Month: December 2022

Posted on

Four Hundred Monitor, December 7 – IT Jungle

Four Hundred Monitor, December 7

December 7, 2022

Jenny Thomas

We’re back from the Thanksgiving break, but not for long. There are just a few weeks remaining on the calendar, but there’s still plenty happening in and around our IBM i ecosystem. We’ve got a few news bites for you, as well as some resources that might come in handy as we wind down 2022. We are looking to fill up our calendar in 2023, so please sure to pass any events our way. Four Hundred Monitor will wrap up for the year next week, but before we go, let’s take a look at the news of the week.

Top Stories From Around The Jungle

(CIO Dive) The hybrid cloud remains IBM’s plan “cloudify” and compete in the cloud market.

(techradar.pro) There’s no hiding from inflation. IBM is raising storage prices across the board.

(EE Times) IBM’s 433 Qubit quantum computer is here.

(electropages) The lawsuit against Micro Focus continues.

(Coin Desk) Blockchain was all the rage just a few years ago, but now some of those projects are winding down.

Redbooks, White Papers, Blogs, Podcasts, and Other Resources

(Manta Technologies) Manta’s year-end sale is happening now. All 125 courses – including the Competency Exams and Student Reference Guides – are 30 percent off. The sale ends January 31.

(Maxava) A blog on the importance of running on supported IBM hardware and operating systems.

(CTXiUG) The Central Texas IBM i User Group is looking for speakers for 2023. Meetings are scheduled in: January, March, May, July, September, and November. All meetings are online. If you are interested in presenting, contact Simon Hutchinson.

(iTech) Looking for a new podcast? The latest iPower Hour discusses what the end of support for IBM i 7.3 means.

(iChime) Take a listen to Charlie Guarino’s latest podcast discussion, “Software is Everyone’s Business,” with Alan Seiden.

Chats, Webinars, Seminars, Shows, and Other Happenings

December 13 – Webinar – Learn how to save hundreds of hours per year by automating backup operations. We’ll demonstrate how to make backups hands-free by integrating virtual tape for backup and recovery of IBM Power Systems. This free 30-minute live online event includes a live technical demonstration of ViTL, a virtual tape and tape library solution created specifically for IBM i systems (including AIX and Linux) to streamline and strengthen your backup process.

December 14 – Webinar – Learn how to start transforming your code into totally freeform RPG during this free webinar: “Transform your way to Next Gen IBM i Apps in Phases – Start with your RPG!”

December 15 – Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Join the Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professional Association (WMPCA) for its monthly dinner meeting. The December speakers are Tim Rowe and Scott Forstie.

March 14-16, 2023 – Delavan, Wisconsin – The Wisconsin Midrange Computer Professional Association (WMCPA) will be having its annual Spring technical conference in-person at Lake Lawn Resort in 2023.

March 24-27, 2023 – Denver, Colorado – Save the date for COMMON’s POWERUP 2023, which will be held at Sheraton Denver Downtown.

Tags: Tags: FHM, Four Hundred Monitor, IBM i

Posted on

IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 24, Number 49

IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 24, Number 49

December 7, 2022

Doug Bidwell

It is another one of those weeks when there are a slew of security vulnerabilities to attend to. Four that we know of, to be precise.

First, there is Security Bulletin: IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty is vulnerable to a denial of service due to Google protobuf-java (CVE-2022-3171, CVE-2022-3509), which you can read more about at this link. This vulnerability affects IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty versions 21.0.0.2 through 22.0.0.12.

Second, there is Security Bulletin: ISC BIND on IBM i is vulnerable to denial of service due to memory leaks and a flaw in resolver code (CVE-2022-2795, CVE-2022-38177, CVE-2022-38178), which you can find out more about here. The IBM i PTF numbers contain the fix for the vulnerabilities:

IBM i Release 5770-SS1 PTF Number
7.5 SI81706
7.4 SI81707
7.3 SI81708
7.2 SI81709

Third, there is Security Bulletin: Digital Certificate Manager for IBM i is vulnerable to cross-site scripting (CVE-2022-34358), which you can see more about here. The IBM i PTF numbers contain the fix for the vulnerability:

IBM i Release 5770-SS1 PTF Number
7.5 SI80415
7.4 SI80414
7.3 SI80413
7.2 SI80412

<pre class=”code”>

Additional URLs were identified that can be used for a cross-site scripting attack resulting in superseded PTFs. The IBM i superseding PTF numbers contain the fix for the vulnerability:

IBM i Release 5770-SS1 PTF Number
7.5 SI81854
7.4 SI81853
7.3 SI81852
7.2 SI81845

It is recommended that the heritage version of Digital Certificate Manager not be used. PTFs are available that disable the heritage version of Digital Certificate Manager. IBM i releases 7.5, 7.4, and 7.3 will be disabled. The IBM i PTF numbers to disable heritage version of Digital Certificate Manager:

IBM i Release 5770-DG1 PTF Number
7.5 SI81417
7.4 SI81418
7.3 SI81419

And fourth, there is Security Bulletin: ISC DHCP server for IBM i is vulnerable to a denial of service attack due to a memory leak and reference count overflow (CVE-2022-2928, CVE-2022-2929), which you can get more information about at this link here. The IBM i PTF numbers contain the fix for the vulnerabilities.

IBM i Release 5770-SS1 PTF Number
7.5 SI81438
7.4 SI81439
7.3 SI81440
7.2 SI81441

Now, here is the rundown of PTF Groups by IBM i release level since we last published:

PTF Groups 7.5:

Latest Cumulative PTF Package
HIPERs (High Impact/Pervasive)
Security
Technology Refresh
DB2 for IBM i

PTF Groups 7.4:

Latest Cumulative PTF Package
HIPERs (High Impact/Pervasive)
Security
Technology Refresh
DB2 for IBM i
IBM Db2 Mirror for i
Temporary Storage PTFs

PTF Groups 7.3:

Latest Cumulative PTF Package
HIPERs (High Impact/Pervasive)
Security
Technology Refresh

PTF Groups 7.2:

HIPERs (High Impact/Pervasive)
Security

New (or Updated) links added to the ‘Links’ tab in the guide this week:

DBU: ProData – Home of DBU

New (or Updated) links added to the ‘QMGtools’ tab in the guide this week:

New (or Updated) links added to the ‘ACS_NAV’ tab in the guide this week:

New (or Updated) links added to the ‘Prtr Links’ tab in the guide this week:

Tips/Definitions: How long has it been since you did a SAVE 21?

The Guide at a glance: There are no new defectives this week (12/03/22). Here is the defective PTF rundown, which is the last defective for each release:

Defect Defective APAR Fixing
Date PTF PTF
——– ——– ——- ——-
7.5 11/22/22 SI81328 SE78918 SI81867 (When available)
7.4 12/01/22 MF69286 MA49947 MF70500 (When available)
7.3 12/01/22 MF69085 MA49947 MF70499 (When available)
7.2 12/08/21 SI77634 SE73420 SI78039 (Read the link in the guide!)

Be sure to access the link in the Guide for further details.

Below is the usual archive of the IBM i PTF Guide to help you work through the PTFs in chronological order:

December 3, 2022: Volume 24, Number 49

November 26, 2022: Volume 24, Number 48

November 19, 2022: Volume 24, Number 47

November 12, 2022: Volume 24, Number 46

November 5, 2022: Volume 24, Number 45

October 29, 2022: Volume 24, Number 44

October 22, 2022: Volume 24, Number 43

October 15, 2022: Volume 24, Number 42

October 8, 2022: Volume 24, Number 41

October 1, 2022: Volume 24, Number 40

September 24, 2022: Volume 24, Number 39

September 17, 2022: Volume 24, Number 38

September 10, 2022: Volume 24, Number 37

September 3, 2022: Volume 24, Number 36

August 27, 2022: Volume 24, Number 35

August 20, 2022: Volume 24, Number 34

August 13, 2022: Volume 24, Number 33

August 6, 2022: Volume 24, Number 32

July 30, 2022: Volume 24, Number 31

July 23, 2022: Volume 24, Number 30

July 16, 2022: Volume 24, Number 29

July 9, 2022: Volume 24, Number 28

June 25, 2022: Volume 24, Number 26

June 18, 2022: Volume 24, Number 25

June 11, 2022: Volume 24, Number 24

June 4, 2022: Volume 24, Number 23

May 28, 2022: Volume 24, Number 22

May 25, 2022: Volume 24, Number 21

May 14, 2022: Volume 24, Number 20

May 7, 2022: Volume 24, Number 19

April 30, 2022: Volume 24, Number 18

April 23, 2022: Volume 24, Number 17

April 16, 2022: Volume 24, Number 16

April 2, 2022: Volume 24, Number 14

March 26, 2022: Volume 24, Number 13

March 19, 2022: Volume 24, Number 12

March 12, 2022: Volume 24, Number 11

March 5, 2022: Volume 24, Number 10

February 26, 2022: Volume 24, Number 9

February 19, 2022: Volume 24, Number 8

February 12, 2022: Volume 24, Number 7

February 5, 2022: Volume 24, Number 6

January 29, 2022: Volume 24, Number 5

January 22, 2022: Volume 24, Number 4

January 15, 2022: Volume 24, Number 3

January 8, 2022: Volume 24, Number 2

January 1, 2022: Volume 24, Number 1

December 6, 2021: Volume 23, Number 48

November 20, 2021: Volume 23, Number 47

November 13, 2021: Volume 23, Number 46

November 6, 2021: Volume 23, Number 45

October 30, 2021: Volume 23, Number 44

October 23, 2021: Volume 23, Number 43

October 16, 2021: Volume 23, Number 42

October 9, 2021: Volume 23, Number 41

October 2, 2021: Volume 23, Number 40

September 25, 2021: Volume 23, Number 39

September 18, 2021: Volume 23, Number 38

September 11, 2021: Volume 23, Number 37

September 4, 2021: Volume 23, Number 36

August 28, 2021: Volume 23, Number 35

August 21, 2021: Volume 23, Number 34

August 14, 2021: Volume 23, Number 33

August 7, 2021: Volume 23, Number 32

July 31, 2021: Volume 23, Number 31

July 24, 2021: Volume 23, Number 30

July 17, 2021: Volume 23, Number 29

July 10, 2021: Volume 23, Number 28

July 3, 2021: Volume 23, Number 27

June 26, 2021: Volume 23, Number 26

June 19, 2021: Volume 23, Number 25

June 12, 2021: Volume 23, Number 24

June 5, 2021: Volume 23, Number 23

June 5, 2021: Volume 23, Number 22

May 22, 2021: Volume 23, Number 21

May 15, 2021: Volume 23, Number 20

May 8, 2021: Volume 23, Number 19

May 1, 2021: Volume 23, Number 18

April 24, 2021: Volume 23, Number 17

April 17, 2021: Volume 23, Number 16

April 10, 2021: Volume 23, Number 15

April 3, 2021: Volume 23, Number 14

March 27, 2021: Volume 23, Number 13

March 20, 2021: Volume 23, Number 12

March 13, 2021: Volume 23, Number 11

March 6, 2021: Volume 23, Number 10

February 27, 2021: Volume 23, Number 9

February 20, 2021: Volume 23, Number 8

February 13, 2021: Volume 23, Number 7

February 6, 2021: Volume 23, Number 6

January 31, 2021: Volume 23, Number 5

January 23, 2021: Volume 23, Number 4

January 16, 2021: Volume 23, Number 3

January 9, 2021: Volume 23, Number 2

January 2, 2021: Volume 23, Number 1

December 26, 2020: Volume 22, Number 52

December 19, 2020: Volume 22, Number 51

December 12, 2020: Volume 22, Number 50

December 5, 2020: Volume 22, Number 49

Posted on

Node-RED & DB2 for i Connector

I know I said in my last article that was the end of my little project on the Raspberry Pi with Machine Learning talking to the IBM i.  Well since my last piece I have found how to correct a couple of the moans I had with Node-RED on the IBM i.

My last article can be found at https://powerwire.eu/raspberry-pi-and-machine-learning-2/ if you missed it.

As you may recall, I had intended to receive details of a photograph taken by the Raspberry Pi and then, using ActiveMQ as a delivery method, store those details on my IBM i using Node-RED and DB2 for i.

This idea failed misserably as I could not install the DB2 for i module in Node-RED. 

This article will show how I got around this issue with the DB2 for i module in Node-RED.

When I attempted to install the DB2 for i module, it failed with an error code of 127.  Nothing could be found on the web on how to resolve this problem.  Even trying the install on another Power server gave the same results.

As I was struggling with time, I used PostgreSQL to store the details, but being someone who loves a challenge, I had to find out why this failed and how to get around this problem. 

The Node-RED documentation for the db2-for-I node is very dated.  It hasn’t been touched for over two years https://flows.nodered.org/node/node-red-contrib-db2-for-i and my issue on the associated GitHub repository hasn’t had any response https://github.com/IBM/node-red-contrib-db2-for-i/issues

Looking into the coding of this node, it can be seen that it is only a front end for the node package idb-connector and this is where the problem existed.

The Node-RED flow needs the idb-connector to have any chance of working.  This has to be installed prior to the Node-RED db2 connector to work successfully.

The idb-connector repository on GitHub is very active and well supported.  It can be found at https://github.com/IBM/nodejs-idb-connector

The steps necessary to successfully use the Node-RED DB2 for i adapter are shown in the figure below.

And that resolved my problem.

Conclusion

To conclude, you must manually install the pre-req of idb-connector before you install the Node-RED package node-red-contrib-db2-for-i

You will then be able to use the Node-RED adapter to successfully access your DB2 for i database.

As the Node-RED adapter has the idb-connector listed as a dependency it should automatically be installed for you, but as both I and a fellow IBM i friend can contest this doesn’t happen.  If I get time, I’ll see if I can find out why.

All the examples I have written for this article, and previous ones, can be found on my open-source repository on GitHub, which can be found at https://github.com/formaserve/f_Learning

If you have any questions, either on this article, or anything else on the IBM i, use the comments below, or send me a message on twitter @AndyYouens

Andy Youens is an IBM i consultant/instructor at Milton Keynes, UK-based FormaServe Systems with over 40 years IBM midrange experience. 

IBM Champion

Posted on

A screen a story – What does this SQL button do?

When working in the IT business we all appreciate it if we are being helped by the operating system. For that purpose in the New Navigator for I IBM created the SQL button. Should we all start to use the name Navigator for i or keep it short, like I do, and use the term “Nav4i”?
What you call it doesn’t really matter, what matters is knowing how to use it.

Below you see an image of the button I would like to talk about:

This SQL button will tell you which SQL statement was used to get the data presented from IBM i. Please be aware that in rare cases this button is greyed out, not everything presented is retrieved using SQL. For example, when looking at the TCP/IP server on your LPAR, that is one of them.

When pressing the SQL button of the screen show above, an extra screen will pop up and show you the actual SQL statement used:

When pressing the button “Run SQL” you might get a window telling you what you need to do.

When starting IBM i Access Client Solutions (ACS) under the Tools menu you will find the option “Navigator Requests”:

When selecting that option, you will have the option to “Start Listening” by pressing the “Start” button:

Resulting in:

So when going back to Nav4i, pressing the “Run SQL” button again will result in an ACS Run SQL script being opened with an active connection to that system:

The idea to write this article came from this button and was based on call I received from a customer. The request they had was to automate the process of changing the object owner for all *DEVD objects created by a system administrator who had left the company. As the user owned over 100 printers and these printers were always in use, it included some extra work they did not look forward to. Especially as it this had to be done manually.

Doing this automatically had some challenges. Stopping the printer, vary the printer off, changing the owner, vary the printer back on again and finally starting the printer afterwards. Of course only for any printers which were running.

In order to get the information I went to Navi4 and selected “Users and Groups” and “Users”. Selected a random user and took the option to view the Library Objects only:

When doing that I did not care about the data, all I need is the SQL statement behind it:

After making some changes, I ended up with the statement shown below:

After that I needed to know if the *DEVD was locked by a job, meaning that the printer was started. For that I went to the screen shown below and pressed the “SQL” button:

Again, I made some changes, with this as a result:

Next month I will show you how to put this knowledge to good use so please stay tuned”

With these two SQL statements I have all what I need to create a SQL procedure. In my article for next month I will show you how this is all glued together. By then the customer will probably had the opportunity to test the procedure. So what I will show you has already been set to good use.

Verified by MonsterInsights