Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) Scarcely a moment after IBM split the System i server lineup into two camps--Power Systems and Business Systems--the news that dual-core Power6 processors would be available in the i570 hit the streets. Power6, a performance powerhouse, is currently available only in the p570, IBM's mid-class Unix box. The facts that System i and System p machines each have one server showcasing Power6 and that the high-end System i servers now line up in the Power Systems division alongside System p, seems to indicate that the two server lines are moving along the road to merger, an outcome that has been anticipated for some time. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Yes, Mark Shearer is no longer the general manager of the System i. No, he has not broken the sacred System i covenant. His new title is now senior vice president and business line manager for the Power Systems division. He still has responsibility for i5/OS, but he also gets AIX and Linux systems development on all Power-based IBM servers. Here's what he has to say about the current state of System i sales and the server reorganization plans that put high-end and entry-level System i servers on different tracks. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) The System i executives at IBM were just full of surprises this week. In addition to a restructuring that sent the most powerful System i servers in one direction and the entry-level boxes in another, the release date for the newest version of the i5/OS operating system--officially V6R1--was wiggled into the February-March 2008 time frame. The launch is expected to correspond with the introduction of the revamped System i product line featuring the Power6-based servers. READ MORE >

(Search400) After seven consecutive quarters of decreasing revenue, the reorganization of the System i server business should not be totally unexpected. Difficulty selling the box has led to this strategic decision, which is designed to give the system a better shot at the small to mid size market. READ MORE >

(eWeek) The small to mid size market is about to become acquainted with Sam's Club. Not the big-box retail cousin of Wal-Mart. This Sam's Club is run by IBM Chairman and CEO Sam Palmisano. His goal is to make Big Blue's cash registers sing a new tune--one that plays well with both the SMB customers and the sales channel. For the sake of the System i, we hope he's got this plan right. READ MORE >

(System iNetwork) A brief overview of the IBM System i announcements regarding the Power6 System 570, the new i5/OS called V6R1, MySQL for i5/OS, and DB2 Web Query is laid out here along with comments by System i Product Manager Ian Jarman. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) Two lessons most of us have learned is that you don't spit into the wind and you always avoid a single point of failure in your data center. High availability and disaster recovery implementations protect against server downtime. Are you up to speed with your synchronous and asynchronous replication methods and your hardware- and software-based options? READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Open source applications running on i5/OS are not what you would call commonplace. Don't interpret that to mean they aren't available. It's more like they are undiscovered. SugarCRM, somewhat high profile as open source apps go, stands a good chance of making inroads in the System i community. Those of you with an interest in PHP and MySQL should keep this one in your sights. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) United Rentals is the world's largest equipment rental company and a System i shop. It also happens to be the creator of data warehousing and online analytical processing (OLAP) software for the i5/OS server. You might have heard of the software. It's called InfoManager. Earlier this week, the entire business was purchased by the private investment firm Cerberus. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Server-based work stations, which many refer to as thin clients or dumb terminals, are well suited for many tasks, but when combined with a desktop PC environment provide separate IT management issues. Not so anymore. By making use of a virtualized desktop, organizations can run Windows or Linux desktops in a virtual server partition and access them from any secure computer or thin client. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Ask any IT manager. Pushing a wet rope up a hill is easier than updating a barcode scanner's operating system. First you have to take the device offline. Then you have to package and ship it to the facility where the updates take place. There the updates are manually installed. And finally the host settings are reinstalled. If this describes one of your headaches, here's some relief. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) The latest round of innovations in the retailing sector involves the merging of applications such as point of sale, accounting, inventory management, CRM, purchasing, and warehouse management with the capability to provide detailed sales analysis, forecasting, open-to-buy planning, and apparel-based reordering. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(Gartner) A trio of analysts has published a research paper examining IBM's intent to acquire DataMirror, which was announced about a week ago. DataMirror has been a long-time player in the System i high availability and disaster recovery field. It also is a specialist in heterogeneous replication and changed-data capture. The report addresses issues related to the acquired technology and customer base. READ MORE >

(Devon IT) The server-based approach to computing makes sense to a lot of people. Tom Bradicich is one. He's an IBM executive and in his report titled "Seven Benefits of Server-Hosted Desktops" he outlines how to lower total cost of ownership, centralize management, and simplify security management through a server-based approach to computing. READ MORE >

(IBM) i5/OS comes with a program-level performance data-collection capability called the Performance Explorer (PEX). Among the accessible statistics are CPU usage, disk I/O activity, and the occurrence of certain i5/OS and System i microcode level events. This report explains how to uncover ways to improve job performance, find application hot spots, and analyze job program flow. READ MORE >

(IBM) Logical Partitioning (LPAR) allows users to run multiple operating systems, each a partition on the same physical processor, memory, and I/O attachment configuration and is the key to server consolidation, a great idea that is not even close to being used to its potential when it comes to multiple operating systems. This redbook delves into the system planning and deployment tools and processes for planning, ordering, and deploying a partitioned environment. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

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

July 26 -- Webinar - A session on the potential benefits of the latest voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) technology will be hosted by Key Information Systems. Emphasis will be on reduced costs, streamlined system management, increased reliability, tightened security, voice/data convergence, and unified communications. Topics of discussion will incude VoIP adoption trends, cost justifications based on savings achievable in less than one year, enabling voice/data convergence and unified communications, and eliminating a PBX system through VoIP running on a single iSeries or System i server. The event begins at 11 a.m. PDT. LEARN MORE >

August 12-17 -- San Diego - IBM technical training tailored for enterprise-class IT professionals will be featured at the SHARE user conference. More than 700 technical sessions and hands-on labs will be presented by industry experts, top developers, and experienced users. Session topics range from implementation of new software releases to in-depth views of the latest technologies. Session topics will include services-oriented architecture, Web services, ITIL, and mobile computing. A preconference workshop on DB2 for z/OS is also on the agenda. If you don't know about SHARE, you should. It has been educating IT professionals since 1955--the longest history of any IT user group. LEARN MORE >

September 12 -- Maryland Heights, Missouri - IBM's Jacqueline Jansen will discuss the DB2 Web Query for System i product at the monthly meeting of the Gateway/400 Group, an iSeries user group serving the greater St. Louis area. LEARN MORE >

October 2-4 -- Minneapolis, Minnesota - Building on the skills of RPG and DB2 database developers is the focus of the RPG and DB2 Summit, a three-day conference organized by a consortium of some of the leading independent System i gurus. Educational sessions will be presented by Susan Gantner, Jon Paris, Paul Touhy and Skip Marchesani, as well as other IBM and independent subject experts. Session topics include: new RPG skills, AJAX and XML for RPG programmers, iSeries Navigator, Remote Systems Explorer, creating and managing database objects using SQL, query optimizer, database engines, stored procedures, and triggers. For a complete list of topic areas, check out the sessions link on the event home page where a link to registration information can also be found. LEARN MORE >

October 14-17 -- Columbus, Ohio - The COMMON Focus 2007 workshop conference event is set up for 15 all-day educational workshops each confined to a specific topic. Attendees can attend only one workshop per day, and each workshop will include a combination of lecture and lab presentations. Areas of concentration include modernizing RPG applications, implementing i5/OS security, WebSphere Development Studio, PHP, disaster recovery, SQL, and systems management. A complete listing of workshops is available on the event Web page. There will also be a vendor exhibition area. LEARN MORE >