Author: admin

Go 'Lite" With Liberty Core Option For IBM WebSphere Application Server

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Sometimes less is more. So beware of companies and consultants who want to sell you too much. Application-server software is a perfect example. If you’re a smaller shop, or a shop that runs lightweight apps, you probably don’t need a full-suite server-software deployment. TxMQ often advises clients to lighten up. Within an IBM environment, we commonly recommend WebSphere Application Server (WAS) Liberty Core rather then a full WAS Liberty Profile deployment.
Liberty Core offers an entry-level price point for smaller shops like small businesses and independent software vendors. But it’s also popular for larger enterprises – especially larger IT-development shops – where rapid app dev and deployment are the prime directives. The nice thing about opting for Core is the ease with which you can then upgrade into the entire WAS product sphere. There’s no penalty for starting small.
To lay out the Liberty Core option a bit more,  the software helps you:

  • Leverage the integrated tooling to increase development productivity and complete projects much more quickly – all while adhering to open standards.
  • Save money through the more efficient use of resources – both human and metal. Think lightweight functionality that drives stout production.
  • “Future-Proof” your apps through the easy addition of custom or 3rd-party components.

As of this writing, Liberty Core was in version 8.5.5 with documented support for AIX, HP-UX, Linux, Solaris, Windows, IBM i and Mac OS.
TxMQ is ready to answer any and all of your application-server questions. Initial consultations are free and always confidential. Contact vice president Miles Roty: (716) 636-0070 x228, [email protected].
 

MQ Capacity Planner: More Info About MQ Monitoring

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TxMQ is set to debut its new MQ Capacity Planner (MQCP) utility next week at the MQ Technical Conference in Sandusky, Ohio. We’re offering two live-demo sessions with MQCP author Allan Bartleywood:

  • Monday, Sept. 29 at 11:15 a.m.
  • Wednesday, Oct. 1 at 11:15 a.m.

For those who can’t attend, MQCP is a brand-new, proprietary MQ monitoring and testing utility for MQ message flow. More specifically, MQCP is a multithread testing tool for IBM WebSphere MQ environments that is capable of testing any volume of application-data messages generated by any number of concurrent application instances assigned to any number of queue managers in order to obtain highly detailed performance reports of queue times and package priorities measured against total message capacity, CPU loads and throughput times.
Results provide accurate estimates of optimal message sizes to better diagnose bottlenecks and boost overall MQ, network and application performance.
To dig a bit deeper into functionality, MQCP’s strength is in the detail. Typical MQ test scripts simply can’t offer the insight and absolute detail of MQCP, which essentially allows the user to shine a light into the dark corners of an MQ environment to reveal any cobwebs that slow down performance. And the tool is indispensible for network change control: Anytime you change out a network configuration item, run MQCP again and compare performance to the previous baseline to measure how an implementation truly affects MQ performance. It’s really that simple.
More details on MQCP will emerge over the following weeks. There’s additional information included on our MQCP page (click here to visit).
Interested in trying the MQCP? Contact TxMQ president Chuck Fried and ask about our MQCP Pilot Program: (716) 636-0070 x222, [email protected].

Reduce Your Liability Exposure With A Systems Security Health Check

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The Home Depot data breach isn’t going away anytime soon. News continues to pour out about the theft of credit card info from Big Orange, and the tally currently sits at 65 million credit and debit cards compromised.
Several credit unions have sued Home Depot under claims that the retailer knew ahead of time that its systems were out of date and that hackers had access to the data for months before the breach came to light – claims that of course would need to be proven in court. Customers that suffered a loss are able to recoup their losses from Home Depot, and the retailer is offering a free year of credit monitoring to affected customers.
Although the breach doesn’t seem to have hurt Home Depot’s valuation and business the way it hurt Target – maybe because Home Depot deals more in necessities whereas Target deals more in frills – the lesson is resonating throughout North America. We certainly hear the chatter in the IT industry.
The big takeaway, and the advice we give clients, is to avoid potential liability exposure by upgrading any out-of-date systems or software. Note the accusation in the lawsuit I referenced above: That Home Depot knew it was using an out-of-date system.
The truth is that all systems are vulnerable to some degree. Passwords aren’t the ultimate protection. And we do trade risk for convenience whenever we use plastic to for online or in-store purchases. But companies that take every step to protect their data are much less exposed should a problem occur.
Sometimes system servers need a new round of hardening. Sometimes fix-packs or version upgrades are mandatory. Sometimes a vulnerable machine needs to be taken out. The first step is always to scope the current state of your security and compliance, then develop a plan from there. And keep in the mind that SMBs are the most vulnerable, because a single, successful liability lawsuit could signal the end of business.
TxMQ specializes in security and security upgrades (click here for our recent Webinar). Initial consultations are free and confidential. Contact vice president Miles Roty: (716) 636-0070 x228, [email protected].
(Photo by Scott Schiller under Creative Commons license.)
 

AT&T Partners With IBM Cloud To Extend MPLS Services

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AT&T NetBondSM is a network-enabled cloud solution that allows customers to extend their MPLS VPN to cloud-service providers with enhanced speed and security.
AT&T and IBM recently announced a partnership under which AT&T will extend its NetBondSM services to IBM’s SoftLayer cloud platform. That’s good news for customers because MPLS offers stronger security and performance above standard public Internet. Plus, the IBM and AT&T alliance will allow customers to easily create hybrid-cloud computing solutions. AT&T VPN customers can use NetBondSM to connect their IT infrastructure to SoftLayer’s cloud services. These are highly secure, highly-reliable, high-performance connections.
The official announcement quoted Jim Comfort (GM of IBM’s cloud services). According to Comfort, the alliance provides options for customers to better leverage hybrid cloud. Coast-to-coast secure connectivity is critical, and the MPLS-based, dedicated NetBondSM network is ideal. In essence, customers can move workloads to and from SoftLayer platforms as if they were on a LAN. Furthermore, the bandwidth is dynamic and allows customers to use as much or as little bandwidth as they need.
Here’s a brief look at some AT&T NetBond benefits:

  • Simple: Works seamlessly with existing AT&T VPN through APIs, creating an automated experience. Customers don’t need to order or manage any other equipment or access lines.
  • Savings: Network elasticity that automatically flexes with the needs of the cloud service. Companies can save as much as 60% on networking costs.
  • Performance: Delivers as much as 50% lower latency and three times the availability when compared with the public Internet.
  • Security: Isolates traffic going directly to cloud platforms using the AT&T private global network, providing more protections from risks such as DDoS attacks.

The combined AT&T/IBM services are expected to be available sometime in Q1 2015.
Want to move into the Cloud but not sure how to do it? TxMQ can help. Initial consultations are free and confidential. Contact vice president Miles Roty: (716) 636-0070 x228, [email protected].

Several IBM MQ WebSphere Products Reach End Of Support

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IBM recently announced an end-of-support list for specific WebSphere MQ products. The following products within Passport Advantage (PPA) will reach end-of-support on the listed date. (Note: TxMQ will continue to support these products.)
5724-V32: IBM Media Extender for WebSphere Process Server V7.0.x
IBM support ends September 30, 2016
Media Extender provides a flexible and powerful approach for defining processes involving media content and services. Media Extender provides support for adapting media formats or moving content through the use of media-sensitive metadata.
Replacement program: IBM Smarter Media Solution with M&E       Industry Pack
5724-T21: IBM WebSphere MQ Low Latency Messaging V2.2.x
IBM support ends September 30, 2015
WebSphere MQ Low Latency Messaging is designed for financial institutions and other organizations that require near instantaneous and reliable delivery of extremely large volumes of data. WebSphere MQ Low Latency Messaging delivers flexible message delivery options, high system availability, fast message filtering, system monitoring and congestion control.
5724-T21: IBM WebSphere MQ Low Latency Messaging V2.3.x
IBM support ends September 30, 2015
5725-L30: IBM API Management V2.0.x
IBM support ends September 30, 2015
IBM API Management provides a set of API capabilities that can be deployed on-premise in the datacenter. Firms can use IBM API Management for defining, proxying, assembling, securing, and scaling APIs. IBM API Management also provides detailed analytics and operational metrics. Customize your unique company developer portal to provide links to social communities and manage applications that can be used by developers.
Replacement program: API Management V3.0
5724-H79: IBM TPF Toolkit V3.6.x
IBM support ends September 30, 2015
IBM TPF Toolkit is an Eclipse-based, integrated-development environment that allows you to edit, compile and debug your IBM Transaction Processing Facility (TPF) applications remotely from your workstation. The TPF Toolkit supports development of TPF and IBM z/TPF applications.
Replacement program: TPF Toolkit V4.2
TxMQ is an IBM Premier Business partner with a specialization in MQ and the middleware stack. Initial consultations are free and confidential. Contact vice president Miles Roty: (716) 636-0070 x228, [email protected].
(Photo by  tsaiproject)
 

IBM Cast Iron Options: Appliance Vs. Live (SaaS)

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Software as a Service (SaaS) is fast becoming the deployment du jour, but appliances haven’t lost favor yet. The decision over an on-premise install or appliance versus an SaaS solution should still be made on a case-by-case basis. IBM Cast Iron offers both options and each enables cloud-to-cloud, cloud-to-on-premise and on-premise-to-on-premise integration and real-time, near-real-time and batch.
Here’s a brief look at both options.

Cast Iron As Appliance

Cast Iron can be deployed as either physical hardware or a virtual machine. With this style of deployment, the Integration Appliance is installed on-premise – normally behind the firewall, but not within a DMZ.
The runtime environments for the dev, test and prod lifecycles are typically separated, each with its own Integration Appliance to access necessary endpoints within the environment.
The user maintains full control of projects and their orchestrations on the appliance through the WMC. The orchestrations are started through activities which include polling, scheduling or an incoming request – an HTTP Receive Request, for example. Data flows through the Integration Appliance and is stored internally as XML variables. Users control the logging for each orchestration.

Cast Iron Live

This multi-tenant, browser-accessed deployment model includes key components for users to design, run and manage integrations all in the cloud. Those components are:

  • A clustered runtime engine that runs the integrations with built-in fault-tolerance and recovery mechanisms
  • A multi-tenant, highly available system to store the designed integrations
  • A load-balancer to intelligently manage the loads throughout the various runtime engines
  • Highly available file systems to store and manage logs that are related to the integrations

The Live version also includes a Design environment with the same capabilities as the on-premise Studio environment
TxMQ specializes in application integration. Initial consultations are free and communications are always confidential. Contact vice president Miles Roty for more information: (716) 636-0070 x228, [email protected].

Using IBM MessageSight For Remote Vehicle Services

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The past year has shown us this important trend: Automobiles are the prime driver behind the growth of the Internet of Things. The thought of connected dishwashers and toasters and thermostats and hockey sticks is intriguing, but smartcars are where the action’s at. Manufactures know it. App developers know it. And IBM knows it too.
IBM, in fact, is heavily pushing its MessageSight appliance as a connected-car solution for remote services. Big Blue’s approach is logical, and I like the company’s suggested use cases. Here are a few examples of how MessageSight might be deployed to support remote vehicle services.

  1. Unlock doors. We already have remote unlock via key fobs and satellite, but the third option of a phone or pad unlock would be extremely handy. It would also save insurance companies money due to less frequent locksmith reimbursements. And it’s pure gold for car-rental companies that no longer need an employee to be onsite to unlock vehicles.
  2. Monitor warm-up temperatures. Remote car starters are already common, but MessageSight could empower climate control via phone or pad to not only start your car, but monitor the air conditioning and heater as well.
  3. Vehicle gauges. Develop an app to interface with the dashboard display to monitor tire pressure, fuel level, oil level, battery charge and more. Then interface those readings with calendaring software to generate reminders and schedule maintenance appointments.
  4. Vehicle Find. Key fobs only broadcast so far. Tap your phone or pad to toot the horn or flash the lights in a giant parking lot to easily find your vehicle.
  5. Predictive maintenance. Manufactures can collect data on usage and performance to lessen warranty claims and deliver push notifications for suggested maintenance plateaus.
  6. Driver assistance features. This technology is rapidly expanding. Prior examples of driver-assistance features include anti-lock brakes, object sensors and reprogrammed shift sequences. The near future is sure to include adaptive cruise control, infrared driving aids, lane-departure warnings, laser-based object sensing and more – all controlled via phone or pad.
  7. Increased efficiencies for fleet management. Enable real-time communication, routing and updates between driver, the vehicle itself and the sales-order system.

What sets MessageSight apart is how well the appliance integrates to support different networks and data-exchange rates, as well as the way it delivers appliance-quality security to the edge of the network.
Learn more about MessageSight: Contact TxMQ vice president Miles Roty for a free and confidential consultation: (716) 636-0070 x228, [email protected].

TxMQ Supports CuddleCots Campaign

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Join TxMQ in supporting Corey Kruss as she fundraises to honor the memory of her son by providing CuddleCots to Western New York-based hospitals.

Dealing with the death of a baby is clearly an incredibly difficult event for parents, and bereaved parents should be given the option of spending time with their baby.

Providing families with time is internationally encouraged by midwives, bereavement practitioners, still birth/neonatal charities, academics and is also recognized in International Position statements/guidance.

Time allows the family to form an important bond with their baby; whether changing a diaper, dressing the baby or simply just to stay close, this can help families in dealing with their loss.

The problem is that in a warm room the baby’s condition can deteriorate quickly which parents often find distressing. Therefore, cooling the baby is absolutely essential.

The information above is adapted from the following webpage, which shares extensive information about CuddleCots.

Corey Kruss, a TxMQ employee, utilized a CuddleCot for Weston Elijah Kruss, the son she recently gave birth to. Corey authored a beautiful testimonial that can be found here.

Corey is committed to honoring Weston’s memory by fundraising to purchase a CuddleCot for Mercy Hospital, and then for hospitals throughout Western New York (so as to ensure any family in our geographic area that is interested in utilizing one is readily able to do so).

Your financial support of this worthy endeavor is welcome! You can make a donation in one of two ways:

  1. Write a check (in any amount) to SOBBS (Stories of Babies Born Still), Inc. and mail it to 544 W. Hancock Street, Lakeland, FL 33803. IMPORTANT – Be sure to write “In Memory of Weston Elijah/Buffalo CuddleCot” on the note section of the check itself.
  2. Make a donation via SOBBS PayPal account

On the second page (after entering in credit card and billing information) click on “add special instructions to the seller,” and in the “notes” box please type “In Memory of Weston Elijah/Buffalo CuddleCot.”

TxMQ, Corey’s place of employment has donated $500.00 in honor of Weston, as has our friends at Adoption STAR . We hope you’ll support us (and Corey) in this worthy endeavor.

Details: Fix Pack 8.0.0.1 for WebSphere MQ 8.0

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IBM recently released its first fix pack for WebSphere MQ 8.0. The 8.0.0.1. fix pack is now available on the following:

  • AIX
  • Linux on x86
  • Linux on x86_64
  • Linux on zSeries 64-bit
  • Linux on POWER
  • HP-UX for Itanium
  • Solaris SPARC
  • Solaris on x86_64
  • Windows
  • IBM i

The 8.0.0.1 fix pack addresses the following APARS:

IT00493         Mqxr server receives probe ID XR071002 unsubscribe failed with mqcc_failed RC=2429 mqrc_subscription_in_use AMQXR0004E
IT00497         WebSphere MQ 7.0.1: queue manager can not start after upgrade TOV7.0.1.10 or V7.0.1.11
IT00960         WebSphere MQ V7 client .NET applications using get with waitinterval greater than 300 seconds fail with MQRC=2009.
IT01241         WebSphere MQ V7 client application reports sigsegv on while connecting to the queue manager using ccdt file.
IT01374         WMQ V7 java: a message may not be converted to unicode when SHARECNV=0 is set on a client channel.
IT01511         WMQ mft: new transfer request panel from the WMQ explorer does not function properly when a sfg agent is selected.
IT01607         WMQ ams: AMQ9044 log message says message was sent to system.protection.error.queue but was rolled back
IT01798         WMQ 7.5: WebSphere MQ default configuration wizard on Windows terminates with no error message.
IT01799         Dspmqrte returns 2046 ‘mqrc_options_error’ when connecting in client mode to a V7.1 queue manager running on z/OS.
IT01966         Creation of a 64-BIT Oracle switch load file for WebSphere MQ Java client fails on Linux 64.
IT01972         Queue manager trace is turned off for an application thread withmultiple shared connections after an mqdisc call is issued
IT02055         FDC probe XC130004 within function rfichooseone reporting sigfpeexception, and termination of queue manager processes
IT02122         Unable to connect to WMQ mft configuration via remote queue manager using ccdt under WMQ explorer
IT02194         WebSphere mq: clwlrank and clwlprty ignored when using like parameter
IT02389         Amqsbcg retreives incorrect message on the destination queue when API exit removed message properties
IT02422         WMQ V7.5 Java application fails with reason code 2025 (mqrc_max_conns_limit_reached) after network outages
IT02480         WebSphere MQ output from ‘dmpmqcfg’ is incorrect for runmqsc input for defining selector strings
IT02684         Data missing from WMQ V7.5 .NET application trace when tracing is repeatedly stopped and started while application is running
IT02701         MQ 7.5 setmqm fails without error when mqs.ini contains a blank line(s) at the end of the file.
IT02920         FDC with probe ID CO052000 and errorcode rrce_bad_data_received is generated by the WebSphere MQ V8 queue manager.
IT02981         WebSphere MQ V7.5: addmqinf command fails if queue manager file system is not available.
IT03124         WMQ 7.5: a svrconn channel terminates when browsing the system.admin.trace.activity.queue
IT03154         Ibm MQ 8.0: AMQ5657 message is written in error log without the text AMQ5657
IT03205         Defxmitq can be set to system.cluster.transmit.queue using the crtmqm -d switch, but this should not be allowed
IT03551         WMQ V7.5: .NET application fails to connect to queue manager with RC=2232 (mqrc_unit_of_work_not_started).
IT03711         WebSphere MQ 7.5 probe ID XC333030 component xlspostevent reports major error code 16 (einval)
IT03825         WMQ V8.0: rc 2195 FDC probe ID XC130031 when using authinfo withauthtype(idpwldap)
IV40268         AMQ9636: ‘ssl distinguished name does not match peer name’ errorwhen using ssl/tls channels with multi-instance queue managers.
IV56612         Channel moves to running state and ping completes on a sender channel with trptype(tcp) and receiver channel TRPTYPE(LU62)
IV58306         Memory leak in amqrmppa observed while queue manager is running
IV59264         ABN=0C4-00000004 in csqmcprh when using the WebSphere MQ classesfor Java
IV59891         Ibm MQ 7.1 or 7.5 dspmqtrc writes out incorrect time stamps whenformatting 7.0.1 trace files
IV62648         Mqcmd_reset_q_stats processing ends for all queues if one queue is damaged
IV63397         WebSphere MQ 7.0.1.7 queue manager is unresponsive and generatedfdc’s with probe id’s XC034070 and XC302005
IV64351         MQ runmqras command fails to ftp data with error message “address unresolved for server address ftp.emea.ibm.com”
PI19991         Various problems encountered in the qmgr and chin late in the final test cycle. fix needed for stability and migration
SE59149        WebSphere MQ V710: language MQ ptf is incorrectly replacing the qsys prx cmds with the real cmds instead
SE59368        After executing the wrkmqmcl command the wrkmqm command falsely shows active queue managers as inactive.
XX00217        MQ V8 explorer password field in the userid pane of the queue manager properties appears populated when no password defined
XX00222        MQ explorer 8.0 on windows: when trying to export/import, using french version, unable to select a destination file or folder
XX00223        MQ managed file transfer plugin for MQ explorer cannot connect to a coordination queue manager configured to use SSL
“It’s In Our Name!” – TxMQ is an IBM Premier Business Partner and we specialize in WebSphere MQ consulting. Initial consultations are free and communications are always confidential. Contact vice president Miles Roty for more information: (716) 636-0070 x228, [email protected].
(Photo by Kate Ter Haar, Creative Commons license.)

Internet Growth: Over 1 Billion Served And Where It All Began

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Several news outlets today picked up reporting on the semi-official website odometer over at InternetLiveStats.com. The hoopla? The World Wide Web finally reached the plateau of 1 billion websites. When you consider that the total human population of the earth is about only 7 billion, that means there’s now one website for every seven people on earth. Wow.
I’ve long felt, and still feel, that when future historians reckon back upon 10,000 or so years of known human history, the development of network connectivity will represent a massive peak on the escalatory path of advancement. We’ll be a remarkable generation because we lived in the time of this invention – a technological wonder that connected a mankind tired from a long and bloody 5,000 years of walls, fences and isolation. Really, when you look across the span of known human history, where would you rather be than right here, right now? Credit that to computer connectivity.
The news outlets today were quick to point to Tim Berners-Lee and his infinitely famous proposals during 1989-90 at CERN that laid out the process of how to develop the World Wide Web and how to populate it with websites and how to navigate it with a browser. Genius.
But I’ll be frank: I’m a roots sort of guy, and I plainly feel, and I think history will ultimately judge that 10:30 pm, Oct. 29, 1969 marks the dawn of our new epoch. That’s the exact time and date when the first network connection occurred over the ARPANET between Boelter Hall room 3420 at UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in Palo Alto, Calif. UCLA sent the message “login” to SRI. SRI received L and O, then the system crashed.
If you watch Star Trek, here’s the analogy: CERN was where they eventually built the Enterprise. SRI was where Zefram Cochrane successfully tested the first warp drive.
And SRI is absolutely hallowed ground. I made a pilgrimage there last month. It was a Saturday. Sunny and 75. Two other cars sat empty in the parking lot.
It’s a bit haunting, to say the least: To stand and look at the very site where the world’s first true network was born. I certainly looked out of place – a technology pilgrim alone with a camera – and security apparently thought so too, because a golf cart quickly whipped out from around the corner.
“Can I help you?” the young guard asked.
I told him I just wanted to walk the site, that “It all started here” and I wished to take a moment in my life to think on that and have some physical connection to the place – the bricks, the doors, the pistachio trees.Stand
“That’s really cool that you know the history,” the guard replied, and I took that to mean not too many other folks do. He recorded my name and address, we talked some and off he went. I tarried a bit longer then departed for my next destination (Xerox PARC – another hallowed-ground story altogether).
But there was one particular feature of the SRI campus that haunts me still. I carry the image with me as a reminder of the power of what we invent. To the side of the main entrance is a concrete ramp, partially overgrown, that rises from the parking lot but ends abruptly in weeds near a weathered, white iron fence. The fence spans the length of a beautiful grass courtyard and paddock.
When you stand at the path’s beginning and look up at the now-gated paddock, you realize: The path is a sign of different times, when workers could arrive and walk directly up into the campus to create their technology that would change the world. The fence, now, is a stark reminder that despite such world-changing connective technology, we’re still not that far removed from a history and a century defined by walls, fences and barbed wire.