We maintain many customer systems here at iTech, and one thing that seems to be consistent now across all of our customer environments is that system IFS (Integrated File System) directories are getting very large.  Many systems that we manage now have IFS root directories containing over 1 million objects! Large IFS root directories present a problem from a save perspective in that they can take an inordinate amount of time to save using normal IFS save commands such as SAV, SAVBRM, and GO SAVE option #21.  On full system…

This is documented by IBM and also in one of Pete’s newsletters from a while ago, but I saw it today on two HMCs, so I wanted to deliver this short tip. Before doing a version upgrade on an HMC, make sure that the Machine Type-Model and Serial Number reported in the HMC GUI matches that which is printed on the sticker on the front of the machine. If it does not match, then per IBM do not attempt an upgrade.

Moving files between IBM i systems can sometimes be a cumbersome task, but a feature added to IBM i Access Client Solutions in recent versions allows you to transfer files from a single system to multiple systems. The main requirement is that you have to have IBM i NetServer started on the source system and all the target systems of the transfer. This feature can be found in the Integrated File System function under General tasks.