Integration Station: Announcing IBM i 7.4 TR5
IBM i 7.4 TR5 offers an all-new web interface for IBM Navigator for I, new HTTP SQL functions, open-source inclusion and more
In addition to the latest IBM Power10 E1080 server announcement, IBM recently released the IBM i 7.4 Technology Refresh (TR) 5, delivering a variety of favorable enhancements. These new and adaptive technology systems were created to fulfill the needs of business computing and are representative of the “i” in IBM i, which stands for “integration.”
IBM sees the integration of both Power10 and the IBM i 7.4 TR5 as a way to enable users to gain more value with fewer resources and greater reliability.
Power10
The Power10 E1080 is the first large system configuration for IBM i. While IBM isn’t able to make every system available all at once, they reassure users to be patient, as more systems will be coming in the future. For users wanting to move to the new Power10, they will need to install either IBM i 7.3 TR11 or IBM i 7.4 TR5.
IBM i 7.4 TR5
Several of the enhancements to the IBM i portfolio of products that are included in IBM i 7.4 TR5 have been developed from user feedback given to IBM i through the Requests for Enhancement (RFE) process.
The release of IBM i 7.4 TR5 means an all-new web interface for IBM Navigator for i. This system also highlights the new features available in the IBM i OS and the IBM i Licensed Program Products (LPPs). The LPPs include technology such as IBM Cloud Storage Solutions and IBM Rational Developer for i.
The IBM i OS supported by IBM i 7.4 TR5 includes the IBM i Common Cryptographic Architecture Cryptographic Service Provider (CCA CSP), the IBM Navigator for i and the IBM i Access Client Solutions (ACS).
IBM i 7.4 TR5’s LPPs include a variety of products in the Db2 for i, adding new functions for HTTP requests and enables the consumption of web services. IBM has enhanced Db2 for i to include new capabilities for SQL application developers, database engineers and anyone interested in modern and advanced security management.
Another enhancement in the IBM i 7.4 TR5 is its inclusion of more open-sourced technologies. One main motivator for this enhancement includes IBM’s awareness that the industry is moving toward more integration between open-source options for operations and application development environments.
IBM Navigator for i
The IBM Navigator i is a particularly exciting enhancement as a part of the IBM i 7.4 TR5. The strategic direction of this technology was heavily influenced by the RFEs that IBM received about systems management and with the help of trusted advisors (non-IBM employees, as well as IBM employees).
These invaluable resources helped IBM to ensure that the newly enhanced Navigator would look better, be built on the most stable underlying web technology and address the largest strategic requests from users.
The new IBM Navigator for i, sometimes called “NewNav,” was given very practical enhancements compared to the “old” model. An example of this includes an increase in the number of nodes that can be managed. The “NewNav” can now manage multiple nodes, whereas the “OldNav” was only intended to manage one. The “OldNav” was also only able to offer minimal monitoring, while the “NewNav” now considers monitoring to be a key function, and this feature has plans to grow over time.
IBM has put in a lot of effort to make IBM services (once known as “SQL Services”) the primary “API” into managing IBM i, which is why the new Navigator for i was put on IBM Services. “NewNav” was also built using Angular to provide IBM i with future performance and stability.
Technology Integration
The integration of the Power10 systems and the IBM i 7.4 TR 5 offers users significant enhancements for greater technology capabilities. IBM i clients should be sure to look into these enhancements since several of them were created in response to user feedback through the RFE process.