New i, iSeries, AS/400 Suggestions

We are looking at replacing our nice IBM 270 with a new system. Our needs are low end (relatively) and this will probably be our last IBM box but we do want to maximize our HA and DR abilities without adding the complexity of a CBU box and software. In short we need a good quick backup and restore. We do have legacy printers, 3 twinax line printers and 2 IPDS IBM 4400 label printers. Pricing on the PSF/400 feature seems weird at the P05 tier so the 4400's probably have to go but we are comfortable with Zebra printers as a replacement. We would like to keep the twinax printers if possible since they are workhorses with a fan base.

Currently it looks like the 515 is a better deal than the new M15 Power 6 machine. We can get a two processor 515 with 8 drives for not much more than the single processor M15 with 6 drives. The 515 also allows us to attach a LTO4 drive externally although I now see we can add an internal LTO4 to the M15. Moving up on the Power 6 models explodes cost pretty rapidly so the M15 appears to be the only practical choice in that area. Unfortunately we have been told the last date to order the 515 is June 20th so we need to make a decision soon. Not sure why IBM is discontinuing a machine that is far more appealing to the existing AS/400 base than the new models, both models are not very expandable but the M15 has some real limitations (the twinax issue).

Finally it appears that we need v5r4 since our software vendor is legacy with vague plans on supporting v6r1.

Any suggestions or thoughts?

Thanks for any input!

Konrad





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