Planet i http://planet-i.org News and Updates from the IBM i Community Fri, 18 May 2012 01:10:58 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Steve Pitcher › Old Perceptions Seem to Linger On Like It’s 1988 http://planet-i.org/2012/05/17/old-perceptions-seem-to-linger-on-like-its-1988/ http://planet-i.org/2012/05/17/old-perceptions-seem-to-linger-on-like-its-1988/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 00:53:00 +0000 Steven C. Pitcher http://planet-i.org/?guid=ba4297f71d954065993ec816e8121d68 started a thread on LinkedIn asking people "what it would take to call the platform IBM i?"

I posted the following comment, but I think in my mind I wanted to understand "what do people gain by calling IBM i on Power Systems an AS/400?"

I call it IBM i on Power Systems, and educate my users to do the same, because of two main reasons:

1. It's the name of the OS and hardware that we currently run.
2. It ensures that everyone in the company, from shop floor to CEO, is aware we are investing in modern technology. Yes it's backward compatible and runs the old green screen apps, but that Sametime 8.5.2 rich web meeting and PHP web app for production control is thanks to IBM i.

Anyone who mentions "the 400" around me in my shop usually leaves the ensuing conversation with a greater appreciation of our IT department, our systems and, if I do my job right, the confidence we can deliver modern solutions they perhaps thought were not possible on "the 400."

To answer your question, what would/did it take? I had to change my perspective. What would I gain by wrongfully calling it "the 400?" Absolutely nothing. I've gained so much more by rightfully calling it IBM i on Power Systems and taking a little time to provide a little education; something many IT folks have abandoned as not "part of the job." I strongly disagree. Education opens the doors that people aren't even aware of.

An AS/400 is from the 80's and 90's. I don't want my name attached to any business decision that involves moving forward in 2013 with an AS/400.

So, if you call it an AS/400 or an iSeries or a System i...what do you gain from that?  Familiarity?  A comfort zone?  If so, you should've went into accounting or something else relatively stable and safe.  As an IT professional, where the tools of the trade change very often, you're losing the opportunity to engage someone and educate them on the technological monster IBM i on Power Systems is!

Any other reasons?  Please leave them below.


Read the original at Steve Pitcher.

]]> http://planet-i.org/2012/05/17/old-perceptions-seem-to-linger-on-like-its-1988/feed/ 0 DB2 for i › A COMMON “Memory” http://planet-i.org/2012/05/17/a-common-memory/ http://planet-i.org/2012/05/17/a-common-memory/#comments Thu, 17 May 2012 11:39:00 +0000 Mike Cain http://planet-i.org/?guid=cb60f12df52d32532c6559bf59d4f06b

Last week I had the pleasure of presenting at the US COMMON Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA.  During the conference, I had discussions with several attendees looking to maximize large memory pools on their IBM i systems to improve application and database performance.

Some attendees knew about the SETOBJACC (Set Object Access) command and how it can be applied. However, few were aware of the new KEEPINMEM (Keep in Memory) parameter in the IBM i 7.1 release that was added to the Change Physical File (CHGPF) and Change Logical File (CHGLF) commands, or how the in-memory database attribute actually works.

Check out this articleto learn more details about this new DB2 object attribute to help tables and indexes stay in memory when SQL is being used for data access.

_________

Thanks Kent! Yet another way to increase DB2 for i query performance and scalability without the hassle of "buffer pool" memory administration.


 


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]]> http://planet-i.org/2012/05/17/a-common-memory/feed/ 0 i Can › Blog of Blogs, Videos and References http://planet-i.org/2012/05/16/blog-of-blogs-videos-and-references/ http://planet-i.org/2012/05/16/blog-of-blogs-videos-and-references/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 18:43:34 +0000 IBM Blogs http://ibmsystemsmag.blogs.com/i_can/2012/05/blog-of-blogs-videos-and-references.html
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]]> http://planet-i.org/2012/05/16/blog-of-blogs-videos-and-references/feed/ 0 Hertvik Business Services - Joe's Blog › Joe’s “What’s New with IBM i: Future Directions” Slide Show http://planet-i.org/2012/05/16/joes-whats-new-with-ibm-i-future-directions-slide-show/ http://planet-i.org/2012/05/16/joes-whats-new-with-ibm-i-future-directions-slide-show/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 17:59:50 +0000 Joe Hertvik http://joehertvik.com/?p=1453 Continue reading →


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]]> http://planet-i.org/2012/05/16/joes-whats-new-with-ibm-i-future-directions-slide-show/feed/ 0 Steve Pitcher › Using Lotus Notes Policies to Improve the User Experience: Part 1 – Dynamic Desktop http://planet-i.org/2012/05/16/using-lotus-notes-policies-to-improve-the-user-experience-part-1-dynamic-desktop/ http://planet-i.org/2012/05/16/using-lotus-notes-policies-to-improve-the-user-experience-part-1-dynamic-desktop/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 16:41:00 +0000 Steven C. Pitcher http://planet-i.org/?guid=fdf5a8b41de20560e59a3f161aff0932
Here are a few policies you can push out by default to improve your Lotus Notes users experiences from the get go.  I usually just set the initial value, so users can modify these settings after the fact.  For instance, the majority of our users want previewed mail to be marked as read, which Notes doesn't do by default.  I turn this on with a policy and educate users they can change it if need be.  Users need to be aware what options they have.  If they don't like a feature, they need to know they are able to change it.

All of these are in my Desktop Settings/Dynamic Desktop policy.


Basics Tab
Enable "Syncrhonize Contacts" on the Replicator = Yes
Set to ensure Notes users have their updated address book in iNotes.

Widgets Tab
Enable Live Text
Show the My Widgets panel in the sidebar
Live Text and Widgets are awesome so let users know what they are and that they have access to them.  But before you do this, you should really build and publish a widget catalog!
Train users to email each other widgets, show them how to download and add Google Gadgets to their sidebar panels.  For a head start, check the Widget Library on OpenNTF and please check out the Lotus Learning Widget.

Mail Tab
Allow refresh of Mail Quota on hovering over indicator = Enable
Have you ever adjusted a quota and told a user to "just wait a bit" for the quota indicator to change?  Just tell them to mouse over it for an instant update.

Enable silent failover when a server goes down = Enable
Why tell users your primary mail server is down and make them choose if they want to fail over to another replica?  Allow seamless transition to the secondary server. 

Enable upgrade of all local NSFs to latest ODS version = Enable
Users can benefit from the latest ODS on local applications only if they actually have the latest ODS on local applications.  This makes it easy to do.

Preferences Tab > Miscellaneous Sub Tab
Mark documents read when opened in preview pane = Enable
Make Internet URLs into Hotspots = Enable
Drag and Drop save as eml file = Enable
This is great if a user wants to pull an email out of their mail file.  Show them it's there!

Preferences Tab > Window Management Sub Tab
Display Sidebar = Yes
Hide "Sametime Contacts" Panel = No
We want our users logged into Sametime and have the panel visible every time they launch Notes.  This is one of the few policies I don't let users adjust.

Custom Settings Tab > Notes.ini Sub Tab
AttachmentActionDefault=1 OR 2
This will ensure a user doesn't have the pesky pop-up asking them if they want to open, edit, view or save the attachment they just double clicked.  Setting this to 1 will open the attachment by default.  Setting it to 2 will edit the attachment by default, enabling them to save it back to the document they just opened it from.  We're saving clicks and making things less complicated for users with this one.

Custom Settings Tab > Managed Settings Sub Tab
We use Sametime, so many of these are related to our Sametime environment or how Sametime interacts with the Lotus Notes calendar or our embedded Sametime clients.  FYI, I've already enabled token based single sign-on between our Domino, Sametime, Quickr and Websphere servers.

authType=ST-DOMINO-SSO; com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.community, Enforce
Lets us use single sign-on to our Sametime server.

loginByToken=True; com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.community, Enforce
Login by token.

tokenLoginOnly=True; com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.community, Enforce
Token only login.

savePassword=False; com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.community, Enforce
Disables a user saving a password.  When they do it seems to mess up that token login. ;)

autologin=True; com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.login, Enforce
Automatically log the user into Sametime

logging.service=service.notes; com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.chat.logging, Enforce
Ensures the user's chat history is saved to their mail file.

logging.default=0; com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.chat.logging, Enforce
Ensures the user automatically saves chat history.

lookupExpirationDays=0; com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.people
Ensures Sametime client cache is refreshed upon each Notes login

logging.enabled=True; com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.chat.logging, Enforce
Enables chat logging.

host=sametime.servername.com; com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.community, Enforce
Sametime host name.

name=sametime.servername.com; com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.community, Enforce
Sametime server name.

useCanonicalNamesOverride=1; com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.community, Enforce
Ensures we use canonical names to allow presence awareness in Notes views

meetingServerHostName=stms.servername.com; com.ibm.rtc.meetings.shelf, Enforce: SetOnce
Sametime meeting server name.

serverPort=9082; com.ibm.rtc.meetings.shelf, Enforce: SetOnce
Sametime meeting server port.

useCommunityCredentials=true; com.ibm.rtc.meetings.shelf, Enforce: SetOnce

Lets the user use their Domino server credentials

communityServerName=sametime.scotsburn.com; com.ibm.rtc.meetings.shelf, Enforce: SetOnce
Sametime community server name.

authServerUrl=domino.servername.com; com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.community, Enforce: SetOnce
Authentication server name

useAuthServer=true; com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.community, Enforce: SetOnce
Set to use our an authentication server (i.e., our Domino server) as the authentication server for Sametime

resetUser=true; com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.login, Enforce: SetOnce
Resets the user settings to ensure they pull down the latest and greatest settings on login to Notes

earlyStartupLogin=false; com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.login, Enforce: SetOnce
Disables the Sametime login window.  Why give them the login window when you're using single sign-on?  Don't.

autoChangeMyStatusInMtg=true; com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.imhub: SetOnce
Automatically change the user's Sametime status if they're in a meeting.

whenIamInAOnlineMtg=true; com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.imhub: SetOnce
Automatically change the user's Sametime status if they're in an online meeting.

enabled=true; com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.calendar: SetOnce
Enables status changes for user calendar entries

notes_enabled=true; com.ibm.collaboration.realtime.calendar: SetOnce
In Calendar Service page, specify whether to check Lotus Notes calendar for meetings to allow auto status changes.

If you have other tips on other desktop policies to enhance a user's experience, please let me know.  I'd love to hear about them.

Stay tuned for Part 2: Mail Settings


Read the original at Steve Pitcher.

]]> http://planet-i.org/2012/05/16/using-lotus-notes-policies-to-improve-the-user-experience-part-1-dynamic-desktop/feed/ 0 Hertvik Business Services - Joe's Blog › IT Jungle: Preventing your IBM i system from restarting after a full systems backup http://planet-i.org/2012/05/16/it-jungle-preventing-your-ibm-i-system-from-restarting-after-a-full-systems-backup/ http://planet-i.org/2012/05/16/it-jungle-preventing-your-ibm-i-system-from-restarting-after-a-full-systems-backup/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 10:59:44 +0000 Joe Hertvik http://joehertvik.com/?p=1448 Continue reading →


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]]> http://planet-i.org/2012/05/16/it-jungle-preventing-your-ibm-i-system-from-restarting-after-a-full-systems-backup/feed/ 0 midrange.com job board Job Site › Operator – Data Center at Crate and Barrel (Northbrook, Illinois) http://jobs.midrange.com/a/jbb/redirect/695910 http://jobs.midrange.com/a/jbb/redirect/695910#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 20:30:16 +0000 midrange.com job board Job Site http://jobs.midrange.com/a/jbb/redirect/695910
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]]> http://jobs.midrange.com/a/jbb/redirect/695910/feed/ 0 iDevelop › New Champions; New Products http://planet-i.org/2012/05/15/new-champions-new-products/ http://planet-i.org/2012/05/15/new-champions-new-products/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 18:47:42 +0000 IBM Blogs http://ibmsystemsmag.blogs.com/idevelop/2012/05/new-champions-new-products.html
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]]> http://planet-i.org/2012/05/15/new-champions-new-products/feed/ 0 Simply 'i' › Zend moves support for ZendDBi to alternative supplier. http://planet-i.org/2012/05/15/zend-moves-support-for-zenddbi-to-alternative-supplier/ http://planet-i.org/2012/05/15/zend-moves-support-for-zenddbi-to-alternative-supplier/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 12:13:15 +0000 Chris Hird http://www.shieldadvanced.ca/Blog/?p=1579
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]]> http://planet-i.org/2012/05/15/zend-moves-support-for-zenddbi-to-alternative-supplier/feed/ 0 Hertvik Business Services - Joe's Blog › Joe Hertvik Speaking at Omni User Group on May 15th http://planet-i.org/2012/05/14/joe-hertvik-speaking-at-omni-user-group-on-may-15th/ http://planet-i.org/2012/05/14/joe-hertvik-speaking-at-omni-user-group-on-may-15th/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 02:39:09 +0000 Joe Hertvik http://joehertvik.com/?p=1443 Continue reading →


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