Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) The AS/400 and its integrated DB2/400 database has always been a formidable combination. It remains so today. The IBM Power Systems i is one heck of a database engine. So how do you improve it? Let's take a look at specialty engines for specific workloads, something that's already been accomplished in the mainframe realm. The performance boost to disk arrays could make some customers shout. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Being comfortably dumb isn't a goal that many IT professionals pursue. It's actually the opposite of a pursuit--more like an exercise in inactivity. A lot of people slide into career immobilization on their own. Others are put into that stupor by employers who see no investment potential in training and education. Hello, is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can hear me. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Without those industrial-looking, black and white and red danger signs that warn us about high voltage, dangerous chemicals, and hundreds of other potential pitfalls, some folks would surely end up some place they wish they hadn't gone. In the Web world, the danger signs are mostly security related. And the security researchers at IBM's Internet Security Systems gave some warnings worthy of your attention. READ MORE >

(ITBusinessEdge) Watch that foul language! To begin with, you're not going to get away with using terms like SOA anymore--at least not if you want to get the IT budget approved. You can talk about services and the purse-holders will smile and listen, but if SOA comes out of your mouth the business people wince because it's synonymous with failed promises and huge expenditures. READ MORE >

(InfoWeek) What's the mega-billion dollar economic stimulus going to provide for the computer industry--and more specifically IBM? Pete McCaffery, head of strategy for IBM's Systems and Technology group, sees the opportunity to help organizations centrally manage internal and external infrastructures, automate and strengthen infrastructure security, and design systems that can help reduce risks related to changing business and market conditions. READ MORE >

(System iNews) Mel Beckman, owner at Beckman Software Engineering and a network engineering consultant, has a few cost-saving tips that he's willing to share. At the top of his list are things like spending money now to save money down the road and how telecommunications costs might be much greater than you suspect. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) Data distribution seems to always lag behind data demands. That has a lot to do with the ever-increasing nature of those making the demands and the technical difficulties in the delivery methods. Transfer protocols, accessing multiple databases, and a little thing known as security have bogged down some data distribution planners. If it's getting too hot in your data distribution kitchen, check this out. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Some of you are familiar with DB2 Web Query, the modern replacement for IBM's Query/400, which has been a very familiar piece of the OS/400 middleware stack for many years. Like a dog chained to its dog house, Web Query could only go as far as the DB2 database. Later this year, IBM will unshackle Web Query so it can also go after SQL servers. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Performance monitoring takes the concept of one cat watching nine rat holes and ratchets it up to a herd of cats watching a constantly changing but considerably higher number of rat holes from your data center to Timbuktu. This is enterprise systems management--where higher throughput is always being discussed along with requests for additional operational reports and scheduling enhancements. And not a day goes by when someone isn't asking: What's being done about security issues? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Some days you're just not in the mood for another ornery software installation. You've already had it up to your eyeballs with incompatible runtimes, missing drivers, non-existent libraries, and other prickly pains in the patootie. Frustrating? Oh, yeah. The complaints about lost productivity and customers raising hell come at you like a pack of rabid badgers. How about some relief? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Everybody's doing it . . . and I'm not talking about the Unemployment Line Shuffle. There are plenty of people doing that, too, but among the employed there remains a high interest in business intelligence projects. Gartner analysts put it down on paper months ago that BI is a priority according to CIOs they quizzed, and here's another survey that backs up the Gartner trend identification indicators. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(Help/Systems) Business intelligence is defined in many ways. It begins with query and reporting, includes a wide scope of business analytics, and offers solutions to data distribution dilemmas. To demonstrate the benefits companies are getting out of real world implementations, you'll find these reports featuring Security Mutual Life Insurance Company and Monrovia Nursery helpful. READ MORE >

(PowerTech) Many companies rely on security information and event management (SIEM) solutions to comply with security policies and mandated regulations. This paper discusses why SIEM solutions often offer limited coverage for the System i (AS/400), and emphasizes technical issues relevant to logging security data on the i. It also offers advice for developing real-time awareness of security events as they happen on the System i and provides information on integrating SIEM solutions. READ MORE >

(IBM) Virtualization technology is being used to simplify and optimize IT infrastructure. This report covers the combination of hardware and software on Power Systems that can to aggregate and manage resources using a consolidated, logical view. Topics of discussion include: reducing energy costs through server consolidation, reducing the cost of existing infrastructure, and managing growth. READ MORE >

(HiT Software) This report examines the synchronizing of data between heterogeneous databases with an emphasis on integrating IBM i DB2 with Microsoft SQL Server 2008. Data security and cost effectiveness are major topics. 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 12 -- Webinar - Choosing the development technology that fits your company and your IT staff can be a troublesome task. In this online session, the focus is on rich Internet applications that will endure with whatever modernization technology is ultimately chosen. Topics of discussion include creating user interfaces on the i and on other platforms, integrating the i with other systems, and why browser-based RIAs provide usability, accessibility, and platform-independent design. This presentation begins at 1 p.m. EST. LEARN MORE >

February 12 -- Maryland Heights, Missouri - Daniel Hiebert, a software engineer with IBM Systems and Technology Group, will discuss Web services on IBM i at the monthly meeting of the Gateway/400 Group, an iSeries user group serving the greater St. Louis area. The meeting time is 11:30 a.m. with lunch at noon and the presentation following lunch. RSVP no later than Monday before the meeting date. LEARN MORE >

February 12 -- Milwaukee, Wisconsin - A two-part session on processing XML data on the IBM i will be featured at the monthly meeting of the Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professional Association. Guest speaker David Andruchuk, a senior architect for Computer Systems Design Associates, will discuss topics such as user-defined table functions (UDTF), parsing XML documents residing in an IFS folder, and making use of RPGLE programs and SQL interfaces. The first session begins at 4:30 p.m. The second begins at 7:30. In between is dinner and networking with the members. LEARN MORE >

February 17 -- Madison, Wisconsin - An DB2 Web Query for System i, IBM's replacement for Query/400 will be the topic of Madison Area Midrange Systems Users Group meeting this month. Guest speaker is Jackie Jensen, the IBM i solutions manager at Information Builders. Her presentation will cover the creation of dashboards, analyzing reports, and the migration or conversion of Query/400 applications to DB2 Web Query. Get to the meeting at 8 a.m. and you'll get some coffee and donuts. The session begins at 8:30. The location is Fiskers restaurant on the corner of Pflaum Road and Daniels Street. LEARN MORE >

February 17 -- Bloomington, Minnesota - Single sign on is the featured topic at the QUSER regularly scheduled local user group meeting. The meeting time is 2 p.m. and the place is the Comfort Inn located at 1321 East 78th Street. LEARN MORE >

February 19 -- Costa Mesa, California - RPG experts Susan Gantner and Jon Paris will present two sessions at the monthly meeting of the OCEAN User Group. The first session, at 5 p.m., will highlight application modernization strategies from Web enablement to new application development. The second session, at 7 p.m., will uncover new tricks for old RPG dogs. Between the two sessions is dinner and networking with peers. The OCEAN User Group serves the greater Orange County, California, area and meets the third Tuesday of each month. Meetings are held at the IBM offices located at 3545 Harbor Blvd. LEARN MORE >

February 20 -- Marietta, Georgia - The Atlanta Mid-range Computer Users' fifth annual Texas Hold'em Poker Tournament & Member Appreciation night is a good bet for some fun. RSVP by February 17. LEARN MORE >