AS400 is dead, long live IBMi

Its IBM i running on IBM Power systems ( think Microsoft Windows Server running on Dell Poweredge Hardware ) but that's a bit of a mouthful so we simply say the IBMi.

After coming back from the last i-Developers convention I was feeling excited about all the fantastic things that this machine is capable of. The IBM Power System has incredibly bullet proof hardware and combined with the IBMi operating system it's just a totally integrated, incredibly resilient and easy to use Business Server for the new millennium. It's totally Internet friendly and everyone agrees IBMi is arguably the most secure server OS on the market today. It pumps out websites, emails, spreadsheet, full windows integration and even totally supports the old green screen applications from the 80/90s.

A fantastic bit of kit thats evolved incredibly from it's early B10 models 20 years ago.

But there is one problem with the IBMi - and its a big one!

I'm embarrassed to say that the problem is us IBMi Developers - or to be more accurate its the AS400 Developers. Many developers working on the modern machine and operating system are old school programmers who have evolved up from the early days of the AS400 (and it's earlier iterations the System/3x). It's the blinkered view of many IBMi developers who are in the 'I've always called it an AS400 so why change it now" mindset.

A depressingly vocal community out there still thinks of it as an old green-screen AS400, it's time we get up and say"no more" to the dusty old farts that insist on degrading the IBMi and trying to relegate it to the annals of history.

These are the same faceless people who own 60inch LCD TVs and use duct tape to make a small 18inch window and turn the colors down to black and white.

• You don't refer to your Windows7 Laptop as a DOS PC do you?
• So why take a modern Power System running IBM i  and then refer to it as an old fashioned AS/400

The IBMi brand needs a little loving...

Still confused about AS400, DB2, UDB, i5/OS, OS400?

Perhaps this will help clarify:

What is IBM i?

IBM i (previously known as i5/OS and OS/400) is an operating system. It is an integrated, easy to use environment that was designed by IBM for efficient, resilient business processing. DB2 is an integrated database within the i operating system. http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/i/

Is IBM i the operating system that runs on systems which have evolved from the iSeries, Systemi, and before that Application System 400?

Yes. [redbook]

What servers support IBM i?

IBM Power Systems run the IBM i operating system. This POWER processor-based servers also run AIX, IBM’s UNIX operating system, and Linux. The MySQL i DB2 Storage engine is only supported with IBM i.

Is DB2 for i the same as the databases on other systems?

IBM DB2 for i is a distinct product within the IBM Database family. DB2 for i is the database that runs on the IBM i operating system on IBM Power Systems.

What is so good about the IBM System i?

IBM i for Power Systems (including AS/400, iSeries, and System i) is an all-in-one platform with proven solutions, built-in security, and unlimited potential. Designed to help you spend more time managing your business, not your infrastructure.

So why do some people still call it an AS/400!!

Because they are stuck in the 1980's and early 1990's. They still listen to 70's disco, mourn the death of VHS and use mobile phones the size of bricks. People that cal the machine an AS400 think the internet is a passing fad.

Why wasnt I told about all this?

Whether you know it or not... if people in your business talk about an AS400 then your should correct the. You are not using an AS400 anymore! If it's been upgraded to version 5 or higher then you are using the IBMi operating system on an IBM Power System platform - call it what it is. IBMI is the operating system. Power System is the big physical black computer box that runs it all.

So if you're talking about hardware, its the IBM Power System

If you're talking about the software, what we used to call 'The 400' then we now refer to that big chunk of hardware as the IBM POWER SYSTEM. Or most often we talk about the operating system itself - the IBM i.

"Yesterday I went in and lovingly polished the Power System until it glistened" said John the Operator

"While you were doing that I was downloading some seriously sexy website order information from IBMi." said Charles the slightly camp programmer.

:)