With the release of IBM i version 7.2 Technology Refresh 1, Big Blue has reduced the size requirement for the load-source disk for virtualised storage implementations. “So what?” I hear you cry. “All my disks are physical, they are bigger than 70GB and have been for years. What’s the big deal?” Well, for production workloads, […]
Masterclass: advanced vSCSI disk monitoring (includes scripts)
In my previous article, I showed how you can use nmon in VIOS to display the performance statistics of hdisks that are mapped to client LPARs. This is achieved by creating a file which nmon reads and then displays the relevant performance data. The script I used required that the virtual target devices (VTDs) mapped […]
Can free-form RPG catch on?
Ah, my first article for PowerWire! I hope that the editor chose me for my RPG knowledge, not my photo on LinkedIn (go on, take a look). My experience of RPG goes back to RPG II on the System/36 in the early 1980s. I’m sure a fair portion of you can say you go back […]
7.2 things I love about IBM i 7.2 (part 2)
It’s hard to believe it but 2014, the year that brought us v7.2 and Power8, is almost over. Indeed, it may well be gone by the time you read this. So, without further ado, here is part two of my list of things that I love about version 7.2 of our favourite operating system. Number […]
Masterclass: how to monitor VIOS vSCSI disk performance
In my previous article I showed how you can use nmon in VIOS to display the performance statistics of hdisks that are mapped to client LPARs. This is achieved by creating a file which nmon reads and then displays the relevant performance data. Let’s look at a script I created to automatically generate the file […]
7.2 things I love about IBM i 7.2 (part 1)
I recently gave a presentation at an i-UG event in England on some of the new features in IBM i v7.2. In an attempt to make it a little more fun (and in tribute to Friday nights as a young lad), I delivered this in the style of a Top of the Pops-type countdown. If […]
Is the new HMC interface enhanced or not?
IBM has rather quietly brought out a new interface to its Hardware Management Console (HMC). This became an option in V8R8.1 Service Pack1 of the HMC. IBM has called it the enhanced interface and you will have an option to select it at log in. Don’t worry, you’ll know it when you see it. Before […]
IBM i 7.2: How to look into the future with Batch Model
Continuing my recent system performance theme, the next IBM i 7.2 function I’d like to discuss is called Batch Model. Perhaps not the most descriptive of names but, mercifully, it is short. And, despite its name, it does in fact analyse all types of workload, not just batch. When I first heard about it, I […]
IBM i 7.2: Finding the job that is killing your system
In my last article, I mentioned that it would be nice if there was tool that you could use to find the cause of performance problems on your system. I knew that IBM had been improving the Performance Tools that came with IBM i but I hadn’t realised just how much it had packed in. […]
Masterclass: VIO Server networking tips and techniques
Over the past few years, I have picked up a number of tips and techniques to help when working with LPARs on Power Systems that use VIOS for networking. VIOS can provide highly performant, resilient and redundant networking capabilities to IBM i, AIX and Linux LPARs. While customers are comfortable with VIOS networking capabilities once […]