This newsletter includes:
Obtaining Your Last IPL Details
Five Costly Mistakes that IBM i Companies Make
System Cleanup: My QUSRBRM/QA1ALI2 File is Large
iTech iTip Videos
Sips & Tricks: Coffee with iTech
iBasics: IBM i Education for the Beginner System Administrator
Watch Replay: Tactical Security Day
Save the Date: iAdmin Fall 2022
iPOWER Hour Episode 40: Security Vulnerabilities on Your IBM i(NEW!)
Upcoming Events
IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs (September 2022)
I guess it was just a matter of time as we all knew it was coming, eventually. IBM i 7.3 is going out of support next year, Sept 30, 2023. I guess the handwriting was on the wall when IBM came out with 7.5 in the spring, as they don’t normally support 3 releases of the operating system at once. Quite honestly, I was a little surprised they kept the support that long, as I had expected once 7.5 was announced that they would drop the support for 7.3.
If you have Software Maintenance (also known as SWMA) then you have the ability to get support for problems, PTFs when they are delivered, and new releases. Of course, you need to make sure that your machine will support 7.4 or 7.5 if you are thinking of upgrading. Please refer to the chart below.
People ask me all the time, which release they should be on, and my answer is the exact same for the last 15 years. “The highest release that your hardware and applications will support”. To me being on a supported release is the most important concern, so if you are on 7.3, 7,4, or 7.5 right now, that is OK as they are all currently supported. If you are running on a Power8, then getting to 7.4 is as good as you can do, that is what your goal should be. I do think another goal there should be upgrading from that Power8 to a Power10 as well, as you will get much more for your money. If you are on running a Power9 or Power10, get to 7.5 if possible, if not get to 7.4. But by all means, get off of 7.3 before next Sept. If you are on IBM i 7.2, then I would try to get to 7.4 not if your hardware allowed you (again, see the chart). I always want to be on supported hardware and supported …
The post September 2022 Newsletter first appeared on iTech Solutions Group.
