RE: What is an i5 (iSeries, AS/400) -- MIDRANGE-L

The original question was what to explain to someone when they ask about
an i5.  That implies they don't know the platform and the history.  As
such, I think the only proper thing to do is use the current name.  If
that generates a response along the lines of 'I've never heard of that',
then one could go on to explain that it's a rebranding of OS/400 and go
into the other strengths of the OS.

Also, if you tell them OS/400 and the person is interested and they
start looking around, what will they find on IBM's site?

I dislike the constant renaming of hardware and now the software
renaming as much as the next person, but I accept that IBM has their
reasons and that there is a 'legacy' connotation associated with the
OS/400 name.  If I am to play up the platform at my company, I should
also abandon terminology that brings up the 'legacy' vision.  (Funny how
that is since Windows is an older platform than OS/400.)

John A. Jones, CISSP
Americas Information Security Officer
Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc.
V: +1-630-455-2787  F: +1-312-601-1782
john.jones@xxxxxxxxxx

-----Original Message-----
From: Vernon Hamberg [mailto:vhamberg@xxxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Friday, March 04, 2005 9:44 PM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Subject: RE: What is an i5 (iSeries, AS/400)

Maybe I'm getting old and crotchety and don't want to accept progress -
or maybe I'm just a luddite. But I don't see a distinction between i5/OS
& OS/400, other than marketing renames. Certainly not to the extent of
the difference between VM and MVS in the mainframe world. (I probably
have these terms all wrong - someone please help me!) Seems I remember -
admittedly from the outside, as I was a lowly office temp at the time -
that this was a significant shift that required lots of work to convert
from one to the other. That is certainly not the case with i5/OS &
OS/400. 
And in the mainframe world today, at IBM's site, I find this -- "Built
upon the solid VM/ESA base, z/VM exploits the z/Architecture ..." I can
imagine a statement like "Built upon the solid OS/400 base, i5OS
exploites the 
i/Architecture ..."   ;-)

Vern

At 11:20 AM 3/4/2005, you wrote:
>An i5 is a hardware platform that comes bundled with i5/OS (not
OS/400).
>It can be extended via software and sometimes hardware to also run AIX,

>Windows 2000/2003 Server, and 32- and 64-bit Linux distributions from 
>Red Hat and Novell (Suse).  It can execute any applications designed 
>for any of those operating systems provided that OS is installed and 
>configured with sufficient resources.

-snip- 

--
This is the Midrange Systems Technical Discussion (MIDRANGE-L) mailing
list To post a message email: MIDRANGE-L@xxxxxxxxxxxx To subscribe,
unsubscribe, or change list options,
visit: http://lists.midrange.com/mailman/listinfo/midrange-l
or email: MIDRANGE-L-request@xxxxxxxxxxxx Before posting, please take a
moment to review the archives at http://archive.midrange.com/midrange-l.




This email is for the use of the intended recipient(s) only.  If you have 
received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately and then 
delete it.  If you are not the intended recipient, you must not keep, use, 
disclose, copy or distribute this email without the author's prior permission.  
We have taken precautions to minimize the risk of transmitting software 
viruses, but we advise you to carry out your own virus checks on any attachment 
to this message.  We cannot accept liability for any loss or damage caused by 
software viruses.  The information contained in this communication may be 
confidential and may be subject to the attorney-client privilege. If you are 
the intended recipient and you do not wish to receive similar electronic 
messages from us in future then please respond to the sender to this effect.