RE: IBM i 7.4 and IBM i Portfolio give strong foundation for continuing innovation

Reading that now. There is a requirement that might cut out many shops,
SAN storage. While I think that is definitely the way to go, in smaller but
critical environments, SAN is a bit pricey......

Still on paper looks good, then again Agile will have to put it up to see if
it works as advertised. Guess we will wait until end of June to know.


--
Jim Oberholtzer
Agile Technology Architects

-----Original Message-----
From: MIDRANGE-L <midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Vernon
Hamberg
Sent: Tuesday, April 23, 2019 7:47 AM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: IBM i 7.4 and IBM i Portfolio give strong foundation for
continuing innovation

A really significant item is a new LPP, IBM Db2 Mirror for i - it has taken
the lion's share of work in this release - I recommend looking at the
documentation in Knowledge Center - as you see below, it says it offers
near-continuous availability - can you spell approaching zero downtime?

Vern

On 4/23/2019 7:38 AM, Steinmetz, Paul via MIDRANGE-L wrote:

IBM i 7.4 and IBM i Portfolio give strong foundation for continuing
innovation



https://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?infotype=AN&subtype
=CA&htmlfid=897/ENUS219-214&appname=USN#toc





At a
glance<https://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?infotype=AN&;
subtype=CA&htmlfid=897/ENUS219-214&appname=USN#toc>


IBM(r) i 7.4 brings a wealth of enhancements to all areas of the IBM i

Portfolio, including the base OS, selected Licensed Program Products (LPPs),
hardware, and firmware. Some of the highlights are:

* Security enhancements include expanding the set of rules for SST

user ID passwords, automating certificate management using DCM APIs, and
extending Authority Collection to collect information for specific objects.

* Work Management has been enhanced with updates to workload groups,

adding exit points to Job Queue job tracking, and adding new capabilities to
retrieving Processor Multitasking information.

* Networking enhancements have been updated to include the latest

industry standards for TLS, SNMPv3, SMB3, and SMTP.

* Clients interested in upgrading their availability environments

will be interested in the enhancements for save and restore operations, and
clustering.

* In this release, IBM Db2(r) for i is focused on improving the

functionality and performance of SQL as well as adding new function for
database engineers.

* Application developers in both traditional environments and open

source will see enhancements to RPG IV, COBOL, the System Debugger, Node.JS,
and Python, and the addition of new tools and the R language.

* Rest APIs have been extended to now allow SQL to be called directly

using the HTTP connection.

* A new LPP, IBM Db2 Mirror for i, provides near-continuous

availability.

* In the IBM i Portfolio, many of the LPPs such as IBM Backup,

Recovery and Media Services for i (BRMS), IBM PowerHA(r) SystemMirror(r) for
i, and Administration Runtime Expert have had significant function added.

* Users of the desktop tools for application development, IBM

Rational(r) Developer for i (RDi), system management, and IBM i Access
Client Solutions (ACS), will enjoy significant new functionality.

* New fast start with the new IBM Db2 Web Query for i EZ-Install

package.

* IBM Domino(r) 10.0.1 and IBM Traveler 10.0.1.1 are now supported on

the IBM i operating system.

* ARCAD Observer for IBM i and ARCAD Converter for IBM i have been

refreshed for traditional developers.

* IBM Content Manager OnDemand for i 7.4 supports backing up to the

cloud using Cloud Storage Solutions for i and provides enhancements to
several commands.

* As with every release, many other enhancements have been made,

driven by user requests.

[Back to top]Back to
top<https://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?infotype=AN&sub
type=CA&htmlfid=897/ENUS219-214&appname=USN#toc>
Overview<https://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?infotype=A
N&subtype=CA&htmlfid=897/ENUS219-214&appname=USN#toc>


IBM i 7.4 updates span the entire breadth of the portfolio from the base

operating system, Db2 for i, and application development through to
availability. As always, the new functions are delivered while retaining the
industry-leading securability features for which IBM i is known. In response
to many user requests, updates and additions have been made to many other
parts of the IBM i Portfolio.

The new enhancements and additions in IBM i 7.4 provide a strong

foundation for the ongoing innovation being done by IBM i clients. Around
the world, clients are extending IBM business applications to include
technology such as AI and the Internet of Things. Many of these enhancements
will support this continuous innovation.

Highlights of the IBM i 7.4 enhancements include:

* New password rules have been added for service tools user IDs. The

password rules can be managed using DST, SST, or by the new CHGSSTSECA
command. New commands have been added that provide the ability to create,
change, or delete service tools user IDs.

* Digital Certificate Manager (DCM) APIs now allow the management of

certificates to be automated. The three categories of API functionality are
application definition certificate assignment, certificate authority (CA)
trust list management, and request a certificate renewal and import
certificate into system store.

* Authority Collection support is enhanced to include the collection

of authority information for specific objects. Previously, authority
information could be collected only for users, where authority information
was collected for all objects accessed by a specific user.

* Workload groups can now be configured by job description.

Previously, workload groups could be configured only at the subsystem level,
and every job in the subsystem ran in the same workload group. Now, jobs can
run in different workload groups within the same subsystem by setting a
workload group name on the job description.

* A new system job, QHST, is automatically started at IPL to perform

message logging to the history log. This function was done in the SCPF job
in previous releases. This change was made to improve availability of the
system.

* The Retrieve Processor Multitasking Information (QWCRTVPR) API now

returns the current and maximum number of secondary hardware threads in
addition to the configured number of secondary hardware threads per
processor.

* New exit points have been created to better track and manage jobs

submitted to a job queue. The exit points for Submit Job and Change Job can
be used, along with the existing Job Notification exit point, to keep track
of information needed to resubmit jobs to a JOBQ.

* IBM i System TLS has been enhanced to support the latest industry

standard of Transport Layer Security version 1.3 (TLSv1.3) protocol.

* The Simple Network Management Protocol version 3 (SNMPv3) support

has been enhanced with the ability to securely send, receive, and forward
SNMPv3 Trap and Inform messages, providing additional network security.

* Management of a cluster is now easier. New clustering policies

allow for more automation of an administrative domain, particularly when
adding and deleting resources. Enhancements have also been made to the
behavior for a restore operation and for a primary node failure. The new
Container Cluster Resource Group (CRG) allows management of a group of CRGs
as a single entity for the purposes of operations. A new option has been
added for starting an administrative domain CRG to indicate which node to
treat as the source node when changes are made.

* The save and restore menus have been enhanced with a new option to

"Start controlling subsystem" that can allow the system to stay in
restricted state after the save or restore operation. This can be helpful if
you want to install PTFs, perform system maintenance, or IPL the system.

* Service Tools are enhanced to make it easier to set up for debug

and remote support, and to allow a larger amount of debug information to be
maintained before wrapping occurs.

* As with previous releases, select system limits are raised.
* The Integrated Web Services (IWS) server support is extended to

enable the easy creation of REST or SOAP APIs that leverage SQL directly. In
the past, an ILE program was required, and now SQL can be used directly
through the HTTP request.

* System Debugger is enhanced to allow the relocation of the debug

source.

* The Display Module (DSPMOD) command now shows the location (path

name) of a module's source code for source that is from a stream file (IFS),
providing a similar type of information as for a traditional source file
that is specified with LIBRARY/FILE/MEMBER.

* In IBM i 7.4, Db2 for i brings variations for SQL commands,

allowing easier ways to do inquiries into data.

* Additional IBM i services are added to IBM i, providing an

alternative to using commands and APIs.

* IBM is introducing a new LPP, IBM Db2 Mirror for i, to provide

near-continuous availability through an IBM i exclusive Db2 active-active
two-system configuration.

* The Node.js and Python ecosystems continue to grow. This includes

several package additions and enhancements, as well as newly added IBM i
support for popular frameworks. It's easier than ever to integrate these
languages with IBM i or write advanced programs that utilize cryptography,
data science, or machine learning.

* Several enhancements also allow for better general connectivity

through SSL or ODBC. These enhancements can benefit all PASE technologies.

* Other additions include the R programming language and a host of

new tools for both users and developers.

* IBM Rational Development Studio for i provides several enhancements

for ILE RPG and ILE COBOL.

* Access Client Solutions (ACS) has new features and functions

specifically for system managers and database engineers.

* Administration Runtime Expert improves PTF management and improves

control through the ARE console capabilities.

* IBM Rational Developer for i provides features improving

reliability, productivity, security, and currency.

* IBM PowerHA SystemMirror for i 7.4 provides several new advanced

capabilities requested by many clients. Support for DS8000(r) HyperSwap(r)
with a Global Mirror link provides continuously available storage plus
support for a remote location. Administrative domain automation provides the
capability to add or delete monitored resource entries (MREs). In addition,
PowerHA SystemMirror for i 7.4 has integrated support for disaster recovery
of a Db2 Mirror for i deployment and support for the replication of IFS data
in a Db2 Mirror deployment.

* BRMS is the number one solution choice of IBM i clients for the

automation of backup recovery operations. The enhancements for BRMS include
a new tape device, faster restore operations, turn-key control group backup
recovery automation, and more.

* Get a fast start to advanced, visual reporting, and business

intelligence with Db2 Web Query for i.

* ARCAD Observer for IBM i and ARCAD Converter for IBM i are being

refreshed to include the latest versions of these products.

* IBM i 7.4 will also support the latest firmware, providing the most

up-to-date IBM POWER9(tm) functionality.

* New support for I/O adapters, devices, and the new PCIe3 6-slot

fan-out module is also included in IBM i 7.4.

* IBM Domino 10.0.1 and IBM Traveler 10.0.1.1 are now supported on

the IBM i Operating System.

* Content Manager OnDemand for i 7.4 provides new archive capability

to cloud storage and management of cloud storage resources. In addition,
there are enhancements to storage management commands and improved
management of printing, querying, and retrieving documents.

For more information

Technical detail for IBM i enhancements delivered with IBM i 7.4 can be

found in the IBM i 7.4
Overview<https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/ssw_ibm_i_74/rzahg/rzah
gicoverview.htm> topic in IBM Knowledge Center.

Additional technical detail is posted on the IBM i developerWorks(r)

Technology Updates wiki. This wiki has existed since 2010 and contains
information about IBM i enhancements, organized by subject matter.

To make it easy to find IBM i 7.4 specific enhancements, see the

aggregated list of enhancements found on the
wiki<https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/ibmi/techupdates/i74> landing page.
Note that this aggregation link will go live sometime shortly after
announce.

Thank You
_____
Paul Steinmetz
IBM i Systems Administrator

Pencor Services, Inc.
462 Delaware Ave
Palmerton Pa 18071

610-826-9117 work
610-826-9188 fax
610-349-0913 cell
610-377-6012 home

psteinmetz@xxxxxxxxxx<mailto:psteinmetz@xxxxxxxxxx>
http://www.pencor.com/

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