Re: iASP and standard applications

Hi Chuck

There is a redbook, and it is very clear about objects that can't reside in a library in an IASP. It's sg24-6802, entitled "IBM eServer iSeries Independent ASPs: A Guide to Moving Applications to IASPs". The Redbook page describes it in this way -

"It is designed to help IBM technical professionals, Business Partners, and Customers understand and implement IASP in the IBM eServer iSeries server and under OS/400 V5R2."

I went through the exercise of verifying one of our more popular applications - carved out an IASP, moved the library there, all that. Found out it works fine. Varying on the IASP device can be automatic at IPL or not. And we have a few customers who are running that product in an IASP. They did come to us for assurance that it would work. I suppose there is no certification, but I hope vendors will do the work to really see if it is possible, not just assume they fall under the guidelines in the Redbook.

We use a lot of embedded SQL in our app, and there has been no problem or need to change any code for that, even though the library may reside in the IASP. I believe you CAN give a different RDB name to the database in the IASP but have not had to try any of that yet.

Later
Vern

On 2/10/2011 12:45 PM, CRPence wrote:

On 2/10/11 8:38 AM, Bradley Stone wrote:

I was wondering, as being asked by a customer, if I should worry
about any applications I've written for them using
RPG/CL/CMDs/RPGLESQL.

One customer is asking if the applications will work with an iASP...
I honestly have no idea or what I can do to even check.

I read part of the redbook and it says to "verify with your software
vendor that they have enabled their product to work in an iASP
environment..."

What exactly does that mean?

One would suppose, some specific Redbooks document.? Presumably not
one directed toward software vendors :-)

As a customer, that quote means calling the vendor to ask. As a
software provider that means responding with what is known about the
capabilities; if unknown, then learning, verifying and\or implementing a
known level of awareness of or actual support for iASP perhaps even to
include swap\fail-over to take full advantage. The IBM "partner"
program I believe was a means for obtaining the skills to ensure an
application provided some level of support, even if only to employ a
means to keep the application and its data only on\in the primary iASP
[pending any optional changes to enable otherwise]; including systems
setup with iASP for test as I recall.

Notes: The *SYSBAS allows implicit CONNECT for SQL, such that there
is no need to know of or use CONNECT. I do not recall what occurs when
a specific ASP group is set by SETASPGRP; implicit connect to the
current iASP [group], or still to *SYSBAS? Each independent ASP is a
separate database to which the SQL must CONNECT, in order to perform
work. Depending on what the SQL does for those applications and where
both the application and data is allowed to reside, there may be
implications for introducing an iASP.

Regards, Chuck