Using the WebSphere MQ Explorer

This section explains how to use the WebSphere MQ Explorer to show or hide queue managers and clusters, to save or load console files, and to switch off the automatic population facility.

Showing and hiding queue managers and clusters

The WebSphere MQ Explorer can display more than one queue manager at a time. The Show Queue Manager dialog box (selectable from the popup menu for the Queue Managers node) allows you to choose whether you display information for a local queue manager or for a queue manager on another (remote) machine. To show a local queue manager, select the Show a local queue manager radio button, and choose the appropriate queue manager from a list.

To show a remote queue manager, select the Show a remote queue manager radio button and type in the name of the remote queue manager and the connection name in the field provided. The connection name is the IP address, or host name, of the machine you are trying to connect to, with an optional port number. This connection name is used to establish a client connection to the remote queue manager using its SYSTEM.ADMIN.SVRCONN server connection channel.

The Hide Queue Manager dialog box (which you select from the popup menu for the Queue Managers node) displays a list of all visible queue managers and allows you to select one to hide from view on the console.

Similar facilities exist for hiding and showing clusters. When you show a cluster in the console, you select a repository queue manager in the cluster as the initial point of connection. Within the cluster, the WebSphere MQ Explorer determines the connection information it needs for the member queue managers.

Saving and loading console files

The WebSphere MQ Explorer can save the contents of a console in a file called a .MSC file.

The following information is saved in a .MSC file:

• Details of the queue managers and clusters showing in the console. The names of the queue managers that are members of the visible clusters are not saved.
• The security exit name and the security exit data for client connections to remote queue managers.
• Whether the WebSphere MQ Explorer automatically loads the local queue managers and the clusters of which they are members when the .MSC file is loaded.
• Any non-default configuration of columns visible in each view.
• Filtering options for the objects visible in each view.

You can save different views of the network into each .MSC file.

Switching off the automatic population facility

If you load the WebSphere MQ Explorer into the MMC console using the MMC Add/Remove Snap-in, the WebSphere MQ Explorer starts up in its default state.

The default behavior is to automatically determine:

• The names of the queue managers on the local machine and add them into the Queue Managers node
• Which clusters the local queue managers are part of and add these clusters to the Clusters node

If you do not want this default behavior (perhaps you want to save a console with a particular set of queue managers), switch off automatic population by unchecking the checkbox on the properties page for the top-level WebSphere MQ node and then save the console.