Point-to-point messaging with a IBM MQ network
The WebSphere® MQ link, defined on a messaging engine in the service integration bus, describes the attributes required to connect to, and send or receive messages to or from, a IBM MQ queue manager or (for IBM MQ for z/OS®) queue sharing group that acts as a gateway to the IBM MQ network.
Point-to-point messaging might be:
- A request from WebSphere Application Server to IBM MQ, optionally followed by a IBM MQ reply.
- A request from a IBM MQ network, optionally followed by a WebSphere Application Server reply.
Figure 1. Exchanging
messages between WebSphere MQ link sender and receiver channels,
and a gateway queue manager with receiver and sender channels.

See Request-reply messaging through a IBM MQ link for more information about the reply messages transmitted across the IBM MQ link.
Point-to-point
messaging might also include:
- A request from WebSphere Application Server through a IBM MQ network to another WebSphere Application Server, and a reply from that WebSphere Application Server, again through IBM MQ. For details of this two-stage messaging flow model, see Messaging between two application servers through IBM MQ.
- A request from a IBM MQ network through a WebSphere Application Server to another IBM MQ network, and a reply from that IBM MQ network, again through a WebSphere Application Server. For details of this two-stage messaging flow model, see Messaging between two IBM MQ networks through an application server.
The following figure shows
how messages can be exchanged between
applications and messaging engines that are on the same bus, as well
as between the WebSphere MQ link and queue managers connected
to the gateway queue manager in the IBM MQ network.
Figure 2. Exchanging
messages between messaging engines on a bus that has a WebSphere MQ
link that is connected to a gateway queue manager on a foreign bus.

Notes:
- If your WebSphere Application Server application sends point-to-point messages to a IBM MQ application that is not JMS, such as a IBM MQ message-driven application in CICS (using the CICS MQ bridge) or IMS (using the IMS MQ bridge), then your WebSphere Application Server application has to use special techniques to ensure that the service integration messages (most likely JMS messages) are presented to the non-JMS application in a way that the application can understand. For more information, see Programming for interoperation with IBM MQ , How service integration converts messages to and from IBM MQ format, and How to process IBM MQ message headers, which describes WebSphere Application Server helper classes that assist in the creation of suitable headers and body content.
- Some IBM MQ applications can process messages that include an MQRFH2 header (generally these are JMS or XMS or IBM MQ Version 7 applications) and some applications cannot do so (generally these are IBM MQ applications that predate the MQRFH2 header). You must set the destination context to inhibit adding an MQRFH2 header when messages are destined for a IBM MQ application that cannot handle this header. For information about setting the destination context, see Specifying whether messages are forwarded to IBM MQ as JMS messages. The MQRFH2 header contains fields unique to the service integration bus. For details of these fields, see Mapping additional MQRFH2 header fields in service integration.
- Any IBM MQ queue name is also valid as a bus destination name and, as a general rule, you should configure a bus destination that is a IBM MQ queue to use the IBM MQ queue name. If your bus applications have to use a different name, you can achieve this by using an alias destination.
- IBM MQ channel or conversion exits (for example, for data conversion) are not supported by the WebSphere MQ link.