IBM MQ Connector

Version 22.0.8473


IBM MQ Connector


The IBMMQ Connector supports pushing messages to data queues and pulling messages from data queues using the IBM MQ protocol.

Overview

IBMMQ Connectors are configured with a specific queue to which messages are pushed and/or from which messages are retrieved. Files that arrive in the Input/Send Folder of the connector are pushed as a message to the queue, and messages pulled from the queue are written as files to the Output/Send Folder. Each connector instance can only be configured with a single queue.

Connector Configuration

This section contains all of the configurable connector properties.

Settings Tab

Configuration

Settings related to the core configuration of the connector. Some settings are only available when a particular Gateway is set.

  • Connector Id The static name of the connector. All connector-specific files are held in a folder by the same name within the Data Directory.
  • Connector Description An optional field to provide free-form description of the connector and its role in the flow.
  • Connector Id The static name of the connector. All connector-specific files are held in a folder by the same name within the Data Directory.
  • Connector Description An optional field to provide free-form description of the connector and its role in the flow.
  • Remote Host The hostname or IP address of the system hosting the MQ service.
  • Remote Port The port on the remote host where the MQ service is listening.
  • Queue Manager The name of the local queue manager for the desired queue.
  • Queue The name of the queue to push messages to or pull messages from.

TLS Settings

Settings related to transport security.

  • Use TLS when connecting with IBM MQ servers Whether to use TLS encryption as transport security when connecting and communicating with IBM MQ servers. When disabled, all communication will be in plaintext.
  • Server Public Certificate When TLS is enabled, this field should be set to the SSL/TLS certificate that the IBM MQ presents to verify its identity. This can be set to ‘Any Certificate’ to implicitly trust the target server.

Client Authentication

Settings related to authenticating against the remote service.

  • Username The username credential for authenticating against the remote server.
  • Password The password credential for authenticating against the remote server.

Other Settings

Settings not included in the previous categories.

  • Parent Connector When set to another IBMMQ Connector, this connector will inherit the settings from the Parent connectors; any settings set directly in the Child connector will override the Parent.
  • Local File Scheme A filemask for determining local file names as they are downloaded by the connector. The following macros may be used to reference contextual information:
    %ConnectorId%, %Filename%, %FilenameNoExt%, %Ext%, %ShortDate%, %LongDate%, %RegexFilename:%, %DateFormat:%.
    As an example: %FilenameNoExt%_%ShortDate%%Ext%
  • Log Messages Whether the log entry for a processed file will include a copy of the file itself.
  • Save to Sent Folder Whether files processed by the connector should be copied to the Sent folder for the connector.

Miscellaneous

Settings for specific use cases.

  • Other Settings Allows configuration of hidden connector settings in a semicolon-separated list, like setting1=value1;setting2=value2. Normal connector use cases and functionality should not require use of these settings.

Automation Tab

Automation Settings

Settings related to the automatic processing of files by the connector.

  • Send Whether files arriving at the connector will automatically be uploaded.
  • Retry Interval The amount of time before a failed upload is retried.
  • Max Attempts The maximum number of times the connector will process the input file. Success is measured based on a successful server acknowledgement. If this is set to 0, the connect will retry the file indefinitely.
  • Receive Whether the connector should automatically poll the remote download path for files to download.
  • Receive Interval The interval between automatic download attempts.
  • Minutes The number of minutes to wait before downloading. Only applicable when Receive Interval is set to Minute.
  • Minutes Past the Hour The minutes offset for an hourly schedule. Only applicable when Receive Interval is set to Hourly. For example, if this value is set to 5, the automation service will download at 1:05, 2:05, 3:05, etc.
  • Time The time within a given day that the download should occur. Only applicable when Receive Interval is set to Daily, or Weekly, or Monthly.
  • Day The day on which the download should occur. Only applicable when Receive Interval is set to Weekly or Monthly.
  • Cron Expression An arbitrary string representing a cron expression that determines when the download should occur. Only applicable when Receive Interval is set to Advanced.

Establishing a Connection

The following settings are required to establish a connection:

  • Remote Host
  • Remote Port
  • Queue Manager
  • Queue

If client authentication is required, the following settings must also be set:

  • Username
  • Password

The Test Connection button can be used to verify the successful connection to the server.

Sending Messages

Any files that arrive in the Input/Send Folder for the connector will be pushed to the configured Queue as a message. Files can arrive in this folder both by dropping files directly in the folder, or by connecting another connector in the Flow to the IBMMQ Connector.

Multiple IBMMQ Connectors are required to push messages to multiple queues. Connectors like the Branch Connector can be used to route files to the appropriate IBMMQ Connector depending on the desired target queue.

Receiving Messages

The IBMMQ Connector can be configured to automatically poll the remote Queue for messages to download. The polling settings are configured using the Receive Automation and Receive Interval settings in the Automation tab. When enabled, the connector will wait for the specified interval before attempting to retrieve messages from the queue and pushing them out to the Receive/Output Folder.

If the IBMMQ Connector is connected with other connectors in an Arc Flow, downloaded messages are downloaded are automatically passed along to the next connector. Otherwise, the messages will remain in the Receive folder.