Article
Virtual Tape Considerations for IBM i
By Tom Huntington on Mon, 06/28/2021
This article examines some of the most popular IBM VTL (virtual tap library) solutions for IBM i and other platforms. You'll also learn what to consider to determine if VTL is right for you.
Article
Robot Save Restricted State Utility (RSU)—Get Your Weekends Back!
By Chuck Losinski on Tue, 06/02/2020
There are processes that are required on your IBM i that need to run with the system in what is called a “restricted state” condition. A restricted state is when all subsystems are inactive and new jobs cannot enter the system. Only the system console might be active.
Article
Why Relying on Scripted Operations Can Be a Problem for Your Business
By Steve Brasen on Tue, 03/31/2020
Scripting provides a powerful platform to automate simple tasks, but overusing custom scripts is hazardous for your business.
Article
IBM on IASP for PowerHA Implementations
By Chuck Losinski on Tue, 03/03/2020
You’ve heard about IASP technology many times over the years, but you’ve been ignoring it, haven’t you? Steve Finnes confirms that it’s past time we “get to know it, understand it, and not be afraid of it.”
Article
How to Prove Your IBM i is Recoverable without a Real DR Test
By Tom Huntington on Thu, 02/27/2020
How good do you feel about your backup strategies? Did you know you can perform a simple operation two to four times a year to put much of your uneasiness to rest? It’s true. Simply audit your backups.
Article
FlashCopy: Pros and Cons
By Tom Huntington on Wed, 02/26/2020
IBM System Storage FlashCopy might seem like magic. But do the benefits for IBM i business continuity outweigh the hidden costs? Read on to find out.
Article
Backup Basics: Saving Your Data and Your Job
By Tom Huntington on Mon, 02/24/2020
You need a backup strategy to test your company’s disaster recovery plan and, despite its reputation for reliability, administrators still need to back up their IBM i. A sound backup strategy should also restore individual user objects to account for human error.
Article
Managing Your IBM i Audit Data
By Robin Tatam on Wed, 08/01/2018
Let’s face it; system administration remains a largely thankless task. From scheduling jobs to balancing workloads to answering messages in QSYSOPR, administrators and operators work diligently behind the scenes to ensure that IBM i servers are available to run mission-critical applications.
Case Study
Appvion Improves Customer Satisfaction with a Digital Document Repository
Appvion, Inc. manufactures paper—thermal, carbonless, security, inkjet, digital specialty and colored papers. But this Appleton, Wisconsin-based company had a problem when it came to digital documents in their customer web portal. Their existing system just wasn’t up to snuff. It was time to make a change.
Article
Using NFS with Webdocs – iSeries
Tue, 01/24/2017
Webdocs – iSeries references the documents it stores by an IFS (Integrated File System) path. There is, however, no requirement that the IFS path refer to a file system on local disk. In fact, for many Webdocs iSeries implementations, it is advantageous to store some or all of the documents from Webdocs on remote file systems that are shared using NFS (Network File System) and mounted into the IFS...
Case Study
Major Steel Supplier Strikes Gold with a Document and Forms Management Solution and Superb Support
Paperwork and steel go hand-in-hand for one major steel supplier (MSS) with locations across North America. Every piece of steel they ship includes paperwork assuring customers of the quality of the product they’re receiving. But MSS had a problem: their processes were keeping them from meeting customer expectations. It was time to make a change.
Article
4 Reasons to Add VTLs
By Tom Huntington on Tue, 08/30/2016
Backup and recovery processes are among the unsung heroes of data center operations. Though end results may not be readily apparent on an everyday basis, natural and digital disasters have a way of humbling companies that do not take this risk management discipline seriously.