Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) The IBM AS/400 line of servers, regardless of their branding, owed a great deal of its success to targeting specific companies in specific markets and demonstrating to the companies in those markets that this server, and more importantly the applications that ran on this server, were intelligently designed to fit a line of business. Today that's called a Vertical Industry Program and it's the basis of what IBM intends to do to sell all its hardware, software, and services. READ MORE >

(eWeek) To go along with an expanded Vertical Industry Program, Mark Shearer, vice president of strategy for IBM's Business Systems group, says the company will also go after the small to mid size business market with packages that integrate applications with its server, storage, and networking products. He emphasizes that ease of use will be the key to gaining the favor of SMBs. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) IBM's first quarter 2008 financial reports are in and the report on System i sales was uglier than a half million lines of 20-year-old code. Sales were down 21 percent. Excuses? Yeah, there are excuses. For one, there were substantial price cuts reflective of the user-priced System i 515 and 525 servers. And secondly, there were the expectations that IBM would deliver entry Power6-based servers running i 6.1 early in 2008. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Just because the fiscal first quarter was completed before the official consolidation of System i and System p into Power Systems doesn't mean that IBM was entirely straight forward in presenting the dollar and cents view of each line or how the combination of products would pencil out. Here's a closer look at how the money jugglers perform their fascinating feats of magic. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) There's no gold rush when it comes to prospecting for students graduating with degrees in information technology. Not in this country anyway. Without the promise of a good job waiting after two or four years of higher education, the end of the rainbow just leads to an empty pot. To some degree this is changing through the efforts of the IBM Academic Initiative. And where there was once a specifically RPG/System i approach to the AI, it's now a Power Systems skill set it's taking to campus. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Linux on System i has been about as popular as guacamole ice cream. But as we all know, it's about the choice and overall selection of applications. Changing that equation, thanks to the Power Systems convergence, is a little something called PAVE, which allows a lot more Linux workloads to be consolidated on Power Systems running the i OS. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) How many partitions can you carve out of a high-end, 64-core System i 595 and System p 595 servers running on Power6 processors? That's a bit of a trick question. First of all, the i and the p are gone and we have Power 595s now. Beyond that, we have IBM capping support at 254 logical partitions. So that could be the correct answer. However, the capability for so much more is there. READ MORE >

(MCPress) You want to have a discussion about what new technology can do that old technology can't? Take a look at what Microsoft is doing with Windows Server 2008, and how that new technology is de-emphasizing the GUI, increasing manageability, and struggling with virtualization capabilities. (Applause please for pumping up security.) Uh, excuse me; it seems as if "old technology" like the AS/400, or whatever you want to call it today, is what Microsoft wishes it had. READ MORE >

(System iNetwork) Mark Shearer, IBM's vice president of marketing and offerings for the Business Systems division, has a message he would like to deliver to every IT department in the small to mid size market: Look at the cost to value ratio and the total cost of ownership of running i on Power Systems. That old marketing saw has some new teeth now that hardware is shared--and more importantly priced--according to what the Unix market will bear. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) The question is not what will IBM name the database formerly known as DB2/400 and DB2 for i5/OS now that i5/OS is just i. The question that is really puzzling people is how to pump up database performance while reclaiming disk space and processor turns. Besides, nearly everyone will continue to call it DB2/400 anyway. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) When an international shipping company that relied on two IBM System i 825s to support its business applications and productivity of more than 1,500 users needed to do more with less, it turned to systems management software to crank up efficiencies and squeeze out more profitability. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Making changes to save the planet is commendable. Saving some money while you do it is smart. It doesn't require a tremendous amount of thinking to see multiple long-term advantages to electronic business documents. A look at your paper record-keeping system might be enough to change your mind. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Disaster recovery as a managed service is an appealing alternative to no disaster recovery for many small and mid size businesses. So is the idea of user-based pricing on entry level servers, namely the System i 515s and 525s. A company that benefits from both these trends might do well in this marketplace. It might do very well. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Two hundred million downloads is quite an achievement. It's enough to make MySQL the most popular open source database on the market. Being the champion of the open source movement that it is, IBM introduced MySQL Enterprise for i5/OS in 2007. So, if you're onboard the MySQL train, the latest version--due to ship in June--might be of some interest. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) A data integration tool that can help fill a data warehouse with production data from DB2, SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, Teradata, and Informix databases tends to come in handy for many System i, iSeries, and AS/400 users. When IBM bought DataMirror in 2007, it got a very good integration tool. Now it's been updated with new features that make it even better. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(Vision Solutions) Managers, even those outside the IT department, realize the high stakes gamble that downtime and data loss bring to a company. Productivity and profitability are easy to understand even if you don't know a server from a hole in the ground. This white paper provides a road map for effective strategies and technologies to protect data and provide fast recovery should data be lost or corrupted due to accident or malicious action. READ MORE >

(Quadrant Software) It's a pity that moving from a paper-based document system to electronic documents doesn't happen with the snap of your fingers. There are plenty of hoops to jump through along the way, just as there is with any software deployment or change in business processes. This paper is written as a road map for deploying electronic content management. READ MORE >

(IBM) This IBM Redpaper publication is a guide for system administrators to more effectively monitor and manage the power usage of systems in a datacenter. It introduces energy management concepts and technologies and provides assistance in installing, configuring, and using Active Energy Manager--an IBM Director extension that helps monitor and manage the power usage of systems across IBM and non-IBM systems. 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 22-24 -- Toronto, Ontario, Canada - The 15th Annual Technical Education Conference and Vendor Showcase, sponsored by the Toronto Users Group for System i, includes a long list of sessions and hands-on labs. The three-day agenda, a list of speakers, and session descriptions are available online. The event includes a panel of experts answering questions about the future of the System i. LEARN MORE >

April 24 -- Dania Beach, Florida - The IBM Power Equation Road Show examines the Power architecture technology with an emphasis on how higher levels of performance, capacity, and resilience can bring benefits to i5/OS, UNIX, and Linux systems. Topics of discussion include: virtualization, scalability with a choice of database servers, shared IT infrastructure, reducing energy and administration costs through consolidated workloads, increased application availability, and business resiliency. There will be breakout sessions for i5/OS and AIX. This half-day event begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Airport located at 1870 Griffin Road. LEARN MORE >

April 24 -- Fairfield, New Jersey - Guest speaker Tracy Smith, an IBM senior consulting IT specialist will discuss i5/OS V6R1 at the regular monthly meeting of the North Eastern Systems Technology Users (NESTU) meeting. Topics will include virtualization of i5/OS storage, encryption of backups, enhanced Java performance, BladeCenter JS22, WDS, RDi, SOA, RBD, and HATS. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. and will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. LEARN MORE >

April 24 -- Portland, Oregon - The IBM Power Equation Road Show examines the Power architecture technology with an emphasis on how higher levels of performance, capacity, and resilience can bring benefits to i5/OS, UNIX, and Linux systems. Topics of discussion include: virtualization, scalability with a choice of database servers, shared IT infrastructure, reducing energy and administration costs through consolidated workloads, increased application availability, and business resiliency. There will be breakout sessions for i5/OS and AIX. This half-day event begins at 8:30 a.m. LEARN MORE >

April 25 -- Costa Mesa, California - The IBM Power Equation Road Show examines the Power architecture technology with an emphasis on how higher levels of performance, capacity, and resilience can bring benefits to i5/OS, UNIX, and Linux systems. Topics of discussion include: virtualization, scalability with a choice of database servers, shared IT infrastructure, reducing energy and administration costs through consolidated workloads, increased application availability, and business resiliency. There will be breakout sessions for i5/OS and AIX. This event begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Westin Hotel. LEARN MORE >

April 29 -- Waltham, Massachusetts - The IBM Power Equation Road Show examines the Power architecture technology with an emphasis on how higher levels of performance, capacity, and resilience can bring benefits to i5/OS, UNIX, and Linux systems. Topics of discussion include: virtualization, scalability with a choice of database servers, shared IT infrastructure, reducing energy and administration costs through consolidated workloads, increased application availability, and business resiliency. There will be breakout sessions for i5/OS and AIX. This half-day event begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Westin Waltham located at 70 Third Avenue. LEARN MORE >

April 30 -- Birmingham, Alabama - The IBM Power Equation Road Show examines the Power architecture technology with an emphasis on how higher levels of performance, capacity, and resilience can bring benefits to i5/OS, UNIX, and Linux systems. Topics of discussion include: virtualization, scalability with a choice of database servers, shared IT infrastructure, reducing energy and administration costs through consolidated workloads, increased application availability, and business resiliency. There will be breakout sessions for i5/OS and AIX. This half-day event begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Birmingham Marriott located at 3590 Grandview Parkway. LEARN MORE >

May 1 -- Tampa, Florida - The IBM Power Equation Road Show examines the Power architecture technology with an emphasis on how higher levels of performance, capacity, and resilience can bring benefits to i5/OS, UNIX, and Linux systems. Topics of discussion include: virtualization, scalability with a choice of database servers, shared IT infrastructure, reducing energy and administration costs through consolidated workloads, increased application availability, and business resiliency. There will be breakout sessions for i5/OS and AIX. This half-day event begins at 8:30 a.m. at the IBM offices located at 3031 N. Rocky Point Dr. West. LEARN MORE >

May 1 -- Portland, Maine - The IBM Power Equation Road Show examines the Power architecture technology with an emphasis on how higher levels of performance, capacity, and resilience can bring benefits to i5/OS, UNIX, and Linux systems. Topics of discussion include: virtualization, scalability with a choice of database servers, shared IT infrastructure, reducing energy and administration costs through consolidated workloads, increased application availability, and business resiliency. There will be breakout sessions for i5/OS and AIX. This half-day event begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Eastland Park Hotel located at 157 High Street. LEARN MORE >

May 1 -- Washington, DC - The IBM Power Equation Road Show examines the Power architecture technology with an emphasis on how higher levels of performance, capacity, and resilience can bring benefits to i5/OS, UNIX, and Linux systems. Topics of discussion include: virtualization, scalability with a choice of database servers, shared IT infrastructure, reducing energy and administration costs through consolidated workloads, increased application availability, and business resiliency. There will be breakout sessions for i5/OS and AIX. This half-day event begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Marriott Tyson's Corners located at 8028 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, Virginia. LEARN MORE >

May 4-7 -- Las Vegas, Nevada - RPG World, a three-day RPG IV training event, features session topics that include: subprocedures, subfiles, XML, RPG for Windows, i5/OS Version 6 enhancements, CL and ILE CL, embedded SQL, Web development with RPG IV, sending e-mail from RPG IV, and a professional development seminar. The list of expert speakers includes Bob Cozzi, R.S. Tipton, Greg Veal, R. Bruce Hoffman, Aaron Bartell, George Farr, Bertie Magee, and Schadd Gray. A $100 discount off registration is available when using the ITJUNGLE promotion code. Early registration deadline is April 1. LEARN MORE >

May 4-7 -- Orlando, Florida - The 2008 International LANSA User Conference will focus on modernization, extension, and integration of applications with Web services and SOA. Sessions and labs, set up according to skill level, are designed to help advance abilities and assimilate technological changes and business plans. The conference focuses on LANSA products and includes topics such as rapid application modernization processes, Web application, integrated development environments, design tips and techniques, and business process integration. LEARN MORE >