PING CHANNEL

Use PING CHANNEL to test a channel by sending data as a special message to the remote queue manager, and checking that the data is returned. The data is generated by the local queue manager.

Notes:

1. On z/OS:
   1. This is valid only for channels used for distributed queuing without CICS. If you are using CICS for distributed queuing, see the WebSphere MQ Intercommunication manual.
   2. The command server and the channel initiator must be running.

2. Where there is both a locally defined channel and an auto-defined cluster-sender channel of the same name, the command applies to the locally defined channel. If there is no locally defined channel but more than one auto-defined cluster-sender channel, the command applies to the channel that was last added to the local queue manager's repository.

This command can be used only for sender (SDR), server (SVR), and cluster-sender (CLUSSDR) channels (including those that have been defined automatically). It is not valid if the channel is running; however, it is valid if the channel is stopped or in retry mode.

Synonym: PING CHL

Notes:

1. Valid only when the queue manager is a member of a queue-sharing group. You can use queue-sharing groups only on WebSphere MQ for z/OS.

2. Valid only on z/OS.

Parameter descriptions

(channel-name)

The name of the channel to be tested. This is required.

CMDSCOPE

This parameter applies to z/OS only and specifies how the command is executed when the queue manager is a member of a queue-sharing group.

If CHLDISP is set to SHARED, CMDSCOPE must be blank or the local queue manager.

' '

The command is executed on the queue manager on which it was entered. This is the default value.

qmgr-name

The command is executed on the queue manager you specify, providing the queue manager is active within the queue-sharing group.

You can specify a queue manager name only if you are using a queue-sharing group environment and if the command server is enabled.

*

The command is executed on the local queue manager and is also passed to every active queue manager in the queue-sharing group. The effect of this is the same as entering the command on every queue manager in the queue-sharing group.

Note:

The '*' option is not permitted if CHLDISP is FIXSHARED.

CHLDISP

This parameter applies to z/OS only and can take the values of:

• PRIVATE
• SHARED
• FIXSHARED

In conjunction with the various values of the CMDSCOPE parameter, this parameter controls two types of channel:

SHARED

A receiving channel is shared if it was started in response to an inbound transmission directed to the queue-sharing group.

A sending channel is shared if its transmission queue has a disposition of SHARED.

PRIVATE

A receiving channel is private if it was started in response to an inbound transmission directed to the queue manager.

A sending channel is private if its transmission queue has a disposition other than SHARED.

Note:

This disposition is not related to the disposition set by the disposition of the queue-sharing group of the channel definition.

The combination of the CHLDISP and CMDSCOPE parameters also controls from which queue manager the channel is operated. The possible options are:

• On the local queue manager where the command is issued.
• On another specific named queue manager in the group.
• On the most suitable queue manager in the group, determined automatically by the queue manager itself.

The various combinations of CHLDISP and CMDSCOPE are summarized in Table 8

Table 8. CHLDISP and CMDSCOPE for PING CHANNEL

CHLDISP	CMDSCOPE( ) or CMDSCOPE (local-qmgr)	CMDSCOPE (qmgr-name)	CMDSCOPE(*)
PRIVATE	Ping private channel on the local queue manager	Ping private channel on the named queue manager	Ping private channel on all active queue managers
SHARED	Ping a shared channel on the most suitable queue manager in the group This might automatically generate a command using CMDSCOPE and send it to the appropriate queue manager. If there is no definition for the channel on the queue manager to which the command is sent, or if the definition is unsuitable for the command, the command fails. The definition of a channel on the queue manager where the command is entered might be used to determine the target queue manager where the command is actually run. Therefore, it is important that channel definitions are consistent. Inconsistent channel definitions might result in unexpected command behavior.	Not permitted	Not permitted
FIXSHARED	Ping a shared channel on the local queue manager	Ping a shared channel on the named queue manager	Not permitted

DATALEN(integer)

The length of the data, in the range 16 through 32 768. This is optional.