THIS WEEK: How will IBM's moves affect you?

[Search400.com]

Title: TechTarget

December 09, 2002 >> Receive this email as text  >> About this email   In this Issue >> From the Editor: How will IBM's moves affect you? >> Featured Topic: Strange but true IT tales >> Expert Technical Advice: * Featured expert: Victorio Sbrega, iSeries careers * Transferring data from one box to another * A primer to writing TCP/IP exit point programs >> Site Highlights: * IT Excellence Award winner: Things Remembered * Improve the readability, stability of your code * Webcast to address DB2 UDB issues  From the Editor: by Kate Evans-Correia, senior news editor How will IBM's moves affect you? A big part of what industry journalists do at this time of year, besides engage in holiday cheer, is to write what we call here at Search400.com our End of the Year Holiday Stories -- and we're working on a slew. We're working on stories about major acquisitions, viruses that wreak havoc on businesses around the world, and how the economy has been good or bad for IT. No package would be complete, however, without a story about IBM. This year, we're going to examine how the moves IBM made in 2002 will affect you in 2003. We want to know how IBM's new pricing schemes and other marketing initiatives will affect your business decisions next year, for example. Or, how plausible is IBM's push for autonomic computing? Are you concerned that its server convergence plan will push the iSeries into oblivion? It appears the computer giant is losing some of its enthusiasm for storage, with the recent announcement that it would converge its server and storage groups and the selling of its hard disk business to IBM. How will that pan out? IBM has had unprecedented layoffs, and its bottom line took a hit this year. Will any of those financial woes carry over into 2003 or will it be a better year for IBM? As administrators of iSeries servers, you are in the thick of it. No one knows better than you how IBM's business decisions will affect your shops. This End of the Year Holiday Story will have an entirely more relevant focus if we have input from IBM users. Please send us your thoughts about what's ahead for IBM and you in 2003. Send your comments to me at [EMAIL PROTECTED]. And for fun, take this week's holiday poll: "Is your company handing out holiday bonuses this year?"  Featured Topic: Strange but true IT tales by Debra Tart, assistant editor Take a well-deserved break and check out a few of these strange, but entertaining tidbits. We've pulled together some of our favorite off-the-wall stories from our Missing Link news series to lighten up your day. Enjoy! Read more about this topic  Expert Technical Advice: Featured Expert: Victorio J. Sbrega, principal, AS/400 Personnel Agency, LLC Category: Careers Vic can answer your career-related questions, including those about hot skills, salaries and demand for iSeries 400 professionals. Submit a question This Week: In the forums >> Transferring data from one box to another "BijuBlue" wants to transfer production data from one 400 box to another. Is it possible to use DDM, he asks? If so, then how? "TSCHMITZ" offers some help. >> Problem with Infoprint 40 printer "GAMMAWEN" has an Infoprint 40 printer that won't respond. He can print a test page from his PC to it, and he can Ping it successfully from the CMD line. That's it. Have any idea what's going on? >> Secure payroll libraries "Dlarsson" writes, "We are using System 21 that uses a group profile with all objects authority. Our payroll library is *public change with the files being *public exclude. But these users can still use Client Access to download files from the payroll libraries. How can I secure the payroll so no one can download or FTP these files?" "BruceN" has an idea. Tip of the Week: A primer to writing TCP/IP exit point programs By Dan Riehl, Search400.com security expert There are a few things that have always bugged me about the TCP/IP services on the iSeries. I want to let you in on one of my pet peeves. You probably have one or more of your own, but here's one of mine: There is no FTP logging facility. Even my shareware version of an MS/Windows FTP Server has a nice logging facility. A typical FTP log contains information about every FTP session running on the system. It tells you what users are logged in, and what they're doing (PUTs, GETs, etc). However, on the iSeries, if someone logs in and transfers a file using FTP, no logging of that event occurs -- anywhere. If Joe Smith from accounting has authority to the Payroll Master file and downloads it to his PC with FTP, I have no way to know. One solution to this problem is to just shut down the FTP server. However, there is a better way. OS/400 enables you to control access to FTP services using TCP/IP exit point programs. You still cannot create a full-blown FTP logging facility, but you can control access, and create a log of the events you're most concerned about, e.g. log-in requests, file transfer requests. This tip shows you what the TCP/IP exit points are, and how to use a TCP/IP exit point program to create a log that records each time a user tries to log in to your FTP server. >> Read full tip  Site Highlights Search400.com IT Excellence Award winner Things Remembered revamped its Web site using WebSphere on an iSeries -- bringing a boost to online holiday sales. Check out this story to see how they did it. Improve the readability, stability of your code Search400.com expert John Kohan shows you how to use the SELECT operation code to clean up your code and make it easier to maintain. Read full tip Webcast to address DB2 UDB issues Send in your DB2 UDB questions and hear the answers in a December webcast This session with Doug Mack from IBM will provide an update on DB2 UDB for iSeries, including enhancements in V5R2 and how those enhancements relate to an overall strategy. Send your questions to us at [EMAIL PROTECTED] and attend the webcast to hear the answers. FREE E-MAIL SERVICES Select newsletters you would like to receive from the list below. Administrator Tips Security Tip Programmer Tips Email:     Not a member? We'll activate your membership with your subscription. Free book excerpt Read chapter 1 of Exploring IBM eServer iSeries and AS/400 Computers for an overview and comprehensive reference to the latest models, options, printers, displays and more. Read it now Storage Management Sign up for the FREE Storage Management 2003 conference to learn the processes, procedures and technologies that will help you get the most out of your storage operations. More info HIPAA EDI challenges "Practical guide to meeting the HIPAA EDI Challenge" examines the impact on the IT infrastructure of the HIPAA mandates for electronically processing healthcare transactions. Check it out A B O U T   T H I S   N E W S L E T T E R Created by TechTarget TechTarget - The Most Targeted IT Media Copyright 2002, All Rights Reserved. To unsubscribe from Updates on new site content: >> Simply Reply to this Email with REMOVE within the Body or Subject -OR- >> Go to: http://search400.techtarget.com/register    - Log in to edit your profile.    - Click on the link to Edit email subscriptions.    - Uncheck the box next to the newsletter you wish to unsubscribe from.    - When finished, click "Save Changes to My Profile".