R2D2? That little dome-headed “droid” that always kept the Star Wars heroes one step ahead of big trouble? Well, not exactly. The one we’re talking about doesn’t roll around, nor does he chirp. But unlike the movie version, ours is real. He lives inside your IBM i server and he spends his life keeping you out of trouble…with never so much as a thank you from his owner. It’s time he got a little respect, because he works day and night—not only “off the books” but entirely off your payroll. … [Read more...]
Lowest IBM POWER i Price Minus Unneeded Software Saves Enough To Get Super-Fast SSDs
How To Boosts Server Performance Up To 300% And Get Smoothest Migration Source Data Products has many clients that prefer a low profile, so they ask that we do not reveal their identity in print. One such client recently upgraded from their POWER 6 8203-E4A to a new IBM POWER 8286. IT Programmer Analyst Bobbi S. was so pleased with the experience she agreed to share her story. Background A 120 year old Midwestern manufacturer had supported their business with an IBM POWER6 8203-E4A on … [Read more...]
Cloud Hosting 101
6 Essential Concepts To Cut IT Spending Every week I read articles and blogs about cloud computing. Clearly, the topic of cloud computing is broad and deep. My sense is that as authors define and explain key terms and concepts about cloud computing, it becomes more difficult to understand what you need to know if you are interested in hosting your IBM i applications instead of using an on-premise server. Further, alarming headlines make the process seem scarier than it really … [Read more...]
10 Most Common Cloud Hosting FAQs
1) Can you briefly explain cloud hosting? Simply speaking, cloud hosting is like renting an office space instead of buying the office building. We rent you a small portion of a server to use … only as much as you need and only as long as you need it. Besides providing greater flexibility in terms of capacity and length of use, cloud hosting is generally less expensive than the total cost of owning an on-premise server. 2) How does Cloud400 work? Cloud400’s primary clients are IBM i … [Read more...]
What Is A RAID Cache Battery, Anyway?
As you probably know, a RAID disk controller is a system failsafe feature that allows for a disk in a disk array to fail without bringing the system down. Built into the RAID controller is a buffer. The buffer “tells” the processor that the “data write-to-disk” is complete, so the system “knows” to go back to the processor to fetch more data to send to the disks. Quite simply, the cache buffer speeds up data from the processor to the disk. And this cache buffer has a battery to keep … [Read more...]
My Guide To IBM Power i Can Help You Save $5,000 – $80,000 On Your Next Server. That Is How Much I Generally Save My Clients
You may have plans to get a new IBM POWER i server. Up until now there has never been an easy way to gather all the information you need to know to make sure your new IBM POWER i is: properly configured, arrives with the correct software, ordered with the appropriate IBM support, and financed without unpleasant surprises Clearly, reliable information is hard to come by. Even with the IBM website or Google, POWER i … [Read more...]
6 Unexpected Things You Need To Know About Our 4 Hour IBM i (OS400) Version Upgrade
Our approach to IBM i version upgrades is different. Our Clients know it to be WAY BETTER 1. Way Less Time: This approach does not require 1 or more weekends of downtime to upgrade OS400 to the latest release. Restricted downtime is dramatically limited – in most cases, it’s about 2x – 3x your save time depending on the amount of data, or about 2 to 4 hours for most of our clients. 2. No Surprises The unexpected surprises are discovered before anyone comes onsite to go live. If … [Read more...]
5 Methods To Secure Your Cloud Hosted IBM i Applications
Every user I speak to about hosting is concerned about the security of their applications and their critical data. This post discusses 5 methods to secure hosted IBM i applications and data. 1) IBM i Secure Foundation The IBM i operating system is proprietary and unique in its design. I have attached a summary of the IBM i Secure Foundation from a very helpful website: http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/power/software/i/security/integrity.html Quite simply, unlike other operating … [Read more...]
9 Ways IBM i Cloud Hosting Disaster Recovery Saves Money
1) With IBM i Cloud Hosting You Never Overbuy Or Overpay For Capacity You Don’t Use. With IBM i Cloud Hosting you never overbuy or overpay for capacity you don’t use, which is commonly the case with a physical target server or CBU. That’s because replicating to IBM i Cloud Hosting Logical Partition (LPAR) only needs a subset of the production capacity. With replication, you don’t need as much memory or core performance (CPW) compared to running a production environment. If you need more … [Read more...]
Users Remain The Big Security Risk
Recently a prospective cloud client requested us to provide unlimited liability for a data breach, even if we were not responsible. I suggested that they would find no cloud hosting providers that would offer such a provision. I further explained that most data breaches are the consequences of users, not the cloud hosting service. This article below spells it out. You may find the reading a little tough. In essence, 1% of your users are power users that access most of your files and … [Read more...]