This newsletter includes:
- Peripheral Support for MSP Customers by Yvonne Enselman
- IBM i Support Updates by Steve Pitcher
- 10 Steps to Prepare for a Security Breach by Phil Pearson
- Featured Blog: 6 Steps to Execute an IBM i Security Project by Laurie Leblanc
- Issues with OpenSSH Algorithms on IBM i OS 6.1, 7.1, and 7.2 by Chris Flick
- Release Levels and PTFs
The summer went by way too fast, I hope you were able to enjoy it. I could have had a few more months of summer. I am not sure that I have a favorite season, as I like them all, but summer on the lake is certainly right up there.
Summer hasn’t been all relaxing either. We have been busy with POWER9s and OS Upgrades. Quite honestly, I thought when IBM i 7.1 reached end of life, upgrades would have really stopped. We aren’t doing 10 upgrades a week anymore as we were from December to May, but we are still doing 4 to 6 OS upgrades every week.
Just so that you know, IBM recently announced that IBM i Next (the release after 7.3) will not run on POWER7 hardware. If you are on POWER7, we can probably install a POWER9 for the same price as what you are paying for 3 years of maintenance on your POWER7. The nice thing is it will also be about twice the performance for the same cost of ownership. We have been installing lots of POWER9 machines, and have quite a few already scheduled for September. It is a hot machine.
We decided to host POWER9 presentations at Baseball games to learn more about the new features and functions, and enjoy a baseball game. We have had great events with customers and non-customers in Portland ME with the Sea Dogs, Manchester NH with the Fisher Cats, Pawtucket RI with the Paw Sox, Schaumburg IL with the Boomers, Grand Rapids MI with the WhiteCaps, and then Hartford CT with the Yard Goats. It was great to see so many familiar faces, as well as fun spending time just talking IBM i and watching some baseball. We had so many positive comments from customers, that we are starting our planning for next summer.
With the fall approaching, its conference time again. Look for iTech Solutions to be at the Vermont IBM i Users Group, Jack Henry Conference, COMMON Fall, IBM Technical University, and COMMON Sweden. I hope if you are planning on attending these, you stop by either our booth or at one of our speaking sessions and say hello. It’s always great to meet our customers, and learn more about them.
Please note that for all 7.1 customers that are on the Quarterly or Semi-annual iTech Solutions PTF maintenance plan, we will be installing the latest PTFs as you are now on Technology Refresh 11. For the 7.2 customers, we will be installing 7.2 Technology Refresh 8, and 7.3 will be Technology Refresh 4.
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