Alibaba Cloud Message Queue includes AlibabaMQ for Apache RocketMQ, a distributed message queue service that supports message-based asynchronous communication among microservices, distributed systems, and serverless applications.
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IBM MQ
Score 9.0 out of 10
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IBM MQ (formerly WebSphere MQ and MQSeries) is messaging middleware.
It is well known that IBM MQ is extremely robust, reliable and high performing, but some of the newer features are the rising stars for me. Streaming of messages has been a welcome addition for many reasons. We regularly use this for problem investigations and on occasion for replicating messages to test applications before they go live. Connection options to IBM Event Streams (Kafka) has allowed us to stream messages from IBM MQ aware apps to apps using Kafka. And not to forget one of the best traditional reasons of being able to connect to apps running on all platforms from Linux, AIX, z/OS, Windows and iSeries, and more.
Security and Data Encryption: IBM MQ provides robust security features, including data encryption and authentication mechanisms, to protect messages during transmission.
Message Routing: It excels at routing messages to the appropriate destinations based on criteria like message content, destination availability, or message priority.
Message Transformation: IBM MQ can be used to transform messages as they move through the system. For example, it can convert messages from one format to another, such as translating XML to JSON, making it valuable for integrating different systems with varying data formats
Reliable Message Delivery: IBM MQ ensures that messages are delivered reliably and once-only, even in the presence of network failures or system crashes. It stores messages in a queue until the receiving application is ready to process them. This reliability is crucial in financial transactions, healthcare systems, and other applications where data integrity is paramount.
There is limitation on number of svrconn connections you can have to MQ on the mainframe which has been an major issue for us. This has been an issue for us for over 4 years and still no fix although I am aware IBM have been working on a solution over the last year.
When upgrading to MQ V9.3 on our MQ appliances there is no fall-back option. This was the same for MQ V9.2 upgrade from MQ V9.0. For production upgrades this I believe is not acceptable.
AMS is not supplied as part of the standard mainframe MQ licence. You need an extra licence. IBM tell customers how important security and protecting data is yet they still want to charge for this software. The cost of MQ on the mainframe is not cheap so I would expect AMS to be part of the base product.
I give it a nine because it has significantly improved my team's data reliability and operational efficiency. Its great security features give us peace of mind, knowing our sensitive data is well protected. While the setup might initially be complex, I believe the long-term benefits far outweigh this hurdle.
The messages are delivered instantly with this software and it integrates with our technology stack, in terms of availability we only had one failure when we were doing some testing and integration with third parties, the features of this software make it always available and its deployment is easy for the company, it does not generate expenses due to failures
There are very specific things that must be elevated to more specialized areas of support, but the common support is very agile when receiving questions or when we leave concerns in real time. I recommend the support of the program in this regard.
We found IBM MQ very easy to get started and quick to learn by the new users with a short learning curve and seamlessly integrates with IBM products, and quick to perform self-service analytics and make informed business decisions. IBM MQ is also very straightforward in creating simple and best reports, which are very profitable and productive.
