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Steve Will’s ‘You and i’ Blog Finds New Home on TechChannel

TechChannel is pleased to announce that Steve Will, chief architect for IBM i, will be sharing his insights in his popular “You and i” blog series on our website. In his first post in early April, you’ll learn about some exciting things coming up for IBM i. Follow Will’s “You and i” blog series to […]

RFE Moves From developerWorks to IBM Ideas

IBM now has a company-wide user interface where clients can submit requests for enhancements (RFEs) to any IBM product, and IBM i and RDi just transitioned to that tool in March. For years IBM i and RDi requests have been submitted using the developerWorks RFE tool, where you could vote and comment on these requests for enhancements. For those of you who submitted […]

Mainframe Insights: Storage and Performance

Legend has it that when Michelangelo was asked how he managed to sculpt the statue David out of a block of marble, he responded that he chipped away at everything that did not look like David. Legend notwithstanding, this is a simplified description of Kyndryl’s approach to managing systems. Only instead of marble, we concern […]

The Benefits of Transformation Engines for z/TPF

As large V8 engines are replaced with smaller, four-cylinder turbocharged engines, the mainframe will not be excluded. A transformation engine is like a zSeries Information Parallel Processor (zIPP) or an Integrated Facility for Linux (IFL), an engine for running Linux operating system (OS) on zSeries. It is a specialty processor that moves specific types of […]

Add Links to Web-Based Tasks With Access Client Solutions

There are many web-based management interfaces for IBM i. New Navigator, Heritage Navigator, Web Administration, Administration Runtime Expert and more all have different URLs to access those interfaces. In my blog, “New Navigator Bookmarks and Favorites,” I described how to use bookmarks to link to the various web-based tasks using New Navigator. This week I’ll […]

A New Home for the RFE Community

I’ve written about the Request for Enhancement (RFE) process in the past, but recently, Brian Veale notified us of the new IBM Power Systems Ideas portal. This is a site where you can present your ideas about improving products and services and interact with IBM developers. You’ll need an IBM ID to submit suggestions, comment and vote. […]

Lend Your Voice to Your Mainframe: An Experiment

In today’s world, voice technology has become very prevalent, and is evolving and maturing at a tremendous pace. From voice shopping on Amazon to routine (and growingly complex) tasks performed by personal voice assistant devices/speakers such as Amazon’s Alexa, voice technology has many practical uses in different spheres of life. What about lending our voices […]

Pandemic Pressures, and Mainframe User Insights

For many mainframers, the arrival of Arcati Mainframe Yearbook’s latest edition brightens up the dull winter months. The 2022 volume of this fascinating publication is now available and completely free. Let’s take a look at highlights from 2022. Mainframers’ Pandemic Pressures The past two years have been strange times for everyone, with people working from […]

The Impact of Log4j in the Open-Source Ecosystem

Charlie Guarino: Hi everybody. This is Charlie Guarino. Welcome to another edition of TechTalk SMB. I'm sitting here today with the business architect for open-source technology for IBM i Jesse Gorzinski. Jesse, thank you for joining us here today for this podcast.   Jesse Gorzinski: You bet. Thanks for having me on Charlie.   Charlie: […]

Understanding Power Supplies for Power Systems

In 2018, I published an article on planning for power that explored the requirements for power connections and the rules about power distribution units (PDUs) when implementing IBM servers. IBM publishes maximum power usage for each of their servers in the technical overview manuals’ operating environment sections. Whenever installing new servers, it’s important to reassess […]

New Navigator Bookmarks and Favorites

New Navigator (New Nav) offers quite a few new enhancements and options. One new feature is the ability to add bookmarks. Favorites were available in Heritage Navigator, but they have been redesigned in New Nav. These features help you get organized and easily access your most used tasks. Bookmarks You will find Bookmarks in the […]

Wazi aaS: The Next Step in Modernization

Last week, IBM announced the next step of its roadmap to bring IBM Z and IBM Cloud closer together: Wazi as-a-Service (Wazi aaS), which will bring z/OS development and test as-a-service to the public cloud for the first time ever. To get more insight on what this announcement means for the future of IBM Z […]

With Uncertainty, Comes Opportunity: The Shifting IBM Z Workforce

Reg Harbeck: Hi. I'm Reg Harbeck and I'm here for the second of a pair of podcasts with Jeff Cherrington. On our first podcast we sort of talked about the background of ASG [Technologies] and Rocket Software and just all that you know, happened in the history of mainframe computing and enterprise computing and how […]

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Rocket Software – IBM Z/mainframe

Extending Cyberresilience Capabilities

Managing and maintaining storage networks was never easy, but over the past two years, the responsibilities and challenges that come with the job have multiplied and diversified. Administrators must provide secure access to networks that extend beyond virtual corporate boundaries to serve an ever-growing work from home user base. Ransomware and other threats to data […]

Top Reasons to Love AIX

As I started training for my upcoming Grand Canyon rim to rim hikes, I realized that I had not mentioned the things I love about AIX lately. I am an AIX bigot. I love IBM Power Systems. I have not gone to the extreme of getting a tattoo like some of the Apple fanboys and girls […]

IBM Announces Hybrid Cloud Developments to Accelerate Transformation and Simplify Modernization for Clients

In the next step of its roadmap to bring IBM Z and IBM Cloud closer together, IBM has announced Wazi as-a-Service and other key hybrid cloud developments Today, IBM announced a key hybrid cloud development to help clients modernize: IBM Wazi as-a-Service (Wazi aaS), which will bring z/OS development and test-as-a-service to the public cloud […]

IBM Notifications, AIX Migration Tips and More

I’m regularly reminded of the benefits of IBM’s My Notifications email service. Yes, we all have too much traffic in our inboxes, but My Notifications is a flexible offering that provides worthwhile news and information. For instance, I subscribe to get alerts on recently released fixes. I also receive useful tips on topics like SAS […]

How to Leverage RPG and RDi as Modern Development Business Tools

RPG is more than a programming language—it’s a business tool that’s integrated neatly within IBM i, making it a must-have in any developer’s toolkit. Combined, RDi serves as an extension of RPG’s capabilities. This e-book features insight from experts including IBM’s Tim Rowe, Central Park Data Systems’ Charlie Guarino and veteran RPG programmer and developer […]

How to Send Messages to a Slack Channel From a JCL Job That Executes on z/OS

It’s very easy to send messages to a Slack channel from a JCL Job that executes on z/OS. You can achieve this by following the steps below: NOTE: I worked on this proof-of-concept (POC) project on my local Windows machine and therefore, it’s assumed that all instructions pertaining to this POC are tried out by […]

VIO Server Update Tips and Tricks

Last month I presented on VIOS Top Tips to the Power Virtual Users Group. During and after that presentation I picked up some tips that I would like to share here. Many thanks to those who asked questions and provided suggestions during the session. Further reading added a few more tips as well. The tips […]

IBM Announces Next-Gen FlashSystem Storage Offerings

Today, IBM announced the new IBM FlashSystem Cyber Vault, designed to help companies better detect and more quickly recover from ransomware and other cyberattacks. It’s part of a comprehensive suite of data resilience solutions, streamlining all phases of cyberattack recovery and reduce overall recovery time from days to just hours. IBM also released new FlashSystem storage models […]

How Collaboration and Education Can Help Close the IBM Z and COBOL Skills Gap

How do we maintain interest from new IBM Z and COBOL talent? The keys seem to be: education, collaboration and fun. Dr. Cameron Seay, for example, has taught both COBOL and IBM Z at different schools. It’s not that no one is interested in learning about them; it’s just that the information needs to be […]

New to i COMMON Community

Everyone has a point in their career where they look back to and say “Ah, yes that is when … ” a decision, person or event had a significant impact on their career. That is what COMMON’s New to IBM i (N2i) community is trying to do. We are working to bridge that gap from […]

Steve Ferrell on RDi Development

Charlie Guarino: Hi everybody. This is Charlie Guarino. Welcome to another edition of TechTalk SMB. I'm very happy today to be joined by the principal software engineer and the team lead of Rational Developer for IBM i (RDi) at HelpSystems, Steve Ferrell. Steve, welcome to the podcast today.   Steve Ferrell: Thanks, Charlie. Glad to be here. […]

Jeff Cherrington on Rocket Software’s Evolution and IBM Z Contributions

Reg Harbeck: Hi, this is Reg Harbeck and today I'm here with my friend and colleague Jeff Cherrington who is the vice president of product management, Z Systems—I think I missed a word or two there—at Rocket Software. So, Jeff, I guess what we're going to talk about today is just the whole journey that Rocket […]

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Rocket Software – IBM Z/mainframe