Voodoovw   1720 pts.  |   Aug 10 2009  9:38PM GMT

I agree with Phil. Unless you know what you are doing you could end up with a useless piece of equipment sitting in the corner. This is because the Operating system is tied to the serial number of the server. Without the “Keys” for the OS the system is almost worthless. The OS could cost more than you paid for the hardware.
My friend David use to offer free time on his server to those interested. I’m not sure if he still does but you can contact him through <a href="http://www.texas400.com" title="http://www.texas400. " target="_blank">www.texas400.com</a>

Kurtismonger   15 pts.  |   Aug 10 2009  10:17PM GMT

Interesting comments. That’s why I was asking about the eBay option. Some of them are from refurb outfits and they specify it comes with V5R3 or whatever, but I wasn’t sure of everything I would need to make sure I had to make a running system.
The time share idea may be what I need and a heck of a lot more affordable. Mostly I get requests to do minor admin tasks or modify existing code. I’m primarily looking to learn more about system administration as well as some COBOL and RPG programming. I suppose I can do that as easily on a remote system as I can locally.

OldSysAdmin   360 pts.  |   Aug 11 2009  3:28PM GMT

Let us know what approach you decide to take and how it works out, I’m curious. If you’re not too concerned with learning hardware, your own small 170 with apropriate OS (doesn’t need to be the most current release) and compilers and a network card ought to work for you IMHO.

Slack400   1165 pts.  |   Aug 11 2009  3:51PM GMT

Back in the 90’s I knew a couple of contractors who owned their own AS400’s at home.
I know that IBM would cut them very good deals on software maintenance so they could stay current without getting hit very hard for maintenance.
You probably get a tax write off as well.

There used to be a software vendor in California that sold an AS400 simulator software that could run on a PC. I can’t find it but I found this link. It looks like the company has been acquired.

Hafwhit   630 pts.  |   Aug 11 2009  4:39PM GMT

You have come to the right place to ask you question. You can get most of your questions answered here if it is not to technical. If you purchase a used system you need to see what you are getting. You may just get a system with the OS and not any programming or Query software. You might submit a question on a system here with the details and see what people think. You might even work a deal with one of your clients to use there system remotely.

TomLiotta   8025 pts.  |   Oct 12 2009  7:37AM GMT

If the system is billed as coming with, say, V5R3 of i5/OS, then the purchase price includes the OS license. You will want to ensure that the seller is able to work with IBM to transfer the Proof Of Entitlement (POE). This can be a tricky process.

If you also need hardware/software maintenance, that will be an additional contracted fee. My last system was bought off eBay from IBM — surplus equipment. I was fortunate in dealing directly with IBM. It was a 170 at V5R1. I purchased hardware and software maintenance, and upgrades and PTFs got me to V5R3 without issues. I also purchased a compilers license from a reseller, and they have also been upgraded/PTFd.

Note that V5R3 is no longer supported by IBM as a release. I do not know what this means in terms of the POE transfer. However, there should be no legal issues. The POE would be needed for support contracts and upgrades.

Tom

TomLiotta   8025 pts.  |   Oct 12 2009  7:39AM GMT

…but with that said, a timeshare can be an excellent way to go. Google is your friend.

Tom