• The Case For Software-Based IBM i HA/DR

  July 25, 2022 Ash Giddings

  Software-based replication surfaced in the 1990s and continues to be a very popular choice for IBM i shops of all sizes, across an array of industry sectors. But what are the benefits of using software solutions versus hardware alternatives for HA/DR? There are a number of benefits that are an outgrowth of an HA/DR strategy that go beyond HA/DR and where the software approach is better than the hardware approach.

  The first one is business intelligence.

  Due to its reliability, powerful integration capabilities and ability to secure, many choose Power Systems running IBM i as their main database server or …

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• Power10 Entry Machines: The Power S1014

  July 18, 2022 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  The Power10 entry and midrange machines are going to be with us for a long time, and so we are going to take our time and go through the different models, in their natural family groupings, and do a deep dive into the machines so you can make better decisions about where to go with your future system. This week, we start at the bottom of the line with the Power S1014, which will be the workhorse machine for many IBM i shops and which will probably be the highest volume box in the Power10 lineup over the next three …

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• Now Is Your Chance To Ask IBM i CTO Steve Will Some Questions

  July 18, 2022 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  You have always wanted to pick the brains of Steve Will, the long-time IBM i chief architect and now chief technology officer and distinguished engineer for IBM i. Will is the first distinguished engineer within the IBM i organization and also its first CTO, and if there is something technical you have on your mind, there is nothing quite like starting at the top.

  Will is going to be one of the several speakers taking part in a live webcast hosted by Able One, a gold-level IBM i partner based in Kitchener, Ontario, that has been an IBM …

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• The Power10 Machines That Will Take IBM i To 2025

  July 12, 2022 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  IBM i shops that have been waiting for an upgrade path that will take them to the other half of this decade do not have to wait any longer. Finally, after a change of foundry (to Samsung) and process technology (from 10 nanometers down to 7 nanometers) as well as a new implementation of the Power instruction set packed with all kinds of vector and matrix math goodies that are perfect for embedding AI into commercial applications, Big Blue is ready to start shipping the entry and midrange Power Systems machines based on the Power10 processor.

  We made it, despite …

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• Merlin Development Framework Now Supports IBM i 7.3

  July 12, 2022 Alex Woodie

  Big Blue has decided to support IBM i version 7.3 with Merlin, the new application development framework that was introduced in May as part of the IBM i 7.5 launch. The decision should help widen the potential user base for Merlin, even while discouraging operating system upgrades.

  Merlin is a new software package from IBM designed to enable IBM i developers to create new ILE programs from scratch or to modernize existing ones. The software, which is officially called Modernization Engine for Lifecycle Integration, is based on a mix of open source and proprietary tools from IBM, Red Hat, …

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• IBM i Licensing, Part 3: Can The Hardware Bundle Be Cheaper Than A Smartphone?

  June 27, 2022 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  How many monthly iPhone bills is a Power10-based entry server worth?

  Let me ask this another way: Which will be more expensive: Providing a seat for a corporate user of an IBM i system, with a complete set of hardware and systems software, or providing an iPhone 13 Pro Max with a data plan and cellular service to each end user? Both are premium products with premium features.

  We don’t know, but as the July 12 Power10 announcements are approaching, we are getting closer and closer to finding out.

  Let’s talk about the iPhone 13 Pro Max first because we …

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• 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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• A Frank Solstice

  June 20, 2022 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  When you are born in Minnesota, the seasons matter. Unfortunately, as Frank Soltis, the former chief architect of the AS/400 system and the creator of the single-level storage architecture of the System/38 and the AS/400 that is still a marvel, once quipped to us: “There are only two seasons in Minnesota: Winter, and Getting Ready For Winter.”

  And so, you have two options: Play hockey when you aren’t farming, or design excellent computer systems. That’s how supercomputer genius Seymour Cray did it from nearby Wisconsin.

  The AS/400 for which this publication was founded 33 years ago was born on the …

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• The Inevitable Wave Of Power9 Withdrawals Begins

  June 20, 2022 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  With the entry and midrange Power10 servers coming in a few weeks, and with the supply chains for chip, board, and system manufacturing having more kinks than a Slinky left in the hands of a group of seven-year-olds for several days, it is only natural for Big Blue to focus on lining up all of the parts needed for its Power10 iron and to stop worrying so much about Power9 features and peripherals. Even though it will be selling Power9 iron for quite some time and supporting it for a very long time.

  And that is exactly what will be …

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