Re: Microsoft .NET frontending IBM i -- WEB400

Maybe that would be good fodder for you to write an article about
because I haven't seen that yet :-)

Load up Visual Studio and get started. Works all the way from Visual Studio 2005 - 2010.

If you google, Pelkie and I have posted about the reg settings needed to get the drivers to show up.

That's a little bit what scares me - Microsoft has *had* to make it
simple/easy because it is a recommended practice to only run a single
significant application on a single server.

Where have you seen that recommended ? Links please.

And why is that? When I ask people that question I rarely get an
answer other than "security by obscurity".

Security by security :-) HTTP to DMZ IIS/Linux/iSeries ----- DMZ to iSeries on 8470-8479.

EBCDIC to ASCII is pretty obscure isn't it :-)

Because we have "mini-lpars" (i.e. activation groups, jobs and
subsystems) within IBM i so we don't need to go the route of spinning
up a new LPAR just to run a single app. There are very different
reasons to have LPARs on IBM i vs. Windows and much of it has to do
with "application toe stepping fear" on the Microsoft side.

You seem to be locked into a mentality that a VMware image or Windows can only run a single app. You need some learning boy :-)

Have you ever used Vmware in a real production environment ?
Me? No, but others in Krengel Tech have.

We should invite them into the Vmware discussion then.

We have 10 VMware Server instances on a single Intel piece of hardware and it does much more than 10 individual servers could accomplish standalone.
What do you mean it can do more?

This is where the MS equation gets a little odd. It seems that each individual Windows server typically has a chunk of latency, so you can maximize the Intel hardware with multiple VM's and they all seem to balance pretty well at least in our case.

Anyone else want to comment on Vmware. Vmware good.

I am not saying it isn't cool. I am contesting the need to do it in
the first place and the subsequent maintenance that needs to go into
them.

Same argument for Why LPAR ? :-)

Very minimal maintenance.

Crap. Another mold I don't fit into :-) I consider this something
every shop should live by: When modernizing, first pursue at fairly
great length the tools that are currently available in your
programming language for the OS you run on. If your need can't be met
then at that point move on. Most people fail on the first part and
jump right of the side of the ship.

As far as considering me one-sided, I guess I feel I take a more
reasonable approach based on where a company has invested their
dollars (talking about IBM i/RPG shops specifically). I use Java
where it fits, but otherwise I make great effort to keep things in RPG
because it is less intellect to maintain for the company.

Hey there whippersnapper. No 4 letter words :-)

We apparently agree on this as well. Take the best approach for the customer at hand depending on needs and skillsets.

Regards,
Richard Schoen
RJS Software Systems Inc.
Where Information Meets Innovation
Document Management, Workflow, Report Delivery, Forms and Business Intelligence
Email: richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Web Site: http://www.rjssoftware.com
Tel: (952) 736-5800
Fax: (952) 736-5801
Toll Free: (888) RJSSOFT

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message: 4
date: Fri, 8 Oct 2010 13:10:06 -0500
from: Aaron Bartell <aaronbartell@xxxxxxxxx>
subject: Re: [WEB400] Microsoft .NET frontending IBM i

Ah, not really true. As of V6R1 the database stuff is entirely integrated to Visual Studio. The drivers work all the way back to V5R1.

Maybe that would be good fodder for you to write an article about
because I haven't seen that yet :-)

Deploying an IIS server is a little more complex, but it's also not rocket science. You can teach anyone to deploy an app on IIS in 60 minutes or less :-)

That's a little bit what scares me - Microsoft has *had* to make it
simple/easy because it is a recommended practice to only run a single
significant application on a single server.

Is that a good approach ? Depends on who you talk to. I actually like keeping the iSeries one layer back whenever possible.

And why is that? When I ask people that question I rarely get an
answer other than "security by obscurity".

Why isn't the LPAR reasoning the same ? Seems that way to me. I want an isolated environment for whatever reason. In fact an LPAR is usually just a big disk image just like a Vmware image that shares system resources. And isn't it called virtualization ? :-)

Have you ever used Vmware in a real production environment ?

Me? No, but others in Krengel Tech have.

We have 10 VMware Server instances on a single Intel piece of hardware and it does much more than 10 individual servers could accomplish standalone.

What do you mean it can do more?

VMware is awesome and anyone who tells you different just hasn't used or implemented it properly.

I am not saying it isn't cool. I am contesting the need to do it in
the first place and the subsequent maintenance that needs to go into
them.

Sure you can if that's where you only skillset lies and you desire an all iSeries approach and you're not comfortable with other platforms.