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Top 10 reasons why the HMC is a terrible product.

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  • Top 10 reasons why the HMC is a terrible product.

    I must profess ignorance here. What is HMC? Dave

  • #2
    Top 10 reasons why the HMC is a terrible product.

    David, It's the Hardware Maintenance Console. It's a separate PC running a locked down version of Linux used to manage the partitions in an iSeries. chuck Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of my employer. "David Abramowitz" wrote in message news:6b24ac05.0@WebX.WawyahGHajS... >I must profess ignorance here. What is HMC? > > Dave

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    • #3
      Top 10 reasons why the HMC is a terrible product.

      They talk about how advanced it is, but is sounds like S/32-38 all over again.... the HMC was buggy when it came out, but this sounds like stupid design issues. Do they include the source code (like most versions of unix) so we can change it? The problem is you have to learn a whole new language and environment to do that too! They must have done this so the pSeries guys have some clue of what is happening. The best machine in the world taken over by it's arch-rival. I'm sorry to see this day come. If they didn't want to alienate everyone, they could have used iSeries Navigator or something similar for the iSeries controls. Its more useful than Linux will ever be to 90% of us.

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      • #4
        Top 10 reasons why the HMC is a terrible product.

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        • #5
          Top 10 reasons why the HMC is a terrible product.

          I checked, and it's not April 1. IBM is really that hosed up? Why do they have a PC running this HMC abomination to control the i5 if the i5 is supposed to be so simple according to IBM's marketing mantra? rd

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          • #6
            Top 10 reasons why the HMC is a terrible product.

            Ralph, The HMC is a product of the merging of the pSeries and the iSeries. Their goal was to allow all of the partitions to be completely independent of one another. To make that happen they had to have a method of being able to control any partition without other partitions being live. The only real way to do that is to have an independent machine in control. However, if it were up to me I would have created a scaled down version of an iSeries to do this. But, alas, they didn't ask me. chuck Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of my employer. "Ralph Daugherty" wrote in message news:6b24ac05.4@WebX.WawyahGHajS... >I checked, and it's not April 1. IBM is really that hosed up? Why do they >have a PC running this HMC abomination to control the i5 if the i5 is >supposed to be so simple according to IBM's marketing mantra? > > rd

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            • #7
              Top 10 reasons why the HMC is a terrible product.

              Make the HMC work something like a chameleon. Store the system settings and data in a common area, but when a pSeries guy signon, have it look like him. When a iSeries guy signs on run a scaled back OS/5 but allow people to use it the way they are familiar. "Ease" of operation being the function here. ddh

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              • #8
                Top 10 reasons why the HMC is a terrible product.

                Dwight, Good ideas. Unfortunately, the HMC was a premature birth and it might take years before it is really user friendly, if ever. The biggest selling point of the AS/400 when it came out in 1988 was it's "ease of use." They took the power of a S/38 and wrapped ease of use around it. I find it ironic that here we are 17 years later and they've taken a step backward in the "ease of use" department. chuck Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of my employer. "Dwight HoganCamp" wrote in message news:6b24ac05.6@WebX.WawyahGHajS... > Make the HMC work something like a chameleon. Store the system settings > and data in a common area, but when a pSeries guy signon, have it look > like him. When a iSeries guy signs on run a scaled back OS/5 but allow > people to use it the way they are familiar. "Ease" of operation being the > function here. > > ddh

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                • #9
                  Top 10 reasons why the HMC is a terrible product.

                  Chuck, Their marketing people still think this is advanced stuff! Wait until people refuse to buy it because of the HMC. Years latter, "Maybe we should make it easier for users to interface with. They certainly have the ability to make it work, but whether they can get the pin heads that are pushing Linux/AIX/pSeries to recognize the problems may be another question all together. In the meantime, those of us who are familiar with our most reliable computer in the world have to learn a completely new system to use it. I feel bad for some shops I have worked in where they had 16 of the largest AS/400s that IBM made. I suppose once you deal with the new stuff long enough, it should become more familiar, but if it works contrary to everything you know it has to be counter productive. ddh

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                  • #10
                    Top 10 reasons why the HMC is a terrible product.

                    Chuck..a couple of suggestions which may help. It is possible to add your HMC IP address (for the open port) to your DNS server. This will save you the hassle of typing in the IP address each time. You can also automate the movement of resources between partitions so you don't have to do it manually.

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                    • #11
                      Top 10 reasons why the HMC is a terrible product.

                      Dean, How does one automate the movement of resources? chuck Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of my employer. "Dean Boyle" wrote in message news:6b24ac05.9@WebX.WawyahGHajS... > Chuck..a couple of suggestions which may help. It is possible to add your > HMC IP address (for the open port) to your DNS server. This will save you > the hassle of typing in the IP address each time. You can also automate > the movement of resources between partitions so you don't have to do it > manually.

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                      • #12
                        Top 10 reasons why the HMC is a terrible product.

                        We just installed a partitioned i5 a month ago and, as a part of this, an HMC also. Here are my rants about this HIDEOUS product. 1. The developers of this product must have never used an iSeries or Windows as this product, which is so critical to the operation of the iSeries, doesn't look, act or feel like an iSeries or Windows. So, they must have either set out to deliberately p*ss of their customers or are completely negligent. 2. Yet another password. The HMC rules didn't allow me to use the password I have on the iSeries and our Windows domain. It wanted something like a number or to have it longer. I don't exactly remember because I was getting pretty angry at that time and just made one up. 3. We LOSE functionality with the HMC. With good old twinax console I could throw a twinax card into a PC that had pcAnywhere and voila' I could control the console directly from anywhere in the world. Yes, the HMC has this funky Java based HUMUNGOUS program that uses DOS and let's me do some things from another PC but I can't control the HMC itself. So, if I've exclusively locked a terminal session at the HMC I must physically go there to unlock it. In this day and age, one should never, ever, ever, ever, ever physically have to attend a computer device. This is 1970s thinking! 4. Connecting to the HMC remotely requires that I remember an IP address. The remote software doesn't remember the number I put in last time. And they expect ME to remember it? Yet another number to remember. 5. Once I remember that IP address it takes a good 30 seconds before it asks for my user id and password. We're talking slooooow. Add insult to injury I gotta remember that new password... 6. The remote interface that runs on Windows is just a redux of the Linux box. IBM didn't even take the trouble to make it Windows standard. They KNOW I'm running it on a Windows box and yet they insult me by making it act, look and feel like Linux. I want NOTHING to act, look and feel like Linux! 7. I MUST use a mouse to navigate the HMC System Manager. I can not drill down and use keystrokes to get to the servers and server properties. Try it! For the world I can't figure out how to open up the "+" next to "Server-9406-..." in the child window with a keyboard. This is a big no-no in GUI programming. A user should ALWAYS be able to traverse any screen with a failed mouse! 7. I can't automate functions. It takes a good 10 minutes and a number of steps that I must do MANUALLY to move a device, such as a tape drive, from one partition to another. In other applications I automate this with either a macro program on my PC or WinBatch. Neither can be used because I can't travel down the tree structure in the HMC with keystrokes, something that macro programs rely upon. 8. The "context" key on my keyboard doesn't pop up a context menu at appropriate times. It's just a dead key. 9. For the price of the HMC they could have easily created a small, scaled down iSeries that could have easily done a better job. Plus I could have created CL programs to handle the tasks that the HMC didn't already do! 10. And worst of all: A critical component of the most reliable computer in the world is now controlled by a PC! We've taken a dozen steps backwards with the invention of the HMC! Chuck Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of my employer.

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                        • #13
                          Top 10 reasons why the HMC is a terrible product.

                          I am a new user on i5. (3 months) To me , the concept of hmc (hardware management separated from operating system) sounds a very good idea in this era of virtualisation. The interface to hmc (locally via linux or java-applet via web) looks nice and intuitive. For the moment, this newbie is perfectly happy.

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