Category: IBM i
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Running Open Source PHP Applications
Way back in March last year, I wrote an article for PowerWire.eu that talked about how to get started with PHP on IBM i. In that article I touched briefly on the fact that PHP on IBM i gives you the foundations you need to start using a wide range of open source software. Since…
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Did IBM just offer you a FREE HMC?
OK, so maybe it’s not 100% free, but with the launch of the new Virtual Hardware Management Console (vHMC) the cost of the acquisition for many folks has tumbled by as much as 80% to a point where it’s almost as good as free. IBM have announced the long awaited offering, which allows you to…
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Using PHP and RPG to Communicate Together
In this article, I wish to take you through how we can communicate between PHP and RPG on our IBM i. I recently had a request from one of our clients asking if I had any examples of calling an RPG program from a PHP script. This gave me the idea, via the PowerWire platform,…
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Using the VIOS VMR for system backups
My previous article discussed how you can upload and load ISO images into the Virtual Media Repository (VMR) to provide virtual optical images to the client LPARs. You may recall that the mkvopt command has an option, -ro, which forces the access mode of the image to read only. When a VMR image is set…
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Test your mksysb backup without NIM or a tape drive
There’s a really handy way of cloning an AIX operating system straight from a mksysb backup. Even if you don’t need to clone an OS, it’s a pretty handy way of testing that your mksysb backup will actually be suitable for rebuilding your AIX root volume group. As you know, the mksysb command creates a…
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Basic AIX performance monitoring for IBM i professionals
IBM Power Systems have the ability to run both the IBM i and AIX (as well as Linux) operating systems, so how can you leverage your existing IBM i performance analysis skills to provide AIX support? Every system, from Charles Babbage’s first mechanical computers in the early nineteenth century to the high-end Power Systems we…
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Tech tip: populating the VIOS Virtual Media Repository
One of the most useful features of VIOS is the Virtual Media Repository (VMR). This allows us to create and import ISO images and then map these to virtual DVD drives on our client LPARs. Most customers will use the VMR to store their IBM i and/or AIX install media and PTFs. Many AIX sites…
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Are IBM i Services the future of systems management?
IBM i Services are perhaps the best kept secret of managing and monitoring IBM i. Relatively few users of our favourite platform know what they are and even fewer use them regularly. This is a crying shame as they are truly remarkable. IBM i Services can tell you in seconds what it takes a skilled…
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Get started with the RPG debugging alternative
I wish to take you through the debugging of RPG programs or service programs with a tool some readers may not have come across called IBM System Debugger. It is a client-based tool that has the following advantages over the Rational RDi debug facility: • It is part of the base IBM i operating system,…
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Tips for a happy Zend Server on IBM i
We looked in my last article at how to get started with PHP on IBM i. Server side, this involved installing Zend Server – the PHP engine that makes things happen. In this article, I’m going to share some tips with you that relate to configuring this fine software to avoid problems and get the…
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How to delete directories from your IFS
This article was inspired by a recent support call I received. It made me realise that many of you may not have noticed that IBM added a handy parameter to the RMVDIR (remove directory) command back in v6.1 called SUBTREE. Let me set the scene and you can work out whether this is something that…
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Tutorial: using wizards with RPG and Rational Developer for i
I’m going to run through some of the shortcuts/wizards we can employ with RPG using Rational Developer for i (RDi). Nowadays, it is all about productivity. Gone are the days when we had a DPM (data processing manager) looking over our shoulders to ensure that we were thrashing out code (we didn’t have fancy job…