Re: IBM Sterling Connect:Direct

I know nothing about that software. Keeping that in mind I do have a few
comments.

After some research I see that it is used for Managed File Transfer. For
that we use GoAnywhere by Linoma. No, I am not getting a nickel from
them. Some people use Arpeggio Software.

I would seriously think of moving from 7.1, especially if you are doing
MFT. The reason why is that 7.1 will not support many of the new ciphers
being required by people. Unless, that is, Sterling uses their own
ciphers and not the ones supplied with the OS. IBM has announced they
will NOT port these ciphers down to 7.1. Feel free to double check
archive.midrange.com, LinkedIn - IBM i Professionals Group, or any number
of other sources. Something to do with new elliptical support in 7.2 and
above...
Since the product requirements list IBM's DCM and stuff I seriously doubt
Sterling uses their own ciphers
https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSRS27_3.8.0/com.ibm.help.cd52.i5os.doc/com.ibm.help.cdi5os_relnotes.doc/prod_reqs.html
About those requirements, I always get a little concerned about the
quality of information which says "IBM i 7.1 or higher".
But I did find something from IBM giving their blessing to 7.2 and 7.3
although while it says "supported" and "no reported issues" it does say
"Connect:Direct for i5/OS was not run through a full QA cycle with IBM i
7.2"
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21688061

Speaking of ciphers, here's a note regarding ciphers and the version(s) of
Sterling you want to upgrade TO:
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21687746

3.7 will reach EOS: 30-Sep-2017
https://www-01.ibm.com/software/support/lifecycleapp/PLCDetail.wss?from=spf&synkey=R034798T70460H94


Rob Berendt