Top OS/400 Stories from Around the Web

(IT Jungle) Normally when you attempt to put 10 pounds of fertilizer in a 5-pound sack, you end up with a mess on the floor. Server consolidation demonstrates the opposite is true. You start with a mess on the floor (too many servers) and, at least in certain circumstances, you use a blade server to clean up the mess and use only half the space after accomplishing it. By the way, there's no definitive word yet on when Power6 blades will be available--in case that's in your server consolidation plan. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Enterprise software integration is one tough nut to crack. How are you approaching it? XML-based Web services with a service oriented architecture (SOA) seems to be the nutcracker of choice these days. But keep in mind that in the land of many promises not all of them will come true. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Despite the shrill whistles and the shouts from numerous self-appointed life guards that everybody needs to get out of the IT labor pool, there's no blood in the water. In fact, there are some who would still offer the encouragement "come on in . . . the water's fine." Here's a survey of IT managers that forecasts ample hiring throughout the remainder of 2007. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) IBM employs more than 355,000 employees worldwide. In India, where Big Blue has added 10,000 new jobs this year, there are now more than 55,000 workers on the IBM payroll. They are onboard to help IBM cut costs and make more money. IBM is very good at this, but did the company actually invent outsourcing? Check the patent applications. READ MORE >

(MCPress) The IBM System i Academic Initiative has a goal of expanding System i education available at colleges and universities around the world. This article highlights four U.S. colleges that have exemplary programs under way Gateway Technical College in Kenosha, Wisconsin; Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania; Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia; and Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, in Cincinnati, Ohio. READ MORE >

Vendor Announcements, Promotions, and Deals

(IT Jungle) Stop the music, stop the presses, but don't stop the traditional fourth quarter discounts and incentives on System i hardware. There are a couple of new deals from IBM, but nothing like what we have come to expect from the way Big Blue has played its cards in the past. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Faced with the choice of walking barefoot across an asphalt parking lot on a 95-degree day or implementing an application modernization project, nine out of ten IT managers in my totally fabricated survey chose to scorch the soles of their feet. Regardless of the fictionalized survey, the consternation concerning application modernization is real. You can reface apps. You can build composite apps. And, you can build new apps. Choose wisely and you can avoid getting burned. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) Isn't it odd that the System i security log data is incompatible with the industry standard format--known as syslog and used by Windows, Unix, and Linux servers? Well, even if it's not odd, it is inconvenient. We've entered the era of advanced security information and event management (SIEM) systems and there's no reason for System i isolation. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) The more you talk with System i programmers the more you find SQL being used to perform interactive database queries and to extract and pass along data to a client PC. It's valuable for viewing and editing DB2/400 files, accessing the IFS, writing and running SQL statements, creating stored procedures, converting spool files to PDF and Excel, and accessing applications via TN5250. It's not complicated if you have a little help. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) It's hard to read the words "security audit" without imagining red flashing lights, blaring sirens, and scary dudes dressed in black with guns drawn. Just another IT nightmare, right? Before the compliance police come knocking at your door, here's some information that will have you prepared, even if you fit the description of nontechnical personnel. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) IBM has addressed problems with System i Access for Windows on Vista with Service Pack SI27741, an upgrade that became available in July. Documentation of this lagged behind, but IBM has taken care of that issue as well. To get the low down on all this, including the restrictions that still apply, check out this information provided by IBM-er Linda Hirsch. READ MORE >

(IT Jungle) IBM's Virtualization Manager is designed to provide a single point of control for virtual machines and virtual servers running across physical servers. As you may know, there are several virtualization technologies from third-party vendors, as well as i5/OS logical portioning. Some deployments can be automated, while some remain a manual process. READ MORE >

Redbooks, White Papers, and Other OS/400 Resources

(Symtrax) This document covers the topic of computer-based decision support applications and how they can work to the advantage of various departments such as sales, finance, human resources, marketing, production and general management. It examines storage and analytical databases, retrieval and analysis tools, and the implementation of a decision support project. READ MORE >

(iWay) Technical staffs frequently talk about the need for service oriented architecture, but rarely in terms that business managers understand. This white paper sums up the benefits of service oriented architecture and show ways to avoid the danger of implementing technology for technology's sake. READ MORE >

(IBM) A side-by-side comparison of iSeries and AS/400 models with the new System i Express 515 and 525 models is presented. Included in the comparison are topics such as monthly cost of operations, workload throughput, software maintenance costs, and power consumption. IBM describes this tool as a way customers can find the right replacement system. READ MORE >

(IBM) This document outlines the process to migrate a JD Edwards EnterpriseOne non-Unicode database to a JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Unicode format. It covers the reasons for considering a Unicode conversion including performance characteristics, techniques to reduce conversion time, and database sizing issues. READ MORE >

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

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

October 12 -- Webinar - This 15-minute session explains how to convert AS/400 spooled files to fully formatted Excel spreadsheets without programming and without circumventing AS/400 security by using SpoolFlex software. Topics of discussion will include e-mailing reports directly from the AS/400 and archiving copies on the network server. The event begins at 2 p.m. EDT. 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 >

October 14-19 -- Las Vegas, Nevada - The IBM Information on Demand conference features more than 600 business and technical sessions and highlighting IBM information management technologies. This is actually seven conferences wrapped into one. It includes the DB2 Information Management Technical Conference, the Content Management Technical Conference, the Business Intelligence Customer Solutions Summit, the IMS Technical Conference, Information Integration Live, the Master Data Management Conference and the FileNet UserNet Conference. LEARN MORE >

October 16 -- Lombard, Illinois - IT Jungle Senior Technical Editor Joe Hertvik is the guest speaker at the OMNI user group meeting. His presentation, "Seven Things to do with the System i Before You Die," covers a variety of system admin topics including little known PC5250 setups, FTP configuration tricks, solving backup issues, and strange secrets of i5/OS user profiles. The meeting begins at 5 p.m. with dinner at 6, and Hertvik's presentation at 6:45. LEARN MORE >

October 16 -- Webinar - This session examines the advanced indexing technology available in DB2 for i5/OS and includes a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of temporary indexes that support a query. IBM's Mike Cain, a well-known DB2 expert, is the guest speaker. He will also be discussing the latest advances in the DB2's autonomic advice and tuning features, relating to poor-performing queries. This event, which is hosted by Centerfield Technology, begins at noon CDT. LEARN MORE >

October 16 -- Costa Mesa, California - A presentation on networking and TCP/IP topics will be the highlight of the regular monthly meeting of the OCEAN User Group. Guest speaker is IBM's Laura Knapp. 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 and begin at 5 p.m. LEARN MORE >

October 16 -- Irving, Texas - A DB2 Web Query product review by IBM's Jackie Jensen is on the agenda for the monthly meeting of the Metro Midrange Systems Association, a user group for the Dallas and Fort Worth metro areas. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6 and Jensen's presentation at 6:45. MMSA meetings are held at the Radisson Hotel DFW South. LEARN MORE >

October 17 - Webinar - Whether your interest is in application modernization or application maintenance, it's necessary to have a view of the internal architecture of your multiplatform applications. This session explains how to save time analyzing legacy programs, extract business rules, and quickly bring documentation up to date using ARCAD-Observer software. Topics of discussion include analyzing links between files and presenting them as an interactive data model, creating and enhancing technical documentation, analyzing internal application structure, and identifying dependencies between applications and their components for a major gain in maintenance productivity. This event begins at 1 p.m. EDT. LEARN MORE >

October 18 -- Webinar - Data security for companies struggling with SOX and compliance requirements is the subject of this online session with a focus on business intelligence. Topics of discussion will emphasize how New Generation Software--the company hosting this session--provides file, field, record, and output controls, while delivering data in Web performance dashboards, packaged analytics, Excel, OLAP, PDF, and other options. Also featured is the integration of NGS products with Patrick Townsend and Associates encryption software for handling sensitive corporate data such as credit card numbers and employee information. LEARN MORE >

October 19 -- Webinar - This 15-minute session explains how to convert AS/400 spooled files to fully formatted Excel spreadsheets without programming and without circumventing AS/400 security by using SpoolFlex software. Topics of discussion will include e-mailing reports directly from the AS/400 and archiving copies on the network server. The event begins at 2 p.m. EDT. LEARN MORE >