
Inhibit Events
Event Name Identifier Reason Code
Get Inhibited MQRC_GET_INHIBITED 2016
Put Inhibited MQRC_PUT_INHIBITED 2051
Logger Events
Event Name Identifier Reason Code
Logger Status MQRC_LOGGER_STATUS 2411
Local Events
Event Name Identifier Reason Code
Alias Base Queue Type Error MQRC_ALIAS_BASE_Q_TYPE_ERROR 2001
Unknown Alias Base Queue MQRC_UNKOWN_ALIAS_BASE_Q 2082
Unknown Object Name MQRC_UNKNOWN_OBJECT_NAME 2085
Bridge Events
Event Name Identifier Reason Code
Bridge Started MQRC_BRIDGE_STARTED 2125
Bridge Stopped MQRC_BRIDGE_STOPPED 2126

Configuration

Parameter Description
Name The Display name of the Monitor
Queue Manager Name of the Queue Manager
Command Queue Name of the Command Input Queue
Dead Letter Queue Name of the Dead Letter Queue
Transmission Queue Name of the Transmission Queue
Max length of Message Specifies length of the longest message that the queue manager can handle
Max Number of Handles Specifies the maximum number of open handles that any one task can use concurrently
Max Uncommitted Messages Specifies the maximum number of uncommitted messages that can exist within a unit of work.
Max Trigger Interval Specifies the time interval (in milliseconds) used to restrict the number of trigger messages
Platform The operating system on which the queue manager is running
Version Version number of the queue manager