Robot/NETWORK: The Beat Goes On

During my 23-year history at Help/Systems, we’ve reworked Robot/NETWORK multiple times to deal with ever-changing network communication technology.

We developed Robot/NETWORK in 1990 when the AS/400 world communicated using APPC/APPN (SNA). At that time, Robot/NETWORK was a green screen product, but it supported core functions that are similar to what we have today: message consolidation across multiple servers and cross-system reactivity with Robot/SCHEDULE.

Around 2000, we created Robot/NETWORK 9 to support TCP/IP and to create a graphical Status Center. We also introduced the concept of converting events to send to other enterprise tools. We did these interfaces through SNMP (one-way) or socket programming. Meanwhile, we maintained the other functions of event consolidation, setting up rules from a central location, and cross-system reactivity.

In 2007, Robot/NETWORK 10 transformed the product from RPG to Java running on IBM i. This let us modernize the view of your IBM i partitions and servers. We spent more than 30 man-years working on this project. This release provided a graphical Map Center, Status Center, and a look and feel you could proudly put in your data center next to any other enterprise tool. We also added centralized security code administration, product security, consolidated reporting, and a two-way SNMP interface.

For 2012, we have more big plans for Robot/NETWORK. With Robot/NETWORK 11, you can look forward to Product Metrics, which will allow you to summarize your Robot product activity on each Node and graph the details. You can see data center metrics for resource monitoring and messages (Robot/CONSOLE), batch jobs (Robot/SCHEDULE), backups (Robot/SAVE), and reports (Robot/REPORTS) across your servers. For example, you could easily answer the question. “How many jobs ran in 2011 vs. 2010?” Look for Robot/NETWORK 11 during the first quarter of 2012.

By the end of second quarter 2012, we plan to add Performance Metrics. These metrics give you a consolidated view of CPU and DASD usage, average response time, and other critical performance items. Those of you using Robot/NETWORK 11 will get this feature as a free upgrade.

Robot/NETWORK has always been a cornerstone of the Robot solution. We are extremely excited about the latest enhancements and look forward to sharing them with you.