Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) On paper this looks like a pretty good fight. The IBM System i 515 and 525 servers are pound for pound and punch for punch a damn good match for their Microsoft Windows competitors. A good match on paper, however, does not necessarily foretell a good match in the ring. Each side has its weaknesses that the other will try to exploit. Here's what IBM needs to do next. READ MORE >

(MCPress) In a user-based pricing system, like the one now available on entry-level System i boxes, you need to know how IBM defines a user. And while you're eye-balling the cost competitiveness of the new models, don't forget to take into account the disk storage pricing. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Reporting on its first quarter financials, IBM is pleased to announce its sales are up more than 6 percent. Once again, each platform, other than the System i, helped pull some weight. The scorecard for System i shows a 13 percent decline. Definitely not good. But on the sunny side, that's better than the 22 percent hit the division took one year ago. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Better late than never, right? IBM's fastest Power5+ processors have arrived in the high end System i boxes. Yes, Power6 is on the horizon, but when customers--important customers with the need for greater capacity and the means with which to purchase it--demand a performance upgrade, it is a smart business decision not to put them on hold. Check out the specs and the details of what they can accomplish in this in-depth report. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Call this IBM's "Must-Make-Room-for-the-New-Models Sale." It goes something like this: Now is the biggest chance of the year to save the most money on a "new" System i. That could be true, but it tends to be truer for companies that buy and hang onto their iron for maybe five or six or more years. Those that are on a shorter buying cycle need to look at this offer a bit more closely. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Integrating RPG-based business applications for Web access continues to puzzle a great many shops that have been true to the System i since the days when it IBM first named it the AS/400. Amit Ben-Zvi, vice president of marketing for Magic Software Enterprises, shines his light on this enigma and wonders why anyone would want to move the applications off the System i. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) If you missed the iSociety chat session last week that featured IBM execs fielding questions about the new System i models, packaging, and pricing, a couple of points might be of particular interest to you. One involved selling the basic i5 515 online and the other was a single-user, developer version of that same entry-level box. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) As villains go, Oracle has played the role as superbly as anyone. At least that's the way most IBM loyalists see it. When Oracle strutted onto the stage and wrestled PeopleSoft to the ground, the boos and the hisses from the J.D. Edwards installed base rained down for months on end. It would be an exaggeration to say the storm has passed, but for those who believe in silver linings to every dark cloud, there's a new release of one of the most popular ERP software suites in the OS/400 and i5/OS world. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) High speed data replication is important to a lot of companies that have no intention of implementing high availability software. But when it is applied to disaster recovery strategies, particularly those that are dependent on tape-based systems, high speed replication delivers a remarkable benefit. You might call it "high availability on a shoestring," which coincidentally is the name of a session to be presented by IBM's remote journaling expert, Larry Youngren, at the upcoming COMMON conference. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) If the System i can be compared to Fort Knox, then object-level security is what is used to protect the gold. Denial of unauthorized access, by far the most likely security breach in System i data centers, is taken care of here even when other avenues to accessibility are left open. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) In the "Unofficial IT Jungle Manual of OS/400 and i5/OS Products, Services, and Various Marketing Terms of Endearment," you'll find on page 389 (I'm making this up) a description of Query/400. It begins with the description . . . "A kludgy reporting tool used for analytical processing." Let's just say we're happy to let you know there's one more alternative to Query/400. This one is from the maker of Query/400 and it will be available later this year. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) You've chewed through more logs than a beaver with a Starbucks addiction and all you really want is a less time-intensive way to generate reports from all that raw log data. And if you're the person who has to read these reports, you might be happy to know this process can be easier on you, too. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(IBM) This IBM report covers recently released System i-based hardware and software including the i515 and i525 models. It also contains information on i5/OS user licensing, i5/OS application server licensing, and Web enablement. READ MORE >

(IBM) This draft edition of an IBM redbook examines multiple ways for building SOA-based solutions around the System i platform. Topics discussed include: the ProgramCall in IBM Toolbox for Java, HATS, DB2 Web services, PHP, Web services client for ILE (RPG, C, C++, COBOL), and Java-Server Faces. READ MORE >

(BCD) Portals are being used to access enterprise information, applications, and documents through Web browsers. It's a way to organize content and consolidate security and user information. For those who are exploring portal technology, this beta program featuring BCD's Nexus would be a good way to become familiar with the landscape. READ MORE >

(Maximum Availability) This report covers key business issues that revolve around the concept of business continuity. Among the issues it touches upon are: data volume and complexity, data loss, downtime, high availability, and disaster recovery. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

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

April 17-19 -- Toronto, Ontario - The Toronto Users Group Technical Conference includes sessions for RPG programmers, operations staff, and project managers covering topics such as RPG, ILE, SQL, DB2, Web services, disaster recovery, Linux, security, PHP, business continuity planning, and supply chain management. A vendor showcase area is free without registering for the conference. The keynote speaker is the RPG expert, Paul Tuohy. Guest speaker at the executive breakfast is John Pratt, the business unit executive for the System i division in Canada. LEARN MORE >

April 19 -- Columbia, South Carolina - "All You Need to Know about SQL in Six Hours," a one-day seminar will be presented by Skip Marchesani, who will explain the basic concepts and theory of SQL, and the creation and execution of simple SQL statements. Marchesani will combine lecture and live demonstrations in this workshop. The event is sponsored by the local Midlands User Group and the COMMON user group. It begins at 9 a.m. and concludes at 4 p.m. LEARN MORE >

April 19 -- Webcast - This 60-minute session presented by Mark Olson of IBM will provide an update on the latest offering strategy for entry systems and solutions for small and mid size businesses. The event is hosted by the COMMON user group and registration is free to both COMMON members and nonmembers. The event begins at noon CT. LEARN MORE >

April 20 -- Chicago, Illinois - A one-day application modernization technical seminar focusing on the service oriented architecture, Web services, and extending the value of RPG-based applications and OS/400-based system hardware is being presented by ASNA. It will emphasize using Windows- and Web-based .NET architectures. The sessions are designed for technical managers and implementers. LEARN MORE >

April 23 -- Richmond Airport, Virginia - This one-day seminar on SQL in the latest V5R4 technology environment will cover topics including query optimization, embedded SQL for free format RPG, feedback mechanisms that provide information on SQL requests, and indexing strategy. The sessions will be presented by Shantan Kethireddy, one of IBM Rochester's top SQL experts. The seminar starts at 8:30 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. LEARN MORE >

April 24 -- Orlando, Florida - Guest speaker Mark Anderson, the chief architect for DB2 for i5/OS, will be talking about performance analysis and tuning tools provided in DB2 for i5/OS V5R4. Anderson designs database solutions to solve partner and customer requirements and problems. He regularly presents database futures to customers at the Executive Briefing Center and in eBriefings. He is the primary database interface to the System i5 Large Users Group. The Orlando Campus of DeVry University, 4000 Millenia Blvd., Room 110, is the event site. Things get underway at 6:15. LEARN MORE >

April 24 -- College Park, Maryland - This one-day seminar on SQL in the latest V5R4 technology environment will cover topics including query optimization, embedded SQL for free format RPG, feedback mechanisms that provide information on SQL requests, and indexing strategy. The sessions will be presented by Shantan Kethireddy, one of IBM Rochester's top SQL experts. The seminar starts at 8:30 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. LEARN MORE >

April 25 -- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - The Delaware Valley Computer Users Group will host a presentation on iSeries Access for the Web with guest speaker Carole Miner, IBM's top expert on the topic. Session topics include how users can run host applications, work with the database, get to printer output, and use the file system, while eliminating the need to roll out and maintain desktop connectivity software. The event, which will be held at the Sheraton Park Ridge Hotel & Conference Center, begins at 5 p.m. LEARN MORE >

April 25 -- Cincinnati, Ohio - This workshop focuses on modernizing System i applications using a business application framework for improved extendibility, navigation and presentation, including isolating and reusing the best parts of legacy applications. It is hosted by LANSA, one of the leading vendors of application development, modernization, and integration software for the System i market. The session is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at 1 p.m. LEARN MORE >

April 25 -- Clearwater, Florida - The Data Exchange Bay Area User's Group will host its regularly scheduled meeting at Bascom's Chop Shop beginning at 5:30 p.m. The guest speaker will be Mark Anderson, the chief architect for DB2 or i5/OS. LEARN MORE >

April 25 -- Birmingham, Alabama - Attendees of this workshop have an opportunity to learn about System i application modernization alternatives presented by LANSA, one of the most recognized vendors of application development, modernization, and integration software for the System i market. The session is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at 11:30 a.m. LEARN MORE >

April 27 -- Atlanta, Georgia - A full-day session on migrating RPG applications to the Internet will be presented at a workshop hosted by the Association of Midrange Computer Users. Guest speaker is Paul Tuohy, a noted author and trainer in RPG subjects. This session focuses on using RPG IV and the iSeries HTTP server without worrying about Java, ASPs, JSPs, or WebSphere. An emphasis is placed on coding HLL programs to write data to Web pages, writing HTML, using CGI APIs, and using the CGIDEV2 APIs. LEARN MORE >

April 29-May 1 -- Anaheim, California - The COMMON IT Executive Conference will provide high-level information and case studies from IBM System i executives, networking with other IT leaders running on System i5, and exclusive access and meetings with independent software vendors from the System i community. Registration for the IT Executive Conference also includes full registration and access to sessions and events at the five-day COMMON Annual Conference. LEARN MORE >

April 29-May 3 -- Anaheim California - The COMMON 2007 Annual Conference & Expo will include more than 500 sessions and hands-on labs featuring topics in business strategy, database, systems management, networking, and application development. . It is designed to help IT professionals get the most from their technology investments by providing access to the latest knowledge and expertise. The five-day event includes more than 900 education hours presented by real-world experts with hands-on experience, an expo area where new products and services can be reviewed, and a separate IT executive conference. COMMON is the world's largest group of iSeries (AS/400) users. LEARN MORE >

April 30 -- Anaheim, California - The OCEAN User Group meeting will take place at the COMMON Conference and feature a panel discussion featuring System i luminaries Frank Soltis, Bob Tipton, Alison Butterill, and Elaine Lennox. OCEAN members will also receive a one-day pass to the COMMON Conference Expo. The event takes place at the Anaheim Marriott beginning at 5 p.m. LEARN MORE >