Here Is A Summary Overview Of What To Expect.
The purpose of this blog is to provide a high-level overview of basic considerations to move to an IBM i Cloud Hosting provider – 1) Cost to host, 2) Software Transfer Fees, 3) Cost to add High Availability, and 4) What is involved to move to the cloud once you decide to proceed.
Disclaimer: IBM iSeries and AS400 are servers. IBM i is an operating system. I use these terms interchangeably to make it easier for folks to find what they want on the web.
If you are thinking about IBM i cloud hosting, let’s take a quick look at the options and estimates (subject to more discovery).
How Much Does IBM i Cloud Hosting Cost?
Often pricing is the first question … a client has to determine if hosting is a cost-effective choice.
For most prospective users I talk to, I believe they will need a hosting environment with 1000-2000 CPW, 4-8 GB RAM, and 300 GB to 1 TB of disk storage.
(With hosting we can change the resources in a matter of minutes, so during our free 60-day trial we can adjust the resources to find the client’s sweet spot for performance and best price.)
We will host your client within a Logical Partition (LPAR) or a virtualized server on a big POWER server that can support multiple tenants. Rest assured that no one can get access to your system,
The LPAR pricing is as follows:
LPAR Setup runs about $1,500 – $3,500
Monthly Fees: $500 – $1,500 per month
Offsite Replication Options (backup is transmitted to an offsite DR data center for recovery within 24 hours or less) – $300 – $600 per month
Be Sure To Find Out What Is Involved When You Move Your Software To A Sever With A Different Serial Number.
When migrating your IBM i applications to the cloud or any new server with a different serial number, your client will need to research what each software provider requires (often there is a billable transfer fee).
What If I Want High Availability Redundancy? How Much Does That Cost?
A few clients want a mirrored backup for HA and fast failover. This requires another LPAR, HA software, implementation and HA management. My estimates are as follows:
LPAR Setup runs about $1,500 – $3,500
Monthly Hosting Fee $500 – $1,500 (HA uses less resource than production.)
HA software license $8,000 – $15,000
HA annual support $2,000 – $3,000
HA Implementation $8,000 – $12,000
HA Monitor and Remediation (Optional) Monthly Fee
$ 700 – $1,800
Let’s say you are good with pricing. Now, how do we get you live?
What Is Involved To Move To An IBM i Cloud Hosting Provider?
At a high level, here is what you can expect when you move your IBM i applications to the cloud:
We have a planning session and you complete a Hosting Readiness Document. At a minimum, we want to know about your connectivity, your backup, your software, what needs testing and LPAR resources sizing.
Next, you send us a Save21 of your system so we can load your LPAR.
We set up connectivity so you can test your LPAR.
Part way through the 60-day trial we will verify that your key software, interfaces and peripherals (i.e. printers, etc.) have been tested. We also prepare your backup strategy (we use a Virtual Tape Library, which is a disk-based backup appliance) for backup.
We plan for your go live weekend.
You ship to us overnight a final Save21 from Friday end of day for us to take you live over the weekend.
So, what is the next step if you want to consider moving to an IBM i cloud …or a new POWER9 server?
The next step is to ask for our Cloud Hosting Assessment Checklist to complete and return to us. (This checklist also helps us assess your on premise server needs as well.)
Then we can start the process to have a clear understanding of your needs and provide firm pricing.
If you need help, please email me at
Or call me at (714) 593-0387.
