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The Power of Metadata: Part 2
September 15, 2021
In Part 1 of this series, I illustrated how Db2 Web Query for i can utilize metadata to improve the information available for reports. This article will continue that discussion, with examples of how metadata techniques can be used to expand the usefulness of your data. Recall our previous database had some order information (see Figure […]
ArticlesUsing the New SQL HTTP Functions (Part 2)
September 15, 2021
In Part 1 of this series, we introduced some new HTTP functions. Indeed, they are fantastic additions to the set of IBM i Services available through SQL. Today, we will explore how they can be used to integrate indigenous IBM i technologies (such as Db2 and RPG) with open-source applications. Gluing Node.js and Db2 A community member recently asked […]
ArticlesYou’ve Heard the News, Now Dig Into the Details: Get up to Speed on the Power10 Announcement
September 14, 2021
On Sept. 8, IBM announced the new Power10 server, the E1080 (9080-HEX). While much has already been written about the new server, I’m here to share more details. If you take the time to check out even a few of the many links in this article, you’ll soon be up to speed. I’ve also included links to in-depth training, […]
ArticlesOf Wildcards, Regular Expressions and Mainframe Security
September 14, 2021
As Sigmund Freud might say if he were alive today, “Sometimes, a dash is just a dash.” Of course, if he did, he’d likely be talking about one of the two wildcard characters that do all the heavy lifting in CA ACF2. That’s right: ACF2 only has two wildcard characters—or actually, fewer than two: the […]
ArticlesMore Power to You: A Closer Look at the Power10 E1080 Server
September 13, 2021
On September 8, 2021 IBM announced the first server in the Power10 range—the E1080 with an order number of 9080-HEX. The general availability (GA) date for the system is September 17, 2021, and this system is the next generation of POWER servers. Hardware Technology The E1080 is similar to the E980 in that it uses […]
ArticlesLiam Allan Expands Development Accessibility With the Code for IBM i Extension
September 13, 2021
Sometimes the best way to create new technology is to continue using standards that have already been proven successful, while simultaneously making them more accessible. This was Liam Barry Allan’s thought process when he first started Code for IBM i, an open-source Visual Studio (VS) Code extension for all IBM i development needs. Allan is […]
ArticlesUsing the New SQL HTTP Functions (Part 1 of 2)
September 8, 2021
As I’ve mentioned in past ramblings, IBM’s investment in open source extends into some of the core components of the operating system. The rich catalog of IBM i Services (sometimes called “SQL Services”) is a fantastic illustration of this concept. The data queue services, for instance, provide an integration point between database activity and Apache Camel. The JSON […]
ArticlesIBM Delivers a Frictionless Hybrid Cloud Experience With the New Power10-Equipped E1080 Server
September 8, 2021
Today, IBM announced the new IBM Power E1080 server—the first in a new family of servers based on the new IBM Power10 processor. With the Power10-equipped E1080 server, IBM is providing clients with a frictionless hybrid cloud experience across their entire IT infrastructure. The Power E1080 server is built around the revolutionary IBM Power10 processor. […]
ArticlesDitch DSPLOG—History Log Info Is Superior
September 7, 2021
The history log is a great repository of messages on your IBM i partition; all messages sent to QSYSOPR, QSYSMSG and QCFGMSGQ are also sent to the history log. There are many functions that log additional messages to the history log, although they may not send those messages to the system operator message queue. Mining […]
ArticlesHow Can We Create Psychologically Safe Workspaces?
September 3, 2021
The pandemic has increased our mask usage in more ways than one. In addition to the face coverings we’ve grown used to seeing in our daily lives, as the boundaries between our professional and personal lives grow more and more blurry, many have taken to masking more of their identities in the workplace. In the […]
PodcastsElizabeth K. Joseph on Being a Developer Advocate and the Future of Mainframe Technology
September 1, 2021
Reg Harbeck: Hi. This is Reg Harbeck and today I'm here with Elizabeth K. Joseph who is a developer advocate at IBM and an increasingly well-known mainframer. I've kind of gotten to know her through various social media outlets and such. Elizabeth—Liz, I guess I can call you—tell us, how did you end up on the […]
ArticlesInstalling an ifix With AIX Live Update
September 1, 2021
Chris Gibson explains how to install an AIX security ifix without a reboot
VideoVideo Tutorial: Using invscout on AIX
September 1, 2021
Learn how to use the invscout command on AIX from IBM Champion Rob McNelly: Transcript: As I paddled my Kayak down the Colorado River, I realized that many of you had fallen behind on your system patching. As server administrators, besides updating our operating system, and our virtual IO server, and our HMC code, we […]
PodcastsJohn Dominic on Cloud System Benefits and Trends
September 1, 2021
Charlie Guarino: Hi everybody. Welcome to another edition of TechTalk. I'm very happy today to join with me John Dominic of Maxava. John Dominic is the global vice president of Maxava. His U.S. headquarters are based in Philadelphia. John, I am very happy to meet with you today. I know Maxava—their primary focus is high availability […]
ArticlesKubernetes Container Security Best Practices With Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security for Kubernetes
August 30, 2021
As we work with organizations who are adopting containers as part of their software development strategy, we have seen container security become a challenge for many, and at times an aftersight. This is not on purpose, but primarily a result of the vast differences between the new technology of containers versus the virtualization model many […]
ArticlesThe Power of Metadata in the IBM i OS: Part 1
August 27, 2021
Developers who work in the IBM i environment may or may not be familiar with the term “metadata.” Metadata can be defined as “data about data.” Metadata has existed within the IBM i OS since the historic days of the System/38, when an integrated Relational Database was introduced. Consider the commands DSPFD and DSPFFD, both […]
ArticlesEvil Mainframe Brings Ethical Hacking to the Forefront
August 26, 2021
When it comes to hacking, there are courses that can teach you to break past the security of almost anything. However, learning how to hack a mainframe usually isn’t one of them. That’s why Chad Rikansrud and Phil Young created Evil Mainframe, the first mainframe penetration testing class. “The IT world at large has benefited […]
ArticlesIBM Announces IBM Telum Processor
August 25, 2021
As the first processor that contains on-chip acceleration for AI inferencing, the Telum chip introduces an updated process that aims to prevent fraud
ArticlesInteract With the ATLASSIAN Jira Software From Within z/OS
August 24, 2021
In this tutorial from BMC’s Subhasish Sarkar and Sujit Neb, learn how to interact with ATLASSIAN Jira from a JCL Job that executes on z/OS
ArticlesCLI Options for Configuring and Modifying LPARs
August 23, 2021
Gareth Coates, whose work I’ve cited previously, recently explained how to create an LPAR without using the HMC GUI: “Here is a suite of files to create an LPAR on an IBM [Power Systems server]…. There are shell scripts and configuration files. You need to make changes to suit your particular environment. I’d say that […]
ArticlesCICS Security, TLS Enhancement, Updated CICS Documentation and More
August 23, 2021
The Virtual CICS user group is an online user group that has been meeting for over 10 years. It meets every other month, which works out at six meetings each year. And, at each meeting, there’s a presentation. At the July meeting, Colin Penfold, technical leader for IBM CICS Transaction Server Security, spoke about recent […]
ArticlesContainers, Microservices and Open Source: IBM i From Another Perspective
August 19, 2021
If you’ve worked with enterprise software development, I assume you’ve come across concepts like microservices and containers. Perhaps you’ve worked with Kubernetes or OpenShift. And maybe you already develop microservices in Java with the open-source framework Spring Boot and are over the moon about how great GraalVM is. Personally, I use all the above with […]
ArticlesGet Notified When Nearing the Maximum Number of Spooled Files
August 11, 2021
An issue I encounter more frequently than I should is systems with a very large number of spooled files. This is a concern because IBM i has an upper limit on the number of spooled files. IBM i creates spooled output all the time, if for no other reason than job logs. If you hit […]
E-BooksTechChannel E-book: Strategies for Effective Data Management on Db2 for i and IBM Power Systems Data Migration
August 9, 2021
As a valuable proprietary asset that can be increasingly leveraged for direct business insights, data is the life blood of many organizations. With this in mind, effective data management and data migration strategies are of the utmost importance. When planning for an IBM Power System update or migration, you should take inventory of existing physical […]
ArticlesIntegrate IBM i With Anything Using Apache Camel
August 6, 2021
Jesse Gorzinski on one of his favorite integration tools, Apache Camel (also known as the “Swiss knife of integration”)