Configuring an MFT logger

When Managed File Transfer transfers files, it publishes information about its actions to a topic on the coordination queue manager. The database logger is an optional component of Managed File Transfer that you can use to copy this information into a database for analysis and auditing purposes.

There are three versions of the logger:

stand-alone file logger
stand-alone database logger
Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) logger

Important: Managed File Transfer loggers are not supported on the IBM® i platform.

Stand-alone file logger

The stand-alone file logger is a Java process that runs on two types of systems:

A system that hosts the coordination queue manager.
A system that hosts a queue manager with connectivity to the coordination queue manager.

The stand-alone file logger uses IBM MQ bindings to connect to its associated logger queue manager.

[V9.0.4 Oct 2017] If the logger is configured to use the FILE mode, it can also connect to the logger queue manager in client mode. The stand-alone logger is created by using the fteCreateLogger command. The Managed File Transfer logger has a set of configuration properties that you can specify in the logger.properties file.

For example, you can set the following properties to specify that the stand-alone logger uses a client connection to the logger queue manager.

wmqfte.queue.manager.host
wmqfte.queue.manager.port
wmqfte.queue.manager.channel

For more information, see The MFT logger.properties file.

[Windows] You can run the stand-alone file logger as a Windows service to help ensure that the file logger continues running when you log off from your Windows session, and it can be configured to start automatically when a system restarts. For more information, see Installing the MFT stand-alone file logger.

The stand-alone file logger is not supported on the following platforms:

z/OS®
IBM i

Stand-alone database logger

The stand-alone database logger is a Java application that you install on a system that hosts a queue manager and a database. The stand-alone database logger is often installed on the same system as the coordination queue manager, however it can also be installed on the same system as any queue manager which has connectivity to the coordination queue manager. The stand-alone database logger uses IBM MQ bindings to connect to its associated queue manager, and a type 2 or type 4 JDBC driver to connect to a Db2® or Oracle database. These types of connection are required because the stand-alone database logger uses the queue manager's XA support to coordinate a global transaction over both the queue manager and database, protecting the data.

If you are using a Windows system, you can run the stand-alone loggers as Windows services to ensure that the loggers continue running when you log off from your Windows session. For instructions, see Installing the MFT stand-alone database logger for a stand-alone database logger.

Java EE database logger

The Java EE database logger is provided as an EAR file, which you install into an application server. This can be more convenient than using the stand-alone database logger if you have an existing Java EE application server environment available because the Java EE database logger can be managed alongside your other enterprise applications. You can also install the Java EE database logger on a separate system to the systems hosting your IBM MQ server and database. The Java EE database logger is supported for use with Db2 and Oracle databases. The Java EE database logger also supports Oracle Real Application Clusters when installed on WebSphere® Application Server 7.0.

For instructions on how to configure a logger, see the following topics: