Linux on POWER

Jan 5 2009   7:13PM GMT

David Vasta - Linux for IBM i: Commands and terminology - PART 2

Posted by: David Vasta
Linux, Linux on POWER, David on Linux, Search400.com

I hear Linux is hard, and is for geeks… I am not a geek, so is it still for me?

Of course you’re not…

Now that we have cleared that up let’s get into how we’re going to “talk” to Linux. Linux talks to us people using a shell. It’s that green or text-based screen that we i users are familiar seeing. I, of course like the shell sometimes much more then I do some GUI application, but have been known to use a GUI and smile at times. The shell is just a layer that is between you the user or administrator and the kernel.

LINK :: Linux for IBM i: Commands and terminology

Jan 5 2009   7:11PM GMT

David Vasta - Linux for IBM i: Introducing Linux to IBM i people-PART 1

Posted by: David Vasta
Linux on POWER, Linux, POWER Systems, IBM i, David on Linux, David on the IBM i, Search400.com

The IBM i is a great platform. Not many of you out there will argue that point. It’s solid, robust and very powerful. Part of that power is just that power or the hardware that we now call Power. The operating system (OS) is nothing unless it has rock-solid hardware to run on. So part of the IBM i’s stability is the hardware. Another fine example of a powerful OS that runs on Power is AIX. The problem is that not everything needs an IBM i or an AIX partition. Sometimes, you just need a file and print server or maybe a DNS or mail router. Of course you could do this all on Windows, but that gets really expensive and it does not run on Power. So, what do you do? Linux on Power: It’s easy, cheap and very powerful, much like its AIX cousin.

The next hurdle is the OS and how it works. If you have never seen Unix or Linux, your first few weeks can be painful. So lets take this one step at a time and talk about Linux, you the Administrator and what to do with your new best friend.

LINK :: Linux for IBM i: Introducing Linux to IBM i people

Jan 5 2009   7:06PM GMT

David Vasta :: Linux for the IBM i Authorities & Permissions - PART 3

Posted by: David Vasta
David on the IBM i, Linux, POWER Systems, Linux on POWER

I wrote a little something for Search400.com, this is PART 3 of the Linux for the IBM i Admin Series.

Link:: Linux for IBM i: Authorities and permissions

Jan 2 2009   4:21PM GMT

Biased CIOs spend more money and don’t solve problems, they create them

Posted by: David Vasta
IBM i, Bias, Bad CIO, Stupid CIO, Microsoft, Microsoft Windows, System i, IBM, Save Money, Consolidation, i on Power, Linux on POWER, Linux in System i, David on Windows, David on IBM i

What happens when an IBM AS/400, iSeries, System i, i5/OS, POWER System, Lotus Domino/Notes) IT shop doing fine, keeping the company running and is stable, has happy employees, happy users and then out of no where a new CIO or IT Manager is hired who:

1. Does not understand IBMs offering from both the IBM Systems side and the Lotus side?
2. Is biased towards another major technology company for no other reason or with out any logic or facts.

Bias is defined as; a particular tendency or inclination, esp. one that prevents unprejudiced consideration of a question; prejudice.

Now that we have established what bias is we can move on with the problem.

So there you are a loyal and hard working IBM i Admin, you and the Lotus Admin work hard to keep the company running. The companies main application for work is housed on the IBM i and everyone uses mail that comes out of Lotus Notes, plus Lotus has a feature no other application server has out there, rapid visual development, and there is always the one Lotus Developer, building applications for end users so they they can store information, access different types of data and make use of the Lotus and IBM i applications, and extend them to the company.

Everything is humming along, working well. Cost are in check, and with even more consolidation to the IBM i you could save more money.

The one summers day, or any season for that matter, a new CIO or IT Manager is hired into your company. Right after he says hello to everyone, his next comment is “We are going to replace all that IBM technology with Microsoft (or SUN).”

Continued »

Aug 23 2008   9:52PM GMT

POWER = IBM i +AiX + Linux?

Posted by: David Vasta
Linux in System i, David on System i, i on Power, AIX on Power, Linux on POWER, POWER Systems, i for business

It’s been a few months and not much has come from the POWER Equation. I don’t see what I expected to see from IBM over the new POWER thingies and I really wanted to see more. I have been on the IBM Power site every week for about 5 months now waiting for something cool to happen.

The two solutions I know the best are IBM i and Linux. I do know something about AIX but not as much as I would like.

I can tell you that I am working ona site like IBM to pull POWER and experts together in one place. I do think the future of the POWER community is in unification and COMMON and the AIX Convention (If there is one?) should merge and come together.

Jun 22 2008   2:58AM GMT

Chris Maxcer - i and AIX: Not Exactly the Same on Power Systems

Posted by: David Vasta
IBM News, AIX on Power, Linux on POWER, IBM i

Chris makes an interesting observation - LINK

“There are still some differences in how IBM is rolling out its converged System i and System p server lineup — though it’s not so much the hardware that’s different as it is the availability of the operating system. In the IBM i world, we’d pretty much always rather be first, but is being first really that critical?”

Jun 22 2008   2:48AM GMT

New Site is coming

Posted by: David Vasta
Linux, Lotus, SUN, FreeBSD, Apple, System i, Ubuntu Linux, Linux in System i, Domino on System i, David on System i, Lotus News, i on Power, AIX on Power, Linux on POWER, POWER Systems, i, i for business, OpenSolaris, IBM i

I am working on a new site, so between work, this site, writting for Search400 (which I hope they change the name of soon) and family, I have also found little time to start building a new site that will in the end be a hub for all things POWER based. I have to bring the community together under one web site.

So with that said, I am going to need people to provide content for the site. I need really dedicated insane people to help build the community from all parts of this equation. IBM i, AIX, Linux on Power, and POWER hardware. We need to come together in a big way and share. I am also going to cover Lotus, Ubuntu, OpenSolaris, OpenSuSE, FreeBSD and other things that interest me that I think are changing the way IT does IT.

Please send me an email and I will get you in on the fun, and if you know Joomla that would be great too…I am no expert on that CMS kit.

Apr 2 2008   5:40PM GMT

The day the System i went away - Bye Bye System i

Posted by: David Vasta
System i, COMMON - A users group, i on Power, AIX on Power, Linux on POWER, POWER Systems

The title is missleading. The System i is dead, I said it, it’s dead. The new OS is called i. The new server is called POWER.

i + AIX +LINUX = Runs on POWER

Since I started in this career path in 1990 I was constantly told by “others” the AS/400 is dead, then the iSeries is dead, after that the System i is dead. So now it’s dead right?

Wrong.

It’s larger than all the other systems in it’s space.Today during the Town Hall Meeting at COMMON, Mark Shearer released a gigantic can of industrial sized whoop ass on the competition. I know I have said it before and I meant it but this is the right move at the right time. The System p and System i become POWER. The i5/OS has become i, yeap just i. See it’s simple.

Mark showed a slide that was one of my favorites, where is showed IBM Power trending up while HP and SUN were both trending down and not even close to the number of installations or server IBM had. This gap is going to grow wider now and anyone thinking of moving off the i to Sun or HP should be sent home and consider a new line of work. IBM is the owner of the midrange space and now with a entry level server and a blade that runs any of three OSes, i, AIX, and Linux is just way to powerful a statement for the Solaris and HPUX people to ignore.

IBM also showed off the Power blades for the “S” Blade Center. The idea some 18 years ago of running a i on a card about the size of an old SPD card or laptop was a silly thought. Now if I wanted to put my Websphere AIX server, my JD Edwards i server and my Linux File and print server all in one foot print with disk I can and I can do it with POWER. So what about Windows? You can place intel based bladed in the “S” and run it there too, right next to the i, AIX, and Linux.

What does David think about this move?

We now have a name that can work for the OS/400, i5/OS and it’s i, just i and it works for me. The i is for buisness logo is awesome. All the new logos are awesome and very nVidia like. I have been in the loop with IBM and nothing they have told me about today has made me think negative things at all. These changes are all what most of the forward thinking people in the community have been thinking all along.

As I get more details I will share them, the event was worth the price of admission. I am a proud member of the i community and today was what most people call an industry earthquake. IBM took it’s most powerful assets and leveraged them into POWER!

We hop to see many many more combined advertising and educational activities in the future, while IBM promised it I still don’t know if they have a plan. This was all very fuzzy and very PC at the same time. I would have liked to have seen a plan for advertising, and after years of being blasted for not doing much you would have thought they would have shown up with a marketing plan. That would be my only comment about the new release.

Lastly someone at IBM needs to take the i OS and find all the places where it says AS/400, OS/400, iSeries, System i, or anything other than POWER or i to remove it. The i needs a clean up.

Thanks IBM for a great COMMON!

Maxed Out - Chris is a much better writer than I so please step over and read his post too.