How does MFT work with IBM MQ?

Managed File Transfer interacts in a number of ways with IBM MQ .

• Managed File Transfer transfers files between agent processes by dividing each file into one or more messages and transmitting the messages through your IBM MQ network.
• The agent processes move file data by using nonpersistent messages to minimize the impact on your IBM MQ logs. By communicating with one another the agent processes regulate the flow of messages containing file data. This prevents messages containing file data building up on IBM MQ transmission queues and ensures that if any of the nonpersistent messages are not delivered, the file data is sent again.
• Managed File Transfer agents use a number of IBM MQ queues. For more information, see MFT system queues and the system topic.
• Although some of these queues are strictly for internal use, an agent can accept requests in the form of specially formatted command messages sent to a specific queue that the agent reads from. Both the command-line commands and the IBM MQ Explorer plugin send IBM MQ messages to the agent to instruct the agent to perform the wanted action. We can write IBM MQ applications that interact with the agent in this way. For more information, see Controlling MFT by putting messages on the agent command queue.
• Managed File Transfer agents send information about their state and the progress and outcome of transfers to an MQ queue manager that has been designated as the coordination queue manager. This information is published by the coordination queue manager and can be subscribed to by applications that want to monitor transfer progress or keep records of the transfers that have occurred. Both the command-line commands and the IBM MQ Explorer plug-in can use the information that is published. You can write IBM MQ applications that use this information. For more information about the topic that the information is published to, see SYSTEM.FTE topic.
• Key components of Managed File Transfer take advantage of the capability of IBM MQ queue managers to store and forward messages. This means that if you suffer an outage, unaffected parts of your infrastructure can continue to transfer files. This extends to the coordination queue manager, where a combination of store and forward and durable subscriptions allow the coordination queue manager to tolerate becoming unavailable without losing key information about the file transfers that have taken place.