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The Top Five Myths of Screen Scraping
A Simpler Way to SOA-Enable Existing Applications
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NEW ELEARNING FROM SYSTEM iNETWORK |
Microsoft Excel and Word for IBM i Developers Thursday, June 9, 2011 Join Craig Pelkie for this in-depth eLearning course, and you'll learn techniques to integrate these Microsoft Office applications with your IBM i database. This eLearning course meets at 3:30 p.m. ET on Thursdays for five sessions starting June 9th.
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LANSA Turns aXes into IBM i Cloud Enabler
Published: April 26, 2011
by Alex Woodie
LANSA is shipping a new release of its aXes Web enablement software that's designed to turn IBM i server environments into private and public clouds, including a platform for software as a service (SaaS). The vendor's new aXes-Cloud software, which ships with aXes version 2.0, enables organizations to make multiple IBM i server applications available to any browser-supported device. Version 2.0 also includes new query and spool file capabilities that IBM i users may find useful.
There's no denying the fact that "cloud" is extremely hot at the moment. Regardless of what the term actually means or whether it represents any true innovation compared to previous hosting models, cloud has taken off and embedded itself into the lexicon of the American businessperson. This has led IT vendors of all stripes to reposition their wares (or just re-write their marketing materials in some cases) to reflect a cloud basis, and you can't really blame them.
Cloud-mania is, thankfully, more subdued in the IBM i world, where hot technology and marketing terms du jour are usually ignored, and practicality and pragmatism have always ruled the day. That is not to say resellers and service providers aren't moving to roll out their own cloud hosting models in response to customer demands for lowering operating costs. Server outsourcing, as well as application service providing (ASP), have been a solid presence on the IBM midrange platform for more than a decade. But there is a clear trend of more IBM i workloads shifting from in-house servers to bureau-based computing centers, which is partly driven by the seemingly never-ending IBM i server consolidation cycle.
Chop Up the Cloud
This brings us to LANSA and its new cloud enablement offering. This offering is based on aXes, its screen modernization tool that converts 5250 data into HTML, which it obtained two years ago. aXes installs directly on the IBM i server, and uses a combination of XML and CGI techniques to enable on-the-fly screen conversions, without any source code changes or installation of client software.
LANSA unveiled a new aXes-Cloud component in aXes version 2.0 that, when installed on an IBM i server, turns that server into a "cloud gateway." This cloud gateway streamlines user access to multiple IBM i servers and applications sitting on the network behind the gateway. Users log on just once, and are automatically routed to all their applications, even if the apps are located on separate physical IBM i servers. "Users don't need to be aware that the cloud gateway exists," LANSA says in its announcement.
The Australia-based vendor, which has its U.S. headquarters near Chicago, sees several usage scenarios for the aXes-Cloud available with version 2.0. The first is for companies that run their own multi-server IBM i environments. Such an organization could use the aXes software to create a private cloud that streamlines user access to applications running on different IBM i servers.
This private-cloud scenario also provides the benefit of enabling browser-based access to IBM i servers that are too old, or too heavily customized, to support a direct aXes installation. According to LANSA, all IBM i servers sitting behind the cloud gateway server will operate as if the aXes-Cloud software is installed on it. That's a nifty little feat of IT magic that could prove useful.
LANSA also foresees aXes-Cloud being used by hosting providers to create public clouds for their customers. In the public cloud scenario, a customer can access any IBM i server installed behind a cloud gateway, including servers running at the hosting provider's data center, or even those that the customer keeps in house.
Benefits of the public cloud offering are similar to those of the private cloud. This includes making IBM i applications accessible over the Web, even if the underlying application or server infrastructure is too old or too heavily customized to justify its own Web-enablement project, according to LANSA.
Sharpening Cloud Business Models
Last but not least, LANSA is positioning the aXes-Cloud software to help ISVs turn their IBM i applications into SaaS offerings. LANSA says this offering will help by creating modern Web interfaces from 5250 applications without any programming.
One company that's using aXes-Cloud to bolster its hosting business is Evolution Systems, a Sydney, Australia-based IT consultancy with extensive expertise in IBM i hosting and SAP implementations.
In February, LANSA announced that Evolution Systems has adopted aXes-Cloud to bolster its IBM i hosting business, and to help create a new platform as a service (PaaS) offering to customers who want to outsource their IBM i workloads.
Geoff Boreland, founder and managing director of Evolution Systems, says the new software and its subscription-based pricing, "facilitates the fast and simple provisioning of new customers and additional users. We now offer hosted services with on-demand scaling whether up or down."
You can expect to read about additional IBM i business partners joining LANSA on the cloud journey. "We are currently in discussions with additional companies offering System i cloud solutions," states LANSA vice president of sales Kevin Corcoran.
Other aXes 2.0 Bennies
aXes version 2.0 brings several other new capabilities in the areas of spool files, database queries, and programmatic automation of 5250 applications.
Top of the list is enhancements to the aXes Data Explorer, which is a Web-based aXes program that allows users to query the DB2/400 database using IBM's SQL services. LANSA says aXes Data Explorer can handle all SQL queries, from the simple to the complex. It also lets users do things such as create and save SQL queries for later execution and export query results to spreadsheets, the vendor says.
The aXes Spool File Explorer, which enables users to access IBM i spool file output from the comfort of a Web browser, has also been enhanced. Users can view spool files on the Web browser as a PDF, HTML, text, or image file. The program also lets users create and save spool file queue searches for later use and export spool file data into a spreadsheet.
Finally, users can programmatically drive their 5250 apps with aXes-Robot, which is a brand new addition to the aXes suite. The aXes-Robot is a series of APIs that enable developers to basically simulate a user sitting in front of a 5250 session (hence the robot terminology). LANSA says this feature will be handy in several situations, including performing data entry as a batch program, using Web services to expose IBM i data that can only be accessed via 5250, or creating a connection between an ASP.NET website and a 5250 application.
LANSA is offering three flavors of the aXes-Robot API, including a .NET interface for Windows programs, a Java API that runs on IBM i and Windows, and an RPG-based API for pure IBM i environments.
aXes requires i5/OS V5R3 or later, and requires a FastCGI-enabled HTTP server such as aXes Application Server. The software supports recent releases of popular Web browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome. LANSA offers access to aXes-Cloud through subscription and per-user licensing options. For more information, see www.axeslive.com.
Seriously, in regards to IBM i (or more commonly on eHow.com, the iSeries) you can learn:
How to Install, Upgrade or Delete i5/OS & Related Software, which really looks like an article on how to connect to a server running IBM i from a PC.
How to Create XML From an iSeries File, which describes how to turn data files stored on an i system into XML files.
How to Restore an iSeries on Another System, which looks like how you might put the contents of a single database stored on an i system onto a diskette.
How to Restore From an iSeries Tape, which sounds like it might really work, except that the author's maple syrup has won awards in competition, leading me to believe that then again, maybe it won't.
How to Remove an iSeries Password Cache, which sounds like few too many instructions to do something complex, but the author has a degree in computer science.
How to Print From iSeries to Ricoh, which seems like basic info.
At first I thought this was a totally cool phenomena, that IBM i had claimed a decent presence on a mainstream website. But now I'm not so sure. Most of these instructions are written in 3 to 5 steps and most are by authors whose backgrounds have nothing to do with technology, which leaves me wondering:
Are there SMBs (or dare I say, enterprises) out there that have some form of an i system sitting amongst their Wintel servers with no clue about what to do with it? And suddenly a day comes when they want to take some data off it and put it on a Wintel system but have no one in-house who knows how to do that and so ventures to the web where they find these instructions on eHow.com?
Naw.
Seeing as how most entries are written by self-proclaimed writers, and that eHow.com offers $15 to $20 per hour to folks willing to write 3 or so entries in that hour and offers fame and glory on a website with high hits as a benefit, I'd have to guess that these writers are covering everything and anything to make a buck.
—Rita-Lyn Sanders, Senior Industry Editor
The article was originally published on the SystemINetwork website
There has been some confusion in the marketplace regarding Zend Technologies and its IBM i offerings. To summarize, Zend is moving away from Zend Core and Zend Platform offerings, and encouraging all IBM i customers to start using the new Zend Server, or at least begin planning the migration, because Zend will stop supporting the Core and Platform runtimes this July.
Zend announced Zend Server 5.0 for Linux and Windows in October 2009, and launched the IBM i version of that product in April 2010. At some point, the Cupertino, California, company announced the end of life for Zend Core and Zend Platform, which for years have been the primary PHP runtimes for Windows, Linux, and IBM i servers.
Zend has already stopped distributing Zend Core for i5/OS, which was free, as well as Linux and Windows versions of the free PHP runtime. And it has (mostly) stopped selling Zend Platform, which was the enterprise-strength version of the PHP runtime that added things like performance optimization and application monitoring capabilities. (The company will still sell a Zend Platform license in special circumstances, it says in its end of life statement. But this probably only relates to Windows and Linux.)
The vendor announced that, as of July 1, it will no longer support Zend Core or Zend Platform on any environment. However, there are some caveats to that as it relates to the agreement it has with IBM, which for years has been distributing copies of Zend Core for i5/OS with the i5/OS and IBM i operating system and paying for its customers to get full year of technical support from Zend. IBM has taken these steps to encourage i5/OS and IBM i shops to adopt PHP for application modernization, and it has worked pretty well, by most accounts.
One of the caveats is this: If an existing IBM i customer has just begun the one year of free technical support from Zend that IBM offers to all customers adopting Zend Core for i5/OS, then Zend will abide by that agreement and continue to support that customer on Zend Core for i5/OS, according to a Zend Server FAQ on the Zend Web site that discusses the options for Zend Core and Zend Platform for i5/OS customers. Similarly, Zend Core for i5/OS customers who are under contract, and who need extra capacity, will be allowed to buy additional licenses up until their support contract runs out. After that, they'll need to upgrade to its replacement, Zend Server (Community Edition) for IBM i.
While Zend will (grudgingly) support the old Zend Core for i5/OS product for the full 12 months for customers who have already started their year of tech support (or sell them extra capacity), Zend says it "strongly recommends" that customers instead move to Zend Server CE for IBM i.
Any new IBM i customers who want to start taking advantage of their free year of tech support from Zend will not be allowed to get support on the old Zend Core product. Instead, they will be required to move to the new Zend Server CE for IBM i product if they want to get support. (Or, they could just use Zend Core for i5/OS, but they won't get support from Zend.)
All IBM i customers, including those in the middle of their free year of tech support, have the option of upgrading from Zend Core for i5/OS to Zend Server CE for IBM i. When IBM i customers get to the end of their one year of free technical support, customers who desire tech support will need to migrate to Zend Server CE or the full Zend Server or IBM i product, which starts at about $5,000 per year on a Power System Model 520.
The Zend Server CE and Zend Server for IBM i products are basically the same product, the only difference being that customers who have upgraded to Zend Server for IBM i get a key that unlocks additional features.
So, why would an IBM i shop want to move to Zend Server, aside from the fact that it's the only way to get technical support? According to Zend and IBM, the Zend Server product family is a big improvement over the Zend Core and Zend Platform products, in a number of ways.
Perhaps the biggest enhancement is the fact that Zend Server for IBM i requires only a single Apache Web application server instance. Thanks to IBM's FastCGI technology, the need to have two Apache instance--one in IBM i and another in AIX accessed via PASE--is eliminated. This boosts performance, and simplifies installation and maintenance, the vendors say.
Customers moving up to the full Zend Server for IBM i product will benefit from other new features, such as integrated code-tracing that enables developers to build faster, more efficient apps; new job queue functions that enable PHP apps to better control the execution of application and maintenance tasks; and new page- and data-caching functions that boosts performance and scalability.
For more information, see http://www.zend.com/en/products/server/zend-server-ibm-i-faq.
Downers Grove, Ill. USA — February 7, 2011 — For the past decade, modernization has been common water cooler banter among IBM i application developers and is still recognized as a high priority project for many CIOs and IT Managers. But recently the bar has been raised considerably as modernization projects are now expected to be more forward-thinking – they need the flexibility to quickly adapt to new business requirements and be hardware and software platform agnostic. To help these CIOs and IT Managers navigate a steady course beyond modernization, LANSA is introducing a “Transforming IBM i Applications” eBook Trilogy by well-known author, speaker and consultant Paul Conte.
This complimentary 3-part eBook addresses many common issues that IT managers are currently facing including:
The complete Trilogy is comprised of the following books:
Book 1 – Prepare for Your Journey – Know your goals & chart a course – delves into the challenges faced by IBM i organizations as they strive toward success, providing insight into the major business and technological drivers behind the movement that forces them to transform their legacy applications and development strategies.
Book 2 – Be a Savvy Traveler – Plan your trip, step-by-step – lays out the steps to create an incremental transformation plan. The ultimate transformation goal is far reaching – to implement a comprehensive enterprise application architecture encompassing all your legacy and new applications. But the goal should be reached through a series of non-disruptive steps where each step produces immediate returns and minimizes risk. This book dives deeply into a variety of ways your enterprise can reuse, recycle and reengineer legacy applications, as well as providing advice on minimizing risk and other aspects of a sound plan.
Book 3 – Embark with Confidence – Be well-equipped and follow this guide – completes the trilogy by examining specific technologies and practices that support a non-disruptive, low-risk transition process from an organization’s current application portfolio and practices to a “new generation” of applications and an architecture-based approach to development. This book concludes the series by specifying a set of “best practices” for a successful transition process.
Steve Gapp, president of LANSA Americas, said, “Paul has put together a compelling series of eBooks, which really gets to the heart of the matter when it comes to the challenges facing the majority of IBM i IT shops today. The best practices, steps and guidance offered towards transforming these shops to implement agile, innovative applications that prepare them to face both current and future needs is a must read for any IBM i software developer or manager who is looking for a strategy for success – and some peace of mind!”
You can download a complimentary copy of the eBook Trilogy at www.beyondmodernization.com
“GoAnywhere Director allows customers to eliminate custom scripts and the numerous tools that were typically needed for transferring, encrypting and translating data.” says Bob Luebbe – Chief Architect
Omaha, Nebraska (Vocus/PRWEB) February 08, 2011
Linoma Software has released version 3.50 of GoAnywhere Director, a Managed File Transfer (MFT) solution which will automate and secure the exchange of data with your customers, trading partners and enterprise servers. New features in GoAnywhere Director 3.50 include:
GoAnywhere Director allows for remote administration from any Web browser, including iPads and smart phones. The latest release includes improved styling and organization of the screens, along with more on-screen help to enhance usability. Additional templates have also been added to make it easier to create more variations of project workflows. For instance, in just a couple minutes, a user could utilize a template to create a project that extracts data from a database, converts it to CSV format, encrypts it with Open PGP and sends it to a FTP server.
“GoAnywhere Director allows customers to eliminate custom scripts and the numerous tools that were typically needed for transferring, encrypting and translating data,” says Bob Luebbe – Chief Architect. “As its feature-set continues to grow, GoAnywhere Director can be used to streamline even more data transfers while providing the audit trails and security needed for compliance.”
GoAnywhere Director installs on most platforms including Windows, Linux, IBM i (iSeries), AIX, UNIX, HP-UX, Solaris and Mac OS X. A fully functional trial of GoAnywhere Director is available at http://www.GoAnywhereMFT.com. Pricing starts at $3,995.
The document was originally published on the PRWeb Website
Reliable Financial Intelligence Will Help Drive Competitiveness Across Diverse Range of Industries and Materials
MANCHESTER, NH--(Marketwire - February 1, 2011) - UNIT4 CODA, Inc., a business unit of UNIT4, the world's leading provider of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and financial management software for fast changing organizations, today announced that Superior Bulk Logistics, a leading bulk transportation and logistics company, has purchased Coda Financials as its financial management software.
Superior Bulk Logistics required accounting software that could handle the company's operational complexity across the range of industries and types of materials it transports. Using Coda Financials, the company will benefit from accurate, real time financial intelligence that will help drive competitiveness and optimize profitability in a competitive marketplace. Superior Bulk Logistics operates four divisions, each specializing in a different part of the trucking industry, ranging from transporting hazardous and non-hazardous materials, transloading food and non-food, liquids and dry bulk products as well as cleaning and sanitizing those trucks.
According to Donna Hudson, Accounting Manager for Superior Bulk Logistics, "As a growing leader in bulk trucking, with complex accounting needs across multiple subsidiaries, we needed a comprehensive financial software solution that maximizes our IBM AS400 systems and applications and integrates our operational data for both financial and operational reporting.
"After evaluating several industry offerings, such as those offered by JD Edwards, Microsoft and others, we realized that Coda Financials knocked it out of the park with its deep functionality, flexibility, integration and performance. Its single financial model, real-time reporting and multidimensional analysis are just three of the standout features that made Coda Financials the preferred choice for Superior Bulk," she concluded.
In making the announcement, Steven J. Pugh, chief executive officer of UNIT4 CODA, said, "In the demanding and complex trading world of transportation and logistics, access to reliable financial intelligence, and comprehensive analysis and control of financial information can set a company apart from its competitors. Today, more than 200 of the world's leading transportation and logistics companies rely on our best-of-class Coda Financials global accounting solution. It is especially invaluable for those organizations where classifying, measuring, and analyzing profitability by shipment, vessel voyage, container and bill of lading are of utmost importance."
About Superior Bulk Logistics
Superior Bulk Logistics, through subsidiaries Superior Carriers and Carry Transit, hauls liquid and dry bulk cargo, including both chemical and food-grade products. Overall, the trucking units of Superior Bulk Logistics operate a fleet of some 875 tractors and 2,000 trailers. The company's SuperFlo unit provides transloading services -- the transfer of cargo between railcars and trucks. Superior Bulk Logistics' Sanicare Wash Systems unit cleans tank truck trailers and other bulk containers used for food products. Superior Bulk Logistics offers service between Mexico and the U.S. and Canada through a partnership with Transpormex, a division of Grupo Dexel. For more information, please visit http://www.superiorbulklogistics.com.
About UNIT4 CODA
UNIT4 CODA, Inc. is part of UNIT4, a $517 million global business software company that creates, delivers and supports adaptable business software and services to help dynamic organizations manage their business needs effectively. We strive to set the global standard for business solutions that enable companies to embrace change -- simply, quickly and cost effectively. Coda Financials is an award-winning suite of best-of-class management software designed to integrate with industry- and company-specific applications. CODA provides real-time financial visibility and control across people, processes and systems. By acting as the financial information backbone for companies with fast-changing and mixed application environments, it offers a "no compromise" approach to financial modeling, process controls and application choice. For more information on UNIT4 CODA, visit http://www.unit4coda.com. Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/UNIT4CODA.
For further information contact:
Margaret Bonilla
Birnbach Communications for UNIT4 CODA
603-548-0693
Email Contact
Magic to Sell MicroStrategy BI into IBM i Base
Published: February 1, 2011
by Alex Woodie
Magic Software will offer the complete suite of MicroStrategy's business intelligence offerings as part of an alliance the two software company's announced last month. The MicroStrategy BI solution is a good fit for IBM i and JD Edwards shops because of its relatively low overhead and openness, according to Magic, which will also be helping IBM i shops build DB2/400-based data marts using its iBOLT integration tool.
MicroStrategy has not traditionally been one of the BI vendors that IBM i shops look to when contemplating the implementation of a BI solution. While the Vienna, Virginia, software company and its customers have undoubtedly tapped into IBM i data sources before, MicroStrategy, for whatever reason, just hasn't had much of a presence in the IBM midrange marketplace, especially compared to competitors like Cognos and SPSS (both owned by IBM) and Informaiton Builders, which is a close IBM partner.
That is about to change as the result of MicroStrategy's new relationship with Magic Software, which develops native IBM i integration and development tools, and is well-known and respected in the IBM i community. Magic executive vice president Glenn Johnson says the company is excited to be selling the reporting and analytics from MicroStrategy, and expects the tools to be a good fit for many IBM i shops.
"MicroStrategy's reputation is awesome. They have the number one rankings from Gartner and a number of specialized analysts that look at business intelligence tools," Johnson says. "MicroStrategy tends to be a very efficient solution, and I think it matches well with IBM i."
Johnson referenced a recent Gartner report that found MicroStrategy customers analyze the largest amount of data, and that they have a large (but not the biggest) user base compared to customers of other enterprise-level BI offerings. And when it looked at the number of administrators required to support the BI environment, Gartner found MicroStrategy to be at the bottom of the list.
"In other words, it requires the least amount of administrative overhead to keep it running," Johnson says. "You've heard all of our pitches of our approach, to be meta-data driven and efficient in a development environment. And we felt that in terms of BI solutions, that MicroStrategy was very similar in terms of our own goal to provide excellent capabilities with minimal overhead."
Magic is offering its customers a bundle that combines its iBOLT or UniPaaS software with MicroStrategy products. The bundle includes perpetual licenses for several MicroStrategy products, including development tools and end-user reporting tools. The final per-user cost comes in around $60, which is on the aggressive side. The company can sell any product in MicroStrategy's catalog, which also includes online analytical processing (OLAP), data mining, Web-based dashboards, and mobile interfaces for the iPhone and iPad.
While MicroStrategy's tools are primarily Windows-based, they can access practically any data source, including DB2/400 via MicroStrategy connectors that support i5/OS V5R4 and IBM i 6.1. To that end, Magic plans to use iBOLT, which is typically used as a business process integration and orchestration tool, as an ETL tool of sorts, to load data marts and data warehouses on the IBM i server. The capability to keep BI-related data on the IBM i server will appeal to midrange shops that don't have skills on other databases, or who are concerned about the security of their data residing on other platforms.
Johnson says JD Edwards' customers will be primary beneficiaries of Magic's new MicroStrategy offerings. Indeed, later this month Magic will participate in iConsortium's JDE Executive Summit in Hilton Head, South Carolina, alongside MicroStrategy representatives and Lyle Ekdahl, general manager of Oracle's JD Edwards business.
Oracle sells its own BI stack and competes with MicroStrategy's OLAP software with its respected Hyperion offering. Nevertheless, the software giant is pragmatic about helping its JD Edwards shops acquire BI capabilities, and is open to working with MicroStrategy, Johnson says.
"You have to be realistic about the differences between Red Stack and Blue Stack," Johnson says. "When it comes to really building a data mart on the IBM i, how are you going to do that? How is that solution going to be positioned in the marketplace, especially when you're talking about JD Edwards World, which is exclusively on the IBM i platform?"
The IBM i server may also get a sort of reprieve from migration plans when customers make DB2/400 data available to MicroStrategy's BI tools, Johnson says. "I think having BI tools that can run in other environments is going to be advantageous to preserving the investment in IBM i," he says, "because it will mean that you can get the reports, analytics, and decision-making tools into the hands of senior management, line of business managers, and knowledge workers that otherwise might not be there in typical IBM i environments. And that will, I think, reduce the pressure to move to other platforms."
For more information on Magic and MicroStrategy offerings, visit the companies' websites at www.microstrategy.com and www.magicsoftware.com.
The article was originally published at Four Hundred Stuff
Just when you think it's safe to jump in the PHP sandbox and play with all the cool toys, a bully comes along and tries to snatch one out of your hands. According to the MySQL website, Oracle Corporation has dropped support for versions of the MySQL open-source database that run on IBM i and AIX. Citing "very low demand," Oracle says it won't build anymore MySQL binaries for the AIX and IBM i platforms.
It's too bad that Oracle has decided to not play fair, but the company is in the database business, and in business, I suppose it doesn't make sense to continue something that doesn't benefit you.
Still, IBM users don't need to get in a huff at the prospect of losing one of the keys to running open-source apps on i, nor should i users launch into a tantrum (yet).
True, Oracle ultimately owns the MySQL code (even though it's open source). But the IBM i versions at least are available through the Zend PHP bundle that is distributed with current versions of IBM i, and you can download MySQL for i from the YiPs website as well. Besides, that latest version of MySQL for IBM i works with i 5.4, 6.1, and 7.1. "And that's quite a bit of runway that people have," says Alison Butterill, IBM's application development offerings manager for Power Systems.
And lest we forget that once a upon a time, before the IBM i version of MySQL existed, folks did download MySQL and compile it for their i systems so that they could make use of open-source programs like Joomla and SurgarCRM. I remember those days . . . and the buzz that a potential IBM i version of the database created.
Because of the way open source works, anyone still can download the source code for the MySQL database and compile it for their server environment. "They [Oracle] were creating the object code, and that's what they've stopped," Butterill says.
Oracle hasn't answered my query for more information about the decision to put an end to MySQL versions for IBM i, but it seems odd to me that there is "very low demand," especially considering that Zend seems to have a large customer following on IBM i.
Oracle will likely honor any existing support contracts it has with customers for the application. And as is the case with any open-source software, there is a community through which users can find support in the shape of forums and blogs.
For IBM's part, Big Blue is investigating the options, Butterill says. "We're focused predominantly on keeping the open-source commitment on IBM and figuring out some way of maintaining the MySQL option."
Too, IBM put a lot of time and energy into writing the IBM DB2 for i Storage Engine that translates MySQL statements for DB2 and owns that code. I doubt IBM is going to just stand by and watch as the bully tries to knock that out of the sandbox.
—Rita-Lyn Sanders, Senior Industry Editor
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by Alex Woodie
Citing "very low demand," MySQL announced last month that it will no longer provide the MySQL database running on the IBM i operating system. The company, which is owned by IBM archrival Oracle, says it will continue to provide source code and limited product support to customers who want to work with the database on IBM i. Representatives with IBM Rochester say they are looking into ways to continue supporting the open source database, possibly with Zend Technology.
On December 7, MySQL announced the end of life (EOL) of MySQL binaries it developed for several operating systems, including i5/OS V5R4, IBM i version 6.1, AIX version 5.3, Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 3, SuSE Enterprise Linux version 9, OpenSuSE Linux version 9, and the generic X86 Linux distribution developed with Intel's ICC compiler. New support was added for the FreeBSD and Fedora operating systems.
Last month's announcement covers all versions of the MySQL database, including the binaries for the free community edition and the for-fee enterprise and commercial editions. It also includes the IBMDB2I product that allowed DB2/400 to function as a storage engine for MySQL, which MySQL owned. IBM i users are always free to compile the MySQL code themselves.
While finished binaries of older releases of the database for i5/OS V5R4 and IBM i 6.1 remain available for download, MySQL will no longer release fixes or enhancements in for the IBM i operating system in finished binary form. Those product lines have reached the end of the road at MySQL. The announcement also marks the end of sales and most forms of technical support for the enterprise and commercial editions of MySQL on IBM i. Customers can continue to get "limited" support from the vendor for running the database on these platforms, and can also get access to source code, if needed, according to the announcement, which can be viewed at www.mysql.com/support/eol-notice.html.
IBM tried to get Oracle to reconsider its decision to drop support for IBM i, but was unsuccessful, according to Allison Butterill, the application development offerings manager for Power. "We really wanted Oracle to continue to provide those binaries for our IBM i customers, and we know there were many customers that downloaded it from their website," she tells IT Jungle. "And they decided in the fall that they would withdraw those binaries. They cited business reasons; that the business justification wasn't there."
Support Questions
While MySQL won't be supporting the database on IBM i anymore, it isn't the end of the world for MySQL-on-IBM-i enthusiasts, and there are several options for IBM i customers to not only obtain the database, but to support it on the IBM i server as well.
The first support option is to go to the developer community and check forums on the Web with support questions, which is the standard way that open source software is supported, says Butterill, adding that only 5 to 10 percent of the thousands of IBM i shops that downloaded MySQL for IBM i bought support contracts from MySQL. "A lot of customers did not have a formal support agreement with MySQL, so the support is the same as they were using before," she says.
In the future, technical support may be available from IBM, Zend, or a third party. Butterill notes that Zend is already distributing installable code for MySQL for IBM i--including binaries for IBM i 7.1 for both MySQL and the IBMDB2I storage engine--and that IBM and Zend are investigating options for expanding the agreement to include formal technical support as well.
There has been no formal announcement about supporting MySQL through Zend, but there are ongoing discussions about it, says Ian Jarman, manager of Power Systems software. "We're certainly looking at that and considering it," Jarman says.
A Changing Relationship
The end of IBM i support by MySQL marks an abrupt downturn in the 3.5-year-old relationship between IBM Rochester and MySQL. Things looked promising in 2007, when IBM and the independent Swedish company entered into a formal partnership and announced plans to get MySQL running on the platform with the launch of i5/OS V6R1 in early 2008.
In late 2008, after MySQL had been bought by Sun for $1 billion, the two vendors continued to work together, and released the first private beta of the DB2/400 storage engine, which was released as a public beta called IBMDB2I in March 2009. IBMDB2I was added as a fully supported feature in MySQL version 5.1.35, which became available in May 2009. According to MySQL's website, IBMDB2I was removed with MySQL 5.1.54, which was released in November 2010.
Things really started changing when Oracle obtained MySQL with its acquisition of Sun. "I think it would be fair to say that the conditions of the relationship changed quite dramatically over the years," Jarman says. "If you think about it, when we originally developed this contract and support arrangement with MySQL, it was an independent company. Then it was taken over by Sun. Then it was taken over by Oracle. So, yeah, things have changed quite dramatically over the period. So it's not really a surprise given that MySQL was taken over by two different companies that they're business objectives have changed some years later."
By the way, with the elimination of support for IBM i 6.1 and AIX 5.3, MySQL now is officially not supported on any IBM Power servers, including newer Power7-based Power Systems servers, older Power6-based System i or System p servers, or even older still Power5-based iSeries or pSeries machines. MySQL has not been adapted and is not supported on newer releases of the operating systems, including IBM i 7.1 and AIX 7.1. No Power-based Linux distributions are officially supported.
At the top of every Web page on the MySQL website is a link that says "Recommended servers for MySQL." The link leads to Oracle's webpage for Sun servers. "It doesn't really surprise me that Oracle is beginning to say they will support fewer and fewer platforms as they try to shore up their Solaris business," Jarman says.
Yhe article was originally published at Four Hundred Stuff
Aaron Bartell isn't the kind of guy to sit on the sidelines and think, "If only." No, Aaron likes to make things happen. Take, for example, his current idea for personal instances of IBM i.
Aaron would love to see IBM i more readily available to developers who might like to practice on it or get to know it better.
To that end he has asked IBM to create an affordable program that provides access to IBM i. Take it away, Aaron:
Cloud-based i
I'm curious to know how many developers have an idea to pursue on IBM i but can't because of a lack of access to a machine. I've found that it's incredibly difficult to obtain access to your own instance of IBM i. You either need to be incredibly fortunate to work for somebody that lets you use their IBM i system to expand your personal horizons, or you need a big wallet to purchase an entry-level machine at around $15,000.
I'm on the IBM ISV Advisory Council and have submitted a formal request for an end-user lease program that would let developers lease an IBM i LPAR "in the cloud" for market rates—about $65 per month.IBM does offer the Virtual Loaner Program (ibm.com/systems/vlp), which lets you configure a new instance of IBM i via a web browser in about five minutes and two hours later IBM emails you login credentials to the automatically created IBM i LPAR. I've been using this VLP service for about four years and am amazed at how seamless it is. The only issues are that there are legal limitations on how you can use the machine, it's only accessible via a VPN connection (i.e., you can't host a public website on it), and your use expires after two weeks.
IBM has the technology, it just needs us to demand that the company take it further for the benefit of not only current IBM i customers, but also for the next generation of developers who are coming out of colleges in droves and only know Java and .NET.
Again, please let me know (aaronbartell@mowyourlawn.com) if you would like to have access to IBM i in the cloud. I need to go back to IBM with numbers and examples of how people would use such a service if it existed.
One thought I had is if IBM doesn't fly with the idea, would it be affordable, profitable, and possible for a third party to run with it and make it happen?
—Rita-Lyn Sanders, Senior Industry Editor
Posted by rsanders at January 4, 2011 12:49 PM
Robert Cancilla authors a series of four articles on how Application Mapping has changed the way companies are managing, maintaining and modernizing their Legacy IBM i Applications.
The whole series is available as an eBook(pdf) download here, or use the links below to download the individual articles in the series.
| Application Mapping - IBM_i_the_present_and_the_future.pdf Enterprise Application Discovery - Automated_Application_Audit.pdf Legacy Application Design Recovery - Modernizing_Legacy_CA2E_&_RPG_applications.pdf Automating system wide changes - Writing_programs_to_update_your_programs.pdf |
An Interesting new from BCDSoftware.com Presto gives all your IBM i green screens a Web GUI in one minute with no code changes. The white paper discusses why you should modernize your 5250 applications and how Presto can accomplish this. WebSmart PHP helps you rapidly develop IBM i and multi-platform PHP apps in minutes using templates and wizards. The white paper discusses why you should consider writing web apps in PHP and how WebSmart helps you do that. Bonus Draw: Every IT person at any organization that purchases a BCD software product by January 31, 2011 that is registered in this draw will be entered in a second drawing to win a free iPad. | |
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iSeriesLink Apps link iSeries Programs to PC and/or Web resources.
You can add a new function key or hot key to any existing iSeries or AS/400 screen. The key can trigger an event, such as opening a PC file, getting a URL, or running a PC program. The file name, URL, or parameters to the program can be different each time, depending on the data present on that particular screen.
With iSeriesLink, the changes to the end-user environment are minimal. iSeriesLink Applications do not require special emulation software. The users can continue to use standard AS/400 emulation software like Client Access PC5250, Rumba, Reflection, Synapse, or BOSâNOVA. iSeriesLink Apps do not require any special software to be installed on the iSeries or AS/400 either.
The end-result iSeriesLink Application is approximately a 200 KB exe file. When you run it, it will minimize itself into the system tray. Once the app is minimized, the programmed functionality is automatically present on the specified iSeries or AS/400 screens. See examples.
You can select the Auto-Start option to make the iSeriesLink App start automatically. This way, all iSeriesLink features will appear to end-users as inherent features of the system.
iSeriesLink Studio (or www.iSeriesLink.com) is a web-based development environment for iSeries professionals. It allows iSeries developers to extend the functionality of iSeries and AS/400 systems.
Often, users that work with the iSeries (or AS/400) system need to access related PC or web documents. The Studio allows you to create iSeriesLink Apps, which will automatically connect iSeries programs to PC and Internet resources.
To create basic iSeriesLink Applications, no programming is required.
