Newsletter

This newsletter includes:

• • To Attend or Not to Attend – The Value of IBM i Conferences
  • Save the Date! iAdmin Spring 2023
  • iTech iTip Videos
  • Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
  • iBasics: IBM i Education for the Beginner System Administrator
  • iPOWER Hour Episode 43: What To Know When Moving to The Cloud
  • Upcoming Events
  • IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs (February 2023)

I spoke at my first in-person local user group meeting since before COVID.  What a great time I had.  I presented 2 topics at the Long Island Systems User Group Meeting on February 22. The first was Can your IBM i Recover from a Disaster, and the second was Navigator for IBM i. It was so great to talk and interact with everyone there.  They did a hybrid event simulcasting to those who couldn’t make it, but there were over 25 people in attendance. To me, there is nothing better than interacting and speaking in front of a live audience.  It was great to see so many friends as well.  The isolation aspect of COVID is more far-reaching than I think people realize. So, let’s get past my excitement and talk about the value of networking.…

This newsletter includes:

• • Five Resolutions for Your IBM i in 2023
  • Expand Your Horizons: Dynamically Increase The Size of Your SAN Disks
  • IBM Power System Performance Comparison Power8, Power9, and Power10
  • Save the Date! iAdmin Spring 2023
  • iTech iTip Videos
  • Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
  • iBasics: IBM i Education for the Beginner System Administrator
  • iPOWER Hour Episode 42: Power8 End of Support and What It Means
  • Upcoming Events
  • IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs (January 2023)

First, from everyone here I would like to wish you a safe, happy, and healthy 2023. If you are an existing customer, thank you for bringing us into your company and trusting us with your most precious system, your Power System running IBM i.  We promise to do our absolute best in supporting you, no matter what it takes.  If you aren’t yet a customer, we hope you realize just how good we are from all our webinars, seminars, 2-day conferences, blogs, podcasts, and newsletters that you give us a chance. To IBM and our competitors, let’s help each other grow the community, because when the tide comes in, all ships in the harbor rise.…

These last three years have been years like no other, yet we hope this finds you and your family safe from the virus that has uprooted our daily lives.  Who really knows what the New Year has in store for us all, but just know you will be able to count on us yet again. As 2022 comes to a close, we wish to thank you for allowing iTech Solutions (now part of Service Express) to be part of your team. We hope that our IBM i newsletters, Blogs, Webinars, Sips & Tricks, iTip Videos, Two-Day iAdmin Conferences, iBasics seminars, and iPower Hour Podcast have been educational and informative for you and that you have learned from them. We encourage your feedback on what other things we can add to make them more helpful to our customers, and others who read them. Look for even more to come this year in 2023.

With our acquisition by Service Express in July, we have continued our growth this year adding additional employees to improve our services as well as the breadth of our IBM i offerings. Having the backing of Service Express we have also been working on expanding our offerings, which is great news for the IBM i community.  We hope you have a happy holiday season, with good health, happiness, and prosperity in the New Year.  All of us at iTech thank you for your business, and for the confidence that you have placed in us over the years.  We look forward to working together in the coming year, and we will continue to strive to exceed your expectations. Whenever we don’t, please reach out directly to me. While my job has changed, my ability to get you help will never change.…

This newsletter includes:

• • The Bell Tolls for Power 8
  • Five Reasons Why Managed Security Makes Sense
  • A Look at VIOS Performance Advisor
  • How IBM i Invokes Your System Startup Program
  • Watch Replays: iAdmin Fall 2022
  • iTech iTip Videos
  • Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
  • iBasics: IBM i Education for the Beginner System Administrator
  • Watch Replay: Tactical Security Day
  • iPOWER Hour Episode 41: IBM i 7.3 End of Support and What It Means
  • Upcoming Events
  • IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs (November 2022)

When you live in the northeast United States, each season has its own charm and it is totally unique. Although nothing beats a New England fall, it is certainly hard to see the sunlight each day decrease as the cold starts to surround your body every time you go outdoors, but the beauty is amazing.  Starting in October, and ending in early November, the leaves turn from green to sunlit yellow, vibrant orange, and strawberry reds appear all over the gentle hills and the cool crisp air reminds you that snow isn’t too far away.  Fall’s transformation reminds us of the constant change in our lives and the ability we have to create change for others, as well as improve our customer’s IBM i environments.…

This newsletter includes:

• • Function Junction – Securing Applications
  • The Grass is Always Greener Over The Septic Field – An Argument for Modernization Over Replacement
  • CHGJRN, CPF7018, and WRKCMTDFN
  • [NEXT WEEK] Register Now: iAdmin Fall 2022
  • iTech iTip Videos
  • Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
  • iBasics: IBM i Education for the Beginner System Administrator
  • Watch Replay: Tactical Security Day
  • iPOWER Hour Episode 40: Security Vulnerabilities on Your IBM i
  • Upcoming Events
  • IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs (October 2022)

It’s Autumn in Connecticut, and there is no place prettier with the rolling hills of orange, yellow, and burnt red leaves as far as the eye can see, but underneath that beautiful landscape is the changes that will take place as we head into winter. There are lots of changes, and one that you might have seen with our integration into Service Express is the changing of our email addresses.…

This newsletter includes:

• • Obtaining Your Last IPL Details
  • Five Costly Mistakes that IBM i Companies Make
  • System Cleanup: My QUSRBRM/QA1ALI2 File is Large
  • iTech iTip Videos
  • Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
  • iBasics: IBM i Education for the Beginner System Administrator
  • Watch Replay: Tactical Security Day
  • Register Now: iAdmin Fall 2022
  • iPOWER Hour Episode 40: Security Vulnerabilities on Your IBM i(NEW!)
  • Upcoming Events
  • IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs (September 2022)

I guess it was just a matter of time as we all knew it was coming, eventually.  IBM i 7.3 is going out of support next year, Sept 30, 2023.  I guess the handwriting was on the wall when IBM came out with 7.5 in the spring, as they don’t normally support 3 releases of the operating system at once.  Quite honestly, I was a little surprised they kept the support that long, as I had expected once 7.5 was announced that they would drop the support for 7.3.…

This newsletter includes:

• • Getting Lots of Information Quickly – The Handy QLZARCAPI Tool
  • Utilizing Leasing for Technology Acquisitions
  • Setting a User Profile’s Job Description to Produce a Job Log
  • IT Infrastructure – Hardware and Software Maintenance Considerations
  • iTech iTip Videos
  • Webinar Replay: The Value of Staying Current 
  • Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
  • iBasics: IBM i Education for the Beginner System Administrator
  • [Register Now] Tactical Security Day – September 21st
  • Save the Date: iAdmin Fall 2022
  • iPOWER Hour Episode 39: The Value Of Working With a Managed Service Provider (NEW!)
  • Upcoming Events
  • IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs (August 2022)

Did you ever hear the saying “The more things change, the more they remain the same”?  Well, that has pretty much been our first two months as part of Service Express. Same iTech Staff, same iTech procedures, same iTech customers, and same iTech commitment to IBM i.  Don’t get me wrong, we are looking at some cool new tools to help us become more productive and efficient, but our commitment to IBM i hasn’t changed.…

This newsletter includes:

• • Four Reasons to Implement MFA For Your IBM i
  •  SMB Version Support for IBM i NetServer 
  • Are YOU Staying Current?
  • Do You Want It All In Life? You Probably Already Do
  • iTech iTip Videos
  • Webinar Replay: The Value of Staying Current 
  • Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
  • iBasics: IBM i Education for the Beginner System Administrator
  • Let iTech Take You Out to the Ballgame  ⚾
  • iPower Hour Podcast: The Value of Staying Current (NEW!)
  • Upcoming Events
  • iTech Spotlight
  • IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs (July 2022)

Well to say July was the month of all months combined would be an understatement.  First, and foremost iTech Solutions was acquired by Service Express, a leader in global data center and infrastructure solutions, announced the acquisition on July 1^st of managed services provider iTech Solutions Group and cloud hosting provider iInTheCloud.…

This newsletter includes:

• • Reimagining Your IBM i Backup Strategy With External Storage
  • Deploying Access Client Solutions Centrally with Java Included
  • Economic Cost of Falling Behind
  • How Do We Fix The Great IBM i Resource Shortage?
  • iTech iTip Videos
  • Webinar: The Value of Staying Current 
  • Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
  • iBasics: IBM i Education for the Beginner System Administrator
  • Let iTech Take You Out to the Ballgame  ⚾
  • Upcoming Events
  • iTech Spotlight
  • IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs (June 2022)

As we approach the end of June, I just wanted to thank all of our customers for another great record-setting first half here at iTech Solutions. We thank you for allowing us into your environment, we know you had a choice and we are so happy you have chosen us. We take pride in our work, we love helping our customers, and we value the relationships we have with you…

This newsletter includes:

• • Do You Know Where Your Audit Journals Live On Your System?
  • Protecting your IFS with Anti-virus and Anti-ransomware Solutions
  • Information Technology – Proactive or Reactive Perspectives
  • iTech iTip Videos
  • Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
  • iBasics: IBM i Education for the Beginner System Administrator
  • Let iTech Take You Out to the Ballgame  ⚾
  • Upcoming Events
  • iTech Spotlight
  • IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs (May 2022)

IBM announced IBM i 7.5 with a host of new features and functions at the beginning of the month.   Plenty of security enhancements, DB2 for i enhancements, general OS improvements, DB2 Mirror for i, and of course Merlin.  Merlin stands for Modernization Engine for Lifecycle Integration.…

This newsletter includes:

• • Consuming Journal Receiver Data Easily with SQL
  • Yes or No to Managed Service Providers?
  • Securing Spool Files
  • iTech iTip Videos
  • Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
  • iBasics: IBM i Education for the Beginner System Administrator
  • Let iTech Take You Out to the Ballgame  ⚾
  • Upcoming Events
  • iAdmin Spring 2022 – Register Now!
  • iTech Spotlight
  • IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs (April 2022)

Well from reading Steve Will’s blog this month, we know the next release of IBM i is very, very close to being announced. That is great news for IBM i customers. There are a lot of really cool features that have been added to this next release, and I can’t wait to tell you all that I know on Announcement day. In fact, we will show you just how easy it is and everything you need to know to upgrade to the next release of IBM i as soon as it is announced. I think the other benefit for the whole community, is that the roadmap gets updated and we will still have at least 2 more releases of IBM i still to come out after the one this year. That pushes IBM i support probably out to around 2035ish by simple math applied to the current schedule.…

This newsletter includes:

• • Perform VIOS Backups to Your HMC
  • Lock Into the Future of Power10
  • What is a “UAK”, Why Do I Need One, and How Do I Update It?
  • iTech iTip Videos
  • Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
  • iBasics: IBM i Education for the Beginner System Administrator
  • Let iTech Take You Out to the Ballgame
  • Upcoming Events
  • iAdmin Spring 2022 – Register Now!
  • iTech Spotlight
  • IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs (March 2022)

March Madness is certainly going on here at iTech.   Let me tell you what I mean by that.

First, we have had a record number of POWER Systems and SAN Storage happen this month.  We have our team all over the US installing new Power Systems and SANs.  I can see it just looking at my team’s calendars, but also in all our project plans we do with each customer during the installation process.  Depending on the configuration, options, number of partitions, etc that checklist can be anywhere from 100 to 300 steps for an installation. Each installation has its own unique project plan.  So, it’s not just the installers, it’s the project managers and the rest of the technical team.…