IBM i 25 years
April 2012 IBM introduced
PureSystems – built on the all-new Flex System components – creating a new
category of “expert integrated system” that strives to offer the simplicity of
management and integration of the AS/400 and IBM i, while supporting the
breadth of virtualized multi-OS environments that have developed over the last
two decades.
IBM PureFlex System
offers a single point of control with the Flex System Manager, while supporting
both x86 and POWER architectures, a range of hypervisors including PowerVM,
KVM, VMware and Hyper-V, and applications across Windows, Linux, AIX, and of
course, IBM i. PureFlex essentially allows you to get the best of both worlds:
a fully integrated environment for both your IBM i and x86 applications.
This week, IBM is
announcing their new IBM PureFlex Solution for IBM i, which is a specially
packaged and priced solution for small and midsized IBM i clients. It’s ideal
for companies that want to run IBM i on our expert integrated systems, but also
want to fully integrate and manage their x86 compute nodes in the same chassis.
So, congratulations
and happy 25th birthday to IBM i, and happy first birthday to its integrated
descendant, IBM PureSystems.
To read more, check
out the IBM PureFlex Solution for IBM i website: www.ibm.com/systems/flex/i/bto/index.html.
An overview of the iSeries and AS/400 systems
A video series that talks about the history of AS400
Systems:
The IBM iSeries (known as AS/400) is a highly integrated,
reliable server platform that allows businesses to run multiple operating
environments simultaneously. Their integrity and security characteristics allow
them to be used in many critical applications.
RPG has evolved from being a simple Report Program
Generator, (from which it got its name) into a powerful application development
procedural language on iSeries machines. Currently it is supported on the ILE
(Integrated Language Environment) on iSeries.
Host servers handle requests from client PCs or other
devices running an application as illustrated in Figure AS400 server
architecture to enable printing a document and other tasks. The iSeries and
AS/400 computers are full function servers capable of performing many tasks at
once, including file, database, applications, mail, print, multimedia, fax and
wireless communications. Each task server runs as a separate job on the system,
and each server job sends and receives data streams on a socket connection.
One of these host servers is the Remote Command and
Distributed program call server. This server runs the programs on an iSeries or
AS/400 system.
IBM's Toolbox for JAVA has a multitude of packages that
handle different functionalities. For example, Access classes manage sign-on
information, create and maintain socket connections, and send and receive data,
while Command Call classes run iSeries and AS/400 batch commands.
IBM's iSeries adapter uses the Access classes, and Program
Call classes to call the RPG program. Data conversion classes provide the
capability to convert numeric and character data between iSeries or AS/400 and
Java formats.
Overview of AS/400
client - server architecture
While OS/400 running on an AS/400 is capable of handling
many types of tasks, the iSeries adapter only uses the Remote Command and
Distributed program call server. This server runs the programs on the AS/400
system.
A diagram of the iSeries adapter connection of the client to
the server is shown in diagram below.
The data queues on iSeries allow fast communications between
jobs. Therefore, it is an excellent way to synchronize and pass data between
jobs. With data queues on iSeries:
- Many
jobs can simultaneously access the data queues
- Messages
on a data queue are free format
- The
data queue can be used for either synchronous or asynchronous processing
- The
messages on a data queue can be ordered in one of the following ways:
- Last-in
first-out (LIFO)
- First-in
first-out (FIFO)
- Keyed
Each message on a keyed data queue has a key associated with
it. A message can be taken off the queue only by specifying the key that is
associated with it.
The Next 25 Years
While IBM is now
celebrating 25 years of the AS/400, it isn't resting on its laurels. There is a
planned IBM i 7.2 release set for next year as development and innovation on
the platform continue.
One of the areas where IBM
expects IBM i to grow is on the PureSystems portfolio. The IBM PureSystems
approach itself is an integrated, storage, compute, networking and applications
stack.
"PureSystems gives us
the ability to run IBM i and Windows workloads or Linux on x86 workloads very
efficiently together," IBM said.
From the day that AS/400
debuted 25 years ago to the modern day, IBM stressed that a key component of
the architecture is that it has a technology-independent machine interface.
"Effectively what that
does is it protects you from technology change," IBM said. "It's
difficult to predict the future, except to say that in next 25 years the
technology underneath IBM i will fundamentally change."
The promise of the IBM i is
that it is able to change as underlying hardware changes. It's a promise that
could see the platform survive for the next 25 years.
IBM Quote:
"I'm very confident given that we made a big
promise of technology independence 25 years ago with the AS/400 and we delivered
on that promise, I'm very confident that people will be running IBM i
applications 25 years from now."
IBM I COMMONS Community:
For more information please contact me at:
Drs. Albert Spijkers
DBA Consulting
web: http://www.dbaconsulting.nl
blog: DBA Consulting blog
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