All Content

IBM i Next Gen Apps: The Modernization Approach

The first cornerstone of IBM i strategy is to provide solution developers with everything they need to be successful. The solution developers we serve include both Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and the programming teams who create software for specific customers—whether as employees of those customers, or as independent contractors and consultants. Of the thousands of […]

Message Monitors in New Navigator

IBM is updating New Navigator (New Nav) on a regular basis and there are a lot of enhancements that have been added over the past few months. This post highlights new functions in Message Monitors. IBM’s documentation on Message Monitors overview has complete details. You find Monitors in as shown in Figure 1: Message Monitor […]

Highlights From the 2022 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index

The annual X-Force Threat Intelligence Index from IBM Security is always a sobering read, and the 2022 edition is no exception. Here, we highlight some of the key security findings, statistics and trends in the report. Cyberattacks by the Numbers This year’s report outlines that phishing was the most common cause of cyberattacks in 2021. […]

Big Things Coming for IBM i in 2022

Well, well, well. Back again! It’s been about six months since I published a blog post, and about two years since I worked with the good people at TechChannel. I’m happy to bring the “You and i” blog back “home.” Of course, if I only post once every six months, it won’t mean much … […]

IBM Aims for the Hybrid Cloud and Increases Security With the New z16

IBM today unveiled the z16 enterprise server, the latest release in its line of IBM Z mainframe systems. The new z16 delivers a slew of embedded, advanced capabilities aimed at hardening security, boosting performance, delivering greater value and cost efficiencies, and making analytics accessible and easy to use for non-data scientists to deliver immediate value. […]

Leveraging IBM i and RPG for Web Servicing

Another day in the life of a developer as another web service takes to production. Not an extraordinary task but this time the process was smooth sailing. What made it so painless?  What led to the decisions of using certain programs over others? In this article I will explain why I chose IBM i as […]

Seeing the World Via the Mainframe

Reg Harbeck: Hi, I'm Reg Harbeck, and today I'm here with my colleague and co-author Karl-Erik Stenfors, who has been in the mainframe space for a very good long time. Well Karl-Erik, let's start by telling us about how did you end up on the mainframe?   Karl-Erik Stenfors: Well, a bit of a point. […]

The Importance of Mainframe Documentation

The discovery of Egyptian hieroglyphics was the event that led to the definitions of the formal writing system that was once used in ancient Egypt as part of the native language. Egyptian hieroglyphics had more than 1,000 distinct characters that were used to tell the stories associated with the time. In the same vein, telling […]

The Importance of Refactoring

Charlie Guarino: Hi everybody, this is Charlie Guarino. Welcome to another edition of TechTalk SMB. This month I am joined by what I'm going to say is a household legend in our industry: Mr. Ted Holt. He has been in our community for years and years. Ted has worked in the IT industry for over […]

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

IBM Champion Rob McNelly on the IBM Power Systems Ideas portal, a FLRT change and his latest outdoor adventure

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 […]

Sponsored Content by
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

IBM Champion Rob McNelly highlights his top reasons to love the Power Systems, IBM i and AIX ecosystems

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 […]