POWER9 is here! Learn more about what you need to know.
Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability (RAS)
Since its release in June of 2014 IBM has continued to expand the POWER8 line. With 4-core models and higher end enterprise versions out for a while now it is a good time to update our original article on POWER7 vs POWER8, the differences between them and what it means to for businesses and end-users.
In the time between our first article and today, the range of CPW the POWER8 machines are capable of has expanded significantly (from 359,000-911,000) to 10,300 on the 4-core S814 systems, to over 2,000,000 CPW on the enterprise class E880. What is CPW? CPW is IBM’s benchmarking score for how efficiently an IBM i system can handle heavy database intensive loads. This number can be used to determine the relative ability of individual IBM systems to efficiently handle a given workload.
However, CPW is not the only factor that POWER8 improves upon over POWER7 systems. A major consideration for many, and likely a make or break factor for some, is the cost of maintenance and support for your system. With the myriad of innovations IBM has implemented into the POWER8 systems, the power available at all support tiers has increased significantly. Which means businesses can now get more power than ever before, with lower maintenance
In addition to CPW and maintenance costs, here are a few other things to take into consideration for upgrading ANY system for your business:
The POWER8 is no different for reliability, Availability, and Serviceability (RAS)
IBM was the first to use this phrase in describing the robustness of their hardware, and IBM continues to improve upon this aspect in every succeeding iteration of their systems. The POWER8 is no different. With additional built in error checking compared to earlier POWER designs and more internal monitoring POWER8 systems are the most reliable POWER systems to date.
Memory Comparison:
Determining the memory needs of the applications your new system will run, as well as the planning for future expansion is an important step in the planning process. Making sure your new system has the memory to handle your current workload, and the ability to expand to meet the needs of the future will help ensure your system brings the greatest value possible to your business.
Compatibility:
Will your new machine be the only system on the network? Or, will you need to integrate your new system with other technology? Do you have specialized applications that you are unsure if they are capable of making a smooth transition onto POWER8? These are all important questions that will need to be answered if you want to get the most out of your new system.
The Bottom Line:
No two businesses are the same, and other businesses are not your business. There are many variables that will need to be taken into account in order to create the system that fits all the needs of your business. If you are considering upgrading to POWER8 and want to see what options are available, talk to one of Midland’s experienced representatives today. We are available immediately via Chat for assistance, or call us Toll Free at 888-682-5335.
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The cloud is an efficient and fast way to improve your IBM i
high availability (HA), backup and disaster recovery (DR) capabilities. In preparing an IBM i system or environment for backup and disaster recovery in the cloud, there are several key considerations to include in your strategy and project plan. For the purposes of this brief, this applies to all versions of the IBM i family including Power Systems, iSeries, System i and AS/400.
Link: Check out the services available from Midland!
Key considerations for your plan:
1. What are your RTO & RPO requirements?
First, establish your Recovery Time Objective (RTO) & Recovery Point Objective (RPO) goals. This drives the level of service and system architecture that you will design. A zero downtime requirement will require a very different system structure and telecommunications design, as compared to a greater-than-24-hour RTO & RPO requirement.
2. Geographic Diversity
Second, establish your geographic diversity goals. This drives the location of service for your primary and backup systems.
3. High Availability Software
For a cloud based HA solution, you will want to go beyond the basic “GO SAVE: Option 21” backup solution. You will need to select a high availability solution to meet your replication requirements. A few of the high availability software solutions in the market are the High Availability® Suite from Maxava®, and Mimix® and iTera™ from Vision Solutions®. IBM® cloud providers can include this as part of the service, or if you are currently using HA software side-by-side on your existing IBM i system or parallel system, you will be able to use that same software in a cloud configuration. Key issues to address will be licensing requirements, cloud capabilities of the software and related connectivity specifications.
4. Compliance Requirements
You will also need to make sure that the cloud provider meets your compliance requirements with demonstrated capabilities in the areas of SSAE-16 (formerly SAS 70) compliance, HIPAA Business Associate Agreements (BAA) and PCI-DSS standards
5. Understanding Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
Lastly, you will need to confirm the SLA offered by the cloud provider to ensure that it meets industry standards and your requirements.
These basic planning steps should bring you well on the way to selecting an effective IBM i backup and disaster recovery solution in the cloud.
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What You Need To Know About The New FlashSystem 900 & FlashSystem V9000
Everyday, businesses are faced with tidal waves of data from a multitude of sources including social media, sensors, mobile platforms, websites and more. The more data thrown at a business, the more reliable their storage enterprise needs to be. While the increasing volume of data may seem overwhelming, the value of this information to a businesses success is stronger than ever. It’s a well know fact that companies who gain insight from data dramatically outperform those who don’t and the key to managing this crucial information relies heavily on the speed and capacity of the business’s storage system.
Earlier this year, IBM announced the addition of two all-new FlashSystem storage solutions. The FlashSystem V9000 and the FlashSystem 900 provide industry leading efficiency and performance as well as superior reliability which helps lower the total cost of ownership for businesses. These storage systems assist businesses in accelerating data-intensive infrastructures and applications by providing a performance increase up to 50 percent compared to traditional enterprise HDD storage and up to four times more capacity in a smaller rack space. 
The FlashSystem 900 succeeds last year’s FlashSystem 840 and offers businesses extreme-level performance, enterprise reliability and macro efficiency. The 900 all-flash array is Micron-made and uses “IBM enhanced” MLC flash drives in swappable Micro Latency Modules that come in 1.2TB, 2.9TB, and 5.7TB capacities to provide a maximum of 58TB in 2U. IBM’s FlashSystem 900 can be deployed in as little as two hours, compared to the typical days or weeks of deployment it might take with a conventional system.
IBM’s FLashSystem V9000 is similar to the FlashSystem 900, with the addition of IBM’s SVC storage virtualization hardware. This extra boost allows for up to 32PB of external storage to be managed from the V9000. The FlashSystemV900 allows customers to consolidate their existing storage system under a single interface and offers cutting edge features including Real-time Compression, Easy Tier, and Thin Provisioning. The new system is designed for all infrastructures and applications and can be customized by Midland to perfectly fit the needs of your organization.
No matter your business’s storage and efficiency needs, Midland can work with you to design and fulfil any flash storage solution that is required within your IBM environment. Whether it be an old, new or upgraded system, Midland’s team works hand in hand with your IT branch to find your organization’s perfect solution. Every solution proposed by Midland is back by solid technical evidence and input from our tech team, ensuring that you will have absolute confidence in your customized system.
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IBM iSeries, Power Systems, AS400 Upgrades, Setup, Installation & Support
Since 1981, Midland has helped over 30,000 businesses with IBM iSeries, Power systems, and AS400 hardware and software upgrades, installation and setup, including used IBM 9406 systems. All iSeries system upgrades are handled by our IBM i Certified Technicians. We use only IBM-certified parts and systems, which come with a full warranty.
Questions? Contact us or use our Live Chat.
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Throughout the 1990s the AS/400 was the pre-eminent workhorse of America's IT infrastructure.
The line was refreshed in 2000 and renamed the eServer iSeries and was again renamed the System i in 2008. This generation of midrange servers was phased out in 2008, to be replaced by the IBM Power Systems range in 2008.
*The newest POWER System is the IBM POWER 10 series released in August 2020.
The AS/400 and its immediate descendants were designed to last and built solidly, so a good number of them are still in excellent working order and playing their part in fulfilling the needs of America's small- and medium-sized businesses.
However, times change, and an AS/400 from the early 90s or a iSeries from the mid-2000's, may no longer be up to the challenge of coping with the sheer quantity of information storage and processing required for 2018 and beyond. For businesses interested in upgrading their information processing capabilities there are many options available.
IBM, itself, no longer provides direct support for upgrading AS/400s and older iSeries servers.
However, there are companies that can help. The first option, and often the lowest cost option, is to extend or expand the capabilities of an existing server with refurbished expansion units, increased memory capacity, larger capacity disk drives, and in some cases an upgrade to solid state drives.
These can be bought with installation and support contracts, and may extend the useful life of existing infrastructure.
If an existing server has already reached the maximum capacity of hardware and expansion units, the second option is to upgrade to a newer model in the iSeries generation.
Again, IBM no longer offers these servers but they can be bought refurbished at a reasonable price, and a late model iSeries system offers a significant boost in performance when compared to AS/400s from the early 1990s.
A refurbished Power System 8202 can easily out perform many, if not most, of the previous iSeries or AS/400 systems and have lower operating and maintenance costs.
The third option is to replace aging servers with a modern model from the Power Systems range.
Technology has advanced considerably in the last two decades and Power Systems, especially those with the new POWER 10 chips, bring with them a host of revolutionary improvements in server technology.
A POWER9 or POWER10 System can bring you much more substantial computing power/CPW for a fraction of the maintanence costs and space requirements.
Whichever upgrade option a business chooses, Midland Information Systems can help with advice, support, and hardware. We have extensive experience in IBM systems from older AS/400s to the cutting-edge Power systems.
AS/400 IBM i Resources and Futher Reading:
- POWER9 Announced Systems Chart
- POWER9 Benchmarks and Reference Guide
- POWER7 Vs POWER8: What to Know.
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