Well first of all, I should probably point out that some of the more
useful features available on IBMLink are not free but part of a
chargeable service (Software Excel?). This I believe includes the
ability to search on and examine known issues (open as well as closed
APARs, as well as open an ETR (Electronic Trouble Report) on software
problems that you can't resolve by simple searches. I find ETRs much
more useful than phone conversations with the Support Center, because I
can be much more precise in the problem description and also avoid
playing the inevitable phone tag when I am away from my desk.
ShopzSeries will also allow you to download PTFs, but IBMLink can in
many cases be used to identify a specific PTF or circumvention that will
fix your problem without having to wait in some queue for an indefinite
time to speak to a live person, or having to install maintenance en masse.
I would never want to go live with a major system or product upgrade
without having assurances that IBMLink was available to minimize any
downtime from unexpected problems.
When an "unusual" error message is generated by the system, or an
unchanged production application fails with some message and the related
job or user has done nothing unusual, our first line of defense is to
search on IBMLink. If you're lucky, you will find it's a known problem
with a known solution (or perhaps the description will give insight into
what unusual thing the user may have done). If this is a problem
causing a production application to be down, your odds of getting it
fixed in under 30 minutes, 24x7, is much better with IBMLink at your
fingertips.
When someone on ibm-main says "watch out for APAR x", I use IBMLink to
read the APAR description to determine whether we have a serious
exposure to the problem and to determine if there is a resolving PTF.
The last several weeks I have been installing and configuring some new
versions of several IBM software products.
Some of the product maintenance had System Holds with dependencies
on APARS I couldn't identify in other products. With IBMLink I was able
to identify in a minute a correct PTF in one case, and in another case
determine the APAR was only for an FMID that was not applicable to our
site.
The first time I fired up the product in test, it failed with an
ABEND. Through IBMLink I was able to locate the problem and a fix and
had the problem resolved in under 15 minutes and resumed testing.
A search for a problem that returns null results can also be useful:
While it could be an indication you are the first to encounter the
problem, it may also just be an indication that you need to re-examine
your configuration steps to look for what you did incorrectly to cause
the error.
Occasionally I may go a week or two without using IBMLink, but when I
need it, I need it ASAP.
R.S. wrote:
Robert Justice wrote:
and I won't say the other comment, I promise.
Out of curiosity:
IBMlink is down again. So WHAT ?
I work everyday with mainframes, I use some IBM web services, like
ShopzSeries, but I have no interest to visit IBMlink.
IBMlink (un)availability has completely no meaning for me.
What I'm missing by not using IBMlink ???
Simply curious
--
Joel C. Ewing, Fort Smith, AR [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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