meshIQ Platform Highlights v11.2

This article highlights the new features of version 11.2.

App switcher

With the meshIQ platform's new app switcher, you can switch from one application to another with one click. By default, you can switch between Manage, Secure, Track, and meshIQ Support. Some configuration is required. See App Switching Configuration Steps for details.

New light theme

Manage user interface 

You can now choose to view the Manage user interface in a new light theme, in addition to the original dark theme. A Theme selection has been added to User Settings.

In Manage, go to Settings  . 

Choose Auto if you want Manage to follow your browser or operating system settings, as described below.

• Chrome and Safari: The Auto theme setting uses operating system theme and colors.
• Edge, Firefox, and Opera: The Auto theme setting follows the browser theme and color preferences. If those are set to automatic, the operating system theme and colors are used.

Examples of viewlets in light theme:

 

What else is new in Manage?

Secure user interface

The Secure light theme can also be found in User Settings. On the left toolbar, select  Settings .

Track user interface

In Track, the corresponding setting is in Manage Settings. On the left toolbar, select  User Settings   > Manage Settings 

Example of viewlet in light theme:

 

What else is new in Track?

Dashboard Tab dropdowns

Manage and Track now include a dropdown icon at the end of the dashboard tabs. Click it to view a list of open dashboards and switch among them.

 

More Manage highlights

Share a link

You can now share a dashboard by copying the URL from the address bar while viewing the dashboard and sending the copied URL to the recipient. Make sure that the recipient's user group has permission to access to that dashboard.

If the recipient is logged in and has permission for the dashboard, and it is already part of one of their existing perspectives, they will be switched to that perspective and the dashboard will be highlighted. If the recipient hasn't added the dashboard to their perspectives yet, it will be added to their current perspective and highlighted for them to see. For additional scenarios, see Sharing a Dashboard via URL.

Collapsible viewlet headers

The new Show filters and Hide filters toggles control the display of viewlet filters such as the Node, Cluster, and Object filters, the System and Empty queue filter checkboxes, the Result Limit setting, and the Message Criteria and Attribute Filter options. 

Examples with filters hidden:

Example with filters shown:

Action menu is now called "Selected"

To conserve space on the user interface, the Action menu from version 11.1 is now labeled the Selected menu and shows the number of objects you have selected. After selecting one or more objects in a viewlet, you can either click on this menu or hover your mouse over it to show potential actions. 

Designated Rename permissions for IBM MQ objects

In previous versions, a user who had both the Copy Queue permission and the Delete Queue permission had the ability to rename a queue (Commands > Rename). Now, the Rename permissions are separate permissions for each object that can be turned on or off for a user or group. This new permission is independent of the Copy Queue and Delete Queue permissions. The following IBM MQ objects can be renamed, and each has its own permission:

• Queue
• Channel
• Listener
• Namelist
• Process
• Service
• Subscription

Solace Client Certificate to Message VPN Matching

Additional parameters have been added to Solace Message VPN, new attributes have been added to client usernames, and rules and conditions setup has been added to support client certificate to message VPN matching. The matching process, introduced in Solace version 10.0.1, enables matching by rules and conditions at the VPN level during client certificate authentication. 

Discovery trace flag and restart interval

The Solace, TIBCO EMS, ACE/IIB, and RabbitMQ connection managers all have a new trace.discovery flag, which defaults to false. This flag is included in the config properties files: 

• nsqcmSolace.properties
• nsqcmems.properties
• nsqcmace.properties
• nsqcmrabbitmq.properties

If trace.discovery is set to true, the following logging takes place:

Discovery times are shown and discovery calls for all attributes will be distinguishable from discovery calls for only status attributes. Compare:

• 2024-08-28T16:27:55,199 TRACE[DiscoveryHandler][pool-2-thread-363] - Solace_Broker: Discovery (all 1724842675199) started
• 2024-08-28T16:27:50,861 TRACE[DiscoveryHandler][pool-2-thread-355] - Solace_Broker: Discovery (status 1724842670861) started

"Discovery (status 1721388969592) started" will be followed by process times by object type, such as:

2024-08-28T16:27:51,206 TRACE[DiscoveryHandler][pool-2-thread-365] - Solace_Broker: Discovery (status 1724842670861) Bridge time: 126

and a status discovery ended event:

2024-08-28T16:27:51,513 TRACE[DiscoveryHandler][pool-2-thread-355] - Solace_Broker: Discovery (status 1724842670861) total time: 652
2024-08-28T16:27:51,692 TRACE[SolaceAgent][Thread-1] - *** SENDING (NOT ENCR) (EVENT) TO /127.0.0.1:42160 ***

Also, if a node gets stuck in discovery, a new variable is available to reset it and restart discovery. The "apwmq.discover.fix.interval" variable, which can be set, for example, in the ATPNODE.lax file, represents a multiple of the normal refresh interval (the WMQ object refresh interval in seconds, in WGS Properties, on the Other Options tab). It defaults to 3. Therefore, if the normal refresh interval is 600 seconds, then the reset would take place after 3 * 600, or 1800 seconds.

New default Security Manager URL

The default Security Manager URL in Global Settings has been updated to reflect Secure, the meshIQ Platform security application. The default value is /secure.

 

Passwords support Pound (£) and Euro (€) signs

The Pound (£) and Euro (€) signs are now supported in passwords when logging into Core Services and Manage. Some configuration is required. Refer to How do I enable Euro and Pound signs in passwords? for detailed instructions. 

Manage EMS ACLs

You can now view or export EMS server, topic, and queue ACLs. See Manage EMS ACLs for more information. requires audience change.

EMS Topic attributes added to schema

The EMS Topic IsSendername and IsSendernameEnforced attributes are now available for EMS Topic schemas:

These attributes are available on the General tab of EMS topic properties:

Passwords are null in remote queue manager export files

In version 11.2, password fields and some token fields are null in the exported remote manager definitions files.

See the "About exported passwords" section at the end of the Importing and Exporting Remote Managers article for details.

Connection manager reconnect logic now favors the primary server

When the primary connection between the IBM MQ, ACE, EMS, or RabbitMQ was lost, the connection manager switches to the secondary. When the primary was restarted, and the remote connection to the secondary was lost, connection manager would try several attempts to reconnect to it.  This could delay failover to the primary.  The connection manager will now always attempt to reconnect to the remote connection using the primary connection URL first.

TIBCO Kafka schema repository supported in Manage and Workgroup server REST API

Both the TIBCO® Messaging - Schema Repository for Apache Kafka and the Confluent Kafka Schema Registry are now supported. The TIBCO Kafka Schema Repository is considered the basic, default registry.

You can view TIBCO cluster schema registry objects in a TIBCO schema subject viewlet and create Kafka schema subjects on TIBCO clusters.

See the following TIBCO documentation for a comparison of the two: https://docs.tibco.com/pub/businessevents-enterprise/6.3.0/doc/html/Developers/using-the-apache-kafka-schema-registry.htm.  

New CONN_USED metric

When there are multiple connection strings provided, the connection string used to connect to the manager is now published as the CONN_USED metric. This change affects GET on /qmgrs. See CONN_USED metric published for managers for details.

New facts published about discovery

The following facts are now published about discovery:

LAST_DISCOVERY_STARTED

DURATION

SKIPPED COUNT

IN DISCOVERY

LAST_STATUS_STARTED

DURATION

SKIPPED COUNT

IN STATUS DISCOVERY

Kafka MDS roles redesign

The MDS roles viewlet in Manage has a new, user-friendly layout. The new redesign makes it easier to see the relationship between a role and its scope type, resource type, and operations.

Logging performance improvements

Logging has been updated to improve performance. See Recommendations for handling increased throughput in high-volume systems

New Report Solace "subcode" for error code

For Solace Exception errors with PCF code 85001 (EXIA_SOLACE_EXCEPTION), the "subCode" is the Solace error code for each condition. The "exception" field contains a description of the error, followed by the reason code and message in parentheses.

Affected endpoints:
POST/PATCH/DELETE/GET on all /solace/* endpoints

Manager Name always displayed for object attributes and comparisons

When you compare objects or view their attributes, "Manager Name" is now featured prominently in the list of attributes, to reflect the source of the object. 

Label change when creating Solace dashboards

When a new Solace dashboard is created, the label to indicate the path of the objects being represented in the dashboard's viewlets has been changed from Queue Manager to Broker.

System checkbox selected when browsing Kafka partitions

When you select a topic from a Kafka topic viewlet and choose to browse partitions, both the System and the Empty checkboxes are selected on the Partitions viewlet, so that all partitions are displayed, and empty ones are included.

MQSC Snapshot now includes MSGEXIT setting

MQSC Snapshot is now providing MSGEXIT values correctly in the snapshot file. For example:

MSGEXIT('DEFMSGEXIT') +

nsqcmmq properties file supports multiple user-supplied event queues

In both Java Agent and CM modes, the nsqcmmq.properties file { eventQueue } option, which defines the system queues that deliver events that are needed from IBM, has been expanded to allow more queues to be defined. The property file now supports eleven { eventQueue[#] } options. It first looks for   
{ eventQueue } and then for ten additional options: { eventQueue1 }  through { eventQueue10 }.

For example:

eventQueue= SYSTEM.ADMIN.QMGR.EVENT

eventQueue1= SYSTEM.ADMIN.QMGR.EVENT1

More Track highlights

New left toolbar 

In version 11.2, many of the options that were on the top right of the screen in earlier versions have moved to the left side toolbar. See Main menu options (v11.2) for more information.

	The current user is identified in the vertical toolbar with this icon, located at the top of the left-hand toolbar.		User Settings
	Viewlets menu		Feedback
	Dashboard menu		About
	Import/Export

However, the repository selection, add viewlet button, and the date and time range for the currently displayed dashboard remain in the same location as in earlier versions. (As in previous versions, when a dashboard contains variables, your toolbar may also include the Modify button.) Repository list grouping remains unchanged from earlier versions, as does the in-place filter functionality. See Repositories.

Dark theme	Light theme

 

Viewlet toolbar changes

• The Chart type  and Date and time buttons have been redesigned. 
• The viewlet menu button now looks like this: . In previous versions, it was .

Universal Messaging for Metric Streaming

Explore the new feature of Universal Messaging Metrics that is streamed from the Integration Server, such as channels, durables, and queues, into meshIQ Track. And also data can be analyzed using Autopilot which are in the form of facts.

For detailed instructions on importing the meshIQ Universal Messaging Project into the Integration Server Console, click here.

Retrieve multiple data types when getting properties

When writing a jKQL query to return properties of an item, in previous versions you could only specify a single data type qualifier with map fields. For example, Properties(DECIMAL) would return all Decimal properties. In version 11.2, you can specify multiple Properties(<data-type>) expressions.

For example. compare the following:

Properties(INTEGER), Properties(DECIMAL)
Properties(INTEGER, DECIMAL)

In earlier versions, only the properties of the first type, Integer, were returned. In version 11.2, both examples return all Integer and Decimal properties. 

When querying in a viewlet, the Properties column expands into separate columns for each property. Therefore there are separate columns for all Integer and Decimal properties in the results.

get latest 50 snapshots fields snapshotname, properties(INTEGER), properties(DECIMAL)
get latest 50 snapshots fields snapshotname, properties(INTEGER,DECIMAL)

New log-type field in streamed json log data

As of tnt4j version 3.1 and tnt4j-streams version 2.1, a 'log-type' field indicates the type of the log messages. When you stream log data, this field is now included in streamed json data. Previously in the meshIQ Platform (since version 11.0), all streamed logs have been saved with type “GENERAL”.  (In XRay versions 1.6 and earlier they were saved with type “QUERY”.)

Separate DB operation retry from message send retry

In previous versions, the properties of Track experts in Enterprise Manager only contained a single pair of retry configuration settings that applied to retrying both failed database operations and failed message sends. These fields, located on the General tab, are now used only for retries of failed message sends and are called Message Retry Attempts and Message Retry Interval (sec).

The new pair of settings for retrying failed database operations is located on the Database tab: Retry Attempts and Retry Interval (sec).

 

Schemas aliases editor prevents duplicate aliases

When settings up Aliases for column names in schemas, each alias must be unique. If any alias names are duplicates, the Apply button is not available. 

New locations for importing and exporting dashboards, viewlets, and sets 

Some importing and exporting functionality has been moved from the Main Menu > Import / Export submenu.

Dashboards. On the left toolbar, select Dashboard   > Import/Export Dashboards. 

Viewlets. On the left toolbar, select Viewlet   > Import/Export Viewlets. 

Sets. On the left toolbar, select View/Modify Administrator Settings > Sets. You can now import and export sets from the Admin Settings Sets menu (shown below). 

The import and export processes are performed from Sets setup instead of in a separate dialog. See Sets (Admin Settings) for details. 

 

AES 256 Encryption for selected items

Starting with 11.2, tokens, volume passwords, and email provider passwords are encrypted using AES-256.

Apache Storm, Triggers, Subscriptions no longer supported

To reduce the complexity of Track deployments, use of Apache Storm is being removed. As a result, jKQL Subscriptions and Triggers are no longer available.  In Admin Settings, for 11.2, Providers and Alerts are also not available. In a future release, a new Alerting framework will be introduced. 

More meshIQ Platform changes

MFT and IIB Experts now support SSL options

IBM Integration Bus (IIB) Statistics Expert and Managed File Transfer (MFT) Expert Plugins now support SSL parameters for connecting to the queue manager. 

MFT Expert: For the IIB Expert, enter SSL parameters on the Coordinator tab, as shown below:

For the IIB Expert, enter SSL parameters on the IBM MQ tab, as shown below:

Enter IIB Management tab details:

Please note that IIB Status reading is not supported by all versions. Refer to the table below for details. 

IIB Expert Version	SU version	IIB Statistics	IIB Status
6.1.12	SU33	Supported	Supported
	SU34	Supported	Not supported
11.0.1	11.x.x	Supported	Not Supported

 

Policies and OAuth support for Domain services REST API  

For information on setting up the Domain services REST API, see Enabling REST endpoint for Domain Services.

Authentication has been extended for the Domain services REST API to have internal OAuth, as the Workgroup server REST API has.

• The new endpoint to get tokens is /auth/v1

• On domain endpoints generated Bearer tokens can be used: /domain/v1/*

Authentication has been extended for the Domain services REST API to have internal OAuth, as the Workgroup server REST API has.

• The new endpoint to get tokens is /auth/v1
• On domain endpoints generated Bearer tokens can be used: /domain/v1/*

In addition, the Domain services REST API now supports the following:

• get/start/stop policy managers
  • /domain/v1/servicess/*
  • /domain/v1/nodes/*
• get/start/stop/deploy/undeploy policies
  • /domain/v1/policies/*
• get/download/upload/delete domain file system (Enterprise Manger -> Business View Explorer)
  • /domain/v1/file-system/folders/*
  • /domain/v1/file-system/files/*