• IBM to Resell DSI’s VTL In Its IBM i Cloud

  November 1, 2021 Alex Woodie

  IBM last week announced that it is now reselling Dynamic Solutions International (DSI)’s virtual tape library (VTL) technology with its IBM i cloud offering. By running DSI Restore in its Power Virtual Server, IBM is giving its public cloud customers another option for backing up and recovering data sets of all sizes.

  DSI Restore is a Linux-based VTL solution designed specifically to back up and recover IBM i environments of varying sizes. It’s based on DSI’s popular VTL appliance, and emulates LTO drives while integrating with common backup and recovery tools for IBM i, such as BRMS, HelpSystems Robot/SAVE, …

  Read more

• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 23, Number 43

  October 27, 2021 Doug Bidwell

  It’s time for another security alert. Check out Security Bulletin: IBM Java SDK and IBM Java Runtime for IBM i are affected by CVE-2021-2369 and CVE-2021-2432, which you can see at this link. Here are the patches by release:

  • Release 7.4 – SF99665 level 12
  • Release 7.3 – SF99725 level 23
  • Release 7.2 – SF99716 level 33
  • Release 7.1 – SF99572 level 47

  Here is the rundown of PTF Groups by IBM i release level:

  PTF Groups 7.4:

  • HIPERs (High Impact/Pervasive)
  • Backup Recovery Solutions

  PTF Groups 7.3:

  • Backup Recovery Solutions

  PTF Groups 7.2:

  • Backup Recovery Solutions

  PTF Groups 7.1: …

  Read more

• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 23, Number 42

  October 20, 2021 Doug Bidwell

  It’s a mixed bag for Program Temporary Fixes, or PTFs, for the supported releases of the IBM i operating system, with some tweaks here and there and some High Impact/Pervasive, or HIPER, patches coming out for IBM i 7.4 and IBM i 7.3.

  A relatively quiet week is a good thing about this time of the year, with the fall season underway and everyone gathering up strength to do push through the final two months of the year once Halloween gets here. (That is a line of demarcation, isn’t it?) We are not expecting a lot in the way of …

  Read more

• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 23, Number 41

  October 13, 2021 Doug Bidwell

  Big Blue has been on a High Impact/Pervasive PTF kick lately with the IBM i platform, hasn’t it? Between that and the ongoing security patches, you are all probably hopping out there. Unless you are one of the shops that doesn’t keep you IBM i system up to date, in which case we are, first, wondering why are you reading this sentence and, second, very glad that you are so we can remind you of what you already know. Mainly:

  That.

  You.

  Should.

  Keep.

  IBM i,

  Patches.

  Up.

  To.

  Date.

  Full stop.

  Having said that, here is the rundown of …

  Read more

• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 23, Number 40

  October 6, 2021 Doug Bidwell

  The security vulnerabilities have calmed down for a week, and maybe the world was just being kind so we could all attend POWERUp 2021, which runs from Monday to Thursday this week and is only available online. Visit the COMMON user group website to find out the particulars.

  Here is the rundown of PTF Groups by IBM i release level:

  PTF Groups 7.4:

  • IBM HTTP Server for i
  • MQ for IBM i – v9.0.0/v9.1.0/V9.2.0
  • Db2 Web Query for i V2.3.0

  PTF Groups 7.3:

  • IBM HTTP Server for i
  • MQ for IBM i – v9.0.0/v9.1.0/V9.2.0
  • Db2 Web Query for i V2.3.0

  …

  Read more

• IBM Patches Nine Security Flaws in IBM i

  September 29, 2021 Alex Woodie

  IBM patched issued three security bulletins Friday alerting IBM i users to the availability of patches for nine newly disclosed security vulnerabilities in OpenSSL, HTTP Server, and a WebSphere Liberty components. Some of the vulnerabilities are potentially serious and should be patched immediately.

  IBM patched two security flaws its OpenSSL API that potentially could have devastating consequences on impacted systems, including enabling a hacker to take over the server, to read sensitive information, and execute a denial of service (DOS) attack. IBM patched these flaws in IBM i 7.1 through 7.4, according to the security bulletin, which you can read …

  Read more

• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 23, Number 39

  September 29, 2021 Doug Bidwell

  Yet another week, and yet another batch of security vulnerabilities that IBM i shops need to deal with. None of the patches in the table below are in the latest Security Group for the various operating system releases. So this table summarizes it all:

  					7.1	7.2	7.3	7.4
  OpenSSL for IBM i	CVE-2021-3711	SI77181	SI77182	SI77182	SI77182
  			CVE-2021-3712				
  Apache HTTP Server 	CVE-2021-31618		SI77099	SI76820	SI76700
  			CVE-2020-13950			SI76831	SI76706
  			CVE-2019-17567				
  			CVE-2021-30641				
  			CVE-2021-33193				
  IAS & IWS for IBM i	CVE-2021-35517		SI77226	SI77225	SI77224
  			CVE-2021-36090				
  

  One more reminder to everyone to participate in POWERUp 2021, and an update. POWERUp 2021 runs from October …

  Read more

• IBM Improves Run SQL Scripts with ACS Update

  September 22, 2021 Alex Woodie

  In recent years, Access Client Solutions (ACS) has become an indispensable utility for a range of tasks involving the IBM i. A good reason for that success is the adoption of Run SQL Scripts, which has been enhanced with the latest Technology Refresh for IBM i 7.3 and 7.4.

  ACS is a Java-based product that IBM first unveiled in 2012 and that has replaced other versions of Client Access, including the dedicated Windows utility. No matter what type of computer or device you’re using to work with the IBM i server, be it Windows, Linux, or Mac, you can access …

  Read more

• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 23, Number 38

  September 22, 2021 Doug Bidwell

  Another week, another security vulnerability in open source code. Check out Security Bulletin: ISC DHCP for IBM i is affected by CVE-2021-25217, which you can view at this link. Here are the patches by release that deal with the issue:

  • IBM i 7.4: SI76506
  • IBM i 7.3: SI76507
  • IBM i 7.2: SI76509
  • IBM i 7.1: SI76508

  Another reminder to everyone to participate in POWERUp 2021, which runs virtually from October 4 through 7. Visit the COMMON user group web site to find out the particulars. And we will see you there – virtually, that is!

  Let’s get started this …

  Read more

• New Nav Puts SQL Services Within Reach

  September 15, 2021 Alex Woodie

  IBM delivered new Technology Refreshes (TRs) for IBM i 7.3 and 7.4 last week, and there’s a lot of good stuff in there. Arguably one of the biggest announcements is the overhaul of IBM i Navigator, which the folks at IBM have taken to calling “New Nav.” But what makes New Nav so special?

  IBM rewrote New Nav from the ground up in Angular, a JavaScript framework for building Web and mobile applications, and PrimeNG, a popular component library for Angular. The combination of these two technologies gives New Nav a fresh-looking interface that will appeal to users of all …

  Read more

Previous Articles Next Articles