Cilasoft Offers No Cost Job Log Exploration Tool
August 17, 2016 Dan Burger
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The IBM i equivalent of a mountain avalanche is the job queue file. It’s a mass of files with the potential to eventually bury system admins as they search for good jobs that have gone bad. When job logs are thousands of pages in length and contain many similar entries, the search for specific troublesome job logs can become tedious, aggravating, and time consuming. About this time, users start wishing for a tool that efficiently sorts job log information. You might happily pay for a tool that reduces the amount of time it takes to track down jobs that are causing problems, but why would you when you can get one for free? Cilasoft, an IBM midrange security software vendor, has just made available a tool called Job Log Explorer, a no-cost IBM i system management tool. Job Log Explorer that provides multiple filtering and sorting options of job logs, which significantly speed the process of identifying job-related issues. Yes, there are system tools available on IBM i that can be helpful, but they cannot do the filtering that Job Log Explorer does. Sorting messages usually begins with filtering messages based on the severity of the issue. The next step in the filtering process is the search for message IDs, followed by filtering based on other criteria that changes based on the type of problem being encountered.
“It is no secret that searching through mountains of pages of job logs to find specific program messages during the process of troubleshooting issues is an extremely tedious task,” says Guy Marmorat, president of Cilasoft. “Our business partners and members of our own company often face this during the process of developing software and supporting customers, and we continually see IT administrators struggling to efficiently isolate important job information in job logs. This inspired us to develop a flexible, simple-to-use tool that we can not only use ourselves, but also share it with our partners and our security-audit and access-control software customers. But then we thought, let’s go a step further and make this useful tool available to the entire IBM i community at no cost. Certainly, providing Job Log Explorer without cost gives Cilasoft some publicity, but unlike other free offerings, the motivation isn’t to give away a tool that shows a weakness that a for-cost product resolves; it’s just a simple, practical tool that can benefit many IBM i shops.” The key features of Job Log Explorer:
To download a complimentary copy of Cilasoft Job Log Explorer for IBM i, go to this link. Although there is no charge to obtain Job Log Explorer, it does require an annual renewal registration (distribution of a software license key). This serves as a reminder to everyone using Job Log Explorer that Cilasoft has made this tool available and perhaps you’ll be curious about the commercial products that Cilasoft produces. Users have an option to receive or decline Cilasoft marketing. “We have received complaints from our customers that the existing IBM i tools are not really useful,” Marmorat said yesterday during a Skype interview. “There are not a lot of free tools in IBM i community. Some that are free do not have much value, but if you want the tool with value the company will sell you one. Job Log Explorer was tested by a few selected Cilasoft customers and partners before being made generally available. RELATED STORIES Cilasoft Introduces Single View Of Data From Multiple Systems Cilasoft Sales Boosted by Security Migrations Cilasoft Monitors Additional Exit Points with IBM i Security Tool Cilasoft Ships Authority Manager Tool for IBM i A Better Way To Read a Job Log Cilasoft Security Software Gaining U.S. Business
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