But Wait, There's More

Check Out i5php.net for iSeries-Specific PHP Tools

I enjoyed your article on PHP on i5. (See "PHP is Almost Certainly Coming to the iSeries" from the April 4 issue.) Recently, I ran across a Web site called www.i5php.net with compiled distributions of PHP, MySQL, and the GNU C compiler, among some other things, ready to run under PASE on the i5. For the last two months, we have been evaluating some content management software on our i5 that uses PHP and MySQL on the back end. I am also experimenting with PHP's ODBC support, which is compiled into the PHP distribution downloaded from i5php.net, to use DB2 on the back end.

It is good to see some press given to PHP. We have used IBM's Net.Data for years, and see PHP as a logical leap in our Web application development.

Regards,

--David

Workplace for the iSeries Starts Shipping

As expected, IBM has begun shipping its new Workplace Collaboration Services 2.5 for the iSeries platform. The software, which is an alternative to IBM's Domino messaging and groupware that is written in Java and that rides on top of its WebSphere middleware and stores data in DB2 databases, is aimed at customers who do not need all the bells and whistles of the Notes client and the Domino server, but who need something a little more sophisticated than an open source email program. (See "IBM's Workplace Collaboration Suite Is Almost Ready" for more information on WCS.

WCS 2.5 will run on any iSeries server that is equipped with i5/OS V5R3, but IBM is recommending that customers think of a 1.5 GHz Power5 processor (rated with at least 2,400 CPWs of raw power), 4 GB of main memory, 15 GB of disk capacity, and at least 10 disk arms as a minimum configuration. (This is a pretty hefty machine by AS/400 standards, but it is a relatively small machine in the i5 line.) If you want to run WCS 2.5 on an earlier iSeries machine, you should work with IBM to do some capacity planning. Right now, WCS 2.5 for the iSeries is only supported on i5/OS; IBM is supporting WCS 2.5 on Lintel servers (not Power-Linux), and AIX has not been tested. Neither have databases other than DB2/400 for the iSeries, but in theory they are supported. Your iSeries needs WebSphere Application Server 5.0 and an enterprise enablement for it, too.

In terms of pricing, you have two options. You can buy a WCS license for $90,000 per processor, with the WCS Portal, which is optional, costing another $35,000 per processor. If you want to add the Workplace Client (a richer version of the Workplace client that has some server-side functions), it will cost you $69 per seat on top of that. You can also just pay per user for WCS 2.5 if you only need a few seats, which costs $399 for a bundle including WCS and the Portal, plus another $69 per seat for the optional Workplace Client.

Aldon Says Fiscal 2005 Was Its Best Year Ever

It is a rare day when one of the several thousand of iSeries independent software vendors--most of whom are privately held--give the OS/400 base some insight into how their business is doing. But Aldon, which makes software configuration and change management solutions for OS/400 and now AIX and Linux servers, last week gave us a tiny peek.

Dan Magid, Aldon's president and CEO, says Aldon had its best year in its 25-year history as it closed out fiscal 2005. Magid said Aldon grew its customer base to over 1,300 companies and that sales were up 28 percent in the past year. Magid attributes this growth to sales into the iSeries channel, the company's expansion into AIX and Linux, and the need for increased sensitivity for access to data and processes that has come about through the Sarbanes-Oxley and other compliances laws.

ASNA Products Get IBM ServerProven Status

Software development tool provider ASNA said last week it had attained ServerProven status from IBM for three programs: Monarch, Visual RPG for .NET, and DataGate Component Suite. By getting ServerProven status, ASNA has certified that these products run on the new eServer i5 platforms and are installed and running at real iSeries customer sites. Once a vendor gets ServerProven status, IBM gives the ISV co-marketing and advertising money and its customers are eligible for rebates if they buy new iron along with the solution that is rated ServerProven. IBM's Americas unit is offering rebates of between $250 and $64,000 for companies that buy ServerProven software on a new iSeries or eServer i5 machine; additionally, in Europe, pushing certain ServerProven applications, both the customer and the ISV each get the rebate in U.S. dollars.

Google Delivers Enterprise Desktop Search Tool

If you are tooling around with the various desktop search tools that are available to help you make sense of your messy desktop environment, search engine juggernaut Google has just launched a beta version of its desktop search tool aimed at enterprises. (Go to http://desktop.google.com/entpromo.html to check it out.)

While the regular desktop search tool, which is also still in beta, is aimed at indexing the contents on one desktop, the enterprise version of the tool can span your desktop, your company intranet, and the Google Web site and give you a single view of all that data. (So much for privacy, eh?) The enterprise search tool can encrypt data and search index files, and is capable of scanning Lotus/Domino email files, which the regular desktop version cannot. It also has a central point of control to allow and restrict access to end user machines.

IBM Adopts Firefox Broswer for Internal Use

IBM, one of the strongest backers of open-source software, is now encouraging its employees to use Mozilla's Firefox Web browser. About 10 percent of the company's 300,000 workers are now reportedly using Firefox, which has emerged as a worthwhile competitor to Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser, which hasn't seen a major update in years. Although another 30,000 downloads of Firefox won't make a huge difference in IE's 95 percent-plus market penetration, observers say IBM's use internally gives Firefox more credibility and could spur others to give the open-source browser a shot. IBM executives say the move could save the company money by lessening dependence on proprietary software. Although IBM is still the largest purveyor of proprietary software the world has ever known, it has also been a generous donor of money and expertise to the development and maintenance of the Linux operating system, which, along with Microsoft's Windows, is slowly chipping away at the installed base of Unix servers and IBM midrange and mainframe servers.