May 2007

• Industry Observer - Redbooks to the Rescue; XML Looks to the Future; Web Application Vulnerabilities; Evaluating IT Investments; Making Telecommuting Work
• Tune i5/OS Web Server Performance - Are you frustrated with your web server tuning process? Does it take too long and yield disappointing results? Try the new Web Performance Advisor. It lets you easily view, evaluate, and modify the performance attributes for your web environment.
• Foolproof Guide to Embedded SQL Error Handling - When you code embedded SQL in an HLL, you should always check every executable statement for successful completion and handle any unexpected conditions appropriately. Some foolproof advice, techniques, and coding patterns make this task a snap.
• Embedded SQL Jump Start - Strategically adding SQL to your RPG programs can improve performance, simplify code, and sometimes accomplish feats that neither SQL nor RPG can handle alone. Read on to discover how embedded SQL integrates with RPG.
• Quick Start for SQL Column Definitions - In SQL, a file is a table, a library is a schema, and records are rows. Here's a handy reference that describes what you need to know before you jump into SQL waters.
• SQL Security - SQL is fast becoming a crucial language that all System i developers need to know. The SQL security functions give you options that you lack with legacy programming. Get up to speed on SQL security before you deploy your next application.
• A Subfile View of the IFS - Here's a way to let users work directly with IFS files from their familiar System i screens — with tighter security and a better audit trail — all in one application.
• 5 Tips for Integrating Java with System i Resources - Mention integrating Java with the System i and most developers cringe, believing that Java is way too complex. But these tips, which cover five of the most common integration scenarios, show that isn’t so.
• The SQL Plan Cache Uncovered - Access plan management is one of DB2's key advantages. With the SQL plan cache, you can eliminate duplicate work and boost performance.
• Query Optimization in DB2 for i5/OS - As an implicit or explicit user of SQL and DB2 for i5/OS, you need a basic understanding of query optimization to get the most out of the system. Though DB2 for i5/OS makes the optimization process seem easy, understanding the optimizer is to your advantage.
• Blazing LPAR Communications with Virtual Networks - By deploying virtual networking in your LPAR i5/OS system, you can immediately improve the performance of your LPAR applications. You’ll also be well positioned to move other enterprise applications into the hyper-fast LPAR environment.
• Killer Club Tech - Does Your Software Vendor Have the Keys to Your Kingdom?; Suppress PASE Output Messages; Security Checkup with PRTSYSSECA
• Dr. I Doctor - Dr. I Doctor solves a problem with i5/OS causing false firewall alarms, and discusses the cruel realities of Power-over-Ethernet.
• IBM Announcements -
• Hot New Products -
• f.y.iSystem - IBM Announces Radically New Entry-level Boxes; Volvo Solves System i-Windows Systems Management Issues; IT Spending on System i Limited to Storage in 2007; IBM Announces WDSc 7.0 with New Lean and Mean Install; Tracking System i Newbies, Retirees, and Everything In Between; High and Low Ends Take Aim at Midrange Server Market
• Feedback -
• Adapting to New Real-IT-ies - In the changing world of IT, who will live and who will die? Here are ideas for how you can survive IT modernization.
• The Performance Problem - When it comes to server performance, our industry exhibits the classic signs of addiction.
• The System i Plays in a Complicated SAP World - While SAP works to connect with a largely untapped small and midsize ERP market by offering on-demand services, the System i remains a solid player — platforms running SAP solutions are widely distributed across key industries.
• Shaking Off the Groundhog’s Long Shadow - After a quiet winter, the System i market celebrates spring with some significant new products that help convert legacy applications to SOA, extend biometric authentication on the platform, and protect e-mail communications.
• System i Development: Moving Forward - Curious about where WDSc is headed? Discover one manager’s views about the history of WDSc, what it takes to keep up with the demands of developers, and where the product is headed.
• A Quarter Century of IBM Midrange Security and Networking Innovation - The IBM midrange has seen many milestones in 25 years. Here is a mini-history of some of the most significant system administration, security, and networking events since 1982.
• Dear Diary - A diary is a useful tool at work for logging important events. With it, an IT pro can solve current problems more easily by knowing what has taken place in the past.
• Life After Downsizing - Jobs in the IT sector have been some of the hardest hit by recent downsizing. Find out how to spot the warning signs of a layoff and what to do after you’ve gotten the axe.
• Keep Your DBAs Singing a Happy Tune - Database performance is often a bottleneck that slows end-user productivity and adds to system overhead. Centerfield Technology, Inc.'s HomeRun suite offers multiple tools for addressing these problems.
• System i Warehouse Management Applications Product Roundup - Warehouse operations are an essential part of nearly every supply chain. If you’re looking for a better way to organize, track, and retrieve warehouse goods, one of these 32 solutions for System i may be able to help you.
• Do-It-Yourself Data Warehousing - A data warehouse can be a valuable business tool that you can build yourself. Here's how.
• New Frontiers in Virtualization - Virtualization technologies and trends continue their colonization of the virtual landscape, with the ability to concurrently run multiple OSs on a PC, and the ability to run applications without installing them on or altering your PC.
• Route Finder: Shortcuts to Browser User-Interfaces - Developing BUIs involves concepts and skills unfamiliar to many System i developers. As you evaluate whether refacing is an appropriate solution for your applications and which refacing tools to consider, you might find it useful to have an understanding of the underlying issues.