• Admin Alert: Getting Around System i Default Passwords, Part 2

  August 1, 2007 Joe Hertvik

  In the last issue, I discussed how System i default passwords are created, their consequences, and how they can be detected and neutralized. Today, I’m going to shift the focus over to some simple command configurations for limiting or eliminating the proliferation of default password user profiles in your partition. What Are Default Passwords and When Are They a Problem? Default i5/OS and OS/400 passwords occur when a user profile’s password value is the same as its corresponding user profile name (i.e. a user profile called JOE has a password of ‘JOE’). Active default passwords are a security risk because

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• Avoid Large Local Variables in Modules

  July 25, 2007 Ted Holt

  In two previous articles, I dealt with some program design practices that can cause performance problems. Today, I deal with another area where large variables can have a derogatory impact on performance, and I show you a couple of ways to get around the problem. I use RPG for my examples, but the principle applies to any language. Let’s say we need three string-handling subprocedures–I’ll call them DoThis, DoThat, and DoTheOther–that will be used in many programs. Since they’re used so widely, let’s put them into a service program. Let’s say further that each of these subprocedures accepts two 64K

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• Memory Management: It’s Your Fault, Now Fix It

  July 25, 2007 Doug Mewmaw

  This year, I will be on the AS/400 platform for 19 years. Wow–where did that time go? All those years working with peers, customers and the like, I’m convinced that the performance component that is the most misunderstood, is memory. In a previous article, I explained about the importance of the machine pool and we looked at the Performance Adjuster feature of i5/OS as well. The feedback I received from that article proved to me that we need more articles on managing memory. I would like to share some neat tricks of the trade and best practice techniques that

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• Admin Alert: Getting Around System i Default Passwords, Part 1

  July 25, 2007 Joe Hertvik

  Since processing time immemorial, i5/OS and OS/400 computers have had problems with default passwords. Default passwords occur when a user password is equal to its corresponding user profile name. They are mostly created by the system’s user creation commands, and i5/OS administrators can spend a lot of time finding and changing these hacker magnets. This week, I’ll examine the dynamics of System i default passwords and how they are created. Today’s article is part one of a two-part series exploring default passwords and their creation, detection, and prevention. This week, I’ll explore the mechanics of how default passwords are created

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• Bring Back My Qshell Output

  July 18, 2007 Hey, Ted

  I just ran a CL program that has an embedded QShell script. It produced some output to my display and gave me a message that told me to press Enter. I did, and the Qshell output display went away. Now I want to bring that display back and look at the output again. Can I do that? –Len Yes, and it’s easy. So the readers can see what you’re talking about, let’s look at an example. Here’s a CL program that includes a QShell script. pgm dcl &Script *char 1024 dcl &QshStatus *dec 10 value(0) dcl &MsgDta *char 256 dcl

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• Customize the PC5250 Popup Keypad

  July 18, 2007 Hey, Ted

  I just found out that I can change the function of the keys on the Personal Communications Popup Keypad, similar to the way I can map the keyboard. I created a new keypad with six functions on it. Here’s how I did it. From the PC5250 session within iSeries Access (Client Access), pull down the Edit menu, then select Preferences and Popup Keypad. (Editor’s note: In some versions of Personal Communications, use the Assist menu and select Popup Keypad Setup.) Select the User-Defined keypad, rather than the IBM Default, and click on Customize. At this point, you can expand the

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• Admin Alert: FTPing Save Files from Windows to i5/OS

  July 18, 2007 Joe Hertvik

  In administering third-party software on iSeries and System i machines, it’s common to receive program updates as save files delivered to a Windows desktop. Once received, these save files must be uploaded and restored to an i5/OS or OS/400 partition for installation. To make this process easier, this week’s column presents a basic checklist for using FTP to transfer a save file from a Windows PC to an i5/OS partition. Save files updates usually reach Windows desktops in one of two forms. They are either downloaded as a zip file from a Web site or they can be sent directly

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• Comment Your Binder Language

  July 11, 2007 Hey, Ted

  Because of Sarbanes-Oxley, we have a new requirement in our shop that all source members must include comments that tell the usual stuff–who did what, when and why they did it, etc. While we have always done that sort of thing (well, most of the time), there are certain types of source members we never bothered to comment. A good example is ILE binder language. I’ve looked for, but never found, a document that tells how to comment binder language. Do you know? –Pat IBM didn’t make it easy for you, Pat. I wondered the same thing myself a while

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• Load a Spreadsheet from a DB2/400 Database: Part 2

  July 11, 2007 Michael Sansoterra

  Note: The code for this article is available for download here Ted Holt’s tip on loading database data into Excel was great. I’d like to offer a few potential enhancements to the VBA code that was offered in the tip. The first thing that I would like to note is that if you want to copy all rows and columns from an ADO recordset (an object that holds the results of a query) into the spreadsheet, then there is a CopyFromRecordset method of the Range object to do this: ws.Range("A2").CopyFromRecordset Rs In the original code sample, row one was reserved

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• Admin Alert: More Info on SAVSYSINF, Green-Screen Printing, Performance PTFs, and Batteries

  July 11, 2007 Joe Hertvik

  When writing a weekly column like Admin Alert, mistakes can inadvertently sneak into the final copy. Fortunately, I have alert readers (pun intended) who correct me on any errors that I may have made, providing me with additional information on many topics in the process. So in the spirit of setting the record straight, here are some reader-provided corrections and additions to material that I published in earlier columns. Corrections of FSB Meditations In my recent column on Full System Backups, I wrote that IBM’s Save System Information command (SAVSYSINF) allows you “…to save the cumulative changes that have

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