In response to one of my many, many complaints about the support web page train wreck, IBM responded that they now want all client download requests to go through IBM Registration ID login, since it is licensed software.
I wonder if they contemplated the effects of that? One option is for each end-user at our site to get and use an IBM Registration ID. Some already have, but they have complained to me about the non-navigable site there. While some of the worst malfunctions are being addressed, it is still not anything I would inflict on end-users. Is IBM prepared for each of our thousands of ITSM client end-users to register for one of these new IDs? I'm not quite sure that's what they had in mind with this change. The only other option is for each of us to build a local library of client code. This has all sorts of problems. DISK SPACE AND BANDWIDTH IS NOT THE ISSUE! The issue is maintaining this library - I now have a new maintenance headache. And how will I know when a client is updated? I am sure not going to go check each day or week, just in case a new client is available. This raises a serious support issue at the installation level. It also makes it less likely that client code in actual use by end-users will be up-to-date, which will complicate support calls from end-users to us, and from us to IBM. When an IBM/Tivoli support rep requests that we use the latest client code on the end-user's machine, that will now become a LESS reasonable request to make. Updating it will be a multi-step process, involving effort on the administrator's part as well as the end-user's part. Previously, the end-user could comply with such a request in one step. What we might end up needing is an automated "push" process to send new client code down to our local client code library. Or just remove the IBM Registration ID login from the client code download page. Roger Deschner University of Illinois at Chicago [EMAIL PROTECTED] ========== Only adults have difficulty with childproof caps. ===========
