RE: sys/36 to AS/400

[Neil Palmer <npalmer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Roy,

Would suggest you look at a used AS/400 436.  Check the brokers (and
don't forget IBM also sells used AS/400's).
That will get you onto a newer faster hardware platform.  You want to be
running the SSP 7.5 release, with probably at least the underlying
OS/400 LIC at V3R7.

Your 'conversion' is basically a backup and restore - so it's a real
quick fix for a performance and disk capacity boost.  Suggest you check
out the Transition Aid from IBM.  There's a small library (#TNLIB) that
gets loaded to your old S/36 - the Advanced/36 contains the other side
of the code - that makes it easy to migrate the entire system.  You can
use diskette, tape, comm line, or the Transition Data Link (twinax
connection between old & new systems).  Up here in Canada IBM has a few
of these that they will loan out to customers for a week to do the
conversion (provided you get the new or used system from them).  Maybe
some of the brokers in the US will loan these out too.  You probably
don't want to use diskette (as you have only a single slot on the 5363,
and would also need a reasonable expensive 5.25" diskette drive on the
Adv/36).  Tape is workable - the 1/4" cartridge from the 5363 is
readable (not writeable) by all 1/4" tape drives on the AS/400, except
the fairly new 4/8GB, and 13/26GB drives.  The Adv/36 usually comes with
the 2.5GB 1/4" drive, which can read the 5363's tape.

The SSP 7.5 code includes the VASP software, and a few other useful
changes - enhancements to several commands, some new substitution
expressions (like  ?LONGDATE? to return an 8 digit date in yyyymmdd
format), etc.  If you want to add OS/400 to the box (now or later) you
will need to pay extra for OS/400 & licensed programs.

Now, if you want to move to the S/36EE (execution Environment) on a
standard AS/400 your performance won't be as good, and you will need to
recompile all your programs from source.  For RPGII about 99% will
probably compile with no changes, but there may be some minor things
that need investigating.  Screen format source is usually no problem,
and the OCL is usually fairly straightforward.  To go this way there is
either the S/36 Migration Aid to help you, that loads on the old S/36 to
prepare for the conversion (one pain is that all source members need to
be properly sub-typed so the 400 will know what to compile them with,
whereas the S/36 didn't really care if you had the correct subtype on a
source member).  You can also use the S/36 Migration Assistant (a no
charge piece of OS/400) that basically performs the same tasks on the
AS/400 side, without needing to purchase the S/36 Migration Aid.

Note that performance in the S/36EE will not be as quick as running a
436 in SSP only mode.  Neither will running SSP as a guest under OS/400
on any RISC model AS/400 be as quick if you buy one of the low-end
models (low-end 400, 500, 150, 600, 170).  Still, if your intent is to
make fairly significant changes to the software, you may want to convert
to OS/400 instead of just running SSP on a 436.





Neil Palmer                                AS/400~~~~~      
NxTrend Technology - Canada   ____________          ___  ~     
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: Roy H Schnauss [SMTP:RSCHNAUSS@prodigy.net]
> Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 1998 4:12 PM
> To:   MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com
> Subject:      sys/36 to AS/400
> 
> Thanks guys for the help.  What I am looking for is a cheap way to
> keep my
> sys/36 software afloat and this is why I picked the f02.  I think it
> would
> be wise to upgrade to a 400 for the yk2 problems with the operating
> system
> on the 36.  Will this program work on a 400 without any modifications
> or
> will I have to have the RPGII program converted?  The other reason
> that I
> am upgrading is that I have run out of disk space on the 36.  Once on
> the
> 400 I am going to have the date field expanded on the software ( I
> hope).
> 
> Thanks again,
> 
> Roy Schnauss
> 
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