Installing and configuring the database product

To install and configure your database product, see the product's own documentation. This topics in this section describe general configuration issues and how they relate to interoperation between IBM MQ and the database.


Database connections

An application that establishes a standard connection to the queue manager is associated with a thread in a separate local queue manager agent process. (A connection that is not a fastpath connection is a standard connection in this context. See Connect to a queue manager using the MQCONNX call.)

When the application issues MQBEGIN, both it and the agent process call the xa_open function in the database client library. In response to this, the database client library code connects to the database that is to be involved in the unit of work from both the application and queue manager processes. These database connections are maintained as long as the application remains connected to the queue manager.

This is an important consideration if the database supports only a limited number of users or connections, because two connections are being made to the database to support the one application program.


Client/server configuration

The database client library that is loaded into the IBM MQ queue manager and application processes must be able to send to and receive from its server. Ensure that:

  • The database's client/server configuration files have the correct details
  • The relevant environment variables are set in the environment of the queue manager and the application processes

Parent topic: Configure the system for database coordination