• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 25, Number 28

  July 12, 2023 Doug Bidwell

  It is still pretty quiet out there in when it comes to PTFs for the IBM i platform, excepting two important security vulnerabilities, one of which we reported on in Monday’s issue of The Four Hundred.

  To reiterate, first we have Security Bulletin: IBM i is vulnerable to an attacker executing CL commands due to an exploitation of DDM architecture (CVE-2023-30990), which you can find out more about here. The IBM i PTF numbers for IBM i 5770-SS1 Base Operating System contain the fix for the vulnerability, as follows:

  IBM i Release	PTF Number
  7.5	SI83472	
  7.4	SI83473	
  

  …

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• New “High Priority” DDM Vulnerability Affects IBM i

  July 10, 2023 Alex Woodie

  Unauthenticated users can remotely run CL or PASE commands on IBM i as a result of a newly discovered vulnerability in the operating system’s Distributed Data Management (DDM) architecture. IBM issued a patch for the flaw, which it classified as moderate. However, the Hungary-based ethical hacking group that discovered the flaw, Silent Signal, recommends treating it as a high priority.

  IBM disclosed the DDM security flaw and availability of program temporary fixes (PTFs) for IBM i version 7.2 through 7.5 via a security bulletin on June 30. The flaw was assigned CVE-2023-30990 by the Common Vulnerability Scoring System, and given …

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• Thoroughly Modern: Remote Managed Services Fill In For Retiring And Overburdened IT Staff

  July 10, 2023 Raymond Hammell

  If you manage an IT department, you’ve likely received that dreaded 2am phone call, or you’ve had to hire someone to replace a retiring IBM i systems administrator. And, if you’re like most IBM i professionals, you probably wish you had more time to focus on strategic activities (or take a vacation!) instead of worrying about day-to-day systems maintenance.

  Managing IBM i environments requires a specific set of skills that can be hard to come by, leaving IT departments struggling to keep up with growing infrastructure, data volumes and business demands. Tedious maintenance and repetitive tasks add to the burden …

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• Guru: Object Usage Statistics

  July 10, 2023 Bob Cozzi

  A long time ago in a system far, far away, IBM added the Date Last Used to the Object Description for all objects on the system. The term “last used” means different things to different object types; for *FILE objects it means the file was opened or its description was changed, for *PGM objects it means the program was called, for other objects it generally means what you might think it means (viewed, retrieved/read, updated, etc.) The only exceptions are Device Descriptions which get updated when a *DEVD changes from “Vary On Pending” to some other status.

  The Date Last …

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• Big Blue Offers Cheaper Standard Shipping For IBM i Systems

  July 10, 2023 Timothy Prickett Morgan

  Since the dawn of time, one kind of shipping and handling was bundled into the price of AS/400 and successor systems. But that has just changed. Now, Big Blue is offering two tiers of shipping and handling for machinery it ships to customers, including Power Systems servers and current in its IBM Storage lineup of tape, disk, and flash products – and it is giving the customers a choice on how they want things shipped and therefore what price they will pay.

  This change was inevitable, and frankly, given the high costs of shipping anything these days, it is amazing …

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• IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 25, Number 27

  July 10, 2023 Doug Bidwell

  It has been a quiet week with the Independence Day holiday, excepting the security vulnerability we report on elsewhere in this issue of The Four Hundred.

  We did want to point out that IBM’s TechXchange 2023 conference is coming up, and you should think about attending. This is a must-attend event for technologists using IBM products and solutions. It offers over a thousand technical breakout sessions, hands-on experiences, product demonstrations, instructor-led labs, and certifications tailored to your interests and learning style. The agenda is jam-packed, which you can see here.

  Here is the rundown of PTF Groups by …

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• IBM’s Crypto Card Now a Cloud Service from FNTS

  June 28, 2023 Alex Woodie

  IBM i shops that want to utilize IBM’s powerful cryptographical processor card to encrypt transactions but don’t want the hassle of buying and maintaining the setup can now tap into a new cloud-based encryption service that utilizes the IBM crypto card and is managed by First National Technology Solutions.

  Representatives with First National Technology Solutions and CLAI PAYMENTS Technologies shared details of their joint IBM i encryption solution at COMMON’s recent POWERUp conference in Denver, Colorado. An executive from IBM, which has given its blessing to the offering, was also in attendance at the session.

  The need for encryption …

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• Why The Journey To The Cloud Is Different For The IBM Power Systems Owner

  June 28, 2023 Tom Horan

  The world of business is evolving rapidly, and one of the most significant transformations is the adoption of cloud computing. Cloud technology offers a wide range of benefits, including scalability, flexibility, and cost-efficiency. However, all organizations embark on unique journeys when it comes to the cloud.

  IBM Power Systems customers have never had so many different choices for how they deploy their infrastructure. With the cloud options becoming more and more validated and the massive shift in how many companies operate, migrating to the cloud has become the center of the conversation.

  The Cloud Evolution

  Before diving into the distinct …

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• Dr. Frank Reminisces on 35th Anniversary, Looks to Platform’s Future

  June 28, 2023 Alex Woodie

  The IBM i community came out in force last week for the 35th anniversary of the creation of the AS/400 back in 1988. IBM corralled a handful of IBM i authorities to speak during three webcasts it held for fans around the world. During a call with European community members, Frank Soltis, who developed the architecture for the S/38 and AS/400, kicked things off by declaring there was really just one platform.

  “I think one of the distinct distinctions that I have is that I worked for IBM for 45 years before retiring,” Soltis, the retired IBM chief scientist told …

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• Four Hundred Monitor, June 28

  June 28, 2023 Jenny Thomas

  Talk about going all in. IBM dropped $4.6 billion in cash this week to pick up technology spend-management platform Apptio. Compared to the $34 billion Red Hat deal of 2019, this might seem like small potatoes, but that was then and these days even IBM has had layoff and hiring freezes, so Big Blue must be feeling very confident this pick up will bolster its capabilities in cloud and automation. “Technology is changing business at a rate and pace we’ve never seen before,” IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said in the release. “To capitalize on these changes, it is essential to …

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