• Bytware Announces i5virus Winners

  January 28, 2008 Dan Burger

  Case closed. For two months at the end of 2007, System i users from around the world were on the trail of cyber criminals who compromised the security of several financial organizations. Justice, you’ll be happy to learn, has been served. Fictionally speaking, that is. Bytware, a System i vendor specializing in system management and security solutions, used this well-developed and highly publicized cyber crime game as a marketing tool to bring attention to security issues surrounding the use of PHP on the System i and, of course, to associate the company with antivirus protection. It worked as easily

  …

  Read more

• A Database Union is Not a Join

  January 23, 2008 Hey, Brian

  We recently acquired a company that has had its own payroll system for many years. We are going to combine the two payrolls starting next year but in the meantime, we would like to be able to use some of our internal cost analysis programs on the combined data without combining the two files. We have created an earning master physical file in which we are staging the data that we will use to merge the two systems next year. This file has the exact shape as our current payroll master file. Without creating another file and physically merging them,

  …

  Read more

• More About Blocking

  January 23, 2008 Hey, Ted

  Don’t Disable Blocking was a good article. I would like to offer two suggestions for improvement. First RPG ILE provides a BLOCK(*YES) file level keyword, which allows compiler-generated blocking when a random I/O operation is issued to a file processed sequentially using a READ. The most common scenario is “Keylist SETxx SomeFile” followed by READ. Note that READE is not treated as a sequential operation. Second, I am a little disappointed that after your breakthrough OPNQRYF to SQL article using a SPECIAL device, you didn’t recommend the same approach for this situation. SQL automatically generates efficient blocking instructions for

  …

  Read more

• Admin Alert: Before You Buy That New System i, Part 2

  January 23, 2008 Joe Hertvik

  Last week, I began discussing the pitfalls you may encounter when buying a new System i server. This week, I’ll continue the discussion by looking at some other common System i purchasing issues, including the need for additional power in the computer room, operating system upgrade issues, and making sure that you have everything that’s needed for the new machine. Five Pitfalls When Buying a New System i While it’s hard to make a complete list of items to watch out for when buying a new System i machine, I’ve found that the following pitfalls can easily rear up

  …

  Read more

• AURA Equipments Beats IBM to the Punch with DB2/400 Engine for MySQL

  January 22, 2008 Alex Woodie

  AURA Equipments is rolling out a new product that will provide a storage engine that integrates DB2/400 into the open source MySQL database, a feature that IBM said it would deliver, but which it has so far failed to do. The new product, called iStorage for MySQL, should make it easier for i5/OS shops to manage their System i-focused environment while still maintaining compatibility with the new generation of PHP applications, the French IT company says. MySQL, which was just acquired by Sun Microsystems last week, is unique among relational databases in that it supports multiple database engines that allow

  …

  Read more

• IBM Sets Sights on Microsoft and SMB with Linux/Domino Combos

  January 22, 2008 Dan Burger

  IBM‘s Lotus groupware division gets its moment to bask in the media sunshine this week as it uses its annual Lotusphere conference as a platform from which to shout out about what it plans to unleash on its archrival in the groupware space, Microsoft. Lotus general manager Michael Rhodin had a laundry list of announcements to toss at the hungry press representatives while making the case that it can hit the small to medium business bull’s eye that everyone seems to be aiming at these days. At the top of the list is Lotus Foundations, a future line

  …

  Read more

• Mirroring/400 Considers Move Into U.S. Market

  January 22, 2008 Alex Woodie

  Small and medium size businesses in the United States soon could be hearing about another option for System i disaster recovery software: Mirroring/400. The Argentinean company, which is owned by Team Soft, is considering offering the remote journaling-based solution to North American System i shops that are looking for proven, low-cost alternatives to full high availability software, officials with the company say. Mirroring/400 relies on IBM‘s remote journaling technology to provide one-way or multi-directional replication of objects and files among iSeries or System i servers. Use of remote journaling ensures that all changes to data–including updates, inserts,

  …

  Read more

• VAI Debuts System i Consultation Services

  January 22, 2008 Dan Burger

  How do companies that are short on staff and experience take on unique projects or tasks? Often they turn to consultants. Sometimes the consultants bring an understanding of the specific business. Sometimes there are guaranteed completion dates. Still the fear of missed deadlines, cost overruns, and coming up short of goals can ruin a good night’s sleep–for months and maybe even years. VAI, a trusted name in the System i software business, has introduced a service bundle plan that could get companies what they need and when they need it. When upper level management realizes that managing the IT

  …

  Read more

• RJS Updates Document Management Software

  January 22, 2008 Alex Woodie

  RJS Software has issued a new release of WebDocs, the company’s document management and imaging software for i5/OS and other platforms. With WebDocs version 3, RJS has tightened the product’s security, improved its administration and search functions, and simplified its user interface, among other new features. RJS describes WebDocs as an “electronic filing cabinet,” in that it can be used to capture, store, manage, and route all kinds of electronic documents, including i5/OS spool files, invoices, work orders, faxes, reports, and video and audio files. The software runs on i5/OS or Windows, and supports a range of user interfaces, from

  …

  Read more

• Building Products Manufacturer Picks Lawson M3

  January 22, 2008 Alex Woodie

  The country’s largest manufacturer of building products, Oldcastle, has chosen to modernize its business systems on Lawson Software‘s M3 suite of ERP applications running on the IBM System i computer platform, the software company announced last week. As the North American division of the Irish building giant CRH, Oldcastle manufacturers and distributes building materials, such as asphalt, concrete, brick, utility vaults, pipe, glass, and doors across the continent. Oldcastle employs about 50,000 people across six distinct product groups that span 1,700 locations in 50 states and four Canadian provinces. Before signing a contract last fall to license Lawson’s M3,

  …

  Read more

Previous Articles Next Articles