Monitoring IBM MQ
This section describes what's being monitored and the rules for how Nodinite translates this into meaningful monitoring states. Also, some remote commands are available as Actions to help you swiftly manage problems. Actions are further detailed on the Managing queues page.
Why queue depth matters
Stockpiling messages is terrible for your business. So we developed this Monitoring Agent to give end-users the power to get alerts and manage content to keep the system healthy.
Info
The agent autodiscovers queues on registered queue managers. Simply create new queues with access rights for the agent and they will automatically get monitored and listed within your Monitor Views.
| Category | Monitors |
|---|---|
| Queues | What is being Monitored for IBM MQ queues? |
| Listeners | What is being Monitored for IBM MQ Listeners? |
| Queue Managers | What is being Monitored for IBM MQ Queue Managers? |
| Client Connections | What is being Monitored for IBM MQ Client Connections? |
| Channels | What is being Monitored for IBM MQ Channels? |
What is being Monitored for IBM MQ queues?
The IBM MQ Monitoring Agent evaluates queues by user-defined thresholds. Checks are performed on availability and the number of messages on the queue(s). Also, the maximum age of the first message on each queue is analyzed. An administrator can change thresholds per queue manager and related settings.
- State of the queues - Makes sure the queues have the intended run-time state
- Get/Put inhibited check
- Alias queue targets a queue (base queue name property is set)
- Access checks - Makes sure queues stay available and accessible
- Access rights - Makes sure no one tampers with access rights
- Service available - If Nodinite can't check the state of your queues, chances are no one else can use them either
- Global settings, overridable per queue
- Age verification
- Count (warning/error)
- Quota-evaluation
- Dead letter
List of queues in a Monitor View
One single queue will be displayed within Nodinite as one Resource. If you have 42 queues, then you will have 42 Resources in Nodinite.
- All queues depending on type in MQ belong to either the 'Local Queue', 'Model Queue', 'Alias Queue' or 'Remote Queue' category.
Here's an example of IBM MQ categories - The Application name is based on the display name for the queue manager.
- Display name for queue manager
Here's an example of display name for queue manager as Application name
- Display name for queue manager
State evaluation for Queues
Each queue (Resource) can have one of the following states at any given moment:
| State | Status | Description | Actions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unavailable | Resource not available |
|
Review prerequisites | |
| Error | Not operational |
|
- | |
| OK | Operational |
|
- |
Example: Queue state when not available
From within Nodinite, you can reconfigure the state evaluation on the Resource level using the Expected State feature.
Important
If the queue has get inhibited then the age of messages cannot be evaluated.
Alert history for queues
During root cause analysis or other purposes, it might be helpful to understand how often problems with queues happen. If your Monitor View allows it, you can search for historical state changes for the provided timespan either for all queues or individually. This topic is further detailed within the generic instructions on how to Add or manage Monitor View page.
 Search for alert history for all resources in the Monitor View |
 Alert history for the selected queue |
What is being Monitored for IBM MQ Listeners?
The IBM MQ Monitoring Agent evaluates Listeners by hardcoded thresholds. Checks are performed on the state.
- State of the Listener - Makes sure the Listener has the intended run-time state
State evaluation for listeners
Each listener (Resource) can have one of the following states at any given moment:
| State | Status | Description | Actions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unavailable | Resource not available |
|
Review prerequisites | |
| Error | Stopped |
|
- | |
| OK | Started |
|
- |
From within Nodinite, you can reconfigure the state evaluation on the Resource level using the Expected State feature.
What is being Monitored for IBM MQ Queue Managers?
The IBM MQ Monitoring Agent evaluates Queue Manager by evaluating general connectivity. Checks are performed on the availability of the service.
- Available State of the Queue Manager - Makes sure the Queue Manager is accessible
State evaluation for queue manager
Each Queue Manager (Resource) can have one of the following states at any given moment:
| State | Status | Description | Actions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unavailable | Resource not available |
|
Review prerequisites | |
| OK | Started |
|
- |
From within Nodinite, you can reconfigure the state evaluation on Resource level using the Expected State feature.
What is being Monitored for IBM MQ Client Connections?
A Client Connection is a channel of type Client. See the next bullet for additional information.
What is being Monitored for IBM MQ Channels?
The Nodinite IBM MQ Monitoring Agent evaluates Channels by hardcoded thresholds. Checks are performed on the state of the channel.
- State of the Channels -Ensure the Channels have the intended run-time state
State evaluation for channels
Each channel (Resource) can have one of the following states at any given moment:
| State | Status | Description | Actions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unavailable | Resource not available |
|
Review prerequisites | |
| Error | Stopped |
|
- | |
| OK | Started |
|
- |
From within Nodinite, you can reconfigure the state evaluation on Resource level using the Expected State feature.
Frequently asked questions
Use the troubleshooting guide to find the FAQ and answers to known problems.
How do I grant my users access to IBM MQ monitoring?
This is detailed in the User access to IBM MQ monitoring guide.
How do I enable monitoring of IBM MQ Queues
To Monitor IBM MQ queues, the Agent must be configured which is further detailed in the 'User access to IBM MQ monitoring' page.