Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) Like a freight train in the night, the rumble of i5/OS V6R1 is getting louder and louder as introduction day approaches. There will be a lot to talk about when all the details are announced, but most of the attention is going to be on virtualization. The technology is not new to the operating system, but the enhancements certainly are. It will be interesting to see how many users put new capabilities (like Virtual I/O Server) to work and how soon they do it. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) i5/OS V6R1 is not all about virtualization, even though that technology is grabbing most of the headlines. The new and improved operating system, which becomes available March 21, also steps up its game with enhancements in the areas of native encryption, intrusion detection and protection, high availability, DB2/400 performance as well as improvements in support for iSCSI networks and Java. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) The forecast for February is looking sunny, especially in terms of Power6-based servers for the entry-level market. But before you warm up to this idea too much, you have to realize that the machines IBM launched this week are System p machines, not System i boxes. So they do not have i5/OS V6R1 running on them yet as their primary operating system. Regardless of the designation, it's an indicator (think of it as Ground Hog Day for Power6 on System i) of good things to come. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) From time to time, it becomes necessary to step outside the box. Consider the unlikely to be likely and the improbable to be probable. Following such uncharted stream of consciousness sometimes leads to a wellspring of ideas. In this case, the well could be a merger between the chip operations of IBM and AMD. The two companies are already partners in chip making technology. It may make sense to bring them together under one roof, or even for IBM to buy AMD outright. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) In football, there's a penalty for unnecessary roughness. Aren't you glad there's no such thing in unified communications? It's a rough game, too, and IBM and Microsoft are biting and clawing their way to market share with an all's fair attitude. Last week, Big Blue announced the coming of Lotus Foundations, a new line of Linux-based servers designed to horse collar the Windows Small Business Server package. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Now you see it, now you don't. Is there a gender gap when it comes to wages in the IT marketplace? System i job recruiter, Nate Viall, has repeatedly said that his experience shows there is no gender gap in the IT jobs market. Two weeks ago, he was interviewed on the NBC Nightly News and you can find that interview here. Use the direct link to the video. READ MORE >

(System iNetwork) Craig Johnson, IBM's i5/OS product manager, says V6R1 will meet the requirements of many System i customers. Those customers will have to wait almost two months, however, before V6R1 becomes generally available. No more waiting for pricing details though. IBM has set V6R1 costs equal to those of V5R4. It begins at $1,795 per processor for a System i 515 and steps its way up to $53,000 per processor for a System i 570 or 595. READ MORE >

(System iNetwork) Mark Shearer was general manager of the System i division at IBM for a longer period of time than any previous GM. Then one day he just disappeared like a character in an H.G. Wells novel. Pfffft. Gone. Ah, no worries. He's regained his visibility and taken a position called vice president of marketing for Business Systems, but don't ask the media relations people at IBM to confirm that. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) Commercial-grade Voice over IP (VoIP) for small and medium businesses, which was forecast to be available by now, is receiving its final tweaks and the prediction now is for a delivery in three or four months. This is the cooperative venture between IBM and Nortel. An earlier version co-developed by IBM and 3Com was introduced in late 2006, but that is widely regarded as an enterprise-level solution. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Firewalls are commonplace, but without a Web application firewall, your security measures could be dangerously flawed. Hackers are targeting Web applications as their open doors to system access and information that can be profitably peddled. Your system could be riddled with security holes that have not yet gained your attention. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Controlling project costs is a lot like driving on ice. You think you're in control until the moment that you're not. Then things can turn bad in a hurry. Project portfolio management can help you regain control of in-progress projects as well as help identify and prioritize projects that improve your IT success rate. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) JD Edwards EnterpriseOne is one of the big dogs in the ERP application suite market. With Oracle at the controls, it shouldn't be too surprising to see better support for Oracle's operating system, database, and middleware platforms in this latest ERP update. What is also noteworthy is the list of enhancements that include support for the Firefox Web browser, better service oriented architecture capabilities, and a Web-based console for administrators. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) For those of you who are using XML technologies to integrate heterogeneous environments, you know the name of the game is interoperability. You also know this game is a lot more like chess than it is like checkers. It's going to take some serious thought and it's not going to be over anytime soon. The capability of calling data from MySQL, PosgreSQL, Informix, Oracle, SQL Server, and DB2 might be a good strategic move for you though. Especially if one set of tools can do it all. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Leave IBM and Microsoft alone in the unified communications sandbox and watch the fight break out. These two just don't play well together. They steal each others customers and whack each other over the head with press releases until both are bloody and crying. Could anything be more fun to watch? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) To say that service oriented architecture is important to IBM is like saying boots are important to a Minnesotan in January. Big Blue is big on SOA. Last week the company purchased another piece for its SOA strategy, a company that develops complex event processing software. In short, that's an automated approach to doing analyses and processes that are used to run businesses better. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(Quadrant) This white paper examines customer service issues from the standpoint of customers lost based on failure to gain immediate resolution. Topics that are given particular emphasis include changing customer demands, challenges that are commonly encountered, and service solutions based on real world case studies, providing excellent customer service. READ MORE >

(Aldon) Choosing automated versus manual deployment processes during application development seems like it would be easy. The purpose of this report is to explain the benefits of automatically packaging and distributing code or content files to target locations during each stage of the development cycle. READ MORE >

(IBM) All programs moving to i5/OS V6R1, which will be available in March, will need a degree of conversion to run. In order for a program to be converted, its creation data (sometimes referred to as observability) must be available for the system to make use of during a conversion process. Programs created for V5R1 or later have their creation data automatically saved during program creation. Those with programs created for OS/400 V4R5 and earlier need to ensure that the creation data is available for the conversion process. This technical paper provides a focus on what you should expect in terms of conversion processes. READ MORE >

(IBM) Cross-site mirroring--the replication of data at multiple sites in order to provide high availability and disaster recovery--is the topic of this technical paper. Topics of consideration include panning and installation, clustering, independent auxiliary storage pools, site object tracking, operations and performance considerations, and troubleshooting. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

See our full calendar of events at
http://www.itjungle.com/fhm/fhm-calendar.html

February 5 -- Norwalk, Connecticut - DB2 Web Query is IBM's replacement for Query/400. It's designed to modernize the reports generated and provide more advanced reporting. This session will cover topics such as importing Query/400 queries into DB2 Web Query and "Web enabling" the output, build new reports, building graphs, and techniques for report and data security. Guest speaker is Robert Andrews, an advisory software engineer at IBM. This training event is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. It is produced in partnership with COMMON and the Fairfield AS/400 Users Group. LEARN MORE >

February 6 -- Webinar - Bringing RPG applications to the Web will be the topic of this session that focuses on integrating HTML and JavaScript with RPG code. Emphasis will be on creating Web applications visually, leveraging existing RPG programmer skills, using a graphical IDE for rapid development, and saving money due to low processor requirements that avoid a potentially expensive iSeries upgrade. This event is hosted by ProData Computer Services and features RPG Server Pages software. It begins at 2 p.m. CST. LEARN MORE >

February 6 -- Webinar - Wholesale distribution revolves around the efficient purchase, storage, resale, and distribution of goods. During this online session, there will be a focus on gaining a competitive advantage by building collaborative and profitable relationships across the supply chain, enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty, optimizing internal processes and employee productivity, and meeting industry and market requirements for security, compliance, and business continuity. This presentation, hosted by VAI, begins at 2 p.m. EST. LEARN MORE >

February 6 -- Melville, New York - DB2 Web Query is IBM's replacement for Query/400. It's designed to modernize the reports generated and provide more advanced reporting. This session will cover topics such as importing Query/400 queries into DB2 Web Query and "Web enabling" the output, build new reports, building graphs, and techniques for report and data security. Guest speaker is Robert Andrews, an advisory software engineer at IBM. This training event is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. It is produced in partnership with COMMON and the Long Island System Users Group. LEARN MORE >

February 7 -- Fairfield, New Jersey - DB2 Web Query is IBM's replacement for Query/400. It's designed to modernize the reports generated and provide more advanced reporting. This session will cover topics such as importing Query/400 queries into DB2 Web Query and "Web enabling" the output, build new reports, building graphs, and techniques for report and data security. Guest speaker is Robert Andrews, an advisory software engineer at IBM. This training event is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. It is produced in partnership with COMMON and the NESTU Users Group. LEARN MORE >

February 10-13 -- Las Vegas, Nevada - Insight 2008, the only conference that focuses on System i security and compliance topics is being hosted by The PowerTech Group, a System i independent software vendor that specializes in automated security solutions. The event is primarily a PowerTech User Group Conference, but is also designed as a forum for sharing information and best practices for a wide range of System i security topics. Among the session topics on the agenda are: best practices for implementing security and maintaining compliance; PowerTech product tips and techniques guaranteed to increase productivity; security and compliance plans for immediate implemention; and PowerTech. customer success stories. LEARN MORE >

February 13 -- Clearwater, Florida - IBM storage solutions will be the featured topic during the Data Exchange Bay Area User's Group meeting this month. Rob Sutherland, an IBM System Storage Sales Specialist, will be the guest speaker. His presentation will examine the demands to protect and maintain corporate data and the burden that places on IT organizations. A particular emphasis will be placed on data encryption at the tape drive level. The meeting will be held at Bascom's Chop Shop located at 3665 Ulmerton Road, beginning at 5:30 p.m. LEARN MORE >

February 13 -- Webinar - Discrete manufacturing operates in environments ranging from make-to-order to make-to-stock and within global marketplaces where the number of potential markets has grown and so has the number of competitors. To capitalize on diverse customer requirements in a variety of geographic markets, requires adaptation of manufacturing processes to allow for greater customization and flexibility. This online presentation will examine the uses of IBM servers and VAI software solutions to automate production, planning, and the quality process. The session begins at 2 p.m. EST. LEARN MORE >

February 14 -- Maryland Heights, Missouri - A full day of training in RPG, WDSc, and RSE will be presented by Susan Gantner and Jon Paris. The full-day session, hosted by the Gateway/400 local user group for the greater St. Louis area, begins at 8:30 a.m. and is scheduled to end at 4:30 p.m. LEARN MORE >

February 14 -- Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Two sessions are scheduled for the monthly meeting of the Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professional Association. Guest speaker Mike Schambureck will discuss the benefits of System I server integration in his first presentation and then follow that up with a session that explains how to attach a BladeCenter to the System i using iSCSI. Schambureck is an expert from IBM Rochester. The first begins at 4:30 p.m. The second begins at 7:30. In between is dinner and networking with the members. LEARN MORE >

February 14 -- Kent, Washington - The Pacific Midrange Systems Association meeting features a session on System i security. Guest speaker Vince Fazio of MSI will discuss security technologies, how they are being implemented and used, and what is coming in the future. Topics of discussion will include storage/data resiliency, disaster recovery planning, recovery time and recovery point objectives for both single- and multi-server options. The meeting begins at 11:30 a.m. LEARN MORE >