Re: Newbie to BPCS

Al Mac raised a number of interesting issues, so I thought some
simplification might be in order.

--> I agree with him; you are in over your head on this one, especially
with a short lead time.  Unless the analysis is to be on the most
superficial scale, much specific investigation must be done on the three
BPCS installations.  If the analysis is to be superficial, stop now,
recommend #1, and go to sleep.

Key question: What is the goal of this exercise?
--> If the goal is just to centralize the infrastructure, then running
the 3 different versions on a single system (perhaps using separate LPAR
partitions) is probably the fastest solution.  Another might be to just
move the machines to the central location, and leave all three running
separately.

Option #1 - One iSeries, 3 BPCS instances.
This is probably the easiest and cheapest solution, because BPCS really
doesn't have to be touched.  This should essentially be a save/restore
solution, especially if you put the three instances on separate LPAR
partitions.

Option #2 - One iSeries, 1 BPCS instance.
All three instances should be upgraded to 4.0.5CD, ideally with
identical customizations.  Then, the databases can be merged on one of
the systems.  You are looking at 2000 - 5000 man-hours.

This could be easy or could be hard (and expensive or really
expensive), depending several factors.
a> The number and complexity of the custom modifications.  The more
mods, the harder the process.
b> The overlap in items, customers, vendors, etc. among the three
facilities.  The more overlap, the harder the process.
--> You need an experienced BPCS consulting house to help figure this
out!

Option #3 - ?? Unix/Windows
Assuming you mean BPCS on Unix or Windows, I fail to see the point. 
For production use, the cost difference between the three platforms
(hw,sw,etc) will be surprisingly small.  You have to license the
database sw for Unix of Windows, and it isn't cheap!

For all of the options, you will need to consider SSA licensing costs. 
If you move BPCS to another machine, you will have to obtain a new
license key from SSA.  Unless you are on support, that is not likely to
be free.  I do not know about BPCS licensing enough to speculate on
whether combining systems will increase or decrease your license and
support costs overall.
--> Talk to SSA!

Good luck.

"srikanth seshadri"
<srikanth_seshadri=/E1597aS9LQAvxtiuMwx3w@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
message news:<20030611091451.97675.qmail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>...
> Dear All,
> Greetings. I am basically newbie to BPCS and AS/400
> environment. I need to find out a place where I can
> understand the architecture of BPCS on AS/400. Would
> you be able to suggest a best web site or a book that
> is good for a starter like me.
> 
> I also have a requirement given by my manager where I
> need to plan for system consolidation in the next few
> days. We have 3 different BPCS environment with
> versions 3.7, 4.0.0.5 and 4.5CD running on AS/400
> platform at 3 different locations. I have been asked
> to look into the following consolidation options:
> 1. Consolidate 3 BPCS instances running in 3 boxes
> into one single box running AS/400 but still BPCS
> running as 3 separate versions.
> 2. Consolidate 3 different versions of BPCS instances
> in to 1 single version BPCS instance based on the
> highest versions available in the location.
> 3. Migrate all 3 instances from AS/400 to Unix/Windows
> platforms.
> 
> I would appreciate if you can share with me on your
> professional expertise on the above options in terms
> of costs vs benefits vs risks.
> Thanks in advance.
> Best regards,
> Srikanth
> 
> 
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