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Getting Hyper And Converged With IBM i
May 14, 2018 Timothy Prickett Morgan
The hallmark of the System/38 and its progeny, the AS/400, iSeries, System i, and IBM i platforms, is that these machines came fully integrated with all of the operating system, database, management, and development tools necessary to run a modern business. Integrated did not mean that these pieces were all sold as a single bundle, mind you, but they snapped together with good fit and finish and allowed companies to not have to become masters of the system code and could therefore be craftsman for the application code that actually ran the business.
The AS/400 really set the pace for …
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Guru Odds and Ends: Readers Respond
April 30, 2018 Ted Holt
I appreciate the comments and feedback that readers have contributed. Some of you sent it my way via the Contact page at IT Jungle. Others emailed me directly. Yet others left comments at the end of the articles themselves. I am always grateful for your knowledge and wisdom, however I receive it.
Knowing that you are very busy and don’t have time to revisit the articles we have published, I’ve collected some of that feedback for your edification. Please feel free to add to the body of knowledge.
Had to chuckle when I read Sorting Options For CPYTOIMPF, …
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Multiple Security Vulnerabilities Reported In IBM i
April 30, 2018 Alex Woodie
IBM this month revealed an array of security vulnerabilities across IBM i middleware components, including OpenSSL, DHCP, and Java products. Most of the flaws were given a “high severity” rating, and all of them have been patched.
This week’s security fun starts with DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), which is used to automate the management and distribution of IP addresses within a network. According to the April 26 IBM security bulletin, IBM i 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3 are vulnerable to a pair of security vulnerabilities in the underlying DHCP protocol.
The first DHCP flaw, which is identified as CVE-2018-5732 …
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Guru: Dealing With Non-Normalized Data
April 9, 2018 Jon Paris
From time to time, many of us have to find solutions for handling our old non-normalized tables in an efficient manner. It would be nice to have the luxury of redesigning and normalizing these databases, but real life is not like that. This is particularly true when the tables in question are part of an application package where you have no control over the file layout.
I should point out that by “efficient” in this context I don’t necessarily mean processing speed, but rather in terms of the number of lines of code needed to perform the necessary manipulations and/or …
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TEMBO Bolsters Database Modernization Kit
March 26, 2018 Alex Woodie
TEMBO Technology Lab is shipping a new release of its software designed to help IBM i shops modernize their databases for the SQL age. The South African company made mostly minor tweaks to its flagship product, dubbed AO Foundation, which should position the product to do more down the road.
Since it entered the IBM i discussion in 2012, TEMBO has been building database modernization tools and evangelizing the benefits of the SQL Query Engine (SQE) as the modern, up-to-date database engine that IBM i shops should strive to use, as opposed to the older CQE engine that used DDS …
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Budget Relief For IBM i Monitoring Software
March 14, 2018 Dan Burger
Keeping it simple isn’t always so simple. But creating efficiency at a low cost without adding layers of complexity and extra features (often unused) is a product attribute that gets a lot of attention. A good example of this is Kisco Information Systems’ event monitoring software: iEventMonitor.
Kisco just released Release 3 of iEventMonitor, a tool that monitors prominent IBM i job and message queues plus storage and CPU. It sends out alerts when things go astray. Because of its simplicity the price of iEventMonitor R3 is just $495 for a single LPAR or $795 for an unlimited number of …
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Four Hundred Monitor, March 14
March 14, 2018 Dan Burger
What does your IT budget say about your organization? Are you a comfortable fit in the status quo or are you budgeting for the future knowing that status quo and a one-dollar bill won’t even get you a cup of coffee?
And if your vision of the IT future includes open source, start gathering information by reading articles linked to Monitor. This week we have advice on setting up an open source project office and a comparison of the top two containers for transporting applications between systems. IBM’s Watson CTO also talks about AI ethics and responsibility.
Top Stories
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IBM i Database Capabilities Highlight Midrange Dynamics’ Development Activity
February 28, 2018 Dan Burger
Despite the gravitational pull of a legacy reputation, development on IBM i systems continue to move into new arenas. Shops are modernizing their applications not just to eliminate green-screen displays but to also add features and functionality. Databases are being modernized for the same reasons. And tools that benefit the modernization process are being enhanced.
Change management software (CMS) is in the thick of this. Michael Morgan, managing director of the CMS development company Midrange Dynamics, sees IBM i shops investing in new technologies. He’s doing the same to keep pace with the early adopters and to prepare for …
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Maxava Gives Deleted Data A Second Chance
February 19, 2018 Alex Woodie
To err is human, as they say. But accidentally deleting the payroll master file – well, that’s a serious problem. Instead of seeking forgiveness, one might check out a new solution from Maxava called Capture Point Restore (CPR), which essentially provides a safety net that shields IBM i shops from suffering the dire consequences of fat-finger mistakes and malicious acts alike.
Users accustomed to Windows know that if they accidentally delete a file, they can easily recover it from the Recycle Bin. There are similar utilities protecting data from permanent deletion in Linux. But there’s no such facility protecting files …
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As I See It: Bot Versus Bot
February 12, 2018 Victor Rozek
An editor at MAD Magazine once joked that the “E” in Alfred E. Neuman probably stood for “Enigma” because no one actually knew what it stood for. Well, maybe it stands for “Entertaining” because the magazine features some wicked satire. Whatever his middle name, Neuman has graced the magazine cover since its inception in 1961. And, as an unanticipated satirical bonus, it turned out that with his boyish-bumpkin looks and deep insights (“What, me worry?”) he bore an uncanny resemblance to George W. Bush.
One of the popular features in MAD is Spy vs Spy – a wordless cartoon that …
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