IBM i began supporting USB flash drives back in 2012, but their use was restricted to save/restore and IFS options (refer to the blog IBM i Now Supports USB Flash Drives for additional background information). Many users downloaded the IBM Fix (PTF) DVD images, copied them to a flash drive, and then discovered they could not access the fixes because the entire DVD image was “just a file”.
(more…)Dump a Communications Trace was a blog I wrote back in 2009. That article reviewed the support for dumping the trace data in “packet capture” (PCAP) format and hinted that the DMPCMNTRC command would likely be updated to support this feature (without the need for a data area).
(more…)Once again it is announcement time, with IBM i 7.3 Technology Refresh 2 and IBM i 7.2 Technology Refresh 6 being announced. As is somewhat typical for these Technology Refresh announcements, the content for both releases is quite similar. Steve Will’s blog Announcing IBM i 7.3 TR2 & 7.2 TR6 reviews the announcement overall. I want to focus on a few enhancements that will make an IBM i administrator’s life a little easier.
(more…)I am not sure how many of you have heard about IBM Administration (Application) Runtime Expert for i (ARE) nor am I sure how many of you have actually used PTF support offered by ARE. Hopefully this blog entry can explain to you why you would want to explore the ARE tool overall and especially when it comes to managing your PTFs.
(more…)To first understand what Call Home Web can do for you, here is a brief description of IBM Call Home:
IBM Call Home constantly monitors the health and functionality of your system. Should an event requiring service occur, the Call Home function first notifies both you and IBM Support of the event. The function then automatically opens a service request and transfers preliminary critical diagnostic data to authorized support personnel. By obtaining information in this way, IBM Support can quickly identify problems and develop an action plan for problem resolution giving you a more effective first contact support session and ultimately, an overall reduction in time to resolution. And rest assured, all information transmitted to IBM is encrypted and sent via secure protocols. Only critical diagnostic information is provided; none of your business data is ever transmitted.
I’m sure you’ve heard that Navigator for i added support to manage PTFs in the 7.2 release. I thought it was about time to review the PTF management capabilities you can now do from the browser. This is one more step along the way of providing function that was previously only available from System i Navigator into the Web console.
(more…)