• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 24, Number 20

  May 18, 2022 Doug Bidwell

  It was busy last week in the world of PTFs, but this week it is pretty quiet, excepting a few things. Which is good, because maybe you are not quite yet caught up anyway, right? It has been a long four years since we have new machines to play with, and we’re looking forward to getting our hands on IBM i 7.5 and, more importantly, seeing what kind of machines and deals that IBM will be making with the Power10 machines in July.

  Here is the rundown of PTF Groups by IBM i release level since we last published, with …

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• IBM i 7.3 TR12: The Non-TR Tech Refresh

  May 16, 2022 Alex Woodie

  The launches of IBM i version 7.5 and 7.4 Technology Refresh 6 a few of weeks ago garnered a lot of attention from the IBM i community, thanks to the new capabilities they bring to the platform. But IBM is also bringing some of the same enhancements to IBM i 7.3. And while it is bundling the PTFs that deliver the enhancements for version 7.3 in a package labeled TR12, it is not an official TR, IBM officials say.

  IBM plans to release IBM i 7.3 TR12 on May 24, according to IBM i TR page for version 7.3 on …

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• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 24, Number 19

  May 11, 2022 Doug Bidwell

  So here is what’s new. Here is a notice at the top of the Fix Central Home Page: “Your action may be required. IBM will implement infrastructure improvements to electronic fix distribution on June 4, 2022. IP and hostnames will change for servers that support fix delivery. New connections are required. You must configure your firewall and proxy server if you have a firewall in your network, or if your machine uses a proxy server to access the internet. Please see preparing firewalls and proxies.”

  And here is another note from the PTF Cume Cover Letter: “IMPORTANT: Permanently apply any …

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• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 24, Number 18

  May 4, 2022 Doug Bidwell

  Well, good people of IBM i Land, you are getting another relatively light week when it comes to PTFs, which makes sense with IBM i 7.5 and IBM i 7.4 TR 6 rolling out this week. This is good news because now you have time to digest all of the announcements and to start thinking about how you might take advantage of all of the new software Big Blue has been working on.

  For those of you who have not kept current on your PTF patches, there is a vast archive of IBM i PTF Guide editions for you to …

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• Power10: A Simple And Smooth Migration To The Cloud

  May 3, 2022 Jason Hardy

  Is it because you like the big upfront capital expense and the depreciating asset? Is it because installing PTFs and doing OS upgrades gives your IT team something to do during slow times? Or maybe it’s because the thought of migration and downtime is just completely overwhelming to you? While I don’t have an answer to the first two reasons above, I’m here to tell you that a migration does not have to be difficult, and downtime can be practically nonexistent.

  I recently spent some time with an IBM reseller, and he walked me through the steps of migrating to …

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• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 24, Number 17

  April 27, 2022 Doug Bidwell

  It was a pretty quiet week in PTF Land, which stands to reason given the various holidays and the Spring Break that a lot of people had last week. It probably won’t last long, so take the downtime while you have it. There is stuff you need to deal with, of course.

  One reminder: A new build for Access Client Services (ACS) 1.1.9.0 is available for download (2170).

  Here is the rundown of PTF Groups by IBM i release level since we last published:

  PTF Groups 7.4:

  • HIPERs
  • Security
  • Backup Recovery Solutions
  • TCP/IP
  • QMGTOOLS

  PTF Groups 7.3:

  • HIPERs
  • Security
  • Backup

  …

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• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 24, Number 16

  April 20, 2022 Doug Bidwell

  It is a new week, and there are two new security vulnerabilities in the IBM i platform. First, there is Security Bulletin: IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty for IBM i is vulnerable to spoofing and clickjacking attacks due to swagger-ui (CVE-2018-25031, CVE-2021-46708), which you can read more about here. The IBM i PTF numbers containing the fix for the CVEs:

  IBM i Release      5770-SS1 PTF Number      PTF Download Link

  7.4                          SI78971                                https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/ptf/SI78971

  7.3                          SI78972                                https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/ptf/SI78972

  7.2                          SI78973                                https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/ptf/SI78973

  Then there is Security Bulletin: OpenSSL for IBM i is vulnerable to a denial of service due to a flaw in …

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• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 24, Number 14

  April 6, 2022 Doug Bidwell

  Get your PTF patching fingers ready to roll across the keyboard because there are some new security vulnerabilities in the IBM i platform. First up, Security Bulletin: IBM Db2 Web Query for i is vulnerable to denial of service in Apache Commons Compress (CVE-2021-36090), arbitrary code execution in Apache Log4j (CVE-2021-44832), and cross-site scripting in TIBCO WebFOCUS (CVE-2021-35493), which you can learn about here.

  Release 2.2.0 can be fixed by upgrading to release 2.2.1 or 2.3.0, depending on your IBM i release level:

  • IBM i 7.4: Upgrade to Db2 Web Query for i 2.3.0
  • IBM i 7.3: Upgrade to

  …

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• How Kyndryl’s IBM i Customer Base Benefits from the Big Blue Split

  March 30, 2022 Alex Woodie

  Now that IBM is done with the spin-out of its Global Technology Services (GTS) business, the company that resulted from that spin-out, Kyndryl, is free to pursue its own strategy. For Kyndryl’s considerable IBM i installed base, that freedom will result in a much broader array of technological options and services engagements becoming available to them.

  With 500 employees dedicated to supporting its IBM i customers, Kyndryl has one of the biggest IBM i services practices in the world, says Nicolas Le Van Dé, Kyndryl’s IBM i global offering manager.

  “I think we are the leader in terms of IBM …

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• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 24, Number 13

  March 30, 2022 Doug Bidwell

  It’s pretty quiet on the PTF western front. Not that there isn’t always some kind of weird stuff going on . . . because, let me assure you, there is. IBM i customers have all kinds of weird things happening, and that ain’t no April Fool’s joke. But, mercifully, this week, as we end the first quarter and Spring is starting meteorologically as well as calendaricly – yes, I just made that word up – there are only a few things going on.

  Once again: To help you with the Log4j security vulnerability, we have created a supplemental spreadsheet as …

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