IBM iSeries Information Center for V5R3

[MCWebsite.Staff]

** This thread discusses the article: IBM iSeries Information Center for V5R3 **
** This thread discusses the Content article: IBM iSeries Information Center for V5R3 **
0

[steve@dossin.com]

IBM iSeries Information Center for V5R3

** This thread discusses the article: IBM iSeries Information Center for V5R3 **
Upgades to the IBM web site, especially the search engine, are quite welcome, but this article did not mention the two things that would indicate actual interest in selling the machine: 1. When are customers going to have access to an online configurator. I asked for a quote on the website, and was asked for very minimal information. Two days later, I got a call from someone who knew little about an i5. He said that he would have an i5 specialist get back to me. That has not happened in almost two weeks. I should have been able to do what I want to do spending 30 minutes on the website. If IBM would actually demonstrate a little competence in this area, they might actually have a new customer rather than someone complaining in a national publication. 2. We need serious help on PTF delivery. It just seems to me to be incredibly stupid to have to spend hours on an inferior operating system to update an AS/400 with the PTF's to keep it up to date. (The excessive time requirement comes from checking CUM level, checking Group PTF levels (some of which are not appropriately documented on the IBM web site), and checking the recommended PTF's for all the functions we use. Why can this not be a function on the AS/400 itself, at least on the many that are connected to high speed internet connections, is a mystery to me. (I think it is nuts to still require use of that silly little modem up through V5R2.) I have proposed to IBM that they add a command to get PTF's directly to the AS/400 over the Internet, say UPDPTF. We should be able to run this in a program called by the job scheduler so that we can avoid congesting the internet connection during prime time. This command should send to an IBM server the list of installed licensed programs. The IBM server will reply with a list of applicable PTF's. The UPDPTF command will then compare the list to the PTF's already on the system and order the ones not present. On a reasonably up-to-date system, this will rarely take long. However, in my recommendation to IBM, I suggested that one parameter on this command be the time limit on the download. Then the program calling the command could monitor for an out of time message and reschedule for the next off-peak time with a "RESUME" parameter that would continue on the same list. When all needed PTF's are downloaded, run the functions of the "Install program temporary fix package" menu option. It is most disappointing that the maker of Windows, a greatly inferior operating system overall, is so far ahead of IBM in the area of providing updates to their customers - and they do not even charge for them! It is even worse that I find myself going to a Windows box to work for hours each month just to update a far superior computer. If IBM is serious about using the lower TCO in its marketing, they should seriously consider updating their software maintenance procedures to be much more cost effective, especially when an area where they are way behind is one that is so visible.