I like birthdays, even as the numbers get larger. I’ll admit that I like to get birthday presents; I like to give them too. This week marks the 4th year of the “i Can” blog, so this week’s blog is a gift of reading material.
The reference material in this blog is a bit dated, but I left it in place as some of these links are still useful. I will write a 2020 version at some point.
Last week I wrote about Power and PowerVM Resources Information that hopefully you found useful. I thought I’d continue with additional reference information this week, focused on some of the latest technical information for IBM i.
Most of this information is not hard to find – but you generally need to know where to look. To save everyone time, I’ve got a consolidated list of reference information on IBM i resources – this list is in no way all-inclusive. There’s just so much information available.
Hopefully you’ll find a few gems in this list that are “just what you’ve been looking for!”
Redbooks
You may be surprised by how many Redbooks publications and Redpapers are available on IBM i topics. Many of these have been updated this year. A few of these are older, but still relevant. There are even more older Redbooks and Redpapers that are available that I did not include in this list – there are just too many!
IBM i 7.2 Technical Overview with Technology Refresh Updates
This Redbooks publication covers the IBM i 7.2 release and includes information on the technology refreshes that have been released.
IBM i 7.1 Technical Overview with Technology Refresh Updates
This Redbooks publication covers the IBM i 7.1 release and includes information on the technology refreshes that have been released.
IBM i Network Install
This is an IBM Redpaper that addresses IBM i Network Install and includes information on scratch install, licensed program install, operating system upgrade, and program temporary fix (PTF) installation.
BRMS Enterprise Enhancements
This Redpaper describes the configuration and use of the 7.1 BRMS Enterprise enhancements by using the web-based IBM Navigator for i.
Simple Configuration Example for Storwize V7000 FlashCopy and PowerHA SystemMirror for i
This IBM Redpaper™ complements the PowerHA SystemMirror for IBM i Cookbook, focusing on Storwize V7000 FlashCopy function. It introduces how to configure IBM PowerHA SystemMirror for i and FlashCopy of Storwize V7000 with simple configuration example.
PowerHA SystemMirror for IBM i Cookbook
This book is intended for all IBM i professionals who are planning on implementing a PowerHA solution on IBM i.
Uncovering Application Runtime Expert – IBM i 7.1
This Redpaper provides guidance for using IBM Application Runtime Expert for i and discusses the product’s features.
Creating IBM i Client Partitions Using Virtual Partition Manager
This IBM® Redpaper™ provides steps, considerations, limitations, and links to information regarding the creation of IBM i Client Partitions using the third generation of Virtual Partition Manager (VPM).
End to End Performance Management on IBM i
This IBM Redbooks® publication explains the tasks and rich tools associated with performance management on IBM i.
Best Practices for Managing IBM i Jobs and Output (and a few other special tips)
This IBM® Redpaper publication describes best practices and recommendations for managing jobs and spooled output on IBM i. It provides an overview of the various controls within the IBM i operating system that you can configure to adjust the limits for spooled output and jobs. It also provides recommendations for setting these values.
New Watch for Event Function for IBM i 7.1: How to Take Advantage of QSYSMSG Message Queue
This is a short technote that describes how to use message watches in IBM® i 7.1 to monitor everything that goes to QSYS/QSYSMSG *MSGQ and send an alert by e-mail. It includes sample code.
Papers
IBM i Virtualization and Open Storage
This “read-me first” paper provides detailed instructions on using IBM i 6.1/7.1 virtualization and connecting open storage to IBM i. It provides information on the prerequisites, supported hardware and software, planning considerations, install and post-install tasks such as backups. It was last updated in 2014.
IBM i Technology Updates
IBM has been releasing a lot of new function via technology refreshes and PTFs and it can be a little challenging to know what has been made available. The Knowledge Center does get updated periodically, but if you want to know about the latest enhancements, you need to be aware of and use the IBM i Technology Updates site.
IBM i Support – Technical Databases
The IBM i Support team has a wealth of helpful tips and information on the support site. The useful software knowledge base is no longer available, but you can search for tips from IBM support to find all sorts of useful articles.
IBM i Knowledge Center
The IBM Knowledge Center is where the “official” IBM i documentation is located. From this main page for IBM i, you can find links to the release you are interested in, all the way back to V5R3. Note that for the older releases, content is available in PDF format only.
Prior Blogs
Last year I wrote about Three Years of i Can and highlighted some of my favorite topics over the prior three years (and those blogs are still among my favorites). The list below is some of favorites topics from this past year.
Performance Data Investigator – Better than Ever
Performance Reports with the Performance Data Investigator
IBM i Performance Frequently Asked Questions
IBM i Now Supports USB Flash Drives
Navigator for i Enhancements
Moving Data to Solid State Drives
A Low Cost External Storage Configuration with IBM i
More Changes for the Handling of QINACTITV
IBM i Single Level Store … in Lieu of a Crystal Ball
Finally the IBM i page on the IBM Developer web site has a lot of additional information. The IBM i Articles page has recently written articles, while the IBM i Technical Library has many older articles. The IBM i Tutorials page has step-by-step examples.
I think that’s enough reading material for a while!
This blog post was edited to fix broken links in March 26, 2020.
This blog post was originally published on IBMSystemsMag.com and is reproduced here by permission of IBM Systems Media.