• Admin Alert: The System i High Availability Roadmap

  October 24, 2007 Joe Hertvik

  I’ve recently been involved in a high availability (HA) project where the goal is to be able to switch processing from a failed System i box to a Capacity Backup (CBU) machine within one hour of failure. Growing from that experience, this week’s column is the first of an occasional series where I’ll discuss HA concepts and how i5/OS administrators can expedite continuous availability procedures in their shop. What Does High Availability Mean To a System i Shop? Although there are more complicated definitions for high availability, my favorite explanation is that high availability consists of whatever you do to

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• Talend Adds i5/OS Support to Open Source ETL Tool

  October 23, 2007 Alex Woodie

  A software company called Talend is trying to do for extract, transform, and load (ETL) data integration tools what MySQL and SugarCRM have done for databases and CRM applications–namely, leverage open source development techniques, free downloads, and a procession of chargeable add-ons, to build a successful business. Talend came one step closer to that goal yesterday when it announced support for DB2/400 databases with Talend Open Studio version 2.2. Talend Open Studio is a free download that helps organizations move and integrate disparate sources of data. Uses of the tool are as varied as real world application and server topologies.

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• VAI to Deliver Flexible Computer-Telephone Integration, Thanks to iMS

  October 23, 2007 Alex Woodie

  VAI is close to starting beta tests on a new offering that allows its customers to integrate their phone systems with their i5/OS ERP applications. The integration is the result of VAI’s partnership with iMessaging Systems, experts in i5/OS computer telephony integration (CTI), and will give their System i customers the flexibility to move from traditional PBX phone systems to newer voice over IP (VoIP) systems at their own pace, without making any changes to their ERP system. CTI is not a new technology. For decades, large corporations have been computerizing their call centers and hooking their back-office applications

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• LogLogic Delivers Fine-Grained User Activity Monitoring

  October 23, 2007 Alex Woodie

  LogLogic delivered a new release of its user activity monitoring appliance this month that delves much deeper into the actions of individual users than previous releases. With the capability to track and correlate all user actions across all major platforms–right down to which files they accessed–LogLogic version 4.2 helps organizations not only by collecting detailed forensic evidence in criminal cases, but by serving as a virtual surveillance camera that (hopefully) deters users from stealing information in the first place. LogLogic is a San Jose, California, company that sells log collection and reporting software pre-loaded onto inexpensive, rack-mountable X86-based appliances. More

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• NGS Launches Pre-Built Data Mart for Distributors

  October 23, 2007 Alex Woodie

  Companies in the distribution industry running i5/OS ERP applications are the target audience of a new out-of-the-box business intelligence product launched by New Generation Software this month. The new offering, called Decision Assist–Business Performance, comes with all the i5/OS-based software a company needs to begin analyzing the performance of several aspects of its business, including sales, profitability, supplier and customer relationships, and inventory levels. Decision Assist is a prepackaged collection of BI components from NGS that includes the flagship i5/OS-based NGS-IQ server, a pre-built data mart, Windows-based development tools, browser-based dashboards, and a series of preconfigured reports designed for customers

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• Lawson Rolls Out 64-Bit ERP for Unix, But Not for i5/OS

  October 23, 2007 Alex Woodie

  Editor’s Note: Please see the follow-up article Lawson S3 Is Already 64-Bit on i5/OS, Like All System i Apps. Lawson Software recently announced that a 64-bit version of its S3 ERP application line is now available for IBM AIX and Hewlett-Packard HP-UX operating systems. The company says it does not currently offer 64-bit support for its S3 applications for the i5/OS platform and that it’s working on it. Two weeks ago, Lawson Software, one of the largest ERP software vendors, announced that its Lawson 9 applications were available in 64-bit versions for IBM’s and HP’s Unix platforms, enabling the

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• Island Pacific to Sell IPMS Division

  October 23, 2007 Alex Woodie

  Island Pacific, the troubled developer of enterprise software for retailers, last week announced that it’s very close to finalizing the sale of the Island Pacific Merchandising System (IPMS), the multi-channel merchandise management system that runs exclusively under i5/OS. The Irvine, California, company also released preliminary financial results going back to April 2006. Few details about the sale of its IPMS division were revealed with last week’s announcement. The company said it is in “final negotiations” to sell the division for $16 million, that it expects the deal to be finalized by the end of October, and that the transaction

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• Printronix Unveils Web-Based Printer Management Software

  October 23, 2007 Alex Woodie

  Printronix last week unveiled PrintNet Enterprise Suite (PNE), a Web-based console that enables administrators to manage all Printronix thermal barcode, RFID, line matrix, and laser printers from a single PC. PNE, which is the replacement product for PrintNet Enterprise, enables users to implement a virtual operator panel that allows them to configure and manage all Printronix printers, whether they’re located in the same office or halfway around the world. “Whatever the situation demands, you have total remote control of your printers–change printer settings, update firmware, download fonts, or even lock out local operators from making changes,” says Andy Scherz, director

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• SAP Contributes Development Tool to Eclipse

  October 23, 2007 Alex Woodie

  SAP is donating a programming tool that allows Java developers to make better use of memory in servers to the Eclipse community, the enterprise application powerhouse announced from its TechEd conference in Germany last week. According to SAP, the new tool will allow Java developers to more easily analyze memory usage for applications created in the Eclipse development environment. By giving developers a graphical tool to analyze object retention patterns and determine how best to optimize memory usage in Java applications, they can decrease the need to restart their servers to clear the memory, thereby boosting the availability of the

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• IBM Updates Alphablox Business Intelligence Software

  October 23, 2007 Alex Woodie

  IBM last week unveiled a new release of its Alphablox for Linux, Unix, and Windows business intelligence application development software. With Alphablox version 9.5, IBM is now allowing both Java and non-Java developers to build Web-based business intelligence dashboards and scorecard applications. It has also added new features to help developers design, develop, and test their analytic applications, and to help users interact with data and perform calculations. Alphablox is a collection of business intelligence tools IBM acquired more than three years ago to flesh out its DB2 information management business. Fast development and reusability have always been strong suites

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