Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) Workload partitioning allows jobs running in a subsystem to be transferred to a different physical machine. It's similar to logical partitioning, but the key difference is that the jobs are running while being moved. Sounds like high availability, doesn't it? Will the technology be incorporated into i5/OS? IBM isn't saying, but don't expect it to arrive in V6R1 early next year. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) We know System i customers will get to test drive the new Power6-based i570 next month and those who install the new server are expecting a performance surge that will make hair stand on end and smiles reach from ear to ear. But could this be defined a little more specifically please? Let's talk CPWs and transaction processing capabilities. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) IT job market supply and demand seems to be causing a lot of frustration on both sides of the employment line. Company officials are reporting they can't find people with the needed skills. Individuals with resumes as thick as a phone book say job opportunities are few and far between. As dismal as IT job prospects have been since the year 2000, there are signs of improvement and indications that point to better times ahead. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) A company that does not listen to its customers is likely to not have its customers for very long. Although this truth is self-evident, we all know companies that pay little attention to the details and seldom acknowledge that the end users may, in fact, know what they are talking about. On the other hand, there are companies that talk the talk and some that even walk the walk. READ MORE >

(MCPress) The AS/400 once ruled the midrange. But as you may have noticed, times have changed. There is no midrange any longer. There's the enterprise market and there's the small to mid size business market. The recent segmenting of the System i business to reflect this is a better-late-than-never maneuver for the platform and is the wisest choice IBM could make for a strategy that is hungry for more business in the SMB market. Good for IBM, but what about the i5/OS customer base? READ MORE >

(System iNetwork) Because it's been going on for a while now, much has been said about the merging courses of the System i and System p. Many would say they have been technically on the same road and that will end up being the road to perdition for the System i. What is the difference between the two platforms these days? READ MORE >

(Search400) With the release of i5/OS V6R1, IBM will alter its high-end server pricing structure to allow customers to pay for the features they want--5250 interactive capacity is one example--rather than a set price determined by how IBM bundled the features. Call it an ala carte menu, if you like. On the entry-level machines, features will be bundled because those customers want simplicity, IBM says. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) You may not know it, but access to the absolutely necessary for day-to-day business documents, spreadsheets, multimedia presentations, pictures, and other content can be handled in a much more simplified manner than what you are presently accustomed to. I know, altering your routine makes you feel like you've had one too many cups of coffee, but take a deep breath and look outside the wall you are working behind. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) You know where your company keeps all its most sensitive data. You also know that it is accessible to plenty of people who really shouldn't be seeing that stuff. You do know that, right? You may have your System i locked down, but what about the data sitting on Windows file servers and file shares? Not your problem? You only need to look as far as your Integrated File System environment and that may change your mind. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Synon/2E 4GL and the Obsydian reusable-template development tools are familiar to many of you readers--at least those of you who remember when there were only AS/400s in the OS/400 world. And just like the name on the box has changed, so has the name of the Synon software. Names fade away, but product develop and support continue. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) For all you late-night virtualization techies who love to read about and talk about bare-metal hypervisors and the differences between logical partitions and logical machine partitions, here's a call to action from IBM. Big Blue needs your help so it can support VMWare's ESX Server on the System i. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) In the supply chain, not all the links are of equal size and strength. On the IT side, that inequality often puts a kink in the chain. How does a company that depends on suppliers that are smaller operations with less sophisticated IT skills avoid being dragged down? Some might just tell its suppliers to keep up or get out of the game. Others have a different way of solving the problem. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(IBM) Get experience and gain new skills by becoming involved in this IBM residency program that is taking on the challenge of supporting VMWare ESX Server on i5/OS. You will be involved in establishing best practices in areas such as backup and recovery, number and size of Network Server Description, and storage, and mostly likely be working alongside of professionals from the independent software vendor and IBM Business Partner communities. READ MORE >

(IBM) Implementing Linux on System i comes with its own set of performance questions. This paper relies on customer experiences to provide best practices that are useful in determining factors that affect the overall performance of Linux-based workloads on the System i. It covers topics such as memory allocation, virtual SCSI adapters, adapter frame size, and virtual LANs. READ MORE >

(Aldon) This white paper on application lifecycle management (ALM) is specialized for IBM's WebSphere customers. It examines Enterprise Application Integration (EAI), which relies on linking applications across multiple computing platforms, and points to the key elements of ALM. Among those elements are such things as software change management for reducing errors and improving code quality, integration of independent development environments, workflow management, and centralized inventory management that connect applications with business functions. READ MORE >

(RJS Software) In this case study, a distributor of paper and packaging products found a solution to keeping its remote sales staff connected to critical systems and information, and also saved money on paper and printing. 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

August 2 -- Webcast - This session features System i development using the latest enhancements for the CA development environment known as 2E and the development tool called Plex. The event begins at 11 a.m. EDT. 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 >

August 15 -- Webinar- A session highlighting retail topics such as customer service, returns management, cross-selling and up-selling, balancing inventory with customer demands, reducing bottom-line costs and improving supplier and customer communications will be presented by industry expert James Dion and hosted by software vendor VAI. Dion is an internationally known author and consultant. The event begins at 2 p.m. EDT. LEARN MORE >

August 20 -- New York, New York - The CRM Acceleration Summit is a one-day event focused on customer relationship management best practices. Session topics include expanding typical CRM uses, structuring CRM around your customer approach; implementation, customer data management, and user adoption; and maintaining customer focus within your IT strategy. The event is hosted by CRM software vendor SugarCRM. LEARN MORE >

August 22 -- Salinas, California - A seminar for food processors and distributors will be held from 8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the John Steinbeck Center in this Central California town. It is hosted by software vendors VAI and AG Business. The agenda includes breakfast and a software demonstration followed by a question and answer session. Topics of discussion include traceability, food safety and security. LEARN MORE >

August 28 -- Webinar - A session on business and financial performance management for the transportation industry is being presented by New Generation Software. Content focuses on the IBM System i server and how to obtain business analytics and reporting solutions to better manage operations and lower costs. Topics of discussion will include how the NGS-IQ business intelligence solution addresses the needs of a CIO in maintaining data integrity and performance; a CFO with timely access to financial data viewable through dynamic Web dashboards; and a CEO with quick deployment, affordable cost, and minimal upkeep. Examples of NGS-IQ performance and financial dashboards and OLAP models, Microsoft Excel-based reports, and other functions of the product line are included in the presentation. LEARN MORE >