Network Deployment (Distributed operating systems), v8.0 > Applications > Messaging resources > Interoperation with WebSphere MQ > Interoperation using a WebSphere MQ server
WebSphere MQ server: Connection and authentication
Each WebSphere MQ server definition includes the connection properties and authentication settings that service integration uses to connect to the associated WebSphere MQ queue manager or queue-sharing group, either for resource discovery or for messaging.
Connection
Service integration connects to the WebSphere MQ network in the following situations:
- When, as part of the process of creating a WebSphere MQ server by , the automatic resource discovery process runs to capture resource information direct from
WebSphere MQ.
The wsadmin commands do not support automatic discovery of resources.
- When the WebSphere MQ server is used to pass messages between service integration and
WebSphere MQ.
The connection access path is determined by the host, port, transport chain and WebSphere MQ connection channel that you specify when you create the WebSphere MQ server definition. You get this information from the WebSphere MQ system administrator. The connection access path is also affected by the connection mode that you specify:
- We can use client transport mode to establish a TCP/IP network connection between service integration and
WebSphere MQ.
- If
WAS and
WebSphere MQ are co-located on the same system (or, for z/OS systems, on the same partition of the same system) it is more efficient to use bindings transport mode to connect between service integration and
WebSphere MQ.
For more information about the mechanisms used to connect to WebSphere MQ for z/OS , see the z/OS System Setup Guide in the WebSphere MQ information center.
Authentication
The WebSphere MQ system administrator will probably want service integration to authenticate with WebSphere MQ whenever it connects. This happens whenever message data needs to be exchanged with a queue point or a mediation point that is assigned to a WebSphere MQ server bus member, and when the automated resource discovery process runs while you are configuring a WebSphere MQ server by .
The WebSphere MQ system administrator might also want to set up two different user accounts on the WebSphere MQ system: one with only the privileges needed for resource discovery, and one with only the privileges needed for messaging. The WebSphere MQ server definition supports this requirement by allowing you to configure the MQ server with two authentication aliases, corresponding to these two accounts.
Authentication aliases are restricted to a maximum 12 characters in length, because the user ID that WebSphere MQ uses for checking the identity of new connections also has this restriction. If authentication aliases exceed 12 characters in length, they are truncated.
If you are using Resource Access Control Facility (RACF) as the security manager on your WebSphere MQ for z/OS system, and using bindings transport mode, specify in uppercase characters the user names and passwords for authentication aliases. If you are using RACF and client transport mode, you can specify the user names and passwords in either upper or lowercase characters.
Where an authentication alias exists, the user name and password it contains are examined by WebSphere MQ by using a WebSphere MQ channel security exit. WebSphere MQ for z/OS provides a sample security exit CSQ4BCX3, which demonstrates how you can authenticate based on this information.
When messages are sent to WebSphere MQ for resource discovery, the MQPMO_SET_IDENTITY_CONTEXT option is used. The credentials used to establish a messaging connection must have authority to assert this.
The connection mode you use for connecting to WebSphere MQ affects which credentials are used:
- For a client transport mode connection, the user ID and password from the authentication alias are used by WebSphere MQ. If an authentication alias is not specified in the WebSphere MQ server definition, WebSphere MQ is presented with an empty string for both the user ID and password.
- For a bindings transport mode connection, the credentials associated with the application server processes are used for authentication by
WebSphere MQ.
Therefore service integration instructs the application server processes to switch credentials and use the user ID and password that exist in the relevant WebSphere MQ server authentication alias. This in turn requires that the application server processes start with sufficient privileges to connect and perform the switch.
If an authentication alias is not specified in the WebSphere MQ server definition, a switch of credentials is not attempted and the original credentials of the application server process are used.
Ovveride the connection and authentication settings
When you add the WebSphere MQ server definition to a service integration bus to make it a bus member, you can override the server settings and authentication alias used for messaging, with the connection settings and authentication alias used by the bus. We can use this option to create a bus-specific instance of that server and is useful in a multiple bus configuration. Typically you would do this to differentiate connections from different buses and, potentially, to apply different security settings.
Create a WebSphere MQ server definition
Related
createSIBWMQServer command
Concept topic