When you install the NT Option Pack on an NT system, the setup application installs Internet Information Server (IIS). When you install the NT Option Pack on a Win98 or Win95 system, the setup application detects the OS you are running and does not let you install IIS. Instead, the setup application installs Microsoft's Personal Web Server. When you install Personal Web Server, you must select Custom, then select the Microsoft Message Queue check box to install MSMQ, as Screen 2 shows. After you choose MSMQ installation, the installation program asks you which type of client to install (i.e., dependent or independent). The program also asks for the MSMQ site controller's name, as Screen 3 shows. Regardless of which client you install, you must have an MSMQ site controller.
Troubleshooting MSMQ problems on Win95. You might run into problems while using MSMQ with Win95. If you have trouble getting a Win95 client to talk to another queue, ensure that your client has Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS) and Domain NameSystem (DNS) configured properly. Also, you need to ensure that your HOSTS file contains the correct entries for your MSMQ server, in case you have a name-resolution problem. Finally, take the following steps on each Win95 client with a connectivity problem.
Your Win95 machine has a directory named \WINDOWS that contains a file named HOSTS. If the \WINDOWS directory does not contain this file, you can use a text editor to create it. The HOSTS file sometimes has a .sam extension and sometimes has no extension. If the file has an extension, you need to rename the file without an extension. HOSTS is a plain text file that you can use any text editor to open. Listing 1 shows an example HOSTS file.
The HOSTS file contains maps of IP addresses to host names. You need to review the file to ensure that it lists the names and corresponding IP addresses of MSMQ servers to which you want to connect.
Because case matters, you need to add a server several times, using multiple cases, to ensure that users find the correct server whether they use uppercase or lowercase letters. Make entries on separate lines. Enter the IP address in the first column and the corresponding host name in the second column, with at least a space between them. You can add comments to this file to provide additional information about servers or IP addresses. To add a comment, enter it on an individual line or to the right of the machine name. The pound symbol (#) designates a comment, as Listing 1 shows.
If your HOSTS file correctly lists your MSMQ server, your connectivity trouble is not a name resolution problem. To further investigate the problem's source, you must know which machine the problem exists on.
You can use MSMQ's native msmqtest sample application, which I discussed previously, to determine which machine is having the problem. Using this application, you can connect an MSMQ machine to other MSMQ machines, one at a time, to determine which machines have connectivity problems between them. If you are running an independent client on Win95, and you can run msmqtest -r and msmqtest -s on the system, try running msmqtest -r on the Win95 system and msmqtest -s on the PEC. Run msmqtest -r and msmqtest -s on the Win95 client to ensure that you receive all the messages the Win95 msmqtest -s session sent.
When troubleshooting connectivity problems, you need to verify that you have network connectivity. Run the MQPing test from MSMQ Explorer on the PEC to ensure that the Win95 client responds. To run MQPing, open MSMQ Explorer, right-click the computer, and select MQPing from the context menu that appears. To verify proper operation, ensure that the PEC is attempting a TCP connection on port 1801 to the Win95 client.
For additional information about troubleshooting MSMQ, visit Microsoft's MSMQ newsgroups. Go to the msnews.microsoft.com server. (If you are using Microsoft Outlook Express as your news reader, select Tools, Accounts to add this server.) Then, access the following newsgroups.
- microsoft.public.msmq.deployment
- microsoft.public.msmq.interop
- microsoft.public.msmq.networking
- microsoft.public.msmq.performance
- microsoft.public.msmq.programming
- microsoft.public.msmq.security
- microsoft.public.msmq.setup
Using MSMQ with Non-Microsoft Products
You can use third-party software to let MSMQ communicate directly with a mainframe host. Level 8 Systems' (http://www.level8.com/falcon.htm) MSMQ Gateway lets MVS, UNIX, and Unisys machines function as MSMQ clients. If you are using MSMQ and MQSeries, you can use Level 8's FalconMQ bridge to exchange messages between the two systems.
MSMQ: A Hero's Tool
MSMQ benefits NT network administrators. The product offers a variety of features that help NT Server support mission-critical applications and make NT a viable alternative to mainstay OSs such as UNIX. MSMQ guarantees message delivery, thus making network applications bulletproof and maintaining the perception of systems administrators as heroes.