IBM Pulls The Plug On Old Peripherals

December 8, 2014 Timothy Prickett Morgan

Peripherals change with blazing speed in the IT market, and the Power Systems line, as a collection of various components, is no different from other systems out there. IBM can’t keep all components in supply forever, and it has to move to newer components to stay competitive. And thus a bunch of devices for the Power Systems line are being sunsetted in favor of newer kit.

In announcement letter 914-229, IBM is replacing its first generation of 1.8-inch, 387 GB SSDs with the second generation. Both are based on so-called enterprise multi-level cell (eMLC) flash technology, and IBM has never been particularly clear about what the differences are between the first and second generation eMLC cards, but after February 27, 2015, you won’t be able to get the older ones.

Also on February 27, IBM will stop selling various PCI-Express cryptographic coprocessors that are used in conjunction with Power Systems machines. The cards, sold under the product number 4765-001 and sold as features #4807, #4808, #4809, and these will be replaced by features #EJ27, #EJ28, and #EJ29 that are functionally equivalent and yet are supported on the Power8 systems. Conversions between the older feature #4808 and #4809 adapters will also be discontinued.

IBM is also mothballing the feature #1762 four-port, 10 Gb/sec EN4054 Ethernet adapter for its Flex System machines and replacing it with an eight-power CN4058 converged adapter running at 10 Gb/sec. These adapters are all made by Lenovo Group now, and the converged bit means that the adapter supports the Fibre Channel storage protocol running atop Ethernet.

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Do the Math When Looking at IBM i Hosting for Cost Savings

COVID-19 has accelerated certain business trends that were already gaining strength prior to the start of the pandemic. E-commerce, telehealth, and video conferencing are some of the most obvious examples. One example that may not be as obvious to the general public but has a profound impact on business is the shift in strategy of IBM i infrastructure from traditional, on-premises environments to some form of remote configuration. These remote configurations and all of their variations are broadly referred to in the community as IBM i hosting.

“Hosting” in this context can mean different things to different people, and in general, hosting refers to one of two scenarios. In the first scenario, hosting can refer to a client owned machine that is housed in a co-location facility (commonly called a co-lo for short) where the data center provides traditional system administrator services, relieving the client of administrative and operational responsibilities. In the second scenario, hosting can refer to an MSP owned machine in which partition resources are provided to the client in an on-demand capacity. This scenario allows the client to completely outsource all aspects of Power Systems hardware and the IBM i operating system and database.

The scenario that is best for each business depends on a number of factors and is largely up for debate. In most cases, pursuing hosting purely as a cost saving strategy is a dead end. Furthermore, when you consider all of the costs associated with maintaining and IBM i environment, it is typically not a cost-effective option for the small to midsize market. The most cost-effective approach for these organizations is often a combination of a client owned and maintained system (either on-prem or in a co-lo) with cloud backup and disaster-recovery-as-a-service. Only in some cases of larger enterprise companies can a hosting strategy start to become a potentially cost-effective option.

However, cost savings is just one part of the story. As IBM i expertise becomes scarce and IT resources run tight, the only option for some firms may be to pursue hosting in some capacity. Whatever the driving force for pursing hosting may be, the key point is that it is not just simply an option for running your workload in a different location. There are many details to consider and it is to the best interest of the client to work with an experienced MSP in weighing the benefits and drawbacks of each option. As COVID-19 rolls on, time will tell if IBM i hosting strategies will follow the other strong business trends of the pandemic.

When we say do the math in the title above, it literally means that you need to do the math for your particular scenario. It is not about us doing the math for you, making a case for either staying on premises or for moving to the cloud. There is not one answer, but just different levels of cost to be reckoned which yield different answers. Most IBM i shops have fairly static workloads, at least measured against the larger mix of stuff on the public clouds of the world. How do you measure the value of controlling your own IT fate? That will only be fully recognized at the moment when it is sorely missed the most.

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