IBM MQ 9.2.1 Installation & Configuration Guide on Linux

This document provides a comprehensive technical guide for installing, configuring, and verifying IBM MQ Developer Edition 9.2.1 on Linux systems. It covers all steps required to prepare the OS, install MQ binaries, create queue managers, configure channels and listeners, secure access, perform message testing, troubleshoot issues, and cleanly uninstall MQ if needed.

It is intended for system administrators, middleware engineers, and developers who require a precise, command-driven reference for deploying IBM MQ in a development or test environment. By following this guide, you will have a fully functional queue manager (QMLAB1) ready for application connectivity and testing.

1. System Prerequisites & Validation

1.1 OS & Hardware Requirements

Requirement	Recommended
OS	RHEL / CentOS 7 or 8 (64-bit)
Kernel	3.10+
RAM	8 GB minimum
Disk	5 GB free (more for logs)
Filesystem	XFS / EXT4
Time Sync	chronyd / ntpd

Verify OS and kernel:

# cat /etc/redhat-release

uname -r

1.2 System Update

# yum update -y

# reboot

Reboot ensures kernel libraries are aligned before MQ installation.

1.3 Check for Existing MQ Installations

# rpm -qa | grep MQSeries

If any MQ packages exist, remove them first to avoid conflicts.

1.4 Disable SELinux

In production, use proper SELinux policies instead of disabling.

setenforce 0

# vi /etc/selinux/config

SELINUX=permissive

Verify:

getenforce

2. MQ User, Groups & System Limits

2.1 Create MQ User

# groupadd mqm

# useradd -g mqm -m -s /bin/bash mqm

# passwd mqm

Confirm:

# id mqm

2.2 Configure File Descriptor Limits

IBM MQ opens many files and sockets under load.

# vi /etc/security/limits.d/30-ibmmq.conf

Add:

mqm     -   nofile  65536

root    -   nofile  65536

Apply immediately:

# ulimit -n 65536

Verify:

# ulimit -n

2.3 Create MQ Data Directories

# mkdir -p /ibmmq/{logs,data}

# chown -R mqm:mqm /ibmmq

# chmod -R 775 /ibmmq

3. Dependency Installation & MQ Download

3.1 Install Required Packages

# yum -y install \

bash bc ca-certificates file findutils gawk \

glibc-common grep passwd procps-ng sed \

shadow-utils tar util-linux which wget

3.2 Download IBM MQ Developer Edition

# wget -T5 -q -O mqadv_dev921_linux_x86-64.tar.gz \

https://public.dhe.ibm.com/ibmdl/export/pub/software/websphere/messaging/mqadv/mqadv_dev921_linux_x86-64.tar.gz

Verify download:

# ls -lh mqadv_dev921_linux_x86-64.tar.gz

Verify checksum if IBM provides SHA values.

3.3 Extract & Accept License

# tar -zxvf mqadv_dev921_linux_x86-64.tar.gz

cd MQServer

# ./mqlicense.sh -text_only -accept

4. Install IBM MQ RPMs

Install all MQ components:

# rpm -Uvh MQSeries*.rpm

Verify:

# rpm -qa | grep MQSeries

Source MQ environment:

# . /opt/mqm/bin/setmqenv -s

Verify binaries:

# dspmqver

5. Queue Manager Creation

5.1 Create a Test Queue Manager

# crtmqm -ld /ibmmq/logs -md /ibmmq/data qm1

# strmqm qm1

# endmqm -i qm1

5.2 Create Production-Style Queue Manager (QMLAB1)

# crtmqm \

-lc \

-lf 65535 \

-lp 3 \

-ls 2 \

-u SYSTEM.DEAD.LETTER.QUEUE \

QMLAB1

Explanation:

-lc → Circular logging

-lf 65535 → Large log files (better throughput)

-lp/-ls → Balanced log allocation

DLQ defined for message recovery

Start QM:

# strmqm QMLAB1

Verify:

# dspmq

6. Configure MQ Objects

6.1 MQSC Configuration

# . /opt/mqm/bin/setmqenv -n Installation1

runmqsc QMLAB1 << EOF

ALTER QMGR MAXMSGL(4194304)

ALTER QL(SYSTEM.CLUSTER.TRANSMIT.QUEUE) MAXMSGL(4194304)

DEFINE LISTENER(QMLAB1.LISTENER) TRPTYPE(TCP) PORT(1414) CONTROL(QMGR)

START LISTENER(QMLAB1.LISTENER)

DEFINE CHANNEL(QMLAB1.SVRCONN) CHLTYPE(SVRCONN) \

MCAUSER('mqm') MAXMSGL(4194304) \

DESCR('Application SVRCONN')

DEFINE QL(ORDER.INPUT) DEFPSIST(YES)

END

EOF

Verify:

# runmqsc QMLAB1

DISPLAY LS(QMLAB1.LISTENER)

DISPLAY CHANNEL(QMLAB1.SVRCONN)

6.2 Firewall Configuration

# firewall-cmd --add-port=1414/tcp --permanent

# firewall-cmd --reload

Confirm:

# firewall-cmd --list-ports

7. Message Testing

7.1 Put a Message

# printf "%s\n\n" TestMessage1 | \

/opt/mqm/samp/bin/amqsput ORDER.INPUT QMLAB1

7.2 Get the Message

# /opt/mqm/samp/bin/amqsget ORDER.INPUT QMLAB1

Message should display successfully.

8. Security Configuration

8.1 Application User Setup

# groupadd mqgroup

# useradd -m -g mqm -G mqgroup -s /bin/bash mqadm

Grant MQ permissions:

# setmqaut -m QMLAB1 -t qmgr -g mqgroup +connect +inq +dsp

# setmqaut -m QMLAB1 -n ORDER.** -t queue -g mqgroup +allmqi +dsp

Verify:

# dspmqaut -m QMLAB1 -g mqgroup

8.2 Channel Authentication

# runmqsc QMLAB1 << EOF

SET CHLAUTH(QMLAB1.SVRCONN) TYPE(ADDRESSMAP) ADDRESS('*') USERSRC(NOACCESS)

SET CHLAUTH(QMLAB1.SVRCONN) TYPE(USERMAP) CLNTUSER('order') \

USERSRC(MAP) MCAUSER('order') ADDRESS('*')

EOF

Validate rule matching:

DISPLAY CHLAUTH(QMLAB1.SVRCONN) MATCH(RUNCHECK) \

CLNTUSER('order') ADDRESS('1.2.3.4')

9. Optional Admin User Setup

# useradd mqadmin

# usermod -aG mqm mqadmin

Grant full MQ access:

# setmqaut -m QMLAB1 -t qmgr -g mqadmin +all

REFRESH SECURITY

10. Uninstallation & Cleanup

# endmqm -c QMLAB1

# dltmqm QMLAB1
# yum -y erase MQSeries*
# rm -rf /opt/mqm /var/mqm /ibmmq MQServer mqadv_dev921_linux_x86-64.tar.gz
# rpm -qa | grep MQSeries

11. Final Notes

• Developer Edition is not licensed for production
• Always enable CHLAUTH and AUTHREC
• Monitor /var/mqm/errors
• Consider multi-instance QM for HA in real environments