Re: Machine type

You could write your own code to calculate the correct "type" 9402/9406
information, but unfortunately these numbers are meaningless today.

A bit of history:

The first AS/400's that were actually never released were the 9406 "A"
models.  Their performance was documented in one of the Release 1 manuals
(when we had real manuals printed on stuff made from trees!), as the models
A10, A20, A30 and A40, and they had the exact same performance
characteristics as the first released B30. B40, B50 and B60, again all 9406
models.

Some people in the development community suggested that this five foot rack
might be too big for some S/36 customers, so the B10 and B20, both 9404
models were an afterthought, but also announced with the initial AS/400
introduction on June 21, 1988.

Later customers were complaining about wanting even smaller boxes, so when
the "D" models were introduced, and D02, D04 and D06 were introduced, they
were announced as 9402's.  (If memory served me correctly, the D02 came
after the D04 and D06.)

The rules were that any 9402 could only be upgraded to another 9402, 9404
to another 9404 and 9406 only to another 9406.  Consequently there was no
replacement of the cabinet, and no two pieces of hardware ever running
around with a duplicate serial number.

The "ivory CISC models" were the lettered families "B", "C", "D", "E" and
"F".  New cabinetry was deemed for the then planned RISC models, so the
last family of CISC models was the 9402-2xx and 9406-3xx models, whish were
black, the newly adopted IBM corporate standard.  This, or course,
introduced a footprint change, and 9402's and 9404's could "upgrade" into a
new advanced series 9402, and 9404's and 9406's could upgrade into a 9406.
But the new model designations were now:

9402/9404
and
9404/9406.

To screw matters up even worse, there were even several 9401's, but they
couldn't be upgraded into anything.

So unless you purchased a new footprint model 170 or 270, where were only
shipped in 9406 flavors, your existing model 890 could potentially be on
IBM's books as even a 9402 or 9404!

To make matters even more complicated, even though the system value QMODEL
is a four character field, the IBM systems in Rochester can only handle a
three digit model field!

System serial numbers are assigned in batches, and there are some systems
with duplicate serial numbers because of boo-boos.  When I wrote the
initial sales management software for TAA Tools, I made the serial number a
"unique" field, and was later forced to change that fact, when we
discovered legitimate duplicates.

If they used a decent computer to run this company, maybe everything
wouldn't be so screwed (that actually wasn't the word that I was thinking
of) up.

Al

Al Barsa, Jr.
Barsa Consulting Group, LLC

400>390

914-251-1234
914-251-9406 fax

http://www.barsaconsulting.com
http://www.taatool.com






                      "Tucker Gerry"
                      <Gerry.Tucker@techn        To:       
<midrange-l@midrange.com>
                      icolor.com>                cc:
                      Sent by:                   Subject:  Machine type
                      midrange-l-admin@mi
                      drange.com


                      11/21/2002 10:46 AM
                      Please respond to
                      midrange-l






Does anyone know of an API that I can retrieve the machine type of an
AS/400, i.e. 9402, 9406.  I want to print something like 'Machine
type-model: 9406-840' on a report.  I can get the model value from the
Retrieve System Values API.

Can anyone help?

Regards,

Gerry Tucker
Senior Analyst Programmer
Technicolor Distribution Services
Wembley, U.K.

"All my life I wanted to be somebody.
Now I see that I should have been more specific."
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