Author: Steve Bradshaw
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Three reasons to look at INZTAP in a different light
The use of tape with IBM i is still truly ubiquitous, and yet virtually no one pays any attention to the way that the tapes are prepared. Whether we are taking about GDPR secure data wipes, backup data integrity or identifying backup time, then INZTAP is a great tool to have in your tool kit.…
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POWER 9 G Models
IBM has recently announced a new version of the POWER9 scale out servers, these are the entry level servers that make up the P05, P10 and P20 Process Group ranges. If you’ve been paying attention to the past server announcements, you would be excused for assuming this was a POWER9+ as IBM did with the…
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Protecting against user enumeration in IBM i
I was discussing an RFE (Request For Enhancement) with some CEAC colleagues the other day. A request has been made for IBM to formally address the ability to Enumerate User Profiles on IBM i. Now, user enumeration is not something you hear a lot about in the IBM i world yet by default it is…
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Act Fast IBM have announced a SWMA Amnesty
For five long years I’ve been telling anyone at IBM who would listen that we need a SWMA Amnesty, well that time has come but it’s not going to be here for long so if you want to save thousands of £/€/$ you need to act now! And talking of now, now more than ever…
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IBM i 7.4 TR2 and 7.3 TR8
We are living through some incredible times right now, I type this article whilst in Covid-19 Lockdown, I only bring this up so as to allow myself to wish you and your loved ones well and to hope that your lives are not too badly affected. Those of you who know me well, know that…
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What happened to my emails?
One of the questions I get asked often is “How can you track emails sent from IBM i?” Until 7.2 this was a near impossible task. But since 7.2 WRKSMTPEMM was added to the operating system and I love it! What does it look like? If we start with a WRKSMTPEMM LISTBY(*RCP) QUEUE(*ALL) we get…
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/Home bitter-sweet /Home
The Home directory is nothing new to IBM i, it’s been around for decades and yet it is not widely used. With the increase in popularity of Open Source on IBM i (including SSH) this is changing and many more users are creating their Home Directories and some are noticing an unexpected side effect. What…
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F8 – Back to the Future II
GREAT SCOT !! No I’m not talking about Mr Forstie but of course borrowing from Doc Brown in the Movie Back to the Future. This is something he would say whenever he saw something incredible. Now that is exactly how I felt when I was shipped a test PTF by my hero Mike K Russell…
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Time to Say Byebye to the POWER7+
Those of you with first generation POWER7 processor (the models that end in B & C) will be all to aware that on Monday this week (30th September 2019) IBM ceased their mainstream hardware support for these models. Some of you will of managed to negotiate and EOS Extension of Service but this is often…
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SMBv3 support in IBM i 7.4
Those of you that spotted my article on what’s new in 7.4 back in April (if you missed it, click here to read it now) may well remember I was quite excited at the prospect of SMBv3 in 7.4. And yes, I realise just how sad that makes me sound and yet it is AWESOME…
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Say Hello to IBM i 7.4
Say Hello to IBM i 7.4 It’s time to meet the new kid on the block, as IBM announces the latest version of IBM i. IBM i 7.4, announced today and generally available from June 2019. The arrival of 7.4 in 2019 is no surprise, for the last year senior IBM executives have described “The…
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Free Performance boost for POWER8 & POWER9 Servers
Anyone fancy a free performance upgrade? Well if you are running a POWER8 or POWER9 and your firmware is up to date, you may just be able to get a performance increase by changing a single setting in the Hypervisor. This is not an April Fool, it a free 10% performance boost that is free…