Newsletter

This newsletter includes:

• POWER9 Install LAN Console Bug
• PWRDWNSYS Taking Forever After a Full System Save?
• Evaluating the State of Your IBM i Security
• Moving to Standardized Security Testing Series: Advanced Security Testing
• Disaster Recovery Resource Page
• iTech iTip Videos
• Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
• iBasics: IBM i Education for the Beginner System Administrator
• iPOWER Hour Episode 30: A Recap of COMMON NAViGATE 2021
• Upcoming Events
• IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs (June 2021)

Happy Birthday IBM i (AS/400, and iSeries).  This Monday was 33 years strong, and still going.  The customers who made the decision to get on board this train have been very lucky through the years, and from future roadmaps, I think there is still a very, very good future in what lies ahead. From spending time in Rochester (prior to the pandemic), and having virtual meetings lately, I can tell you that Steve Will and his team have been hard at work bringing new features and functions to the next release of the operating system. While the next release is “officially” referred to as iNext, numerous IBM Executives have referred to it as IBM i 7.5.…

This newsletter includes:

• OpenJDK Disables Legacy TLS Versions
• Why Sharing the /QDLS Directory in NetServer Should Be Avoided
• What Do I Need To Do Full System FlashCopy Backups?
• 4 Disaster Recovery Services That Can Improve your IBM i Recoverability
• iPOWER Hour Episode 29: What’s Going On With All The Ransomware Attacks?
• IBM i Security Resource Page
• iTech iTip Videos
• Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
• iBasics: IBM i Education for the Beginner System Administrator
• Upcoming Events
• IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs (May 2021)

As you read this newsletter, we will have done our first in-person conference in over 18 months: COMMON’s NAViGATE in Columbus, Ohio.  I am sure looking forward to getting back to the new normal, and meeting customers, prospects, individuals, and — well, just everyone. I’ve been cooped up way too long, and now that I am fully vaccinated, I am ready to get back to life.  It will be interesting, and Laurie and I plan to do a podcast and video clips on the conference to show you what the conference is like. While I understand the in-person is on the lighter side (as we would have expected), the virtual conference has quite a few attendees.…

April 2021 NewsletterRead More »…

This newsletter includes:

• Java Precedence in IBM
  
• IBM i 7.1 on Selected Power S922 and E980 servers
  
• Tailoring the Operational Assistant Backup Exit
  
• Security Testing for Denial of Service Attacks Testing
  
• iAdmin Spring 2021: Registration Open
  
• [Podcast Episode] The New FlashSystem 5200: Features and Functions to Know
  
• IBM i Security Resource Page
  
• iTech iTip Videos
  
• Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
  
• iBasics: IBM i Education for the Beginner System Administrator
  
• Upcoming Events
  
• IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs (March 2021)

I hope that you and your families have been safe and healthy over the last year. It’s been just over a year now that the pandemic forced an abrupt, radical work-from-home experiment upon the entire world. One way or another, we figured out the irksome logistics with laptops propped on stacks of books, office phones forwarded to cell phones, GoTo Meeting calls, kids and pets in the background of our videos, and bedrooms becoming makeshift home offices. Most companies retreated and were looking inwardly.…

This newsletter includes:

• RNMTCPHTE (Changing host table entry IP without having to remove and add back)
• Controlling the Outbound IP Address Used with a Virtual IP Address
• Security Testing and the Approaches for Malicious Code Insertion
• Protecting Your IBM i from Power Outages or Power Surges
• iAdmin Spring 2021: Registration Open
• IBM i OS Upgrade Resource Page
• iTech iTip Videos
• Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
• iBasics: IBM i Education for the Beginner System Administrator
• [Podcast Episode] The New FlashSystem 5200: Features and Functions to Know
• Upcoming Events
• IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs (Februrary 2021)

Everyone at iTech Solutions seems to be firing on all cylinders right now, and I am extremely proud of them and to be part of the team. Sure, it is different and at times a little more difficult than it was 2 years ago, but we are continuing to lead the IBM i community not just with words, but by our actions and results. It’s almost a year since we first learned of COVID, and our lives were all turned upside down overnight. I hope you and your families are safe and sound. We have continued to work hard for our customers, and they in turn have rewarded us with their business.  We cherish those relationships and will work hard to continue to exceed expectations.…

This newsletter includes:

• Rolling Back Root Shares Carefully and Successfully
• Advantages to Virtualizing I/O Using VIOS
• What is IBM Full System Flash Copy (FSFC)?
• Why You Should Upgrade from IBM i 7.2 Before you Pay Extended Support
• IBM i OS Upgrade Resource Page
• iTech iTip Videos
• Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
• iBasics: IBM i Education for the Beginner System Administrator
• [Podcast Episode] IBM i 7.2 End of Support – What Are Your Options?
• Upcoming Events
• IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs (January 2021)

By now it is clear that 2020 was an unprecedented year, and 2021 has already been eventful. It is hard to say what will happen a month from now, much less a whole year! This is one of the reasons why we stress the importance of planning, preparing, educating, and having the right team. While we are all making resolutions to maximize our opportunities in the year to come, so are hackers resolving to increase their strength and productivity in 2021. So, if you’re making resolutions to improve your health and well-being, let’s not forget about the health of your systems.…

This has been a year like no other, and we hope this finds you and your family safe from the virus that has uprooted our daily lives. As 2020 comes to a close, we wish to thank you for allowing iTech Solutions to be part of your team. We hope that our IBM i newsletters, Blogs, Webinars, Sips & Tricks, iTip Videos, Two-Day iAdmin Conference, iBasics seminars, Slack Channel, and Podcasts have been educational and informative for you and that you have learned from them. We encourage your feedback on what other things we can add to make them more helpful to our customers, and others who read them. Look for even more to come this year in 2021.

We have continued our growth this year adding additional employees to improve our services as well as the breadth of our IBM i offerings. We hope that you have a happy holiday season, with good health, happiness, and prosperity in the New Year.  All of us at iTech thank you for your business, and for the confidence you have placed with us over the years.  We look forward to working together in the coming year, and we will continue to strive to exceed your expectations. Whenever we don’t, please reach out directly to me.…

This newsletter includes:

• Accidental Deletes on External Storage: How Volume Protection can Prevent a Disaster
• Reviewing MIMIX IBM i Protection Reports
• Important Notice Regarding the Latest POWER9 Model G Firmware
• Demystifying Quality Assurance Processes as pertains to IBM i Systems and Infrastructure
• Making the Case to Keep Your IBM i
• iTech iTip Videos
• [ Webinar Series ] Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
• [Podcast Episode] The Benefits, Features and Functions of External Storage
• Upcoming Events
• IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs (October 2020)

October has been a busy month. Between installs, upgrades, PTFs, managed services, and creating new educational sessions, the staff at iTech has been burning the candle on many ends.

We had our iAdmin Fall IBM i System Administration conference last Tuesday and Wednesday, October 20th and 21st.  With 851 people attending the conference from 48 US states and 56 different countries, we were well represented from all over the globe. That is a lot of IBM i people together for 2 virtual days of conferences.…

This newsletter includes:

• Setting a Target System in Navigator for i 
• Automatic Ethernet Failover Using Virtual IP Addressing
• Is Your SAVCHGOBJ Really Saving All Changed Objects?
• Legacy Client Access and Trouble with Secured Connections
• Options for IBM Storage and POWER9
• iTech iTip Videos
• [ Webinar Series ] Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
• [Podcast Episode] IBM i Security: Trends and Challenges
• Upcoming Events
• IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs (September 2020)

Autumn is here, and no — that doesn’t mean pumpkin spice. It means conference season starts again. Yes, this year will be like no other, but last week was COMMON’s POWERUp conference that was originally scheduled to happen in the spring, and was pushed back to last week and held virtually. It’s always a great conference and this year was no different, but I did miss the face-to-face interaction and getting together with friends. Hopefully, we can get together next year. I really hope by next year we can get back to being social creatures again, I am getting tired of social distancing.…

This newsletter includes:

• The Real Effects of Malware on IBM i
• Working with the NETSTAT Command on IBM i
• IBM FlashCopy Backups: Is it Amazing Technology or Houdini Magic?
• Upgrading to Domino 11 on IBM i 
• iTech iTip Videos
• [ Webinar Series ] Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
• [Podcast Episode] The Risks of Not Upgrading Your Hardware
• Upcoming Events
• IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs ( August 2020)

Our hearts and prayers go out to those in the destructive path of Hurricane Laura, and we hope you and your families are safe.  If you have been affected and you need any IBM i help, recovery, admin, restoration, cloud, a system to recover to, please let us know and we will help you out. We are here to help.

It’s the end of August — where did the summer go?  I hope you were able to take some time off and relax with family and friends during the summer. It has been unbelievably busy here. I got to take a few days off and enjoy the boat on the lake, but we seem to be selling new POWER9 systems, installing NVMe for improved performance, adding new Managed Service Customers like never before, and doing one-off projects for so many new and existing customers that the summer has flown by. I am so lucky to have such great staff as we work to help our IBM i customers.…

This newsletter includes:

• CHGOWN: Easily Change Object Ownership
• The Importance of Being On Time: How to Configure the NTP Client on IBM i
• iTech iTip Videos
• What does “secure connection error, return code-23” mean?
• No. Your IBM i Isn’t Secure.
• [ Webinar Series ] Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
• [Podcast Episode] Disaster Recovery: What’s the Difference Between the Various Components?
• Upcoming Events
• IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs ( July 2020)

First, I hope you and your families are healthy, safe, and secure as the virus creates a new “normal” in our daily lives. I liked the old normal much better, but inside every black cloud is a silver lining.  It’s up to all of us to search and reach out to find that.  You know the saying from lemons we make lemonade.  May you enjoy your lemonade as we all get used to changes in our lives.

I had my first flight in 5 months, the airport was empty, and the flight was certainly different.  Different parts of the country are handling this differently, and the wearing of masks exemplified this. Here in Connecticut, almost 100% of the people are wearing masks, but this wasn’t the case in other states that I had visited.

IBM Releases New POWER9 Models

Well, July was a big month for IBM i and Power Systems, as IBM delivered a new small low-end POWER9 based machine, a refresh of the 914/924 models, finally straighten out the Technology Refresh confusion, and more NVMe options.  Let’s start with these.…

This newsletter includes:

• Hidden Gems in IBM’s QMGTOOLS Utility Library 
• SSH Public Key Setup Using ACS
• iTech iTip Videos
• How to Calculate and Estimate of the Amount of Data On a Tape Cartridge
• [ Webinar Series ] Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
• [Podcast Episode] How to Promote IBM i to Your Business
• Upcoming Events
• IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs ( June 2020)

First, I hope you and your families are healthy, safe, and secure as the virus creates a new “normal” in our daily lives. My normal routines have certainly changed. This will be my first full week back in the office since early March and I’m making adjustments, as is everyone else. We have been busier in the last 6 weeks than I can ever remember.  We weren’t able to do physical installs in April and May, but have resumed being able to go onsite and do installations, now we are working off the backlog.

In addition to doing our Sips-n-Tricks, Webinars, and iTech iTips videos, we’re bringing new customers on-board, configuring new systems, and helping existing customers. Everyone here is running at full throttle.  We were discussing and planning for this extra workload in mid-April, so it really isn’t a surprise. That is the advantage of having a large team, we can help each other out and spread the load.…