IBM has announced the upcoming IBM MQ 9.4.2 release, the second Continuous Delivery (CD) release of the 9.4 Long Term Support (LTS) line. This update introduces improved resiliency, enhanced administrative tooling, and performance optimizations across IBM MQ, IBM MQ Advanced, IBM MQ for z/OS, IBM MQ Advanced for z/OS, and IBM MQ Appliance.

IBM MQ 9.4.2 is set for release on February 27, 2025 (Multiplatforms and MQ Appliance) and March 21, 2025 (z/OS versions). Additionally, IBM MQ as a Service continues to receive continuous deployments.

For organizations leveraging IBM MQ for mission-critical applications, these updates improve reliability, security, and manageability. Below, we dive into the key enhancements of the release of IBM MQ 9.4.2 and how they impact modern messaging environments.

• Cross-Region Replication (CRR) for Native HA (IBM MQ Advanced for Multiplatforms only): Enables asynchronous queue manager replication across regions, providing unplanned failover and planned switchover with RPO zero.

• Uniform Clusters JMS Multi-Connection Rebalancing (IBM MQ & Advanced for Multiplatforms, MQ Advanced, MQ Appliance): JMS applications can scale without interruptions.
• Kafka XML Converter Packaging (IBM MQ Advanced for Multiplatforms, IBM MQ & Advanced for z/OS): The Kafka XML Converter is now packaged with Kafka Connect source and sink connectors for MQ.

Note: If you’re running Kafka and IBM MQ in your organization, you should look at Infrared360’s capabilities for granular monitoring and simplified administration of both under one interface.

• Improved Configuration of AMQP Properties (IBM MQ & Advanced for Multiplatforms, MQ Appliance): Enhancements to AMQP settings for better interoperability.

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (MQ Appliance): Strengthens user security for MQ Appliance console access.
• Certificate-Based Authentication (MQ Appliance): Now allows administrators and users to authenticate to the MQ Appliance Console and REST Management interface using digital certificatesExternal User Authentication (MQ Appliance): Enables authentication with external identity providers.
• OpenSSH keys with SFTP (IBM MQ Advanced for Multiplatforms): OpenSSH private keys can now be used with Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) servers in MFT transfers.
• External authentication (MQ Appliance) External users can now authenticate with the MQ Appliance.

• Simplified Message Encryption in Containers (IBM MQ Advanced for Multiplatforms): Advanced Message Security (AMS) enabled server-side encryption without requiring custom image builds. Also improved on MQ Appliance to enable AMS functionality on non-AMS clients.
• Container Metrics (IBM MQ Advanced for Multiplatforms): Administrators can now access MQ container metrics over HTTPS.
• Faster MQ install in Containers (IBM MQ Advanced for Multiplatforms) With a size reduction due to a new CASE packaging format, MQ in containers can be installed into air-gapped systems much faster

• Easier Shared Queue Tooling (IBM MQ & Advanced for z/OS): Enhanced tooling for z/OS Coupling Facility (CF) structures.
• Chinese Character Support (IBM MQ & Advanced for z/OS): Ensures Chinese character support alignment with updated national standards.

The XLC 16 compiler, deprecated in IBM MQ 9.4 LTS, has now been fully removed in 9.4.2. Organizations should verify their environments to ensure compatibility.

For organizations adopting IBM MQ 9.4.2, Infrared360 by Avada Software provides end-to-end monitoring and management for IBM MQ environments. With features such as real-time observability, security compliance, and automated alerts, Infrared360 complements IBM MQ’s latest enhancements, particularly in containerized, cloud-native, and high-availability deployments.

Learn more about Infrared360 for IBM MQ:

IBM MQ 9.4.2 is a significant update that advances resiliency, administration, security, and integration capabilities across different MQ product levels. Whether operating in multiplatform, z/OS, or appliance-based environments, organizations will benefit from these enhancements in failover, performance monitoring, and containerization.

For full details, refer to IBM’s official documentation:

• IBM MQ for Multiplatforms 9.4: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/ibm-mq/9.4
• IBM MQ Appliance 9.4: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/ibm-mq-appliance/9.4
• IBM MQ for z/OS 9.4: https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/ibm-mq-zos/9.4

As businesses continue to modernize their middleware strategies, IBM MQ 9.4.2 offers essential improvements that enable scalability, reliability, and performance in enterprise messaging.