Product readme for WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition, Version 7.0.4.2

Abstract

IBM WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition, Version 7.0.4.2 readme file
August 2012

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CONTENTS
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- Readme file update history
- Description
- Compatibility
- System requirements
- Installing WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition 7.0.4.2
- New function and updates in Version 7.0.4.2
- Limitations and known problems
- List of fixes included in Version 7.0.4.2
- Useful links
- Copyright and trademark information

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README FILE UPDATE HISTORY:
August 21 2012 - readme published online

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DESCRIPTION
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This readme file for IBM WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition Version 7.0.4.2 details updates, fixes, limitations, and known problems.

For the very latest version of this readme file always refer to:
http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg27006097


COMPATIBILITY
-------------
You can install Version 7.0.4.2 over a previous version of WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition. If you have an Early Design Program driver on your system, you must uninstall it before installing Version 7.0.4.2.

Before installing Version 7.0.4.2, back up any previous versions of WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition that are installed on your system, by copying the installation directory for the previous version to a new directory.

If you have already installed a version of WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition earlier than 7.0.4.2, you can choose to reuse your existing product configuration so you will not be asked to enter any configuration information during the 7.0.4.2 installation. Alternatively, you can select a different installation directory from the one you used to install the existing version of WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition to allow both versions of the product to coexist on the same machine.


SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
-------------------
The prerequisites and corequisites for WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition for all platforms are listed at the following website:
http://www.ibm.com/software/integration/wmq/filetransfer/requirements/index.html


INSTALLING WEBSPHERE MQ FILE TRANSFER EDITION VERSION 7.0.4.2
-----------------------------------------------------------
You can find the installers (either install.bin, install.exe, or install) in the following directories:

AIX:
AIX_ppc/VM

HP-UX on Itanium:
HPUX_IA64/VM

HP-UX on PA-RISC:
HPUX_PARISC/VM

Linux on System x:
Linux_x86/VM

Linux on System p:
Linux64_SystemP/VM

Linux on System z:
Linux_Systemz/VM

Solaris on SPARC:
Solaris_SPARC/VM

Solaris on System x:
Solaris_x86/VM

Windows:
Windows_x86/VM

IBM i:
IBMi/VM


WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition components
---------------------------------------------
There are three possible Version 7.0.4.2 components that you can install: Server, Client, or Remote Tools and Documentation. The following topics describe how to install each component onto distributed platforms.

You cannot install Remote Tools and Documentation natively on an IBM i platform or on z/OS. However, you can install and use Remote Tools and Documentation on other supported platforms, such as Windows, to monitor file transfers involving agents that are running remotely on IBM i platforms or z/OS. For example, you can use the WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition plug-in for WebSphere MQ Explorer on Windows to start a transfer of save files between agents running on IBM i systems.

Server:
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSEP7X_7.0.4/com.ibm.wmqfte.doc/installing_wizard.htm

Client:
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSEP7X_7.0.4/com.ibm.wmqfte.doc/installing_client.htm

Remote Tools and Documentation:
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSEP7X_7.0.4/com.ibm.wmqfte.doc/installing_tools.htm


NEW FUNCTION AND UPDATES IN VERSION 7.0.4.2
-------------------------------------------
- Support for user-defined metadata transfer options. These options allow you to specify additional transfer options that do not have a specific fteCreateTransfer parameter defined.
For more information, see
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSEP7X_7.0.4/com.ibm.wmqfte.doc/metadata_keys.htm
and
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSEP7X_7.0.4/com.ibm.wmqfte.doc/start_new_transfer_cmd.htm#start_new_transfer_cmd__transfer_options

-Various defect fixes have been made to the product and documentation.


LIMITATIONS AND KNOWN PROBLEMS
------------------------------

Restrictions of the Connect:Direct bridge
-----------------------------------------
The Connect:Direct bridge has a number of restrictions. For more information, see
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSEP7X_7.0.4/com.ibm.wmqfte.doc/cd_restrictions.htm


Using SMS parameters in a transfer to a z/OS Connect:Direct node
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If you are transferring to a data set on a z/OS Connect:Direct node, and you specify any SMS-specific parameters for the data set, the transfer might fail with a Connect:Direct error message. This issue only occurs if your Connect:Direct bridge agent is on Windows, and is because of a limitation of Connect:Direct. To work around the issue, you can submit a user-defined Connect:Direct process and specify any required SMS-specific parameters within the SYSOPTS parameter.

For a list of the SMS-specific parameters supported by Connect:Direct, see the Connect:Direct Process Language Reference Guide.

For more information about submitting a user-defined Connect:Direct process from a file transfer request, see
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSEP7X_7.0.4/com.ibm.wmqfte.doc/cd_fte_calls_cd.htm


Transfers using the Connect:Direct bridge to a z/OS destination node
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If you issue a transfer that resolves to a destination file with a parenthesis in its name, the following error is produced: "A member name was specified for non-PDS file". To work around this, either rename the source file and remove the parentheses, or specify a destination file without the parentheses.

If you are transferring from a z/OS agent where you only specify the directory and not the individual member names, the following error is produced: "A member name was specified for non-PDS file". To work around this, specify each member, for example 'A.B.C(aaa)'.


Text transfers from Connect:Direct to a V7.0.3 destination agent
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If you are using the Connect:Direct bridge to transfer a text file from a Connect:Direct node to a WMQFTE V7.0.3 or earlier destination agent, and either you have requested a destination encoding of UTF-8 or the default encoding of the destination platform is UTF-8, the end-of-line characters will not be converted from those in the original file. This problem will be particularly noticeable if the source Connect:Direct node is on a Windows system and the destination WMQFTE agent is on a Linux system. This problem will not occur if the destination agent is a WMQFTE V7.0.4 or later agent.


Deploying the Web Gateway application and JEE database logger
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The Web Gateway application cannot be deployed to a WebSphere Application Server cluster. You can only deploy the Web Gateway application to a single application server instance. This limitation also applies when you are deploying the Java(TM) Platform, Enterprise Edition (JEE) database logger.


Running the stand-alone database logger as a background task
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On all platforms, the stand-alone database logger provided with V7.0.4.2 does not currently run as a background task . To use the database logger, start the database logger in the foreground using the -F parameter or start it as a Windows service.


Using the database logger with an Oracle database
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If you use the stand-alone database logger provided with V7.0.4.2 with an Oracle database, be aware that some of the database fields might not be populated. This has been observed to happen to the START_ID, COMPLETE_ID, and SCHED_ID fields in the TRANSFER table.


Running a console installation on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 from a
DOS shell
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If you run a console installation from a DOS shell on Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, be aware that the install.exe command immediately returns to the command prompt and does not wait for the installation to complete.


Installing Version 7.0.4.2 silently
---------------------------------
If you want to install Version 7.0.4.2 silently, perform a console installation of Version 7.0.4.2 first to create a response file as described in the following topic:
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSEP7X_7.0.4/com.ibm.wmqfte.doc/response_file_console.htm
Then use the newly-created V7.0.4.2 response file to install silently.

You cannot use a response file that you previously created from an earlier release to install V7.0.4.2 silently.

An example response file is provided in the following location in V7.0.4.2: <platform_name>/VM


Installing Remote Tools and Documentation silently
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The Remote Tools and Documentation silent install now appends a '/tools' subdirectory at the end of the install file path. There is no need to specify this in a silent install properties file. It is possible that if you generate a response file using the Remote Tools and Documentation console install, there might be a '/tools' subdirectory at the end. If this subdirectory exists, you should remove it from the response file.


Interoperation with Early Design Program drivers
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There is no interoperation support for agents running any level of Early Design Program code. If you have previously installed an Early Design Program driver for WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition, you must uninstall the driver before installing V7.0.4.2. You must also remove any configuration associated with the driver.

For information about how to uninstall and remove an Early Design Program driver, see:
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSEP7X_7.0.4/com.ibm.wmqfte.doc/eap_uninstall.htm


Upgrading the WebSphere MQ Explorer plug-in from V7.0.0 to a newer version
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If you have previously installed the WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition plug-in for WebSphere MQ Explorer 7.0.0, you might experience errors when upgrading to a more recent version of the plug-in. The errors occur when WebSphere MQ Explorer starts and they refer to com.ibm.wmqfte.bootstrap being missing.

To fix this error, run one of the following commands:
strmqcfg -i

or

strmqcfg -c

The command with the -i parameter does not start WebSphere MQ Explorer, but this command parameter does resolve the problem for the next start of WebSphere MQ Explorer.

The command with the -c parameter resolves the problem and also starts WebSphere MQ Explorer. You should only need to run strmqcfg with the -i or -c option once to permanently resolve this issue.

These errors do not appear if you have not previously installed the plug-in for WebSphere MQ Explorer that was provided with WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition Version 7.0.0 on the system: it is an issue with upgrading only.


Installing into an existing empty configuration directory
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The installer does not write configuration information directly into an existing directory. This affects you if you do not accept the default installation location and instead manually create a directory before
installation.

For example, if you create a "/var/fte_config" directory on a UNIX system and then enter this directory as the configuration directory in the installer, the installer treats this empty directory as an existing complete configuration. The installer will prompt you to reuse "/var/fte_config", and will not write any new configuration.

Work around this by manually creating a "/var/fte" directory and then entering "/var/fte/config" as the configuration directory in the installer. The result is the directory "config" is created in the existing "/var/fte" directory,
with the correct contents.


Installation locations
----------------------
You must ensure that you have write permission for the directory that you want to install WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition into.

The silent installer will appear to allow you to install into a location that you do not have permission to install into. The silent installer does not warn you that you do not have write permission on the directory.

You are also recommended to use different locations for the installation directory and configuration directory.

On the IBM i platform the installation location and the config location are fixed. The product binaries are installed in the /QIBM/ProdData/WMQFTE/V7 directory and the data directory is /QIBM/UserData/WMQFTE/V7/config.


Installing on Security-Enhanced Linux
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If you are running Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux), install WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition using the following steps, which depend on the on Linux distribution you are using:
1. If you are using SuSE Linux, set the SELinux mode to permissive.

If you are using Red Hat Enterprise Linux, enable the following
option for your SELinux policy:
"Allow all unconfined executables to use libraries requiring text
relocation that are not labeled textrel_shlib_t"

2. For both SuSE Linux and Red Hat Linux: install WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition.

3. If you are using SuSE Linux, re-enable the SELinux policy.

4 For both SuSE Linux and Red Hat Linux, run the following command: chcon -R -t texrel_shlib_t WMQFTE_INSTALL_DIR/jre


Installing the Remote Tools and Documentation CD on platforms other than Windows or Linux
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If you install the Remote Tools and Documentation CD on any platform apart from Windows or Linux, you cannot use either the WebSphere MQ Explorer plug-in or the information center. You can only use the remote command line tools, Ant and database logger parts of the installation, even though you might have selected to install the WebSphere MQ Explorer plug-in and the information center.


Missing databaselogger.properties file after a Remote Tools and Documentation
installation
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During an installation of Remote Tools and Documentation, if you choose to "Use existing" configuration or "Skip configuration", no sample databaselogger.properties file is created. For information about what this file needs to contain and how to configure it, see:
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSEP7X_7.0.4/com.ibm.wmqfte.doc/dl_install_standalone.htm


Uninstalling on Windows platforms
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When you uninstall WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition from Windows, the jre directory that is located in the WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition installation directory might not be deleted if it is in use. To complete theuninstall, restart the system and the directory will automatically be removed.


Retaining transfer log message information
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The transfer log information generated by WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition, is sent to the coordination queue manager where the information is published to any subscribers. If there are no subscribers, the message will not be delivered to any parties and will not be retained. To ensure that transfer log messages are retained, you are strongly recommended to take one of several actions before submitting the first file transfer to WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition. For more information, see
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSEP7X_7.0.4/com.ibm.wmqfte.doc/retain_log.htm


Running the commands on z/OS
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When you use the WMQFTE commands on z/OS, the commands need to know where the WebSphere MQ Java Native libraries are located. The commands are not able to get this information on z/OS systems because there is no default location.

To successfully use the WMQFTE commands on your z/OS system, set the system environment variable "LIBPATH" to the directory location of your WebSphere MQ Java Native libraries. For example:

export LIBPATH=$LIBPATH:<WMQ Java Native Library Location>

This variable is not set by default and causes the commands to fail.


z/OS coordination queue managers and SYSTEM.QPUBSUB.QUEUE.NAMELIST namelist changes
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If you are using a z/OS queue manager as a coordination queue manager and you make any changes to the SYSTEM.QPUBSUB.QUEUE.NAMELIST namelist, you must restart the coordination queue manager's channel initiator (CHINIT) to pick up the namelist changes.


Sandboxing IBM i save files
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Standard sandboxing does not work for IBM i save file transfers. Do not set the sandboxRoot property if you plan to transfer save files, otherwise the agent might crash. However, you can use the new user authority checking to sandbox agent actions without problems.


JVM file encoding and EBCDIC data on IBM i Systems
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Users must use ASCII file encoding to create or configure WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition agents on IBM i systems. ASCII is the default file encoding for the JSE 5.0 32-bit JVM that WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition requires. Users who have created a SystemDefault.properties file in their /home/<user> directory with a file.encoding record that specifies an EBCDIC encoding must change the file.encoding record to specify an ASCII encoding and then start a new QShell session for creating or configuring agents on IBM i systems.

Special considerations are needed when transferring files containing EBCDIC data. In these cases users who start the agent must set their JVM file encoding to an EBCDIC encoding so that data conversion during text mode transfers work correctly. For more information, see
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSEP7X_7.0.4/com.ibm.wmqfte.doc/ibmi_transfers.htm


Pending transfers in WebSphere MQ Explorer
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When viewing Pending Transfers in the WebSphere MQ Explorer, the information in the Name column is unique only for the source agent handling the pending transfer. Because the Explorer can show pending transfers from multiple agents, the Name can appear to be duplicated. The unique reference for a pending transfers consists of the Source column and Name column.


Documentation for WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition
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You can find the most current WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition product documentation at:
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSEP7X_7.0.4/com.ibm.wmqfte.doc/wmqfte_intro.htm

The information center that you can install from the WebSphere MQ File Transfer Edition Remote Tools and Documentation DVD is supported on Windows and Linux on x86 platforms only.


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