Migration paths

An overview of the migration paths between different IBM® MQ versions. For some IBM MQ for z/OS® migration paths, you can revert to the version you were using prior to migration. For IBM MQ for Multiplatforms, you cannot easily revert to a previous version.

Note: Before each new version of the product is released, it is tested for migration from earlier versions that are in support at that time. Direct migration from a version that is out of support might also work, but is neither tested nor supported. Therefore, to migrate to the latest version from a version that is out of support, you should first migrate to an interim version that was released before the earlier version went out of support.
[UNIX, Linux, Windows, IBM i]

Migration paths: IBM MQ for Multiplatforms

You can migrate from IBM MQ 9.0 or later direct to IBM MQ 9.4 or later.

Direct migration from IBM MQ 8.0 to IBM MQ 9.4 is not supported. You must first migrate to IBM MQ 9.0, IBM MQ 9.1, IBM MQ 9.2 or IBM MQ 9.3.

Table 1. Migration paths: IBM MQ for Multiplatforms
Migration from To IBM MQ 9.4 or later To IBM MQ 9.3 To IBM MQ 9.2 To IBM MQ 9.1 To IBM MQ 9.0 To IBM MQ 8.0
IBM MQ 9.3 or later Yes - - - - -
IBM MQ 9.2 Yes Yes - - - -
IBM MQ 9.1 Yes Yes Yes - - -
IBM MQ 9.0 Yes Yes Yes Yes - -
IBM MQ 8.0 No Yes Yes Yes Yes -
Note: For IBM MQ 9.0 and later, the version covers both LTS and CD releases.

For IBM MQ for Multiplatforms, you cannot easily revert to a previous release of the product. However, if a queue manager has not been started, you can uninstall the current version and reinstall a different version of IBM MQ. It does not matter what versions of IBM MQ are installed between when a queue manager was last started and when it is next started.

After you have moved to a CD modification of the product, you must move to a higher version and release level to return to the LTS track. For example, you cannot go from IBM MQ 9.3.1 CD to IBM MQ 9.3.0.n LTS. Your next opportunity to return to the LTS track is at IBM MQ 9.4.0.

[z/OS]

Migration paths: IBM MQ for z/OS

You can migrate from IBM MQ 9.2 or later direct to IBM MQ for z/OS 9.4 or later.

If you are migrating to IBM MQ 9.4 or later from IBM MQ 9.1 or earlier, you must first migrate to IBM MQ 9.2 or IBM MQ 9.3. For more information, see Migrating from earlier unsupported releases of IBM MQ for z/OS.

Table 2. Migration paths: IBM MQ for z/OS
Migration from To IBM MQ 9.4 or later1 To IBM MQ 9.31 To IBM MQ 9.21 To IBM MQ 9.11
IBM MQ 9.3 or later Yes - - -
IBM MQ 9.2 or later Yes Yes - -
IBM MQ 9.1 No Yes Yes -
IBM MQ 9.0 No No Yes Yes
Note:
  1. Means both LTS and CD releases.

To revert to a previous version, see Reverting a queue manager to a previous version on z/OS.

Detailed migration information

For detailed information about migrating to the current version, see the following links:
For migrating to an IBM MQ version other than the current version, see the documentation for the target version:

For out of service IBM MQ versions, where the documentation is no longer available in the online IBM Documentation, you can instead download the documentation for offline use. See Documentation for older versions of IBM MQ.