From AS400 to iSeries to System i to Power Servers and beyond

What is the IBM i on Power Systems?

The IBM i is part of the IBM POWER family of ebusiness servers and midrange computers. Previously known as the AS400, evolving to the iSeries and System i most recently rebranded the IBM i (or IBM i on Power Systems to give its full title) this flexible machine offers a secure platform capable of running thousands of the world's most popular business applications—all on a single, highly integrated, powerful system.

IBM i integrates a trusted combination of relational database, security, Web services, networking and storage management capabilities.

It has long been recognized for delivering business value through innovations and programs that reflect industry-leading technologies and best practices. IBM i's integrated design helps reduce cost with its famous 99.999% availability and increases productivity of your existing IT infrastructure and system users.

The bottom line is:

The IBM i is the worlds leading busines platform, running a totally secure operating system that interfaces with every other computer and software application that your business may be using. A safe, secure, reliable and hitech solution for business in the internet age.

Specializing in the IBM i arena for many years has generated a wide ranging industry experience, exposure to hundreds of applications and broad technical knowledge.

As an IBM i Consultant the critical qualities include; a detailed knowledge of the platform, a superior grasp of related technologies, an ability to quickly produce tangible results, professionally and with a specialist approach. If Projex clients save time and money then its mission accomplished.

ProjeX - Simple Solutions in a Complex World

Dell Poweredge 400sc - A tale of Craigslist, Dodgy XP, Server 2003 and a beautiful Vista

A few weeks ago I picked up a Dell 400SC Poweredge server for the ridiculous price of $150 on Craigslist. It was being advertised by a chap who had inherited it from a business, wiped it and then installed Windows XP: Even though it's a server you can install XP on the 400SC relatively easy and most drivers work straight away. But it runs like a dog. A one legged one.

Shannon Elizabeth has nothing to do with this except I am watching her on Youtube at the moment and think shes lovely  ;)
Shannon Elizabeth has nothing to do with this except I am watching her play Poker on Youtube at the moment and think shes lovely  Wink

So, aforementioned gentlemen thought it was a duff PC and advertised it on Craigslist hoping to offload it for a few dollars and to pass the headache onto someone else. The guy selling it thought he was selling a dud machine, and it turns out it was just his installation of a hooky copy of XP with forced drivers (the wrong ones) that was the problem. Nice.

Great opportunity for me - especially as I was looking for a cheap little Media Server for my home network. A little haggling and the Dell is in the back the car heading back to the house for a weekend of serious tinkering.

So what did I get for my money?

I got a Dell Poweredge 400SC Server with 2.4Ghz 320GB hdd, 1GB ram and a snappy 21inch flat panel... upgrade time straight away so I slapped in another 3GB of ram and a 500GB Drive in slot2. The integrated graphics card works OK but as there is an AGP slot in there thats empty:

  • A Graphics Card on Ebay for $20 (RADEON 9600 XT AGP 256MB) - it's not a mind blowing card but it sure kicks the arse of the nasty 8mb thing that comes as standard.
  • Some USB Speakers for $20 at BestBuy - these things are excellent. Just plug them into the USB, self powered and play nice and loud. double thumbs up.

Now it's time to play with it and see how I'm going to use it to store all my Music and serve my other media (pictures, movies etc..) into my home wireless network.

Bing is your Buddy

Forget 'Google is your friend' because I now respond to most of those with some alternate links from Microsoft excellent new search engine and announce 'Bing is your Buddy' in reply to the cocky individual who thought the 'google is your friend' was clever.  ;/

bing is your buddy is better than google is your friend

The AS400, Dinosaurs, Whizzkids and the Plodders

The IBM System i has a strong following, in part because companies have not generally been required to upgrade hardware or software on an arbitrary schedule. This means that many business are running legacy computer applications (for legacy read 'old fashioned') that have typically been running on green-on-black terminals for many years - "if it aint broke why fix it?"

Since the 1990's computer technology has been evolving at an incredible pace. Todays mobile phones pack in far more technology and firepower than a desktop computer from ten years ago. Even your family car with its engine computer and GPS/SatNav is doing these incredibly technological things that we now take for granted.

The IBM System i has been evolving at an equally exciting pace, now with fully integrated website support, FTP, email, support for just about every language and even integrated Windows/Linux Servers. The original programming language (RPG - Report Program Generator) has evolved into this incredibly powerful tool that can write/read websites, do incredibly complex maths and convert data to PDF's and emails and talk to just about any other language on any other platform.

So, "why isnt it being adopted by more business?" I hear you ask.

It's our own fault... speaking as a Software Developer it's definitely down to us.

RPG Programmers, in particular, fall into at least three camps

Camp 1 - The Dinosaurs
RPGIII programmers who write things in the same way they were writing them back in the early 90's. Code elegance is not important, nor is performance or any kind of visual stimulus to the user. The only important thing is getting the data off the System i (invariably referred to as the AS400 by this crowd) and giving it to the user in the form of reams of paper and query reports hundreds of pages long. Fully entrenched in green screen development, firmly in their careers twilight years and obstinately sticking to Compare-and-Branch programming style because "this is how we have always done it".

iSeries RPG Editor for your laptop (free AS400 SEU RDi Alternative)

I've just stumbled across an open source RPG Source Editor thats built around a PC Editor called Eclipse - I've only ever used Eclipse for my very infrequent Java work. Having recently decided to upgrade all the Projex400 utilities to RPG/FREE and make them available on this website I'm very excited about this great bit of software.

More details are at RPG NEXT GEN which looks very promising.

This site offers some resources for working with the programming language RPG (native on IBM System i). IMHO IBM has done a poor job so far providing the RPG programming community with any decent software development kit for RPG compared to the Java Development Kit offered by Sun to the java community. Some people might now argue that IBM has done a great job by providing WDSCi and EGL. But perhaps this is comparing apples with pears. Anyway ... where is the solution?

One thing is clear ... there is no current adhoc solution to it. I'm trying to make life a little bit easier for the RPG developers and offer some resources.

It's still in Alpha stages of development but i think this could become a serious rival to the excellent (but expensive) IBMoffering - WDSC.

Projex Websites - the total package for small business

If you want a memorable website that attracts new customers, a website that explains who you are and explains how to contact you... You've come to the right place.

Focussed on quality affordable websites from our design studio based in Roanoke, Virginia (USA) we are proud to have developed websites for valued clients worldwide. Once the website is delivered we still stay with you because building your website is only half of the job, the site needs to be properly marketed to generate fresh visitors and sales.

  • Need a website?
  • Want a cool domain name?
  • Email that you can access just like Hotmail?
  • A family website for sharing photos and videos like YouTube?
  • Is your search engine ranking high enough?

We've built websites ranging from single pages  to complex ecommerce sites allowing customers to interact with each other on a forum. The key is in listening to your needs and creating a solution that exceeds your expectations.

We tend to recommend Drupal as the backbone for you website (guess whats behind this website?) It's a fantastic open source content management system that allows your website to be online quickly with dynamic content and all the necessary web2.0 features. CMS's can be used to easily manage every aspect of your website. Making it easy to add custom content and images with just a few clicks of your mouse. Instantly you will see that your website will never be the same again!

Migrating a static site to Drupal

If you want to make the jump to a web based content management system, there is no Content Management System better suited than Drupal. Your cost of migration will be low, your content will be safe and using Drupal is simple and intuitive (look what your doing right now Wink )

Migration of content and design

We can migrate your static website including content and design to a Drupal-based website. If desired, we will provide you with a fresh new website design to boot. We can host the web site at our hosting center or install it at your preferred hosting solution - including your own application server.

User manual and expert support

A nice user manual will make the switch painless, and our web design experts are here to help you should you ever run into trouble with your web site.


Let the Projex team help your business grow by utilizing the Internet. We would be delighted to discuss your requirements so please contact us for a free no-commitment and fully-inclusive quote for your upcoming project.

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