• Big Blue Tweaks IBM i Pricing Ahead Of Subscription Model

  June 27, 2022 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  Back in May, Big Blue said that it was going to be simplifying the IBM i stack ahead of a move to subscription pricing for systems software as well as hardware that runs it. To do that means zeroing out prices for a slew of things that had price tags on them formerly.

  In announcement letter 322-406 on June 1, IBM made good on that promise to move a bunch of software from “separately charged” to “entitled with IBM i status, which we outlined in our coverage on May 16. The news here is not just that IBM followed …

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• We Still Want IBM i On The Impending Power E1050

  June 27, 2022 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  In March last year, as Big Blue was finishing up the development of the Power10 family of Power Systems machines, we wrote an essay explaining that we wanted IBM i to be a first-class operating system citizen on the four-socket Power E1050 machine, which we finally expect to see launch on July 12 if the rumors are correct.

  We never did like that IBM i was not supported on the Power8-based Power E850 four-socket server, and then also not supported on the Power9-based Power E950 four-socket server. And we equally do not like the fact that, if the rumors we …

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• DRV Brings More Automation to IBM i Message Monitoring

  June 22, 2022 Alex Woodie

  Automation is the name of the game in IT today, particularly with the talent shortage gripping the industry and remote work becoming the norm. To that end, a new release of a message management solution from DRV Technologies that will enable IBM i shops to automate their responses to IBM i messages will likely be well received.

  DRV Technologies develops a series of handy utilities for the IBM i server, including spool management and distribution (SpoolFlex), a forms management tool (FormFlex), secure MICR check printing (SecureChex), a database query and report writing tool (DBXFlex), and MessageFlex, a message monitoring solution. …

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• Managed Cloud Saves Money By Cutting System And People Overprovisioning

  June 22, 2022 Ron Venzin

  For most IBM i shops in the world, a unit of compute, storage, or networking on a cloud or a unit of time for a skilled IT specialist is always going to cost more than what it costs to have such talent in house. And so, you would think, putting an IBM i system in the cloud and managing all aspects of that system will always cost companies more money, right?

  Wrong.

  Here’s the part of the math that people rarely do, and that we do each time we close another cloud and managed services deal for an IBM i …

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• Multiple Security Vulnerabilities Patched on IBM i

  June 22, 2022 Alex Woodie

  In recent weeks, IBM has disclosed a handful of vulnerabilities in its IBM i operating system and related IBM i products, including Db2 Mirror, WebSphere, Navigator for i, the Java development and runtime tools, and OmniFind Text Search Server. IBM has shipped PTFs for the security problems, which range in severity from medium to high.

  IBM warned of security holes in the HTTP Server (the one powered by Apache) in a June 13 security bulletin. The flaws, identified as CVE-2022-22720 and CVE-2022-22721, carry the risk of a HTTP request smuggling that could poison the Web cache, bypass firewalls, and …

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• Four Hundred Monitor, June 22

  June 22, 2022 Jenny Thomas

  It’s been said that no one needs a vacation as much as the person who just had one. Catching up after a vacation is not an easy task. I have just returned from two weeks on the road and my To Do list is two miles long as I struggle to catch up and offer apologies for missed and delayed emails. Still, it is important to make time for family and things other than work, so I will happily get my desk and inbox back in order. And since I have had my fun, let’s get back in the groove …

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• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 24, Number 25

  June 22, 2022 Doug Bidwell

  It is beginning to feel a bit a bit like Groundhog Day at the IBM i PTF Guide. Yet more security vulnerabilities are surfacing in the IBM i platform. While the number of new security bulletins for IBM i is nowhere near what we see with Windows Server and Linux platforms, it has become a constant game of Whack-a-mole. So get out your rubber mallet and get the Aspercreme ready to fight tendonitis. . . .

  First, we have Security Bulletin: IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty for IBM i is vulnerable to identity spoofing and port status query (CVE-2022-22475 …

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• Plotting A Middle Age Career Change To IBM i

  June 20, 2022 Alex Woodie

  Not many colleges teach the IBM i and RPG anymore, which makes it hard for midrange shops to replenish talent that way. But organizations have another resource they can tap for technical personnel: slightly more experienced individuals who are ready to start a second career. This is the path taken by Shelly Petty, who recently shared her story at the POWERUp 2022 conference in New Orleans.

  Petty spent 12 years working in the banking field before making her career change to IBM i. Her previous job was a high-stress position that required her to handle securities on behalf of corporate …

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• What Is Code Transformation Even?

  June 20, 2022 Miranda VanHorn

  Transformation is a complex concept. It can mean many different things depending on whom you are asking. It could be UI transformation, where an improvement in the user interface provides all end-users a memorable, personalized, and deeply engaging experience.

  It could also refer to code transformation, which improves the performance of applications using a new language or architecture, or it could be a total digital transformation where the system is entirely modernized for business success.

  A transformation could also mean changing a physical process of using pen and paper (e.g., documentation or signing of contracts) into a systematic approach using …

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• Guru: The CALL I’ve Been Waiting For

  June 20, 2022 Ted Holt

  Christmas came to my house early this year. May 3, to be exact. Boy! Was Santa Claus good to me! IBM gave me two presents! The first was a CL enhancement that I had desired for years. The second was an improvement that, to my delight, almost obsoletes a utility I wrote years ago. Both have to do with the CL CALL command.

  CALL is arguably the most used and most important command in CL, yet for all these years it has remained untouched. I’m glad that IBM has seen fit to devote time and resources to the enhancement of …

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