Administration tasks related to WebSphere include things like viewing, creating, stopping, altering, starting and deleting processes, clusters as well as WebSphere MQ objects such as queues, queue managers, channels, process definitions, namelists, client connection channels, services, listeners and the authentication information objects.

What should you learn about remote and local administration?

As far as WebSphere MQ administration is concerned, it can be carried out remotely or locally.

Local administration: When it comes to local administration, it allows you to accomplish administration tasks on any of the queue managers that you have specified in the local system. You can also access other systems, for instance through TCP/IP terminal emulation software program telnet, and also perform administration related tasks there. Since there are no channels involved, the WebSphere MQ can be considered as local administration but that is to say, if the communication is being managed by the operating system.

Remote administration: Supporting administration from a sole point of communication is also possible with WebSphere MQ. This process is known as remote administration. With the help of the remote administration, it is possible for you to issue commands from the local system. These commands are processed on some other system. For instance, it will be possible for you to issue remote commands for changing a particular queue definition on a specific remote queue manager.

You will need to have all the appropriate channels specified but you would not necessarily need to log on to that particular system. You will also have to make sure that the command server and the queue manager are running on that particular system.

You must remember that some of the commands cannot be issued this way. For example, things like starting or creating queue managers as well as initiating command servers would not be possible this way. In order for you to carry out such tasks, you must first log on to the remote systems and then issue the commands from there. You can also create processes that will be able to issue all the commands for you.

Queue mangers communicate with other queue mangers by sending messages and, it necessary, receiving a response in return. The receiving queue managers can be:

• On the same equipment
• On some other equipment that is present in the similar location (or it could even be on the opposite part of the world) 
• Functioning on that same program acting as a local queue manger
• Functioning on some other program that is supported by WebSphere MQ

These messages may also originate from:

• User-written applications programme that help transferring data from one node to the other
• User-written administration application that make use of the MQAI, PCF commands or the ADSI
• The WebSphere MQ Explorer

You must also remember that before any message could be sent to the remote queue managers, the local queue managers would need a mechanism for detecting the arrival of messages.

Once you have learned about WebSphere MQ administration, you may also want to get more information on z os support that will help you better understand the whole process. Steven Hayes is a server administrator with years of experience. He offers a brief overview of MQ Administration.