Performance improvement

Performance have been improved significantly in the FioranoMQ 9.1.1 server particularly in the cases where there are a large number of Publishers and/or Subscribers under a single connection.

Optimizations have been made in the client-runtime as well as at the server level for a better performance for both Non-Persistent messages as well as Persistent messages with Durable Subscribers. The non-persistent message flows have been optimized based on the network speed and server processing capability. Durable subscribers will now process messages much faster when run under a single connection. The performance optimizations significantly improve server scalability in comparison with previous releases.

Latest JMS performance comparison charts can be found at the Fiorano website: www.fiorano.com. FioranoMQ now outperforms all other JMS servers on the market by a significant margin.

Directory Services Implementation

FioranoMQ 9.1.0 ships with a directory service implementation that allows users to share and manage FioranoMQ (FMQ) profiles in a centralized manner. Apart from helping manage the profiles via a central repository, the directory service also greatly simplifies the storing of information pertaining to each server is registered with the profile. The directory service is also used to manage resources other than profiles.

HA Implementation Enhancements

FioranoMQ 9.1.0 has several enhancements in the implementation of its High Availability servers. The changes ensure that the present solution will achieve better state synchronization between the two HA servers and robustness while handling network outage scenarios. A lock file based solution has been introduced for this very purpose.

The lock file based mechanism ensures that, even when the private link between the servers goes down, there is no chance of both the servers becoming active. Under no circumstance will both the servers be active/ standalone at the same time.

Message Journaling Support

Message Journaling is a FioranoMQ 9.1.0 feature that allows an application to replicate the messages arriving at a destination to another destination of similar type. Message Journaling essentially means to copy a message from one destination to another destination of similar type. When Journaling is enabled, a console-based application can be written in order to consume messages from either of these two destinations. This functionality can be used to audit all the messages that have ever been received on a particular destination.

Destination Level configuration

Parameters at the Subsystem level that are also relevant on a per-destination basis are now configurable at the destination level. For instance, users can now have different values of PurgeLevelIndex for different topics.

Queue/Topic depth monitoring

Depth monitoring is used to monitor the number of pending messages that are currently available on a destination. Depth monitoring fires JMX notifications in situations when the depth of a destination crosses a particular threshold in either direction (increasing or decreasing queue sizes) or if destination is idle for a particular amount of time. Depth monitoring in FioranoMQ 9.1 is only implemented for Queues. Future versions may extend this feature to Topics.

Samples to integrate with the Spring Framework

JMS samples have now been provided that are compatible with and configurable using the Spring Framework. The Spring Framework in a messaging context can be used to provide configurative registration of message listener objects for transparent message consumption from message queues via JMS, an improvement of message sending over standard JMS APIs.

Enhancements in DB recovery tool

The recovery tool now provides much information on what exactly is corrupted, together with the steps that have been taken in recovering the same.

Other Enhancements

FMQ Samples without JNDI, Support for Large Messages in C and C++ runtime, Improved thread management in FMQ Dashboard, Support for Dynamic topics in Repeater, Support for Offline configuration of individual destinations is provided.

DataBase upgradation utility

A script based utility has been added to automate upgrade of older versions of FioranoMQ databases to FioranoMQ 9. This enables user to use their old databases with latest FioranoMQ version, thus  ensuring that any data available in the old database is compatible with the latest FioranoMQ version. The script while accepting minimal inputs provides all relevant migration changes seamlessly. More detailed instructions on running this script and the various input parameters required are explained in the README file at
{FIORANO_HOME}/fmq/bin/Linux_DBMigration/Readme.txt or
{FIORANO_HOME}\fmq\bin\Windows_DBMigration\Readme.txt in the latest version.

Bug fixes (including bugs reported through the Fiorano Support Portal).

For more details, see Resolved Issues section in the release notes.

Enhanced Property file based HA profile configuration

All the important parameters like backup HA IP address, port, gateway IP address etc, which are used in HA configuration files are grouped at the start of the HA configuration files. This enables users to edit the configuration files easily to set up replication HA and shared HA profiles.

Client Side logging support in C/C++ runtimes

Support has been added for Client Side logging to record information relating to the flow of client applications, error statements and information relating to the memory being freed up as applications execute and close. This helps in getting more debug information in case of production issues. For more information on how to set different log levels, to enable or disable logging, and to set log names please refer to FioranoMQ CRTL Guide and FioranoMQ C++ RTL Native Guide for C and C++ runtimes respectively.

Enhanced Client Side Persistence (CSP) in C/C++ runtimes

New APIs have been added in order to browse the CSP messages, such as getting the number of messages in CSP Queue or Topic, retrieving queues, topics on a connection etc. Please refer to the FioranoMQ CRTL Guide and FioranoMQ C++ RTL Native Guide for C and C++ runtimes respectively for a detailed description of each API.

Enhanced FioranoMQ web console

The following new tabs have been added for configuration or monitoring:

• A dispatcher tab which enables operations such as adding and removing servers to the Dispatcher-enabled MQ Server.
• A Sockets view tab to monitor all the open Sockets on the FMQ Server.
• A System properties tab which lists all the java system properties that are set in the JVM in which the FMQ Server is running.
• An Enhanced Connections tab which lists all the JMX connections made to the FMQ Server.

Bug fixes (including bugs reported through the Fiorano Support Portal).

For more details, see Resolved Issues section in the release notes.

Property file based profile configuration

The server profiles can be now edited through a property file Configs.cfg present in the %PROFILE%/conf directory. This file contains the default list of name-value pairs for setting the configuration of the server. For more information on using Configs.cfg file, please refer to Getting Started

Performance improvement for Durable Subscriber

Durable Subscriber performance has been substantially improved as compared to the earlier releases of FioranoMQ. New Algorithms for minimizing consumer starvation has been introduced in this release.

Enhanced FioranoMQ web console

New tabs has been added to configure and monitor

• Bridge
• Repeater

Many bug fixes, including the bugs reported through the Fiorano Support Portal.

For more details, see Resolved Issues section in the release notes.

Enhanced FioranoMQ Web Console :

• Server connection status and the version is displayed on the top right-hand side corner.
• Connections, Queues, and Topics pages show snapshot at the page top.
• Graphs render more intervals to display more data history.
• Added license information tab.
• ConnectionInfo displays the number of producers and consumers per connection.

SSL support in the Bridge and the Repeater modules

The FioranoMQ Bridge or Repeater can now connect to FioranoMQ server through SUN_SSL and PHAOS_SSL protocols.

Revamped error handling in the C++ RTL

Reorganized the error handling mechanism in C and C++ runtimes and fixed all the unhandled exceptions reported by various customers.

Enhanced flow control algorithm

The flow control algorithm is optimized to not drop messages for slow subscribers. Also introduced more parameters to configure the algorithm for variety of flow control requirements.

Many bug fixes, including the bugs reported through the Fiorano Support Portal.

For more details, see Resolved Issues section in the release notes.

Enhanced FioranoMQ Web Console :

Added web pages/tabs to configure and monitor following server configuration parameters.

• Groups
• Policies
• Logs
• JMX
• Advanced Properties
• HA
• Import/Export
• Server ShutDown/Restart capabilities
• Online remote Profile configuration and saving
• And more...

Revamped server exception handling and log messages

The server exceptions are more streamlined and the log messages are now more concise and readable.

Reintroduced MSMQ Bridge application

The MSMQ Bridge application allows bi-directional message movement between MSMQ queues and JMS Server destinations. Additionally, it does not require the Microsoft JVM unlike its predecessor.

More configurable threshold limits to prevent server crash from rogue JMS applications. Some of the threshold limits include

Several optimization and threshold limits has been implemented for server resources like:

• Memory
• Threads
• File Handles
• Disk Space

“Server-less connection creation/start” support in C & C++ RTLs

C & C++ client applications can create/start FMQ connections to send/receive messages without the FMQ server, similar to Java applications. Messages will be stored on the local disk until the application establishes connection with the FMQ server. This assist C/C++ developers to remove the additional code written to wait for the server connection to start the client applications.

More JMX notifications

Added JMX Notifications for the following server actions:

• Create of Common/Admin CF
• Update of any CF,
• Create/Delete user
• Add/Remove user(s) from a group,
• Unsubscribe a Passive Durable Subscriber
• Create/Close AdminConnection
• And more…

Includes many small enhancements and critical bug fixes

Other enhancements like enhanced loop detection in the FMQ Bridge, improved monitoring info, DMQ functionality on the route, additional JMX API’s, enhanced CBR module, and so on. See the section Resolved Issues in release notes for more details and the complete list of bug fixes.

FioranoMQ Web Management Tool :

In this Release MQ user can monitor and configure FioranoMQ using the FioranoMQ Web Management Tool, this tool runs on the web browser, i.e. using a normal web browser users can configure and monitor:

• Users
• Topics
• Queues
• Connections
• ConnectionFactories
• Logs
• DurableSubscribers
• Graphical monitoring of Memory, Queues, Topics and Connections

Better Exception Handling at the Client-Side:

Users can now get more meaningful and specific exceptions in case any error occurs at the server or RTL, which can be helpful at pointing the exact problem.

Unified Support in C and C++ RTL:

Unified Connection is now supported in C and C++ RTL. For more information, see C Native RTL Sample Application Guide and C++ Native RTL Sample Application Guide.

Compact Installer Size:

As compared to the FioranoMQ 2007 SP2 installer, the latest installer is compact and contains no unnecessary files. As a result the size of the installer has gone down by more than 30 MB.

Global Configuration for Destinations:

Now all the Queues and Topics can be configured at a global level. MQ users do not need to set properties for each destination. The properties changed at the subsystem levels are reflected at all the destinations.

Backward Compatibility for the latest RTL:

Backward compatibility is fully supported in FioranoMQ 2007 SP3 RTL with FioranoMQ 2006 Servers and newer.

Lots of Enhancements and Bug Fixes:

Message Expiration support with Bridges, Repeaters, Single Log file for the server, BackupURL support in Dispatcher, and so on. For more detailed info please visit the Resolved Issue section.

Enhanced Resource Management:

Detailed information on server load (Number of Connections, Sessions, Producers, Consumers, Destinations) is now provided whenever the server's memory usage crosses the threshold limit. The Resource Management thread runs periodically to warn users anytime for the server is running low on memory.

New JMX API's:

Users can now, view the load on any running Producer/Consumers through the use of a new JMX API. User can set unique names for any Producers/Consumer/Session, and can later monitor them at runtime. In the earlier release of FioranoMQ, invoking some JMX API may have thrown exceptions, or would return results which were not so meaningful, but this has been resolved in this release.

Configuration of Queue Properties:

Users can now, configure queue properties more easily than ever before. The user can set the value of all queues by changing the values at the Queuing Sub System level.

Database Clearance:

Users can now, clear their database separately for Administration Storage, Data Storage, and ACL Storage using the new reset script. There are many other enhancements in server scripts as well.

Enhanced of C and C# RTL:

Memory Management is being introduced in the C and C# RTL to reduce the possibility of memory outage. The C# RTL is now compatible with additional platforms, and there are additional bug fixes in both the runtime libraries as well.

Dynamic Addition of Security Provider for Encryption:

The user need not to add a security provider manually in the JRE being used, as the addition of Cryptix security provider is dynamic and no manual settings are required.

Enhancement in Bridge:

Now the user can add multiple channels within a single link, for bridge without any issues. Better logging is also provided in exceptional conditions. And the online configuration of a bridge is now supported.

No Memory Leaks in Routes:

Now the user can transfer large messages, using routes with slow consumers, with no memory issues. There was a minor memory leak in routes in the earlier version of FioranoMQ which has been resolved in this release.

DST Patch and Other Bug Fixes:

The JRE bundled with the windows installer has the DST patch installed in it, as well as many other core fixes.

Memory Management:

If the memory used by the server, crosses a user defined threshold, then the MQ server would not accept any more connections and would also disallow creation of new destinations. This would ensure that the MQ server does not run out of memory.

New JMX API's for Server Monitoring:

New JMX API's have been added for topic and queue monitoring.

HA Server Validation:

Validation checks have been added while booting up the HA servers for a valid GatewayIP.

Queuing Sub System Level:

New Parameters added at the Queuing Sub System level to manage configuration of all queues.

HA Configuration Wizard:

A wizard has been added in studio for easing the configuration of HA profiles.

Optimization:

The number of open file handles has been optimized. The number of open file handles for a default MQ server has decreased from 95 in FioranoMQ 2007 to 28 in FioranoMQ 2007 SP1.

Enhanced Flow Control:

The new flow control algorithm provides various options to effectively handle "slow subscriber" applications that lead to server out-of-memory exceptions. These include options, to drop new or old messages in case of overflows.

Performance Enhancements:

There is a pub/sub performance increase of 20% compared to the previous FMQ 2006 release (Service Pack 2).

Enhanced 'Client Side Persistence':

Client applications (Publishers) now continue to send new messages while messages are concurrently being sent from the CSP cache. That is, the set client ID () call is not blocked while the client application reconnects to the server and starts sending CSP cache messages.

Note: This feature is not available in the C/C++/C# runtime libraries; FMQ 2007 only supports this feature for Java clients.

FioranoMQ Terminal:

All available functions in the Studio can now be executed through an FMQ Terminal Application.

Monitor Server Health and Statistics:

1. System health
2. Route information
3. Ability to disconnect clients from within the server
4. The ability to view connected application details (IP, hostname, and so on) to identify client applications from within the Studio

Enhanced High Availability Diagnostics:

Servers now print more messages related to high availability on the console for diagnostic purposes.

New APIs in C++ Runtime:

1. Administration APIs to create topics, queues, connection factories, users, groups, and ACL's from within the C/C++ and C# runtimes.
2. New APIs to create threads and synchronization classes. This helps messaging application developers void 3rd party threading and synchronization libraries.
3. Enhanced error/exception handling.

DB Recovery Tool:

New tool provided to recover the MQ DataBase, in case it somehow gets corrupted. All the messages can be recovered from the corrupted DataBase with the help of DataBase recovery tool.

Enhanced flow control options to handle slow subscribers:

The new flow control algorithm provides various options to effectively handle "slow subscriber" applications that lead to server out-of-memory exceptions. These include options to drop new or old messages in case of overflows. For more information, read Performance Tuning Parameters section in FioranoMQ 2006 Best Practices Guide.

Performance enhancements for Pub/Sub applications:

There is a pub/sub performance increase of 20% compared to the previous FMQ 2006 release (Service Pack 2).

Enhanced 'Client Side Persistence' to handle server-less application restart:

Client applications (Publishers) now continue to send new messages while messages are concurrently being sent from the CSP cache. That is, the setClientID() call is not blocked while the client application reconnects to the server and starts sending CSP cache messages.
Note: This feature is not available in the C/C++/C# runtime libraries; SP3 only supports this feature for Java clients.

Introducing FioranoMQ Terminal for administering server from headless machines:

All available functions in the Studio can now be executed through an FMQ Terminal Application. For more information, read the 'FioranoMQ Terminal' chapter in the FioranoMQ Handbook.

Ability o monitor server health and statistics by more JMX APIs:

1. System health
2. Route information
3. Ability to disconnect clients from within the server
4. The ability to view connected application details (IP, hostname, and so on) to identify client applications from within the Studio

Enhanced High Availability diagnostics:

Servers now print more messages related to high availability on the console for diagnostic purposes.

New APIs in C++ runtime:

1. Administration APIs to create topics, queues, connection factories, users, groups, and ACL's from within the C/C++ and C# runtimes.
2. New APIs to create threads and synchronization classes. This helps messaging application developers avoid 3rd party threading and synchronization libraries.
3. Enhanced error/exception handling.

Profile Manager

Profile manager is a new tool that can be launched within Fiorano Studio and can be used to edit a profile. You can modify the configuration of various MBeans as well as add/remove MBeans in the profile using this tool.

JMX Explorer

This tool can be launched from Fiorano Studio to execute JMX requests and view real time graph of exposed attributes. Currently, this tool is shipped with the installer.

Reduced Thread Count for UCF

The number of threads created by the RTL and the sever in commonly used situations have been reduced while using Unified Connection Factory. This will allow creating more connections with the server.

Lazy Thread Creation

Topic Session now starts a thread in the RTL level only when a consumer is created and the connection is started. This lazy creation results in saving an un-wanted thread in the case of a publisher application.

Events

FioranoMQ 2006 events are now raised as per JMX standard. This allows any third party JMX compliant tool to trap events. The earlier event support though disabled, can be enabled through offline configuration.

Business Components

Many Business components (as available with Fiorano SOA Platform installer) can run directly over FioranoMQ 2006.

Flash Presentations

Flash presentations demonstrating the usage of studio are now shipped with the installer.

Connection Consumer with HT

Connection Consumer support is now strengthened with addition of HT support.

"Software-Only" High Availability

Added to the existing Shared Disk High Availability (HA) options, FioranoMQ 8.0's software-only option allows enterprises to deliver HA without imposing any specific hardware requirements, thus greatly reducing the overall cost of implementing HA features.

Dynamic Subscription Propagation

To maximize efficiency of Wide Area Network deployments, options have been re-introduced to route messages across multiple MQ servers only if subscribers exist on the receiving end.

J2EE Connector Architecture (JCA) Adapters

Enables bi-directional integration with any J2EE container, supporting distributed transactions (XA) between FioranoMQ and application-server resources.

JMX-Based Monitoring and Administration

Users can now make fine-grain runtime monitoring and administration adjustments to server components using Java Management Extensions (JMX) that expose all Managed Objects, Attributes, Operations and Notifications .

Configuration Tool

A new tool integrated within Fiorano Studio for configuring a selected profile, allowing simpler configuration of options like Database URI, username/password, Naming Service bindings and more.

Full Feature C/C++ Client Libraries

Provides natively cross-compiled, JNI-based C/C++ libraries and thin C/C++ native libraries with a full list of features including XA, HA, and client-side persistence .

NIO-Based Connection Manager

A new connection management module to maximize FioranoMQ server scalability on all Java platforms, using JRE 1.4+ based NIO support.

Performance Enhancements

FioranoMQ's support for topics and queues has been further enhanced to maximize throughput while minimizing latency. With FioranoMQ 7.5, the overall throughput of messages was increased between 2 to 12 times as compared to its predecessor FioranoMQ 7.2 while cutting down latency by an average of 50%.

New Administration Studio

FioranoMQ 7.5 introduces a powerful administration tool for managing entire network of MQ servers setup in cluster mode or distributed across a WAN. This tool has abilities for self-healing (by auto-loading patches from Fiorano's distribution centre) and auto-upgrading to newer releases and features.

Advisory callbacks in Java RTL

FioranoMQ 7.5 Java RTL now provides support for registering advisory callbacks for getting notifications of internal state changes in MQ clients. This feature is useful while using any of CSP (Client Side Persistence), Auto Revalidation or HA (High Availability).

HTTP/HTTPS Support in C# runtime

Continuing further improvements of .NET support, FioranoMQ 7.5 now includes support for both HTTP as well as HTTPS transports for native C#.Net library showing an increased commitment towards .NET world.

Flexible Flow Control

The new version provides further flexibility in controlling message flow within the MQ server, from "no loss" to "drop oldest undelivered message" for non-persistent messages.

Implementation of "DUPS OK" Mode

FioranoMQ 7.5 introduces implementation of DUPS_OK mode for both PubSub (Topics) and PTP (Queues).

Run MQ Server as NT Services on Windows

The installation comes with preconfigured scripts for registering FioranoMQ server, Repeater and Bridges as NT services on Win NT and Win 2K machines, allowing console free local and remote administration of server components.