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Connectria’s 2022 In Review
2022 was yet another tumultuous year for many. Although we welcomed the easing of many pandemic-era restrictions; the year was marked by supply chain and other economic challenges that that continue to affect businesses around the world.
While the year had no shortage of surprises, we continued to find innovative ways to help our customers achieve their goals despite the year’s challenges. As we look towards 2023, we want to take a step back to reflect on some of the themes that defined the year for Connectria and for our customers.
Helping Businesses Do More with AWS
After reaching AWS Premier Tier Consulting Partner status at the beginning of the year, we expanded our AWS practice throughout 2022. Most recently, we achieved the AWS MSSP Competency, which highlights an exclusive group of audited AWS partners that have met AWS’ high standards for offering managed security and compliance services.
IBM i and AIX modernization with AWS was also a defining theme of 2022. Our IBM on-net with AWS solution helped businesses around the world accelerate their modernization journey. As we traveled to AWS events across the globe, it was clear that leveraging AWS to modernize IBM Mainframe and midrange systems is high on the priority list of CIOs in many industries.
Most recently, at AWS re:Invent, Ruba Borno (AWS’ VP of Worldwide Channel and Alliances) stated in her keynote that “76% of CEOs think their current business model will be unrecognizable in five years.” We believe this as well, which is why we are committed to helping businesses leverage AWS to drive meaningful transformation.
Driving Hybrid Innovation
Market conditions are dictating a need for an IT evolution and a move towards modernization. We know those with IBM i and AIX workloads are looking for ways to maximize and simplify their cloud adoption journey. However, these organizations are facing a number of challenges related to capacity, supply chain issues, and a shrinking IBM talent pool – all negatively impacting their ability to adapt and modernize.
On the other hand, companies that we helped to adopt a managed hybrid architecture for their IBM i and AIX workloads in 2022 have been able to accelerate modernization while avoiding those challenges and reducing the burden of managing those workloads on-premises.
[Webinar] Mainframe and AS/400 Modernization
The Value of Cloud Professional Services
In 2020 and 2021 we worked closely with our customers, helping them to weather the storm and adapt to rapidly changing IT requirements in response to the pandemic. In 2022 the focus shifted towards fortifying business plans in the face of growing economic uncertainty. To do so, CIOs and business leaders relied on our professional services team to help them assess and rationalize their cost structures, and fill the gaps in their organization through operational and development support.
The economic challenges facing businesses in 2022 are not expected to change in the new year. We believe professional services and advisory will play an even more important role in 2023 as we help our customers prepare for and navigate the challenges ahead.
Read our article: What is On-Demand Development and How Can It Help?
Message from the CEO
“From all of us at Connectria, we are profoundly grateful for our amazing customers that let us be a part of your lives, your businesses, and your success in 2022 and beyond. As digital transformations continue to accelerate across industries, Connectria remains well-positioned to help your business solve the complex challenges associated with last-mile data center exits, cloud migrations, and the modernization of IBM Power Systems infrastructure.” – Amar Patel, Connectria CEO.
Whether you’re looking to accelerate cloud adoption in 2023 or you need expert guidance to help navigate business transformation, our team is here to help.
The post Connectria’s 2022 In Review appeared first on Connectria.
Unable to Renew Local Server Certificate – “The validity period of the certificate does not include the current date”
When creating a self-signed certificate in Digital Certificate Manager for i (DCM), the following error is thrown:
“The validity period of the certificate does not include the current date or does not fall within the validity period of the issuing Certificate Authority (CA) certificate. The certificate is not yet valid or is no longer valid. Ensure the date, time, offset from GMT, and daylight savings time (if applicable) are set correctly on your system”
IBM i, FSP, and HMC release levels and PTFs (December 2022)
Below is a table of the major group PTFs for the last few releases. This is what we are installing for our customers on iTech Solutions Quarterly Maintenance program.
7.5
7.4
7.3
7.2
7.1
6.1
V5R4
Cumul Pack
22321
22328
22335
21084
17192
15063
12094
Tech. Refresh
1
7
13
9
11
–
–
Grp Hipers
18
95
172
224
284
210
204
DB Group
3
23
32
27
43
33
33
DB2 Mirror
3
21
–
–
–
–
–
Java Group
3
16
27
37
48
41
34
Print Group
–
–
–
3
13
31
49
Backup/Recov.
6
36
61
78
75
61
57
Blade/IXA/IXS
–
–
–
1
16
30
15
HTTP
5
25
42
51
53
46
36
TCP/IP
1
8
12
13
11
17
22
Security
12
43
83
115
110
60
33
High Availability
2
11
19
21
18
5
Hardware
–
2
18
35
44
17
Open Source
–
–
6
6
6
–
The easiest way to check your levels is to issue the command WRKPTFGRP. They should all have a status of installed, and you should be up to the latest for all the above, based upon your release. Now there are more groups than the ones listed above, but these are the general ones that most people require. We can help you know which group PTFs you should be installing on your machine based upon your licensed programs. Here is a nice tidbit. The Cumulative PTF package number is broken down as YDDD, where Y is the year and DDD is the day it was released. Therefore, if we look at the cumulative package for 7.3, the ID is 21245. We can determine that it was created on the 245th day of 2021, which is September 2, 2021. Look at your machine and this will give you a quick indication of just how far out of date in PTFs you may be.
HMCs
Fixes are listed below in the order in which they should be installed for each software version. If you are upgrading to a new release, install the base version from recovery media or network image and then apply updates in the order listed. If you already have fixes applied and your current fix level is not in this list, just start with the next higher-numbered fix pack in the list. Be sure to read the release notes for each HMC version, service pack, and PTF for installation instructions and prerequisites.
Not all software versions are supported on all HMC models. Check IBM’s Supported HMC Hardware Matrix to see which versions your HMC can run. Attempting to install an unsupported version can result in an unusable HMC.
HMC Version
Fixes (recommended install order)
End of Service
V10.1 for POWER-based
(7063-CRn) HMCs and
HMC Virtual Appliances
SP1030 MF70433
Not Announced
V9.2 for POWER-based
(7063-CRn) HMCs and
HMC Virtual Appliances
SP953 MH01934
MH01944
April 30, 2023
V9.1 for POWER-based
(7063-CRn) HMCs and
HMC Virtual Appliances
SP931 MH01832
MH01854
SP941 MH01860
SP942 MH01877
MH01899
September 30, 2021
V8.870 for POWER-based
(7063-CRn) HMCs and
HMC Virtual Appliances
MH01707
SP3 MH01794
MH01819
MH01848
August 31, 2019
V10.2 for x86-based HMC
Virtual Appliances ONLY
SP1030 MF70432
Not Announced
V10.1 for x86-based HMC
Virtual Appliances ONLY
SP1021 MF70301
Not Announced
V9.2 for x86-based HMC
Virtual Appliances ONLY
SP953 MH01933
MH01943
April 30, 2023
V9.2 for x86-based HMC
Model 7042-CR9 ONLY
MH01857 (Install at v9.1 before upgrade to v9.2)
SP953 MH01933
MH01943
April 30, 2023
V9.1 for x86-based
(7042-CRn) HMCs and
HMC Virtual Appliances
SP931 MH01831
MH01853
SP941 MH01859
SP942 MH01876
MH01898
September 30, 2021
V8.870 for x86-based
(7042-CRn) HMCs and
HMC Virtual Appliances
MH01706
SP3 MH01793
MH01818
MH01847
August 31, 2019
V8.860
MH01655
SP3 MH01711
MH01764
MH01795
October 31, 2018
V8.850
MH01617
SP3 MH01689
MH01758
MH01730
May 31, 2018
V8.840
MH01560
SP3 MH01652
MH01730
MH01729
November 30, 2017
V8.830
SP3 MH01619
MH01717
July 31, 2017
V8.820
SP3 MH01583
MH01688
October 31, 2017
V8.810
SP3 MH01545
MH01645
June 30, 2016
V7.790
SP3 MH01546
MH01587
MH01687
December 30, 2016
V7.780
SP1 MH01397
SP2 MH01432
MH01570
October 31, 2015
V7.770
SP3 MH01379
SP4 MH01415
MH01516
February 28, 2015
V7.350
SP4 MH01277
May 31, 2014
Important notes:
HMC v10+ is required to manage a Power10 system. HMC v10 cannot manage POWER7 or older.
HMC v9+ is required to manage a POWER9 system. The new POWER9 “G” model firmware requires service pack 941 to be installed on the HMC. HMC v9 cannot manage POWER6 or older.
HMC v8+ is required to manage a POWER8 system. HMC v8 cannot manage POWER5 or older.
An update to HMC v9.2 for the x86-based physical HMC type-model 7042-CR9 *only* was released in March 2021.
For all other x86-based physical HMCs with machine type 7042, HMC v9.1 will be the final supported release.
Support will continue for x86-based virtual HMCs.
HMC v8.8.6 was the last release to include the “Classic” interface.
Beginning with HMC v8, the upgrade process supports a maximum span of two releases. Some examples:
HMC v8.8.1 supports upgrading from v7.7.8 and v7.7.9.
HMC v8.8.2 supports upgrading from v7.7.9 and v8.8.1.
HMC v9.1 supports upgrading from v8.8.6 and v8.8.7.
When upgrading to v8.8.6 or v8.8.7, carefully read the installation notes in the readme file before you begin. There is a step during the upgrade process which can fail without warning, leaving the HMC unusable. The only option when this occurs is to perform a fresh install of the HMC software and reconfigure the appliance from scratch. To that end, IBM provides a list of settings you should make note of before beginning the upgrade in case they are needed.
If you have a Flexible Service Processor (FSP) your firmware should be:
Machine Processor
Model
Version
End of Service
POWER10
9105-22A, 9105-42A, 9105-22B, 9105-41B, 9786-22H, and 9786-42H
ML1020_089_079
Not Announced
9043-MRX
MM1020_089_079
Not Announced
9080-HEX
MH1010_146_094
Not Announced
POWER9
9008-22L, 9009-22A, 9009-41A, 9009-42A, 9009-22G, 9009-41G, 9009-42G, or 5105-22E
VL950_111_045
October 1, 2025
POWER8
8408-E8E, 8284-21A, 8284-22A, 8286-41A, or 8286-42A
SV860_243_165
February 1, 2022
9119-MHE or 9119-MME
SC860_243_165
February 1, 2022
POWER7+
8231-E1D, 8202-E4D, 8231-E2D, 8205-E6D
AL770_126_126
05/31/2018
8408-E8D, 9109-RMD
AM770_126_126
05/31/2018
9117-MMD, 9179-MHD
AM780_100_100
05/31/2018
POWER7
8231-E1B, 8202-E4B, 8231-E2B, 8205-E6B, 8233-E8B, 8236-E8C
AL730_159_159
05/31/2018
9117-MMB, 9179-MHB
AM780_100_100
05/31/2018
8231-E1C, 8202-E4C, 8205-E6C
AL740_167_167
05/31/2018
9117-MMC, 9179-MHC
AM770-126_126
05/31/2018
POWER6
9407-M15, 9408-M25, 9409-M50, 8204-E8A, 8203-E4A
EL350_176_038
01/31/2017
9406-MMA, 9117-MMA, 9234-EMA
EL350_176_038
01/31/2017
9119-FHA
EH350_176_038
01/31/2017
POWER5 or 5+
520, 515, 525, 550, 570
SF240_418_382
11/30/2012
Important note: For HMC-managed systems, POWER9 firmware level 950 requires HMC v9.2 M950 or higher. This HMC version will not run on x86-based HMC hardware (7042-CRn). If you have an Intel-based HMC, do not update your system to 950 firmware.
If you need help with upgrading your HMC or FSP just give us a call. We will be happy to perform the function for you or assist you in doing it. Contact us here.
I touched Java for the first time in well over 6 years this week. You can blame @IBMJesseG for that. We worked on Manzan together this week and had the pleasure of working on the docs too: #ibmi
I touched Java for the first time in well over 6 years this week. You can blame @IBMJesseG for that. We worked on Manzan together this week and had the pleasure of working on the docs too: theprez.github.io/Manzan/#/ #ibmi
– Liam barry (@notesofbarry)14:37 – Dec 21, 2022
