Category: Technical Articles
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DB2 Field Procedures – Testing
In my last article, I wrote how we can encrypt sensitive data in our DB2 database. To recap; IBM has given us the ability to take a field, or column, and let us apply security, or encryption, to that field/column. It is up to your FieldProc program to perform the measures you have taken to…
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Wanna Use SMB v2
If you need NetServer you need the last from IBM i. Netserver (the IBM i Service that allows you to map a network drive) and QNTC (the ability to read and write to a Windows Share directly from your IBM i) have been around so long now it’s hard to imagine life without them. Many…
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Legacy Application Mobility, is the Answer Surprisingly Simple?
The significant benefits of mobility were highlighted in a recent Microsoft paper. The paper went further than most, stating some quantifiable bottom line benefits for mobile application access; claiming that mobility “leads to 30% improvement in processes and 23% more productivity – and 100% more satisfied employees”. This enthusiasm and willingness to drive value for the…
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How LinkedIn helped me bypass the gatekeepers
Every couple of days, I’ll get a question like: “What’s the trick to getting noticed on LinkedIn?” Or else: “You seem to have cracked the code. What’s the hack?” Or this (my favourite): “Anthony, you’re everywhere!” No, I’m not everywhere, and there is no hack, really. In fact, building a network of lead generation on…
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DB2 Field Procedures
A few years ago, DB2 for i introduced a new feature that can be used to apply security/encryption to our columns within our database. This enhancement is called Field Procedures, or FieldProcs throughout this article. DB2 FieldProcs have been around since 7.1 of IBM i in April 2010. Before FieldProcs, it was common to see…
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Aggregated Ethernet – Faster and more resilient networking
Have any of you ever lost connectivity to your server because someone accidentally disconnected the wrong cable? It is so annoying as in many cases even if the cable was plugged back in you still had to answer a message on QSYSOPR to tell your system that it’s OK to start using the network connection…
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WRKJOBSCDE – Working with Job Scheduled Entries
OK, OK, OK, I know this command has been around since the beginning of time but there are a couple of things I find that most people I work with do not realise about this command that can be really useful. So, just bear with me here and check that you know this before you…
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DB2 Row and Column Access Control
Introduction DB2 for i has a fantastic feature that is fairly new, Row and Column Access Control, or RCAC, for ease. This feature has been around since 7.2 of IBM i in April 2014, but doesn’t get a lot of exposure, so hence my interpretation of how it works. It is a method of controlling…
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Great Tech Events … but how do you convince the boss to send you?
There are many great technical events and conferences throughout the year. Now, maybe you’re sold on the idea of going to one of these conferences. But how do you get the boss to agree it would be a good idea for you to attend? After all, there’s the cost of attendance, possibly travel and accommodation…
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Keep an eye on your cache batteries with QSMBTTCC
Those of you who have suffered from an unexpected cache battery failure (SRC nnnn8008) will know how much pain it can cause. Whilst there is never any danger to your data, in many cases the performance of your server can be reduced by a factor of ten! So this month I thought I would show…
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IBM i SNTP – Automatic Time Adjustment
Last month I wrote about how you could get your IBM i to automatically adjust its clock for Daylight Saving Time adjustments, this month we take it one step further and see how its trivial to get your clock to keep itself in sync constantly with other services on your network using SNTP Simple Network…
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Corporate Inertia
Resistance. Inertia. It’s hard to understand why people don’t do what they know they should be doing. This inertia isn’t just for people who really need to go to the gym or stop losing hours on Facebook. There’s also such a thing as Corporate Inertia. When you’re introducing some IT solution which will address a…