TFH Volume: 29 Issue: 65 Archives

Entry Server Bang For The Buck, IBM i Versus Windows Server

November 4, 2019 Timothy Prickett Morgan

Some big changes that Microsoft has instituted with its Windows Server platform to make pricing consistent across on premises and public cloud deployments has had the interesting side effect that entry IBM i machinery based on Power9 iron is now more competitive with entry X86 servers using the latest processors from Intel and AMD.

This is not universally true, mind you, but it is certainly true of machinery in the P05 software tier where a lot of the IBM i base hangs out. There is still a large gap on entry iron in the P10 software tier, and we did …
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Microsoft Elaborates On Its IBM i-Azure Strategy

November 4, 2019 Alex Woodie

Microsoft has launched various efforts over the years to entice IBM midrange users to adopt their products. The fledgling multi-user operating system, Windows NT, was the target of those first efforts, followed by ever-more-capable versions of Windows Server. Now the software giant is holding its Azure cloud as the destination for IBM i shops. The big question is: Will IBM i shops make the move?

Last week, IT Jungle talked with Eric Lockard, the Microsoft corporate vice president in charge of Azure Dedicated, a department within Azure that focuses on hosting non-standard platforms in the cloud. The company has found …
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The Skinny On NVM-Express Flash And IBM i

November 4, 2019 Timothy Prickett Morgan

A couple of weeks ago, buried in the October Power Systems announcements, we told you about the new NVM-Express flash cards that Big Blue brought to the Power iron and that are specifically enabled in the IBM i 7.4 release with Technology Refresh 1, or TR1. We didn’t have a lot of detail back then about the new drives other than some capacities and pricing, but we know more now and we are going to tell you what we know.

We will circle back with Big Blue and have a discussion about what the addition of NVM-Express flash means – …
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Blockchain, Fine Wine, And The IBM i

November 4, 2019 Alex Woodie

Of all the overhyped technologies in the world today – and there are many of them – blockchain may be the most overhyped of all. Despite that dismal honor, the distributed ledger technology has already found its way onto an IBM i server. What’s more, the blockchain application implemented by a wine retailer actually makes sense.

As a technology, you know you’ve ventured into dangerous territory when the comic strip Dilbert hops on the bandwagon. Such is the case with blockchain, which has been the subject of many of Scott Adams’ strips in recent years. The pointy-haired boss doesn’t understand …
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More Vintage Power Systems Stuff Gets The Plug Pulled

November 4, 2019 Timothy Prickett Morgan

We are well into the Power9 era and looking ahead to the Power10 and Power11 era, so it is no surprise at all that IBM is looking to streamline its product catalog and empty out its barns of old equipment. In announcement letter 919-139, which somehow slipped our attention two weeks ago on October 22, a whole bunch of Power Systems stuff got the axe, with withdrawal dates ranging from right now until February 2020.

On October 22, IBM i 6.1.1, with its machine code, will no longer be available for ordering on a slew of machines. This is …
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Entry Server Bang For The Buck, IBM i Versus Windows Server

Microsoft Elaborates On Its IBM i-Azure Strategy

The Skinny On NVM-Express Flash And IBM i

Blockchain, Fine Wine, And The IBM i

More Vintage Power Systems Stuff Gets The Plug Pulled

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