A queue manager owns and controls MQe messages, queues, and connections (see below). It allows applications to access messages and queues. Each queue manager has a unique name that distinguishes it from any other MQe queue manager. Depending upon the needs of an application, queue managers can differ in their collection of queues, messages, connections, and other objects, and also in the role they play in a configuration.
MQe identifies three distinct roles for queue managers in addition to the basic queue manager functionality:
A queue may be used to store, process, or move messages. Each queue belongs to a queue manager and applications can access queues through the queue manager. Each queue has a unique name that distinguishes it from any other queue on that same queue manager. Local queues are not strictly mandatory, however you cannot do much without them.
A message is a collection of data which can be stored in a queue or moved across an MQe network.
A connection provides its local queue manager with the information it needs to establish communication links with a remote queue manager. The name of a connection is the name of that remote queue manager. Only one connection definition can exist on a local queue manager for each remote queue manager name.
A channel is an entity allowing a queue manager to move messages to a remote queue manager.
The registry is the primary store for queue manager related information. Each queue manager has its own registry. Every queue manager uses the registry to hold details of its properties and objects.