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Announcing POWER6 New, faster System i 570 model boasts a simpler packaging structure Page 18 Announcing POWER6 New, faster System i 570 model boasts a simpler packaging structure Page 18 Get the Most Bang for Your IT Buck Page 26 What Makes Sense for Business Intelligence? Page 32 Get the Most Bang for Your IT Buck Page 26 What Makes Sense for Business Intelligence? Page 32 ASIA PACIFIC EDITION ISSUE # 62 Quarter 3/2007 i5 Business Systems

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Page 1: Announcing POWER6 Announcing POWER6

Announcing POWER6New, faster System i 570 model boasts a simpler packaging structure Page 18

Announcing POWER6New, faster System i 570 model boasts a simpler packaging structure Page 18

Get the Most Bang for Your IT Buck

Page 26

What Makes Sense for Business Intelligence?

Page 32

Get the Most Bang for Your IT Buck

Page 26

What Makes Sense for Business Intelligence?

Page 32

ASIA PACIFIC EDITIONISSUE # 62 Quarter 3/2007i5 Business Systems

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Editor's Corner

Our cover story in this issue focuses on IBM's POWER6announcement for the System i platform. Introducingthe new System i 570 armed with POWER6 Processors

and a simpler, more flexible packaging structure. Read abouthow the new structure will offer a single i5/OS Edition that isfully customizable on page 18.

Following that, IBM also recently announced a split inthe System i Division. The Power Systems Unit focuses on theSystem i 570 and 595 models, and the Business Systems Unitprioritizes IBM System i 515, 520, 525 and 550 models. MarkShearer, former System i General Manager, now VicePresident and Business Line Executive of IBM Power Systemstook some time to answer questions about the two new units,and most importantly, how the change will affect System iclients in Trends on page 6.

This year’s much anticipated IBM System i Asia PacificStrategic Planning Conference took more than 250 delegatesto Macau, the first and the last European colony in China,renowned for it's uniquely Mediterranean style. Just flip topage 16 for the SPC highlights.

Our customer testimonials and case studies in this issueare from all corners of the globe. County Bank, USA provedthat a simple system upgrade equaled IT improvements acrossthe board. Progressive Enterprises new consolidatedinfrastructure on IBM System i with new SAP applicationsreduced workload, backlog, enabling real-time processing andincreased performance. IBM System i and Tango/04 achieves24/7 availability and top performance for Cassa diCompensazione e Garanzia in Italy. The Pilgrims Fund Board(Lembaga Tabung Haji) in Malaysia improved their customerservice facilities by adding a new IBM System i platform totheir core system. T. JOIN Transportation Co. Ltd in Taiwansustained 30 years of growth with pioneering ITinfrastructures from IBM, sharing their journey from IBMAS/400 to today's IBM System i.

Ending with the amazing story of how System i Serversrun under 4 feet of water as discovered by Estess ExpressLines, this issue is yet another complete read. Enjoy!

See you in December! The Editor ([email protected])

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# 6 2 • Q U A R T E R 3 / 2 0 0 7

I N S I D E

Page 32Page 18

C O V E R S T O R YA New, Flexible POWER n 18IBM announces the POWER6 System i 570 withenhanced performance and a simpler packagingstructure. By Tami Deedrick, cover photo illustration by David Sather

F E A T U R EWhat Does IT Really Cost? n 26Optimization and rationalization studies help answer thetough questions. By Louise Hemond-Wilson

Taming the Business-Intelligence Monster n 32The System i is all the data warehouse you need.By Rob Bestgen and Tom McKinley

C O L U M N SEditor’s Corner n 2

Trends n 6Mark Shearer Answers Questions About the System iReorganization

Administrator n 10MQTs for Business Intelligence Success

Developer n 12OpenUP/Basic: Open Source, Agile and Unified

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What new

technology

are you

most excited

about?

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I N S I D E

C O L U M N SDiary n 16IBM System i Asia Pacific StrategicPlanning Conference 2007

In Conversation n 38Harry Debes, CEO and David Hope, Regional Managing Director, Asia & Japan, Lawson Software

Case StudyNo Muss, No Fuss for County Bank n 40Progressive Enterprises Buys intoVirtualization with SAP and IBM n 44Tango/04 and IBM System i Keep Risk at Bay in Italy Stock Exchange n 46

Customer’s TestimonialThe Pilgrims Fund Board (Lembaga TabungHaji), Malaysia n 48T. JOIN Transportation Co., Ltd., Taiwan n 50

SpotlightsOverlaying the Ugly With Beauty:KeyesOverlay and KeyesPDF from Computer Keyes n 56

Tips & TechniqueRuby on Rails in i5/OS PASE n 58Intrusion Detection on System i n 62

ENDPGM n 72Estes Express Lines Discovers System i Servers Run Under 4 Feet of Water

The above results are from the opinion poll that was part of the January issue of the magazine's i5EXTRA online newsletter. To subscribe to i5 EXTRA, visit www.ibmsystemsmag.com.

Note: The EXTRA Poll is not scientific and reflects the opinions of only those Internet userswho have chosen to participate. The results cannot be assumed to represent the opinions ofInternet users in general, nor the public as a whole. The EXTRA Poll is not responsible forcontent, functionality or the opinions expressed therein.

i5 Business Systems edition

Poll Position System i5 users sound off

This publication could contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Also, illustrations contained herein mayshow prototype equipment. Your system configuration may differ slightly. This publication contain small programs thatare furnished by IBM as simple examples to provide an illustration. These examples have not been thoroughly testedunder all conditions. IBM, therefore, cannot guarantee or imply reliability, serviceability, or function of theseprograms. All programs contained herein are provided to you “as is” implied warranties of merchantability and fitnessfor a particular purpose are expressly disclaimed. All rights reserved. Names of products and services marked with* may be trademarks of their respective companies. This IBM Systems Magazine ASIA PACIFIC Edition is producedfor IBM by Thumb-Print Studio.Page 26

The newSystem i*

Express 515and 525

42.5%

BladeCenter* integration 7.5%

Secure Perspective 2.5%

Something else 5.0%

IP telephony 5.0%Capacity backup 7.5%

PHP and MySQL

30.0%

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Tango/04 Computing Group, proudly supported in Asia Pacific by:Valok Global Midrange Software SolutionsContact: Claire StammelPhone: +612 9532 0759 (International); 1300 301 957 (Australia Only)Email: [email protected] Visit us: www.valok.com.au

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System i: What was the catalyst for this change?Mark Shearer: The inspiration was the realization that theSystem i platform is really serving two distinctly differentmarkets. On one side of the marketplace, we have our classicSystem i clients who are usually small or medium-sizedcompanies running business applications on their System iplatforms. These clients are looking for simplicity. They wanta simple, integrated platform with a competitive total cost ofownership. They want to manage their businesses, not their IT.This is really a classic set of requirements that goes all theway back to time of AS/400.

The other part of our business was larger clients on largersystems. Over the past five to 10 years, a lot of our clientsstarted growing larger and consolidating their workloads. IBMended up with more than 1,000 clients who use the System iplatform more like a business mainframe. They have veryspecific technical requirements. They want extraordinary high

availability, high levels of virtualization, many LPARs and, insome cases, multiple operating systems or multipleapplication-development languages. They’ve even organizedthemselves in groups like the LUG [larger user group] toarticulate some unique high-end requirements.

I spend an awful lot of time at places like COMMON and theLUG and I visit clients almost every day. As we reflected onthe two diverging groups and what they were saying, we cameto the point of view that we would serve the market better ifwe aligned our business around our client base rather thanaround our product or technology base.

System i: And the outcome of this realization was the two new groups?Mark Shearer: In part, yes. We reformulated our hardwarebusiness creating the Power Systems unit and the BusinessSystems unit to reflect the directions in the marketplace. ThePower Systems unit is inclusive of all of our UNIX offeringsand high-end System i platforms. The Power Systems unit willfocus on the enterprise-class systems, including i5/OS, AIXand Linux on POWER. The Business Systems unit is inclusiveof our lower-end System i platforms, the 550 and below. TheBusiness Systems unit will concentrate on the SMB marketand will, over time, continue to introduce new products thatare focused on simplicity and integration.

System i: Will the Business Systems unit include just the System i modelsyou mentioned or will the System x and BladeCenter technologies fall inthis group?Mark Shearer: That’s a great question. We’re starting withSystem i platforms because it’s such a large percentage of our

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Industry signals to keep you in the know

Trends

Mark Shearer Answers QuestionsAbout the System i Reorganization

IBM recently announced a split in the System i division. Rather than going to market with all IBMSystem i platforms in one unit, IBM will now go to market with two new groups designed for verydifferent purposes. The Power Systems unit focuses on enterprise businesses and includes the IBMSystem i 570 and 595 models as well as the IBM System p family. The Business Systems unit setsits priority at the small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) running primarily on the IBM System i 515,520, 525 and 550 models.

While chatter zips around cyberspace, IBM Systems Magazine went straight to the top foranswers. Mark Shearer, former System i General Manager and now sporting the title of VicePresident and Business Line Executive, IBM Power Systems, took some time to answer questionsabout the two new units and how the change will affect System i clients.

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SMB client base in STG [Systems and Technology Group].Then we’ll look at other offerings from other technology partsof IBM designed specifically for the SMB market. I think, inthe future, offers like the BladeCenter S would be other logicalparticipants in the Business Systems unit.

System i: Will the Business Systems products continue to run on POWERprocessors as the new POWER versions become available?Mark Shearer: We’ll continue to sell a full portfolio of products tothe SMB. We’re not going to leave them behind—just theopposite. A couple of months ago, we previewed the BladeCenterS, which is specifically targeted to the SMB. Most clients todayuse x86 architecture in the BladeCenter family. System i clientsuse the POWER processor. We’ll continue to sell a combinationof processors and operating systems to the market.

Even our System i clients spend almost three times as muchon their Wintel as they do on the System i technology in theirbudgets today. The power of the IBM portfolio is being able tosell all the architectures that they use and not just one ofthem. We want to move all our System i clients forward.

System i: Back in the early days of AS/400, there were systems andservers. How is this split different?Mark Shearer: I’m not sure that distinction quite works. In thelow end, clients definitely want systems. They love theintegration of storage, operating system and middleware. Thenew 515 and 525 models of the System i platform are a lotmore than servers because they have storage-area networks,middleware, DB2, security and more—all pre-integrated. In mymind, they are truly systems but they’re systems withintegration and simplicity built in.

I view the high end as systems as well, but they’re verysophisticated—they are virtualized, highly availably, POWER-based systems. For me, the systems vernacular still applies toboth of them but it means different things in different marketsin terms of the characteristics.

System i: Does the announcement change more than just the hardware?Mark Shearer: In addition to the two new groups, we actuallydid other things to mobilize IBM’s focus on the SMBmarketplace. One of the biggest things is we changed ourapproach to sales for the SMB marketplace.

In the past we were selling our systems to SMB clients usingproduct-based sales reps. Now we’re moving to the model ofhaving systems sales managers responsible for the total IBMportfolio. They’ll be responsible for bringing forward the bestof our systems for each client need. From a client point ofview, it just makes a lot of sense for us to rally around themrather than around a transparent silo approach to themarketplace.

So we changed our SMB sales coverage model and we alsointegrated our business partner sales organization with oursystems group. We serve so much of the SMB market through ourbusiness partners, I think having a simplified partner programbetter integrated with the rest of our system sales is a logicalthing to do. The outcome will be to better serve the SMB market.

System i: Can you talk more about the new business partner strategy?Mark Shearer: In the System i arena, we do more than 80 percentof our business through business partners. And a lot of thebusiness is influenced by ISV and systems integrators as well asthe resellers. In the past, we had a sales organization that wasindependent of the systems business that provided sales supportand coverage to all of our business partners. By integrating thesales support with all of our other system sales programs, it’spossible for us to clarify and simplify programs, be moreconsistent and better focus our direct sales resources and ourpartner resources to where they’re needed. It will just be easierfor us to run our business with a more aligned sales approach.And it won’t just benefit IBM but our customers as well.

System i: What kind of feedback are you getting from the announcement?Mark Shearer: I’ve heard from a lot of the large clients and theyare very excited about this. It’s really something they’ve beenasking for. A lot of our large System i clients also haveSystem p technology and they wanted more consistentpricing, more consistent terms, more consistent user interfacesacross the platforms. I think they see great hope for our futurePOWER technology-based systems. I’ve had a lot of verypositive feedback from the large clients.

I would characterize the response from the small and mid-sized clients so far as cautious. But when they see continuedproof points of IBM’s investment with innovative newproducts and continued improvements with i5/OS, I thinktheir confidence will increase.

We’ve made some pretty significant announcements lately.We’ve introduced the System i 570 with the POWER6processor; we’ve announced simplified packaging of i5/OS onour large systems to provide more granular, pay as you go,price to value for our clients; and—and this is relevant tosmall as well as large clients—we’ve previewed version 6 ofi5/OS that will be available during the first half of next year.That’s a real clear message to the industry that we’recontinuing to take i5/OS forward. We’re continuing to bringour clients and their applications forward to the POWER6hardware platform and beyond.

As we deliver on these kinds of things, clients will realize thatwe are continuing an almost 30-year tradition of protecting ourclients’ investments in their applications and bringing them

(continued on page 70)

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Administrator

Getting the most from your systems

MQTs for Business Intelligence Success

T oday’s business intelligence (BI) and data warehousing(DW) applications are becoming more robust andvaried in their use to help provide value to your

business. The backbone to these applications, of course, is thedata collected within your online transaction systems. A majorstep for these applications is getting this data massaged,grouped and summarized into useful information. Typically,the same static data set is queried repeatedly. For example,you may want to summarize yesterday’s or last week’s salesinformation or keep period-end summaries—like month end oryear end—while the online data is still accumulating for thenext period. It would be great if the database-managementsystem offered a mechanism to do this summarizing andgrouping for you—in advance. With the creation and use ofmaterialized query tables (MQTs), this capability is available toyou in IBM* DB2* for i5/OS*.

MQTs were introduced to i5/OS in V5R3 and enhanced inV5R4. An MQT can be considered a materialized view orautomatic summary table and can be used to significantlyimprove the performance of complex queries by prerunningportions of the query and storing the results. Without requiringthe end user or application to modify the SQL, the queryoptimizer recognizes MQTs and implicitly rewrites the query toachieve better performance by accessing the MQT instead ofone or more of the specified tables. In some cases, queryperformance with the MQT is orders of magnitude faster.

MQTs especially benefit queries that use complex joins andaggregations, since those queries tend to access and processlarge volumes of data. BI and DW environments where data isloaded periodically are particularly good candidates. Daily,weekly and monthly processing provides a naturalopportunity to refresh or update the MQTs. In such cases, theMQTs don’t need to be kept synchronized with the base tables,but can be refreshed as part of the existing end-of-day, end-of-week or end-of-month batch processing.

Find the StatementsTo illustrate how MQTs help queries where multiple usersrequest virtually the same information from the same set oftables, let’s examine a set of SQL statements whose

performance may benefit from an MQT. For example, 10department managers ask for their sales-trending figures byweek every Monday morning. This results in 10 SQL groupingqueries for the same information. Running all of these everyMonday morning is time consuming and resource intensive.Taking advantage of MQTs and the optimizer’s query-rewritecapability, the response time and resource use can bedrastically reduced while still solving each department’sinquiry. By creating and populating an MQT representing allof the sales figures grouped by year, week and department,then letting the optimizer use this MQT, each of the 10 queriescan access the MQT’s pre-summarized data instead of readingand processing the detail data in the base table. End users orapplications don’t need to change their queries; the optimizerdoes the rewrite for them. Also, the MQT can be updated orrefreshed as part of the week-end processing—allowing thesummarized data set to be ready and available for theMonday-morning requests.

To identify a potential set of statements in an application likethis, we’ll turn to the SQL plan-cache viewer in iSeries*Navigator. The SQL plan cache contains all of the current queryplans and associated runtime information. You can find theviewer by right-clicking on the named database folder andselecting SQL plan cache>show statements (see Figure 1, below).

In this case, the statements you’re interested in are thelongest-running for your application. To get this list, use the“Queries that use or reference these objects” filter and fill in the

BY THERESA EULER AND JIM FLANAGAN

Figure 1

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schema and table columns. Get the list of statements byrefreshing and sort by the number of times the statement ran tofind the query. You can also sort by the runtime column to getthe statements sorted in longest-runtime order from most toleast expensive. In the list, several queries access the same basetables, but with slightly different column-list and selectioncriteria. Based on these two pieces of information, you’ll havean idea which statements may be good candidates for an MQT.

The statement you’re interested in working with first is themost frequently run statement. Using our example, it’s themanagers’ query.

SELECT YEAR, WEEK, DEPARTMENT, SUM(SALES), COUNT

(DISTINCT ORDER_NO)

FROM ORDERS_TABLE

WHERE DEPARTMENT = ‘ABC123’

GROUP BY YEAR, WEEK, DEPARTMENT

ORDER BY YEAR, WEEK, DEPARTMENT;

Having designed this application, you also know some detailsabout this query and the underlying data: The ORDERS_TABLEcontains 1 million rows with three years, 52 weeks per yearand 25 departments, and grouping by YEAR, WEEK andDEPARTMENT results in a maximum of 3,900 distinct groups.

Select this query in the list and click on “Work withStatement.” This will display the SQL statement in the RunSQL Scripts window. From here you can select the Explaintoolbar button to display the query optimization plan for thisstatement (see Figure 2, above). The implementation isshowing a sorted list scan of a temporary, distinct hash tablepopulated by a table scan of the ORDERS_TABLE.

Create the MQTThe next step is to create an MQT that you think will satisfy thisquery. MQTs are database objects created with the CREATETABLE SQL statement. Navigate to the Tables folder in iSeriesNavigator for the schema into which you want to create the MQTand right-click on New>Materialized Query Table. The first tabhas the name and schema for the MQT. The second tab is whereyou specify the select statement and refresh table options. Theselect statement becomes a part of the MQT definition andassociates a query with the MQT. After you type in the SQLstatement, you can use the Check Syntax button to verify yourstatement is syntactically correct. The Preview button is a nicefeature that displays the results from the query you entered soyou can be sure of the resultant rows you’ll get in your MQT.Figure 3 (below) shows this tab from the iSeries Navigator createMQT dialog. Based on your analysis, type in the following query:SELECT YEAR, WEEK, DEPARTMENT, SUM(SALES) AS

SUM_SALES,

COUNT(DISTINCT ORDER_NO) AS ORDER_NO

FROM ORDERS_TABLE

GROUP BY YEAR, WEEK, DEPARTMENT

You must specify whether you want the data to be initiallypopulated into the MQT. If you don’t check “Populate tablewith select statement results,” the MQT will be empty untilyou manually refresh it. This checkbox corresponds to theDATA INITIALLY IMMEDIATE and DATA INITIALLYDEFERRED clauses on the CREATE statement and indicateswhether the MQT should be populated at create time ordeferred until the MQT is refreshed. When DATA INITIALLYDEFERRED is specified, it’s a good idea to create the MQT withquery optimization disabled until after it’s been refreshed toensure that the MQT contains data before it’s used by a query.

Next, you can choose whether to enable or disable the queryoptimization. If you want the optimizer to consider MQTs duringthe optimization phase, check “Enable for query optimization.”This checkbox corresponds to the ENABLE/DISABLE QUERYOPTIMIZATION clauses on the CREATE statement and specifieswhether the MQT can be used for optimization. Note: Going tothe definition of the table in iSeries Navigator or using theALTER TABLE statement can enable or disable queryoptimization and convert existing SQL tables into MQTs.

Figure 2

Figure 3

(continued on page 66)

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H ow should an organization collect, adopt and sharepractices for developing software? Manyorganizations use heterogeneous collections of

information such as articles, written procedures, binders,books, previous experience and informal but enforcedprocedures. Some organizations use proprietary processes thatmay be difficult to extend and reuse. The cost of usingproprietary processes can be prohibitive for someorganizations, particularly if there’s a desire to experimentwith new ways of developing software.

This article introduces another option: the open-sourceOpenUP/Basic software-development process and the EclipseProcess Framework (EPF) Composer tool. OpenUP/Basic is aUnified process that makes use of proven agile practices.

For the past year and a half, many organizations havecontributed to creating OpenUP/Basic, one of a family of open-source processes from EPF. This family shares a common tooland metamodel to ease development, customization and sharingof intellectual capital. Organizations that have contributed tocreating OpenUP/Basic include APG, BearingPoint, Capgemini,

Covansys, European Software Institute, IBM, Ivar JacobsonInternational, Method Park, Number Six, ObjectMentor,Softeam, Telelogic, the University of British Columbia, theUniversity of Southern California and Xansa.

OpenUP/Basic has four fundamental principles, describingadvice rather than trade-offs, which the EPF team believesmakes them easier to adopt. These principles map to similarones found in the Agile Manifesto (www.agilemanifesto.org),as shown in Table 1 (page 68).

Open, Unified and AgileUnified processes (most notably the Rational Unified Process)have a long track record of improving how organizationssatisfy customer expectations and track project progressobjectively. Agile techniques incorporated into OpenUP/Basichave been used extensively to reduce process andmanagement overhead, improve software quality and enhancethe ability of teams to meet customer expectations. A widerange of stakeholders with overlapping and uniqueperspectives build open-source products collaboratively.OpenUP/Basic combines the best of all these worlds by:• Defining a small, self-organizing, collaborative team that

includes the stakeholders• Tracking overall progress through objective milestones in

each phase• Realizing a four-phase iterative process• Focusing on defining the architecture and reducing risk in

early iterations• Producing a deliverable release every iteration• Leveraging test-driven development (TDD) to improve quality• Utilizing a product backlog in the form of a Work Items

List (WIL)• Promoting continuous integration• Taking a project-management approach similar to the agile

software development called Scrum, with daily stand-upmeetings and self-organizing teams

• Leveraging use cases to increase collaboration andstakeholder value

System i application development

Developer

OpenUP/Basic: Open Source,Agile and UnifiedBY JIM RUEHLIN

Figure 1

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• Describing evolutionary design and architecture to reduceup-front analysis

• Allowing anyone to contribute, extend and comment onOpenUP/Basic

Minimal, Complete and ExtensibleAn objective of OpenUP/Basic is to deliver a process teamscan use out of the box, but also tailor and significantlyenhance. The process includes only the minimum of what asmall team must do to produce quality software, so thebarriers to adopting the process are low. Users can add orchange content, but removing anything will increase the riskof failing to deliver quality software on time.

The EPF Composer tool makes it relatively easy to addsimple customizations, such as templates, examples, guidelinesand extra steps. Composer lets you create plug-ins and entireprocesses from scratch, such as the plug-ins for agile databasetechniques, deployment and model-driven developmentcurrently under way. They’ll extend OpenUP/Basic byincorporating their techniques into the process.

Finally, OpenUP/Basic has six roles, 17 tasks, 18 workproducts and plenty of supporting guidance. It’s comprehensivewithout being overwhelming.

Can OpenUP/Basic Help Your Team?OpenUP/Basic is designed for small teams interested in leveragingagile and Unified software-development techniques. Small teamsthat desire low-ceremony interactions will get the most benefit byusing OpenUP/Basic, but many different types and sizes ofprojects can harvest powerful content from the process. For

instance, if a large organization is struggling to manage andunderstand its requirements, it can leverage OpenUP/Basic’scontent on use cases and requirements management.

OpenUP/Basic is also useful when trying to change the natureof the process. Perhaps you have a high-ceremony process withformal external customer reviews at specific milestones.OpenUP/Basic describes how to make customers part of yourteam, reducing the need for formal reviews and increasing theamount and frequency of feedback. Larger teams who want toadopt use cases, a Scrum-like management approach, TDD orevolutionary design and architecture techniques can gleanuseful content from OpenUP/Basic in those areas.

Given the low cost of entry, it’s worthwhile to examineOpenUP/Basic regardless of your organization’s size orformality. A diverse group of contributors has refined manytechniques, which almost any organization can harvest.

Roles and Other Essentials Roles in the management layer may be defined differentlythan expected. OpenUP/Basic project managers are notmanagers in the traditional sense. Though they coordinate,mentor, support and guide, it’s the self-organizing team thatleads and makes important decisions about the project’spriorities and objectives. Another of the six major roles,stakeholder, is on par with the project manager or developerroles. Stakeholders are full team members and are essential tothe successful delivery of the software. The projectmanagement discipline also includes guidance on agileestimation and self-organizing teams.

Figure 2 Figure 3

(continued on page 68)

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IBM System i SMB Combo

IBM Hong Kong announced the launch of SMB Combo, a new, open-standards-based and secure platformthat integrates business applications with IP Telephony, email and messaging applications on IBM System i515. SMB Combo is the first local market solution with the flexibility, scalability and an attractive pricepoint that specifically addresses the needs of HK SMBs.

It comes with applications that improve business efficiency, simplify network management and reduceoperational costs. IBM is currently working with eleven leading Hong Kong Independent Software Vendorsto offer a wide range of optional infrastructure applications for HK SMBs that span CRM, SCM, security,data management, workflow management, document management. IBM Business Partners provide systemintegration expertise and support, making implementation and management of the system hassle-free forSMBs who generally lack internal IT expertise and support.

John Tam, Business Manager of System i, STG HK, introduced the SMB Combo.

John and all the 11 Independent Software Vendorsat the launch ceremony.

CRM Solution – marketing & sales

Security SolutionSCM Solution

Document Imaging Solution

Remote Data Management Solution

CRM Solution – loyalty

Document and Workflow ManagementSolution (search, audit, version control, multi-level

access control)

Office Automation Solution

Workflow Management Solution

SCM Solution – global trade process

Electronic Document Management Solution

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Company Name: IT Channel (Asia) LimitedSolution Name: BOCD (Business Objects

Crystal Decision)Brief: BOCD enables SMBs to track,understand, and manage information effectively.Website: http://www.itchannel.com.hk/home.html

Company Name: NetMon InformationSystems Limited

Solution Name: The ProofpointMessaging Security GatewayTM Virtual EditionBrief: Proofpoint Messaging Security GatewayTM VirtualEdition delivers unified email security and data loss prevention features.Website: http://www.netmon.com.hk

Company Name: Acise TechnologyLimited

Solution Name: ReComeBrief: ReCome is a comprehensive loyalty program whichimproves customer retention and helps establish long-termcustomer relationships by keeping track of customer profilesand purchase records, enabling companies to formulatestrategic and targeted marketing campaigns.Website: http://www.acise.com/en/index.shtml

Company Name: DMASolutions

Solution Name: Sugar SuiteBrief: Sugar Suite delivers a feature-rich set CRM Solution thatenhances marketing effectiveness, drives sales performance,improves customer satisfaction and provides executive insightinto business performance.Website: http://www.dmahk.com/product_sugarsuite.html

Company Name: ASTA Systems LimitedSolution Name: ASTA Document and

Workflow Management SolutionBrief: ASTA Document and Workflow Management Solution isa Web 2.0 DMS solution that provides powerful search, audittrial, version control and multilevel access control.Website: http://www.astasys.com

Company Name: CoworkshopSolutions Limited

Solution Name: Curtain DocNetBrief: Curtain DocNet is a Web-based Document ImagingSystem, which allows users to access the valued informationfrom anywhere at anytime.Website: http://www.coworkshop.com/

Company Name: NetAGEDevelopmentLimited

Solution Name: J.Comm Remote Data Management SolutionsBrief: J.Comm Remote Data Management Solution provide a robust data exchange and sharing across different remote devices.Website: http://www.netage.com.hk

Company Name: Kinetix SystemsLimited

Solution Name: PowerDoc2Brief: PowerDoc2 is an Electronic Document ManagementSolution (EDMS) for SME that combines the benefit ofcentralized document repository, zero deployment web access,advanced security access control, full featured documentmanagement functions and extremely competitive Total Cost of Ownership.Website: http://www.kinetix.com.hk

Company Name: WebforceNetworkTechnologyLimited

Solution Name: WebForce Linux in-a-box SolutionsBrief: WebForce Linux in-a-box Solutions provide ready-to-use,secure and module-based powerful Linux solutions on IBMPower platform for your enterprise environment.Website: http://www.webforce.com.hk

Company Name: BeansLinkInternational Limited

Solution Name: BeansLink SupplyChain Management(SCM) Solution

Brief: BeansLink Supply Chain Management (SCM) Solutionassists enterprises in purchasing and receiving materials,managing inventories, processing customer orders and production.Website: http://www.beanslink.com

Company Name: Core SolutionsLimited

Solution Name: Core BusinesseXchange (CBX)

Brief: Core Business eXchange (CBX) is a full-function suite ofsoftware applications for managing the global trade process.Website: http://www.coresolutions.com/

IBM System i SMB Combo

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IBM System i Asia Pacific StrategicPlanning Conference 2007

MACAU, AUG 14TH–16TH 2007: This year’s IBM System i Asia Pacific Strategic Planning Conference held in Macaubrought together a total of 272 delegates from all over Asia Pacific – the largest and most significant gatheringof the year for System i!

Held at the prestigious Macau Tower, conference sessions conducted by IBM Worldwide speakers as well asexternal leading industry specialists shared the differentiation and competitiveness of the technology raceexpounding on the theme of this year’s conference - Innovation Intelligence.

Enthralling iCustomer speakers from Heatcraft Australia and SITA Environmental Solutions from Australia,Export and Industry Bank from the Philippines, Hindustan Petroleum Corp, India, Sunway Shared ServicesCenter, Malaysia and Seino Information Service from Japan expressed real-world perspectives on System i.

It was a dynamic session held on the China coast amongst historical Chinese and Portuguese world-heritagerelics. We look forward to topping this incredible event next year!

Diary

What’s happening in the System i world

Opening performance in Main Tent

Gala Dinner performance II

Dr Frank Soltis, Chief Scientist of IBM System i

Business Partner/ISV Award Presentation iCustomer Perspective by Michael F. Asiddao iCustomer Perspective by Cheah Kok Hoong

Gala Dinner performance I

Chung Heng Han, IBM System i Director, AsiaPacific and Mark Shearer, Vice President andBusiness Line Executive, IBM Power Systems

Delegates at the Gala Dinner

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IBM announces the

POWER6 System i

570 with enhanced

performance and a

simpler packaging

structure

A N e w , F l e x i b l e

POWERI

BM* customers running IBMi5/OS* have been anxiouslyanticipating a POWER6*announcement for the Systemi* platform. Now the wait is

over. IBM revealed its plans for the nextevolution of POWER* technology July 24.The announcement introduced newSystem i 570 servers armed withPOWER6 processors and previewed thenext release of i5/OS.

The new 570 is the first installment ofthe System i POWER6 lineup, whichboasts impressive processing speeds forsignificant performance enhancementsalong with the simple packagingstructure users requested.

Ian Jarman, IBM System i productmanager, believes customers won’t bedisappointed.

“It’s a significant new generation ofsystems,” Jarman says, “and we’ve madesome changes that will be very popularwith customers.” Customers can order thenew System i 570 with POWER6technology now, and it will be generallyavailable Sept. 14.

While the 570 is the first System iserver to receive the POWER6technology, the rest of the System ifamily is expected to follow suit in 2008,Jarman says. IBM announced POWER6technology a few months ago for its IBMSystem p* family, also starting with the

570. Customers anticipating the rollout can expect the System i offeringsto follow the System p releases fairlyclosely, Jarman speculates.

The new POWER6 technology willsupport the current release of i5/OS—V5R4—but the announcement alsofeatured a sneak peek at the nextgeneration of i5/OS. By offeringPOWER6 technology on the 570 andkeeping i5/OS, IBM is making astatement about its naming conventions.“We’ve had clear feedback from ourcommunity that they don’t want a namechange. So it’s still the 570 model and it’sstill i5/OS. They just happen to usePOWER6 technology,” Jarman says. P

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PerformanceThe POWER6 570 uses 4.7 GHz processors, which are thefastest POWER6 processors now available. The processorbandwidth of the POWER6 chip—300 GB per second—coulddownload the entire iTunes catalog in about 60 seconds.

“Customers will be delighted with their 570 performancewhen they upgrade their systems with POWER6 processors.An enterprise running a typical i5/OS application couldexpect about a 70-percent improvement versus the originalPOWER5* technology,” says George Gaylord, System ienterprise product manager. “For more CPU-intensiveapplications, the lab has measured a performance increaseof well over two times the performance of POWER5 systemsand a 50-percent increase over POWER5+* systems.”

The 570 offers up to 16-way processors in a four-nodesystem. Each node has four processors. Customers will havethe option to buy an initial 1/4-, 2/8- or 4/16-wayconfiguration, and will be able to grow by adding 1/4-waynodes (see Figure 1, left).

POWER6 technology is delivering better powerconsumption by giving customers more power per kilowattof energy. It’s built for power efficiency and can delivertremendous performance at affordable power-consumptionrates. It also optimizes energy consumption and generatesless heat by dynamically turning off power to unused parts.

StructurePerhaps one of the biggest benefits of the POWER6technology announcement is the simplicity, flexibility andscalability IBM has built into the new packaging structure.The POWER5 structure offered a Standard Edition and anEnterprise Edition. The Standard Edition didn’t includesupport for 5250 online transaction processing and requiredcustomers who wanted to use 5250 to purchase theEnterprise Edition. The new structure will offer a single,i5/OS Edition that’s fully customizable. “When we hadStandard and Enterprise Edition, you had to decide whetherto run applications in Web-based mode or traditional 5250applications,” Jarman explains. “And now we’ve broughtthese together on one single system configuration whereyou can decide how to deploy them, by processor.”

Gaylord concurs: “Under the previous structure,customers had variety but less flexibility when acquiringtheir system. It was more complicated. The 570 withPOWER6 processors will be offered simply as an i5/OSEdition, or a Capacity BackUp Edition, that customers mayeasily tailor to address their needs as their business growsor their requirements change.”

Under the new structure, customers buy a base i5/OSEdition and any additional processor activations they need.

Figure 1

Figure 2

1 Buy the base system configuration

2 Activate additional processors

3 Add Enterprise Enablement per-processor option as needed

4 Purchase i5/OS, Linux or AIX 5L operating system processor entitlements

5 Purchase additional software

Figure 3

Operations Value Pack for i5/OS 5722-SVP

BRMS 5722-BR1

BRMS Network Feature 5722-BR1Option 1

Media and Storage Extensions 5722-SS1Option 18

Performance Tools 5722-PT1

Performance Tools Manager 5722-PT1Option 1

DB2 Value Pack for i5/OS 5722-DVP

DB2 SMP 5722-SS1Option 26

DB2 UDB Extenders 5722-DE1

XML Toolkit 5733-XT1

DB2 Query Mgr & SQL Devt Kit 5722-ST1

Value Packs for i5/OS

4/16-way

1/4-way

2/8-way

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They then can add any Enterprise Enablement option for5250 processor capacity. Finally, customers choose anoperating system for each active processor and license anyadditional software they want (see Figure 2, page 20). Ratherthan requiring a bundled software package that may includeunnecessary functions, customers can choose exactly whatthey need. Everything is optional. “This is an exciting newchange,” Gaylord says. “System i structure continues to getmore granular and open, and the feedback from ourenterprise clients is that we are more effectively aligning ourprices to where they see value.”

Ten years ago, customers didn’t need this kind offlexibility, according to Jarman. Most customers weredeploying similar workloads, running i5/OS and 5250-styleapplications. Now customers need support for differentoperating systems, varied environments, application servingand a plethora of applications. “This breakthroughtechnology gives the customer a solution that they valuewith all of these different components integrated at the rightlevel. It reflects a multitude of different solutions that peopleare running today but offers them the simplicity of onesystem,” Jarman says.

Another benefit, according to Gaylord, is the flexibility toactivate additional processors and add i5/OS, Linux* or AIX*applications to the POWER6 570 while remaining in thesame P30 software tier. “When our clients add applicationsto their existing System i infrastructure, they get a lot ofeconomies of scale,” Gaylord says. “And they can takeadvantage of existing operations and business processes,such as performing a single, consolidated backup. Wewanted to implement a structure that makes it easier forthem to realize these benefits.”

Customer InputSome aspects of this next evolution of the POWER6technology were driven heavily by customer requirementsand feedback. “Our team meets regularly with the COMMONAdvisory Councils, the System i Large User Group (LUG) andobviously, many specific clients as we travel the globe. Theyhave resoundingly told us the things they value and need,”Gaylord says. What makes that list is the granularity to addcapacity as needed without going through significantupgrades, improved price/performance for i5/OS applicationsand access to the latest technology.

For example, customers were the driving force behind thenew packaging structure. “This is a formal requirementdirectly from the LUG,” Gaylord explains. “They requested tobuy the initial Enterprise Enablement by processor withoutsoftware being bundled with it. They also wanted a singlesoftware tier. If they add processors for Linux or AIX, they

didn’t want a tier jump in their i5/OS application software.Adding applications to this system should be very easy andaffordable without ancillary effects.”

Part of that ease of use is a built-in license for iSeries*Access. This provides integration of workstations with theSystem i platform. Where pricing for this product was onceuser based, an unlimited-user version is packaged in the 570i5/OS Edition.

For the introduction of the i5/OS Edition, IBM evaluatedits software packages and decided to offer two bundled valuepacks of the related software in the Enterprise Edition thatcustomers use most (see Figure 3, page 20). Customers willbe able to purchase a DB2* Value Pack and/or an OperationsValue Pack for less than buying the components individually,Gaylord says.

Upgrade PathsCustomers have several upgrade paths to the new 570. First,they can upgrade from a POWER5 or POWER5+ 570 systemto a POWER6 570 system. Second, they can upgrade from aPOWER5 or POWER5+ 550 system. Third, they can upgrade toa 570 with POWER6 processors directly from an 825, 870 or890 server. Those in the latter group need to make the movesoon, as IBM is withdrawing the 825 upgrade paths effectiveDec. 1, 2007, and the 870 and 890 effective April 1, 2008.

Another upgrade customers may want to consider is asoftware upgrade from i5/OS V5R3 to V5R4. Gaylord thinksthis is a great business decision right now. “If you haveV5R3, you can buy upgrades in POWER5 and POWER5+technology, but with V5R4, you now have new upgradeoptions,” he says. “You can immediately take advantage ofthe wealth of the new i5/OS release capabilities, but you’realso in the prime position to exercise your choice of upgradepaths—and POWER6 technology is likely to be a veryattractive financial option.”

Next i5/OS Release PreviewAlong with the new POWER6 technology, IBM alsoannounced a preview of the next i5/OS release, scheduledfor 2008. “i5/OS delivers amazing value and efficiency forour customers, and we want to make sure we’re giving themthe best features and options as they grow,” Gaylord says.“This includes previewing the future of i5/OS so they knowwhat’s coming and they can plan for it.” You’ll find moreon the i5/OS preview in “A Sneak Peek at the New i5/OS”(page 24).

It’s important to note that moving to the previewed i5/OSrelease isn’t required to take advantage of POWER6technology. “You can run with POWER6 technology on i5/OSV5R4,” Jarman says. “But there will be a major new i5/OS

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release coming in 2008, and it will deliver substantial valueto our customers’ business applications.”

More POWER for Your InvestmentWhen you do the math, IBM’s fastest processor plusgranular, non-disruptive growth and a simplified structurethat’s easily customized can equal significant improvementsin price-to-value ratio. “In a nutshell, we’re delivering betterprice/performance and the latest POWER6 technology thatwill help customers’ applications run better and faster. Theperformance of the POWER6 processors will help customersget more value for their i5/OS investment,” Gaylord says.“And we’re delivering breakthrough simplicity and flexibilityin how we’re packaging the 570.”

For more information on POWER6 technology, visit theSystem i Web site (www.ibm.com/systems/i/enterprise).

Tami Deedrick is the managing editor of IBM SystemsMagazine, i5 Business Systems edition. She can be reachedat [email protected].

A Sneak Peek at the New i5/OS

POWER6 Specs at a Glance

• i5/OS* Edition, in 1/4-, 2/8- or 4/16-way configurations

• Capacity BackUp Edition, in 1/4-, 1/8- or 2/16-way

configurations

• Single i5/OS processor entitlement

• IBM* Director and iSeries* Access included

• Enterprise Enablement optional

• Modular, four-way nodes and Capacity on Demand processor

and memory options

• i5/OS V5R4, Linux* and AIX* support

• P30 software tier

• Optimum Care offers from IBM Systems and Technology

Group Lab Services

—T.D.

IBM previewed the next release of IBM* i5/OS* when it

announced the new POWER6* servers. When it’s

introduced in 2008, the new release is expected to offer

unparalleled capabilities for systems management and

virtualization. Some key features include:

• Optimized Java* performance—Customers can expect better

Java performance because IBM is improving the data access

and memory use of Java applications in the new release.

• New 64-bit JVM—V5R4 introduced a new 32-bit JVM, but

the new release will offer a 64-bit JVM that’s compatible

with AIX* and other IBM JVMs across other platforms. This

is good for scalability, high-performance Java applications

and IBM WebSphere* users.

• Extended virtualization capability—In the next release, one

i5/OS partition can host storage for another. Customers don’t

have to dedicate physical storage for that second partition,

so if they want to create something quickly or test an

application, they’ll be able to run, use or delete it and not

have to change the actual server.

• New Systems Director—Welcome to the new interface into

the system. As IBM strives toward a consistent set of

interfaces across all its platforms, the new Systems

Director is Web enabled and supersedes today’s iSeries*

Navigator and IBM Director.

• Security enhancements—The new release of i5/OS is planned

to include several security enhancements including

encryption of data stored on the system, as well as the option

to encrypt any backup to any tape device. Built-in software

encryption extends the range of options customers have and

helps the many customers who are being asked to ensure

their backup tapes are encrypted. Also, look for new

intrusion-detection capability that extends the intrusion-

detection enhancements in V5R4.

• High-availability enhancements—i5/OS will extend the existing

cross-site mirroring capability used for clustering, storage

between two systems and several other resiliency techniques.

• New Web services capabilities—IBM plans to provide a new

integrated Web application server with i5/OS to simplify the

deployment of Java applications. The integrated Web

application server will support applications written to use

JavaServer Faces, JavaServer Pages and servlets and will

require minimal system resources and administration. The new

release also includes plans to provide an integrated Web

services environment with i5/OS for Integrated Language

Environment programs.

• Graphical performance tools—i5/OS will provide a new

graphical, Web-based performance data viewer with the

new release to offer enhanced viewing and analysis of

i5/OS performance data.

—T.D.

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BY LOUISE HEMOND-WILSON

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INo, what does thisreally cost?”Astute clientsinvesting in IT

solutions often ask this question. Suchclients know that the purchase price ofa single solution component representsonly a fraction of a solution’s totalacquisition cost (TAC) and that the TACrepresents only a portion of a solution’stotal annual operating costs (AOC).Beyond examining TAC and AOC, other

useful considerations includeacquisition costs for incremental servercapacity and the associated AOCimpact. Understanding these financialfacts might provide valuable insightinto choosing IT solutions. But howdoes a client answer these questions?

Options for IT Financial AnalysisClients’ IT financial-analysis optionsinclude when and how to conductanalysis. Optimally, a client develops

an IT strategy aligning near-term tolong-range IT plans with businessgoals. This is the best time to conductIT financial analysis. Such analysisprovides substantive data points to helpmake fact-based IT decisions. Also,performing IT financial analysissimultaneously with building ITstrategy usually allows time for morecomprehensive analysis. Ideally, thattranslates into sounder IT financialdecisions.

What Does

ITReally Cost?

“S

Optimization and rationalization

studies help answer the

tough questions

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How might a client conduct IT financial analysis? The answerdepends on what insight the client hopes to gain. Clientscommonly seek to address the following questions: • What do our solutions cost now? • How much do our costs vary by platform?• How much bang for our buck do we get from each IT

platform?• What will incremental capacity cost on each platform?• Are there more cost-effective ways to run or grow our

solutions?• Are there more cost-effective platforms to host our solutions?• Can we avoid expanding our datacenter?

To answer these questions, a typical methodology includesthree phases: data collection, analysis/outlining possiblefuture solutions and modeling business cases to assesspossible future options’ financial impact (see Figure 1, right).Flow variations usually occur as available financial detailvaries. Such financial details include systems and storagehardware costs, systems and storage hardware maintenancecosts, software costs, software maintenance costs, people costsand other IT costs.

Clients also have financial data-gathering options. Theymay use industry averages, client estimates, client actual dataor some combination of the three. Actual data provides themost accurate analysis and projections, but it’s not alwaysavailable. Client estimates are the next best representation of

the client’s environment. Finally, a client can use industryaverages when unable to secure actual financial details oraccurate estimates.

Elements of IT Hardware and Software CostsEffective IT financial analysis begins with an accuratetechnical inventory of systems and storage hardware. Accurate

inventory yields accurate total costs and averages by platformand by hardware unit. Clients should examine financial detailsfor each inventory item. When this detail is unavailable,clients can use details from a representative inventory sample.However, the greater the technical detail tied to financial

detail, the greater the analysis granularity.This provides deeper current-cost insightsand helps to more accurately project costsin possible target solutions.

Useful hardware-cost details includepurchase price, depreciation, leasepayments, lease terms, purchase date,projected refresh date and book value.Additionally, the analysis should includecosts to network, rack and monitorequipment and for equipmentmaintenance. Analysis examines all theseaspects in light of high-availability anddisaster-recovery needs.

28 Q U A R T E R 3 / 2 0 0 7 I B M S Y S T E M S M A G A Z I N E , A S I A P A C I F I C E D I T I O N

Figure 1

Figure 2

Some clients rely on industry averages or consultant reports in lieu of analyzing their own data. There’s another way.

Some clients rely on industry averages or consultant reports in lieu of analyzing their own data. There’s another way.

Total Spend

Available Relative PerformanceUnits

Utilization

Utilized Relative PerformanceUnits

Cost /Utilized Relative Performance Unit

Estimated Incremental Cost per Relative Performance Unit

Platform A

$12,000,000

1,000,000

4%

40,000

$300

$280

Platform B

$3,000,000

200,000

15%

30,000

$100

$85

Platform C

$2,000,000

40,000

66.66%

26,667

$74

$50

Platform D

$8,000,000

50,000

80%

40,000

$200

$150

in Scope Total

$25,000,000

1,290,000

10.59%

136,667

$183

NA

Hypothetical Example of Per Peformance Unit Analysis

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For each hardware inventory item, the analysis also shouldinclude software costs for operating systems, databases,systems management, middleware, tools and applications.Software-related costs might include one-time, monthly orannual license charges, and subscription, support andmaintenance charges.

People CostsPeople costs often constitute a significant portion of IT AOC.The analysis only considers user and user application support-staff costs if application staff efforts vary by platform. Theanalysis typically focuses on staff caring for, administeringand maintaining the servers, storage, operating systems,databases and middleware applications. Sometimes staffingvaries greatly by platform so the analysis categorizes staffcosts by supported platforms. People-cost analysis examinesfull-time equivalent (FTE) fully burdened rates as well asapplicable contractor rates. Fully burdened FTE rates includesalary and benefits plus other costs such as payroll taxes,education and travel.

Other IT-Cost ConsiderationsBeyond hardware, software and people-related costs, ITsolutions carry other costs. These costs generally fall into twocategories: FTE-based costs and hardware-based costs. IT stafftelephone charges offer an FTE-based cost example. These costsrise as IT FTE numbers increase. Hardware-based cost examplesinclude floor space, power and cooling. These costs increase inproportion to the number of systems and storage units.

Analyzing CostsOnce clients assemble IT technical and financial details, theymust normalize data across disparate computing platforms.One normalization approach assigns relative performanceunits (RPUs) to each system. This simplifies cross-platformcomparisons by providing a uniform metric of each system’sability to perform work. RPUs allow comparison of eachplatform’s work performed against costs.

This level of analysis usually answers the questions: • What do our solutions cost now? • How much do our costs vary by platform?• How much bang for our buck do we get from each IT

platform?• What will incremental capacity cost on each platform?

Figure 2 (opposite page) shows typical information resultingfrom this level of analysis. “Total Spend” reflects all costspreviously discussed. Total spend by platform alone doesn’tfully reflect a platform’s cost-effectiveness. Rather, the analysisshould consider each platform’s total available RPUs and use

rates to arrive at each platform’s total utilized RPUs. Dividingtotal spend by total utilized RPUs yields each platform’s costper utilized RPU. This provides a platform-efficiency metric,i.e., the bang-for-the-buck metric by platform.

The figure’s final row indicates projected incremental costsby platform for additional capacity. This number often differsfrom cost per utilized RPU because many platforms have non-recurring initial costs. Activating a reserve IBM* System i*processor for 100 additional RPUs carries a different cost thanpurchasing a 100-RPU system, because a client pays once forthe initial system unit, cards and cables. However, addedcapacity at acquisition costs that differ from initial acquisitioncosts affect overall cost per RPU. Typically that impactanalysis occurs in the next phase.

IBM Systems and Technology Group (STG) employs aLaboratory Services team that sits apart from IBM’s GlobalBusiness Services division. STG Lab Services performs ITfinancial analysis via IT optimization and rationalizationstudies. This worldwide group of approximately 20practitioners has conducted hundreds of studies over the pastseven years. Though individual IT financial analysis studyresults remain confidential, in its 2006 whitepaper“Comparing IBM System i Annual Operating Costs in LargeEnterprises,” (ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/common/ssi/rep_wh/n/ISW03001USEN/ISW03001USEN.PDF), IBM summarizedresults from the 11 IT optimization and rationalization studiesthat included System i products. Figure 3 (above) and Figure 4(page 30) illustrate some of the whitepaper’s findings.

Figure 3 compares the average AOC per installed RPU andper utilized RPU for clients with less than $10 billion in annualrevenue and fewer than 1,000 servers. As the figure indicates,System i clients in these studies averaged a lower AOC per usedRPU. This means clients spent less annually on their System iproducts than on their Intel* processor-based and UNIX*servers for the same relative amount of processor work.

Figure 4 compares each platform’s average AOC per server.This analysis reflects studies conducted for clients with more

Figure 3

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than 400 servers and decentralized System i topologies. Itindicates that per-server AOC for System i products was morethan 70 percent lower than the per-server AOC for Intelprocessor-based servers in these studies.

Projecting Possible Future CostsAlong with analyzing current costs, clients often need answersto future-cost questions as well, including:• Are there more cost-effective ways to run or grow our

solutions?• Are there more cost-effective platforms to host our solutions?• Can we avoid expanding our datacenter?

For answers, clients must identify potential optimizationislands by grouping systems and storage units along variousboundaries suitable for their organizations. A potential islandfor optimization varies by client based on applicationtopology, infrastructure topology, infrastructure constraints,organizational realities, business processes, geographiclocation, accounting practices and politics.

Once the client identifies possible optimization islands, theclient formulates ideas of possible alternatesolutions, also called target solutions.Optimization techniques include serverconsolidation, workload consolidation,operating-system image reductions,virtualization and replatforming. Toappropriately compare costs betweencurrent and potential scenarios, clientsmust skeletally design target solutions,gather costs for target-solution componentsand model projections for cost impact.Clients concerned about space, power andcooling must gather that data as well.

Analysis Time InvestmentsFor an experienced team completing a 100-server study, analysis might requireapproximately 160 person-hours of effort.For an inexperienced team the time

investment might easily double, triple or quadruple.Installations with thousands of servers might require 1,000person-hours of effort by an experienced analysis team.

Many clients desire client-specific, detailed analysis butcan’t spare staff time to perform it. Thus, some clients rely onindustry averages or consultant reports in lieu of analyzingtheir own data. There’s another way.

IBM IT Optimization and Rationalization MethodologyHundreds of clients have enlisted IBM’s assistance toconduct IT financial analysis using IT optimization andrationalization studies. These studies analyze IT businessprocesses and technical feasibility in addition to ITfinancials. Studies begin by understanding the current state,then examine various “what if” scenarios. In this way, studyrecommendations try to closely reflect possible impactsspecific to the organization versus presenting industry-average statistics in a vacuum.

Studies occur in the previously described three phases: datacollection, analysis/solution design and business-casedevelopment. In the data-collection phase, clients providedetailed technical and financial data via supplied templates.Where data isn’t readily available, IT optimization andrationalization practitioners guide clients toward reasonableestimates. In the absence of actual or estimated data,practitioners draw from the team’s seven years of experienceperforming hundreds of studies across dozens of industries toprovide valid industry and application-based averagesappropriately adjusted for each client’s environment.

Objectives of an IBM IT optimization and rationalizationstudy typically include:

Figure 4

Figure 5

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• Establishing a financial baseline, cost profile and staff-productivity rate for the current state

• Reviewing current server inventory data to understandstrengths of architectures, topologies and platforms accordingto major server functions and applications supported

• Identifying high-value/priority solution areas that couldreduce complexity and ongoing costs

• Projecting future volumes and costs based on current-statecosts and acquisition costs to establish business cases fortargeted solution areas

Much of this is similar to the current-state analysis presentedin Figure 2. Figure 5 (opposite page) highlights typicalbusiness-case data derived for target solution scenarios. Thisprovides “what if” analyses to help weigh options.

In addition, Figure 6 (below) summarizes other quantitativeand qualitative assessments resulting from an IT optimizationand rationalization study. These assessments offer clientsfurther insight and an industry comparison point.

IT optimization and rationalization studies don’t attempt todeclare the “best” platform. Rather, they aimto help customers determine the optimalplatform for each of their variousworkloads. This usually leads torecommendations for solutions on a varietyof platforms.

Is it Worth the Effort?With all of the work involved inperforming IT financial analysis, clientswonder whether the analysis benefits meritthe effort. IBM IT optimization andrationalization studies typically offerclients several potential saving areas. TheAOC savings associated with IToptimization and rationalization studyrecommendations can be as high ashundreds of thousands to millions ofdollars per study. The projected savings

vary based on many factors, including client size, number ofinstalled systems and storage devices and current IT efficiency.Our client feedback indicates it’s well worth the effort.

Louise Hemond-Wilson is an executive IT architectureconsultant in the IBM Systems and Technology Group. Her18-year career with IBM includes experience with productdevelopment, product management, marketing, competitiveanalysis, systems engineering, sales and consulting. Louise canbe reached at [email protected] or (989) 725-1211.

Figure 6

The AOC savings associated with IT optimization and rationalization study recommendations can be as high as hundreds of

thousands to millions of dollars per study. ... Our client feedback indicates it’s well worth the effort.

The AOC savings associated with IT optimization and rationalization study recommendations can be as high as hundreds of

thousands to millions of dollars per study. ... Our client feedback indicates it’s well worth the effort.

Architecture Summary

Support Staff (FTE ratio)

Servers (virtual/real)

Growth

Utilization

Complexity

Application Criticality

QoS Delivery(RTO, RPO, Response, Availability)

Currency (Hardware and Software)

Platform AGood

XX:1 FTE

46/10

15%

Low4%

Low

Medium

Exposed

High

Platform BExcellentYY:1 FTE

2225/2000

50%

15%

High

High

Exposed

Low

Platform CToo High

ZZ:1 FTE

70/15

10%

66.66%

Average

Critical

Good

Low

Platform DLow

QQ:1 FTE

20/2

30%

80%

Average

Critical

Excellent

High

Hypothetical Example of Current State Summary Observations

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Business intelligence (BI) has become anincreasingly popular topic as companiesattempt to make monetary sense of vast

amounts of data. Timely processing of that datarequires a sophisticated, powerful and scalabledatabase management system running on apowerful, reliable, easy-to-manage and securesystem. Numerous database vendors work towoo customers with cool-soundingtechnologies—most recently, for example, in aconcept called a BI appliance. But IBM* Systemi* customers don’t need to go anywhere else.Their database and BI capabilities are built rightinto their systems.

In this article, we’ll detail key characteristics ofSystem i architecture, i5/OS* V5R4 and its DB2*database-management system. And we’ll discussthe innovative solutions available on (andpatented by) DB2 that show the System i platformis serious about serious amounts of data.

Business PerformanceBI, more recently known as business performancemanagement, can help improve business if theright data can be harvested timely and reliably. Ofcourse, generating information without using it toinvoke some action isn’t business intelligence; it’sjust a waste of time and money.

The System i platformis all the data warehouse

you need

Taming the Business-Intelligence

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Data is a valuable asset, but data alone is not information.Many companies have a lot of data but can’t always get at it ordon’t realize it could spawn important insights. Often, theyknow what actions they might take if only they could get theinsight they want ahead of time. But that knowledge maydepend on data from many different sources that aren’t easilycoordinated. BI brings all of the data together to drive powerfulinsights and prompt actions that improve business performance.

What is Business Intelligence?BI started out as reporting what happened. It evolved tounderstanding why things happened and then predicting whatmight happen. Now we see real-time business actions taken bymonitoring things as they occur. This most recent stage isbusiness performance management.

Bringing data together to derive valuable insight is calleddata warehousing. Processing different sets of data in differentplaces at different times just doesn’t allow the samerelationships and timeliness of information. This is a keyprinciple of any warehouse—a large collection of auto parts ina warehouse exists to fill diverse orders quickly. The datawarehouse acts the same way.

What Makes System i good for BI?The System i platform is great for accumulating largequantities of data in an easy-to-manage fashion. The systemcan scale up to support a big warehouse under one roof. Manysystems require data to be partitioned and managed acrossmultiple systems to get significant processing volumes.Administrators can spend considerable time and energymanaging where data is located. One System i platform canhave up to 64 CPUs, 2 TB of main memory and as many as2,000 disk drives. If an administrator puts 2,000 70-GB driveson a system, that provides up to 140 TB of information on onesystem. Companies can grow a data warehouse without majorarchitectural or data-management headaches. The operatingsystem (OS) automatically spreads the database objects acrossall disk drives on the system, reducing management andallowing for maximum throughput.

The logical-partitioning support provided by System iarchitectures allows additional flexibility to run differentapplications in different i5/OS, Linux* or AIX* partitions. Oneuse of this configuration is to allow consolidation of a business

application and a data warehouse onto one system. Using thevirtual LAN connection between these partitions, along withremote journaling support and the right extract/transform/loadtool (to propagate data from the remote journal to the datawarehouse) can provide near real-time data in the warehouse.This configuration, shown in Figure 1 (below), allows resourcesto be shared dynamically across these partitions and providesultimate flexibility with maximum resource sharing.

This setup can even be combined with a high-availability(HA) environment. Many companies today have a failoverserver and use HA software to replicate data to it on a nearreal-time basis. In many cases, the failover server isunderused, since it’s only mirroring the set of production data,not processing it. This server can be a desirable environmentfor building the data warehouse.

What Makes i5/OS good for BI?i5/OS provides a great infrastructure for BI. This state-of-the-art, secure, robust and highly reliable OS is perfect for a datawarehouse. Its object-based architecture helps ensure theintegrity of the data. Only OS code is allowed to manipulatethe data. The single-level storage architecture allowsmaximum data sharing and improved performance by keepinghighly referenced data resident. As the processor architecturechanges, the i5/OS insulates applications from change with itstechnology-independent machine interface layer.

The best part of i5/OS is its capability to automaticallyutilize the available hardware resources. In Figure 2 (oppositepage), we see the system view. Users submit query requests tothe system without knowing or caring whether the data is inmemory or on disk. The system can fully employ the I/O

Data is a valuable asset, but data alone is not information. Many companies have a lot of data but can’t always get at it or don’t

realize it could spawn important insights.

Figure 1

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subsystem, main memory and symmetric multiprocessingcapabilities of this architecture.

What Makes DB2 for i5/OS good for BI?There are several reasons DB2 for i5/OS is the best BI solution.DB2 offers cutting-edge integration, strong security, SQLstandards, multiple additional tools and an easy-to-use GUI.The state-of-the-art integrated database lets users extractgreat value from data. Its integration into i5/OS lets it takedirect advantage of the OS architecture. Its query optimizerknows the configuration (seen in Figure 2) and builds plans toimplement queries that can use the system’s disk, memory andprocessor resources efficiently.

Security is always a concern with data and information.Since it’s an integrated database, DB2 for i5/OS lets the OShandle the security and authority to access the data,preventing any ability to bypass the database security throughother OS functions. This differs dramatically from otherdatabases, which sit as an application layer on top of a givenOS. The database also supports column-level encryption usingTriple Data Encryption Standard to prevent any unwantedpeeking at sensitive information.

DB2 for i5/OS is a deliberate leader in compliance with theSQL standards. In V5R4, DB2 for i5/OS became 100-percentcompliant with the 2003 SQL Standard Core, and is the firstdatabase known to do so. IBM realizes that compliance iscritical to making a strategic platform and to aid in portingapplications, and takes it seriously.

Fortunately, many different business solutions work with theSystem i platform. For a list of those products, see the System iTools Innovation Web site (www-304.ibm.com/jct09002c/partnerworld/wps/pub/systems/i/technical/iii/tools_roadmap).

The iSeries* Navigator GUI (Figure 3, right) provides aneasy-to-use front end for the system. As with the OS, DB2integrates nicely to provide a powerful yet simple interface.

With the New DB2 Web Query product, users now haveeven more options for generating BI reports. See a product

preview at our DB2 for System i Web site (www.ibm.com/servers/eserver/iseries/db2/).

To BI Appliance or Not to BI Appliance?Vendors advertise their BI appliances as being much easier touse than traditional data-management systems. They evenclaim to require no database administrator. But many of thesecharacteristics are already built into the System i platform andDB2 for i5/OS. See chart on page 36 for a featurescomparison. If System i users compare what’s at their disposalwith i5/OS to the offerings of an appliance, they’ll see theyalready have the perfect BI environment. And, unlike anappliance, the System i platform can do all the traditionaldatabase functions, such as online transaction processing, too.Why limit yourself to an appliance?

Core Capabilities in Complex EnvironmentsSimplicity and ease of use are nice, but most important inmaking BI work are the core capabilities of the database. DB2for i5/OS provides these vital capabilities. In fact, since V5R2,IBM has focused intently on enhancing SQL Query Engine(SQE) to handle complex environments like BI.

Star schema—The most common design for a datawarehouse is a star schema, one or more large fact tablessupported by multiple dimension tables. A peculiarity of thisarrangement, and one that frustrates traditional databaseprocessing, is that selection gets applied to the “wrong” place(i.e., on the dimension tables rather than the fact table).However, DB2 readily solves this problem using look-aheadpredicate generation (LPG). With LPG, the local selection onthe dimension tables is transformed into local selection on thefact table. This allows all the powerful techniques of queryprocessing to be brought to bear on the fact table. But that’snot all. Unlike other databases, which use specific patternrecognition to determine when to do this processing, the DB2i5/OS optimizer uses costing to determine LPG use. This meansLPG isn’t limited to star schemas (like other databases), but

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Figure 2

Figure 3

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can potentially apply to any type of database design. Sothere’s less worry on i5/OS about getting the perfectwarehouse design.

Indexing—DB2 i5/OS provides two types of indexes forperformance tuning: the default radix index and the encodedvector index (EVI). See “Indexing Strategies” (opposite page)for more.

Radix indexes provide great general-purpose capabilities forsearching and ordering; they work for a wide range ofapplications. They’re similar to a standard binary index, buttheir unique common-key-text data sharing improves theirmemory footprint and paging characteristics.

Most robust databases have in their back pockets a specifictype of index that provides that little extra boost to makecomplex queries like those in BI perform well. DB2 for i5/OS isno exception. EVI, an IBM research initiative brought tofruition on the System i platform, is easily one of the mostpowerful indexing techniques in the industry. An EVI’scapabilities align ideally with BI processing. An EVI isconstructed of two components—a symbol table containing theunique values of the join column, and a compressed vector(list) that maps the rows of the table to the unique values.These indexes, combined with LPG, produce a powerfultechnique for mining critical data from the vast repositorystored in the tables. Additionally, since the symbol table of the

EVI is a pre-computed aggregate form of the data in the table,EVIs are often used directly to answer grouping queries. Thebest news is that users don’t have to know when or how tocreate an EVI. Through the On Demand Performance Center,EVI indexes are automatically advised.

To leverage index use, the database engine doesn’t limititself to a single index for a given table in a query. Theoptimizer will consider using multiple indexes per table usingindex AND/OR techniques. This maximizes the performancecapabilities of the existing set of indexes, including anyoptimizer-created maintained temporary indexes. Multipleindex use also lowers the stress of trying to create the perfectindex, lessening IT complexity.

MQTs—For more complex queries, materialized query tables(MQTs) are an excellent way to provide quick answers tocomplex queries. MQTs are precomputed, generic answer setsusable for a wide array of queries that can be posed againstthe data warehouse. The query optimizer substitutes an MQTinto a query’s implementation and compensates for thosepieces that may be missing from the MQT. The DB2 optimizerdoes this substitution using industry-leading, patentedtechnology. See “MQTs for Business Intelligence Success”(June 2007 or www.ibmsystemsmag.com/i5/june07/administrator/15376p1.aspx) for an in-depth discussion of thispowerful technique.

Partitioning—Another techniqueused with larger databases is to segregatecommon data within a table into separatepartitions. A popular example is topartition the data by date so eachpartition holds one month.

To create a partitioned table, the table isdefined with a partition key. As recordsare subsequently written into it, they’rerouted automatically to the correctpartition. Table partitioning can allow forfaster data deletion and record searching.It also allows a single table to hold a TBof records. (Multiply that times thenumber of bytes per record and—well, youget the idea.)

Parallelism—BI appliance vendors claimtheir products run queries quickly usingparallel processing, splitting the queryrequest into pieces that can be run inparallel in multiple processes. DB2 fori5/OS provides that same capability usingsymmetric multiprocessing (SMP). Byspreading the work of a query across theresources of the machine, the system’scapabilities are fully utilized and the querycompletes more quickly. This technique is

APPLIANCE Selling Point

No dbspace/tablespace sizing and configuration

No redo/physical log sizing and configuration

No journaling/logical log sizing and configuration

No page/block sizing and configuration fortables

No extent sizing and configuration for tables

No materialized views evaluated and configured

No temp space allocation and monitoring

No RAID level decisions for dbspaces

No logical volume creations of files

No integration of OS kernel recommendations

No maintenance of OS recommended patchlevels

No joint application development sessions toconfigure host/network/storage

No software to install

One simple partitioning strategy: hash

DB2* on System i*

True for DB2 in i5/OS too

True for DB2 in i5/OS too

DB2 automates journal maintenance

True for DB2 in i5/OS too

True for DB2 in i5/OS too

Materialized query tables are available ifdesired

True for DB2 in i5/OS too

True for DB2 in i5/OS too

True for DB2 in i5/OS too

True for DB2 in i5/OS too

They never update their OS?

True for DB2 in i5/OS too

DB2 comes preloaded

No partitioning required with DB2, though partitioning is supported

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great for complex queries that must process a lot of data. Italso works well in combination with a good indexingtechnique to provide an extra boost to an already well-designed data warehouse.

A common misconception for database designers is that parallel processing requires table partitioning. While this istrue for other databases, it isn’t necessary for DB2 for i5/OS.DB2’s SMP capability was built to work against

nonpartitioned tables. The query engine will dynamicallydecide how to split up access to the table’s data to get the bestparallel processing without partitioning. The embedded natureof DB2 lets it maximize the unique single-level storage modelof i5/OS, making this parallel processing (and many othertechniques) possible.

Behind the scenes—All these techniques don’t come easily.As the complexities of queries increase, the bestimplementation for those queries varies. The key to adatabase’s success is its ability to bring to bear many differenttechniques and to choose wisely among them.

The DB2 for i5/OS query engine provides not only robustindex and scanning technologies, but also impressive hashing,sorting, distinct and parallel processing techniques thatprovide a well-rounded solution to most any query. Decidingwhich of these techniques to use requires a robust queryoptimizer with considerable query-rewrite technology and costmodel-based decision capabilities. The modeling decisions, inturn, require good modeling information, called statistics.

Modeling information comes primarily from two areas. Theoptimizer can extract information about the hardware capabilities—such as CPU speed, memory size, fair share ofmemory and storage capabilities—from the OS itself. The othermain source of information regards the data. In traditional cost-based optimization, the onus of gathering this statisticalinformation sat squarely on the database administrator. DB2for i5/OS gathers statistics automatically. The GUI provides aneasy-to-use interface for users to manually gather and controlthese statistics. But other than to satisfy dyed-in-the-wooldatabase administrators, users don’t need to deal with them.

Your Machine of ChoiceThe System i platform, with its i5/0S and DB2 for i5/OS, haslong proven to be a strong, capable system for storing andmanaging data. And with its built-in capabilities to handlelarge, complex data-processing environments, combined withits many ease-of-use features, it makes sense to use it as yourdata warehouse and BI-processing machine of choice.

Rob Bestgen is a senior technical staff member and DB2 fori5/OS SQL engine architect at IBM in Rochester, Minn. Robcan be reached at [email protected].

Tom McKinley works in the DB2 for i5/OS Center ofCompetency at IBM in Rochester, Minn. He can be reached [email protected].

Indexing Strategies

Indexes are the most important factor for good performance.

A good indexing strategy provides maximum query

performance – better even than what a comparable business-

intelligence appliance could provide on its own. Yet they’re

traditionally one of the most mysterious and difficult concepts

to master. Why? It normally comes down to two issues:

1. Administrators don’t know what indexes to create.

2. Administrators don’t want to worry about them once they

exist.

DB2 for i5/OS tackles both of these issues head-on. With the

On Demand Performance Center’s index advisor, users can do

one-stop shopping anytime to find out what indexes they should

have. The database continually provides up-to-date information

on what indexes are being advised by the query optimizer. The

GUI provides a simple way to create a permanent index from the

advice. Once created, the indexes are automatically maintained

and balanced by the database as data is added and removed

from the underlying table.

Additionally, the indexes are automatically protected from

any unexpected failures with system-managed access path

protection. Finally, the query engine will create its own index,

called a maintained temporary index (MTI), based on its own

index advice. MTIs do a great job of covering that middle

ground of table sizes where an index can provide real value

without demanding the considerable investment in processing

time necessary to create an index. The index advisor indicates

which advised indexes have been created as MTIs. This

information helps users further zero in on the most useful

indexes. Users can decide whether to continue to let the

optimizer maintain the existence of these indexes as MTIs or,

if they prefer, take ownership of them by creating a permanent

index based on the advice. Additionally, the GUI shows which

indexes already exist over the table to simplify the decision on

which—if any—additional indexes to create.

—R.B. and T.M.

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System i: Who is the new Lawson? David Hope: Lawson Software was born in 2006 as a resultLawson Software’s acquisition of and merger with IntentiaInternational AB Ltd. We bring over 30 years of experience inproviding Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions to ourtarget markets. Our two distinct flagship product lines, LawsonM3 Enterprise Management System and S3 EnterpriseManagement System are targeted at meeting industry specificneeds in two broad sectors: manufacturing/trade sector andservice providers. Lawson M3 caters to organizations thatMake, Move, or Maintain processes and products, and S3 isfor service industries that need to Staff teams, Sourcematerials and Serve their customers respectively. In AsiaPacific, the market focus is on fashion, food and beverage,process and discrete manufacturing, distribution, buildingproducts and retail. We have more than 400 customers in thisregion which include customers like TAL Apparel, BlueScopeSteel, Nippon Paint, Tat Hong, The Hour Glass Group andSumitomo Bakelite.

System i: Tell us about the Global Strategic Alliance between IBM andLawson. Harry Debes: IBM and Lawson have been strategic businesspartners for 28 years. Since the days of the System/36 in the1980s to today’s System i5 solution, Lawson has partnered withIBM to provide innovation to the enterprise software market.Lawson and IBM have been delivering excellence to our globalcustomers on this platform for a quarter of a century.

Today, Lawson is an IBM Premier Business Partner, whichmeans we are certified under the Built on IBM Express, IBMServerProven and IBM System Storage Proven programs aswell as in the SOA Specialty program. The new Lawson is

truly global, with 3800 employees in 40 countries, some 200partners, and 4000 customers around the world. There is nobetter time for IBM and Lawson to forge a Global StrategicAlliance partnership. The value that our customers canderive from this relationship is tremendous. Key areas of ourbusinesses are increasingly aligned around the world;jointly we have increased geographic and industry coverageand made our joint services and solutions even moreaccessible than before.

Lawson applications are tested and optimized on IBMeServer platforms – including System i5 – and bothcompanies have developed an expertise in IBM/Lawsonimplementations. In terms of technology, Lawson is theonly major mid-market ERP alliance partner to standardizeon the IBM middleware stack. Our System Foundationoffering for both our M3 and S3 product lines includesOEM licenses of IBM’s WebSphere Application Server ND.Our S3 System Foundation also includes OEM licenses forIBM WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus, WebSphere MQ, theIBM DB2 database and the IBM Tivoli Directory Server.Lawson provides all of the support for these IBM solutionsdirectly so our customers can simplify their technologyinvestments and relationships. We plan to make theseexpanded IBM solutions available with our M3 SystemFoundation as well.

Most recently, we expanded our relationship with IBM toinclude On-Demand offerings. Known as the Lawson TotalCare Platinum offering, this service includes applicationhosting, application management and infrastructuremanagement services through the IBM data center inNebraska. It’s a great service and we have several customersthat have already signed up for it.

Harry Debes, CEO and David Hope,Regional Managing Director, Asia &Japan, Lawson Software

In Conversation

Insights into the industry

Harry Debes, Lawson Software’s CEO, was in this part of the world with his executive team for its annual What’sNext seminar where Lawson met with customers and partners to update them on the company’s strategies andproduct roadmaps. Debes and David Hope, Lawson’s Regional Managing Director, Asia and Japan talk to System Imagazine about the new Lawson, Lawson’s Global Strategic Alliance with IBM in Asia Pacific, winning IBM’s IMPACTSOA Business Partner Award and, the latest Aberdeen study that ranks Lawson number one in lowest total cost ofownership among ERP competitors for the mid-size manufacturers.

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System i: What can IBM’s customers’ expect from this partnership?Harry Debes: Our customers benefit the most out of thisstrategic alignment to deliver next-generation, industry-specific products and services to Lawson and IBM customersat the industry’s lowest TCO and highest possible ROI. IBMand Lawson are both focused on verticals and the mid-market.“The Total Cost of ERP Ownership in Mid-size Companies” byAberdeen Group, July 2007, a survey of 645 mid-sizecompanies regarding their ERP solutions in June and July of2007, concluded that Lawson Software delivers the greatestbenefits per customer dollar invested for mid-sizedmanufacturers. The results of this research validate Lawson’sTCO advantage over key ERP competitors and ranks Lawsonnumber one in cost per percentage point of performanceimprovement gains. Our solutions, coupled with the System iplatform, enable the deploymentof excellent technologysolutions at a cost effectiveprice. Another development inthe partnership is that in selectmarkets in the Americas, IBMwill now resell Lawson applications, bundled with IBMtechnology and services. We continue to investigateopportunities to develop these types of relationships with IBMin the rest of our operational regions. David Hope: Earlier this year in May 2007, Lawson Software wasrecognized by IBM with two prestigious awards. First, we werea finalist for the IBM PartnerWorld Beacon Award. Mostnotably, Lawson was named the recipient of the inauguralIBM IMPACT Business Partner Solution Award that recognizesIBM Business Partner solutions, such as Lawson SystemFoundation, that show the strength of successfullyincorporating IBM WebSphere technology to solve customerchallenges, while delivering proven impact in the marketplace.We’re making it easier for Lawson customers to deploy aservice-oriented architecture (SOA) that can deliver businessflexibility and automation. This award marks anothermilestone in Lawson’s relationship with IBM. In Asia Pacific,IBM and Lawson demonstrate our commitment by investing insales and services teams to support our customers. Forexample, in almost every of our customer centric events, IBMshows relentless support and dedication with their presence.And in almost every country Lawson operates in Asia andJapan, IBM and Lawson work closely together.

System i: What does the future hold for the IBM and Lawson partnership?Harry Debes: We have had a good 28 years together. I see manymore years of productive collaboration to bringunprecedented value to customers from two industry leaders,

one focused on business applications and software for themid-tiered market, and one on technology and hardware.Future Lawson applications will be built with the LandmarkApplication Designer, which is Lawson’s breakthroughtechnology and business application model, and will featureour new Smart Client – a revolutionary new user interface.IBM’s WebSphere is the middleware foundation for Landmarkthat helps our clients move to a J2EE-standard SOA andutilize an open standards-based framework for automatingbusiness interactions between employees, customers, partnersand suppliers. Just as Lawson partnered with IBM to becomethe first major ERP solution provider to enable ourapplications for the web in 1996, we also partnered with IBMto deliver our first native SOA-based solutions to the marketin 2006 – well ahead of our major competitors. The

combination of Landmark andIBM technologies will continueto allow Lawson to delivermarket-leading SOA solutionsto our joint customers.David Hope: There are many

areas where the Lawson-IBM alliance can address top businesschallenges and emerging trends. Lawson Business Intelligenceand IBM DB2 provide the foundation for dynamicwarehousing to effectively leverage information formanufacturers. And Lawson also offers integrated solutionsbuilt on IBM technology, enabling enterprises to easilyintegrate with other applications and with other locationsharnessing the power of SOA. Lawson and IBM customers getthe best ROI and lowest TCO, and well as ease of mind fromthe System i5, one of the most secure, reliable mid-marketsystems in the world.

System i: So what is the message for your installed customers in AP?David Hope: We have built a solid foundation with System i andMovex (now known as Lawson M3) with our customers.Lawson M3 was the first ERP application developed ground upon Java on IBM System i. Today we have a global initiativeunder the umbrella “STEPPING UP” campaign to help ourcustomers move to the Java version of Lawson M3 on IBMSystem i. We have made this as a seamless process and at thesame time minimizing the cost of using our latest technologyofferings. We are expecting to see more of our customers takeup this great opportunity.

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BY JIM UTSLER

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A painless system upgrade transformed County Bank from overworked to poised for growth

No Muss, No Fuss

Who thinks about banking, really?Especially today, when you can step ordrive up to an ATM and make a deposit,get cash, check your balance—evenpurchase postage stamps. Check writing

has become similarly simple, in large part because thereare now so many ways to approach it, whether you’repaying your water bill online or buying your grocerieswith a debit card.

Technology and improved processes have madebanking nearly invisible to the average customer,which is why I don’t give it much thought. But perhapsI should, because behind the curtain are complextransactions among banks and other organizations thatensure everything runs at it should, with payments andcredits applied to the correct accounts no matter themethod customers choose to interface with their banks.

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Keith Gaudsmith, vice presidentand information technology manager at County Bank, saysthe company’s recent upgradealleviated the long hours of overtime its computer operatorswere working.

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Of course, none of this wouldbe possible withoutsophisticated technologies. Inthe case of Merced, Calif.-based County Bank, thatincludes IBM* System i*architecture, the appropriatebanking software and a hostof IBM System x* servers. Aswith all technology, however,this type of infrastructureoften must be upgraded tokeep up with increasing userdemand and company growth.That’s why County Bankupgraded an older iSeriesplatform to a newer Systemi5* 520 platform, a move that,according to Keith Gaudsmith,County Bank vice presidentand information technologymanager, has reduced thecompany’s backup times fromthree to four hours on theolder system to one hour and15 minutes on the newer one.“Now we don’t have to payfor overtime,” Gaudsmith says. “It’s amazing what a simplesystem upgrade can do.”

A Shiver up the SpineIn business since 1977, County Bank, which is part of theholding company Capital Corp. of the West, has growntremendously. It has 25 full-service branches, including eightcommercial-lending centers, spread throughout much ofcentral California. It has a presence in eight counties. Sincereaching $1 billion in assets in 2002, the bank has continuedto expand and plans to have 30 branches this year andanother five to seven next year, Gaudsmith says.

This growth is enviable, but it doesn’t come without a cost,including significant IT demands. Prior to upgrading to the520, the bank had been using an older iSeries* 820 modelrunning a heavily modified version of the Jack Henry suite ofbanking software. (The bank is also supporting 70 System xservers running Novel NetWare, as well as Microsoft*Windows* 2003 server software and Microsoft XP, to supportlocal branches and other internal IT functions.) Because of itsextended presence, the 820 was becoming quickly outmoded,with disk capacity reaching 80-plus percent and, Gaudsmithsays, CPU use at “pretty much 100 percent most of the day.”

Although use would drop after office hours, theorganization still had to deal with backups—and those were

beginning to bump into thenext day’s working hours.Although this happenedrarely, the thought alone sentshivers up Gaudsmith’s spine.“We can’t have systems downwhen the branches are readyto start taking customertransactions,” he says.

More significantly, CountyBank was having problemswith what in the bankingindustry are called “cashletters.” As Gaudsmithexplains, “Cash letters involvechecks that we receive over thecounter or from other sources.We have to encode them andrun them through a sorter andthen apply them to an accountif they’re ‘on-us’ checks. If thechecks are not on us—meaning,they’re not from our bank—wehave to box them up and sendthem to the issuing bank. Inaccordance with that, we haveto send a cash letter to reflect

those transactions to the Federal Reserve by midnight our timeor face monetary penalties.”

County Bank was struggling to meet that deadline becauseit was processing until 1 or 2 a.m. As a result, the cash lettersweren’t being applied in keeping with Federal Reserveguidelines and the bank was being socked with fines, whichwould increase sharply at 5 a.m. As Gaudsmith simply puts it,“We couldn’t afford to have that happen every day.” Indeed,the ideal time to submit the cash letters is 5 p.m. Pacific time,when, Gaudsmith says, you get the best per-item fee. After 5p.m., the Federal Reserve begins charging additional per-itemfees, which can become substantial.

No Time for OvertimeTo compound matters, the company had to pay its twoafternoon computer operators overtime because of all of thelate-night delays, including issues related to both the cashletters and backups. So instead of wrapping up business at,say, midnight, in keeping with the Federal Reserve or self-imposed backup deadline, they would have to work into thewee hours of the morning, racking up as much as 15 hours oftime-and-a-half per operator each week. “We were beginningto overshoot our nightly schedules, because once we finishedprocessing at 3 or 4 in the morning, we would still have to doour backups. So now we’re looking at 6 in the morning and

UP CLOSE

CUSTOMER: County Bank

HEADQUARTERS: Merced, Calif.

BUSINESS: Consumer and commercial banking

HARDWARE: An IBM System i5 520 and 70 System x servers

SOFTWARE: Jack Henry banking applications

CHALLENGE: Meeting critical deadlines while reducing IT costs

SOLUTION: Purchasing and deploying the 520 to replace an aging

and overtaxed iSeries 820

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people were coming into work at 8:30,” Gaudsmith recalls.“And we of course had to pay our computer operators for allthat extra time.”

Additionally, the bank has those lofty expansion plans,wanting to add at least 10 branch offices by 2008. Its former820 simply wasn’t capable of handling any additional work,especially because its CPU use had already peaked at 100percent during work hours, its onboard storage was filling upand it was struggling to process the day’s work every night.“We needed to do something,” Gaudsmith says.

That something was to bring in a new System i platform. Solate last year, County Bank approached IBM about purchasinga new 520 with a P10 processor class to replace its 820 with aP30 processor class. The switch took a mere two weeks, withthe company bringing in an IBM technical wizard to make thenecessary adjustments. These included removing the disksfrom the new system, installing them in the old system,copying the data to the disks and then reinstalling them in thenew system. The company also conducted a complete backupof the old system in case of problems during the upgrade.“The backup took longer than the actual disk-swappingupgrade,” Gaudsmith notes.

As one might expect, everything concerning IT changedonce the upgrade was done. For example, disk use is nowdown to 45 percent from 80 percent pre-upgrade, and CPUuse is down to 19 percent from nearly 100 percentpreviously, making County Bank’s core business processesrun much faster than before. Backups, which once tookthree to four hours to run, now take less than two hours,and cash-letter processing is no longer an issue. This meansthe two afternoon computer operators no longer have towork overtime.

The company realized another benefit from the upgrade dueto changes in software pricing, which was largely tier-based.Instead of running under a P30 processor class, it’s nowrunning within a P10 processor class, cutting software-licensing fees in some cases by a third. “We went from a P30to a P10 and saved $100,000,” Gaudsmith says. “And on top

of that, we gained five times more processing power. That’s apretty good deal no matter how you slice it.”

New OpportunitiesA simple upgrade may not sound like it would amount tomuch, but it can mean a world of difference to anycomputing environment based on older equipment, asCounty Bank proved. This is a simple story—system upgradeequals IT improvements across the board—but it ’sinstructional nonetheless.

This is especially true in today’s increasingly competitivemarketplace, where a more nimble IT environment letscompanies like County Bank rapidly expand with little effort.“We wouldn’t be able to grow as we plan without this newsystem,” Gaudsmith says. “Now, we don’t have to increasehardware except to maybe add a CPU to handle our expectedgrowth. We simply wouldn’t have been able to do that withour older system.”

And looking further into the future, County Bank isconsidering adding to its System x infrastructure byintroducing an IBM BladeCenter* using virtualization. AsGaudsmith explains, “Virtualization will allow us to add fewerservers and lessen our datacenter power requirements. And ifsomething goes down, it will be much easier to recover. Rightnow, that’s not so easy.”

And easy is the key word here. As far as banking customersare concerned, that’s the way things should be. I want to beable to simply drive up to an ATM, put my card in and takemy money out, without having to worry about what’shappening behind the scenes. Thanks to innovations intechnology, this is how things work now—no muss, no fuss.

Jim Utsler, IBM Systems Magazine senior writer, has beencovering technology for more than a decade. Jim can bereached at [email protected].

“We went from a P30 to a P10 and saved $100,000. And on top ofthat, we gained five times more processing power. That’s a pretty

good deal no matter how you slice it.” —Keith Gaudsmith, vice president and information technology manager, County Bank

“We went from a P30 to a P10 and saved $100,000. And on top ofthat, we gained five times more processing power. That’s a pretty

good deal no matter how you slice it.” —Keith Gaudsmith, vice president and information technology manager, County Bank

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An in-depth evaluation of System i application

Case Study

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The ChallengeNew Zealand supermarket operator Progressive Enterpriseslooked to build its business organically and by acquisition.The company wanted to introduce new SAP applications anda new enterprise-wide warehouse management system(WMS), but the existing infrastructure, made up of numerous‘islands’ of storage and processing, was incapable ofsupporting these plans.

The SolutionProgressive consulted IBM Global Technology Services, whichprovided a one-stop shop solution to build an IT infrastructurecapable of supporting new SAP applications, meet demands forscalable storage, and grow in exact step with the business.Starting with a new IBM-based storage area network (SAN),IBM Global Technology Services helped Progressive upgradebusiness-critical SAP financial software to SAP R/3 Enterprisewith SAP ERP Financials and implement a new WMS on theIBM System i5 570 platform. Progressive is also replacingindividual servers with virtual servers running under VMwareon IBM BladeCenter and IBM System x platforms.

The BenefitsNew consolidated infrastructure easier to manage, reducingworkload for IT staff; seven-day backlog on SAP software-based electronic invoicing system eliminated, enabling real-time processing for improved supplier relationshipmanagement; increased performance cuts daily backup timesfrom eight hours to two and a half; SAP software responds 50per cent faster; IT function matches business demands morerapidly and costeffectively.

With around 45 per cent market share, ProgressiveEnterprises Limited is the biggest player in the New Zealandgrocery store sector, employing some 18,000 people nationwidein more than 170 supermarkets and convenience stores. Inaddition to operating the Foodtown, Woolworths andCountdown supermarket chains, Progressive is the franchisecoordinator for the FreshChoice and SuperValue groups.

The Progressive business had grown both organically andthrough corporate acquisitions. As a result, its IT infrastructurewas fragmented into numerous point solutions running onseparate sets of servers and storage. At the corporate level,collecting, analsying and acting on group-wide data was

difficult, slow and expensive, and was becoming a brake oncontinued growth.

To provide management information and respond to a needto reduce operational costs, managers wanted to implement anew warehouse management system (WMS) and upgrade tonewer versions of SAP software to take advantage of enhancedreporting and control capabilities. This required a completeoverhaul of the existing server architecture, which in turndepended on providing an integrated storage solution.

Graham Spencer, IT Infrastructure Manager, comments: “Theexisting infrastructure was relatively inflexible and difficult tomanage. Storage capacity was locked into discrete groups ofservers, so that while some systems were running out of space,others were over-provisioned, making it hard to respond tobusiness demands and management requests.

“Our priority was to create a storage area network, whichwould support the deployment of the new WMS and enableimproved performance for our business-critical SAP financialapplications. With the SAN in place, we would then be in aposition to introduce more powerful systems in readiness forthe SAP software, and deploy virtualization techniques togive us the ability to meet changing business requirementsmore easily.”

One-stop-shop for more efficient storage Progressive hadmore than 100 stand-alone Intel-processor based servers froma number of different vendors, with several IBM System iplatforms and some UNIX-based servers. With a number ofseparate backup and recovery solutions, it was hard to ensurethat all enterprise data was adequately protected, andrecovering individual files mistakenly deleted by business userswas both difficult and time-consuming.

“We reviewed the market for enterprise-class storage, and weselected IBM as the best vendor for our requirements,” saysGraham Spencer. “With all data held on the IBM SAN, storageis much easier to manage and we make more efficient use ofour disk capacity.”

Progressive worked with IBM Global Technology Services todeploy two McDATA Fibre Channel Switches to manage trafficacross the new SAN, linked to its existing IBM TotalStorageEnterprise Storage Server 850 system and a new IBMTotalStorage 3584 Tape Library with LTO3 media. IBM GlobalTechnology Services also implemented an IBM System p5 510server running IBM Tivoli Storage Manager under IBM AIX 5L

Progressive Enterprises Buys intoVirtualization with SAP and IBM

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V5.3 to manage all backup and restore operations across theentire SAN.

“Setting up the fibre-channel connections was particularlychallenging, and the assistance from IBM Global TechnologyServices was crucial to success,” says Graham Spencer. “Withthe IBM SAN solution, our backup window for SAP softwaresystems has been cut from eight hours to just two-and-a-halfhours – and interactive performance is much better, too.

By engaging IBM Global Technology Services to provide thesolution, Progressive Enterprise wasable to have a one-stop shopexperience. IBM also provided theclient with knowledge transferservices concurrently with thesolution implementation.

One platform, two operatingsystems With the new SAN in place,Progressive was all set for the next phase: upgrading its SAPsoftware and deploying a new WMS solution.

Progressive Enterprises has used SAP R/3 software to run itsfinances – including general ledger, fixed assets, accountspayable and accounts receivable applications – for a number ofyears. The company had also introduced an electronicinvoicing system, enabling trusted suppliers to submit theirinvoices directly into SAP software. Around 100 employeeswere using the SAP software environment every day, andProgressive’s existing AS/400 platform could no longer copewith the volume of transactions. A processing backlog of aboutseven days had built up.

The company decided to attack the problem from two fronts,by introducing both a new hardware platform – the IBMSystem i5 570 – and more advanced software – SAP R/3Enterprise with SAP ERP Financials.

Progressive also wanted to move away from its existing in-house WMS solution and deploy a standard package from aspecialist vendor, which would support voicerecognition forpicking, and support for RFID technology.

Rather than buying separate hardware platforms for the newSAP and WMS software, Progressive simply created a numberof AIX and i5/OS partitions on a new IBM System i5 570platform. The AIX partitions run one instance of Oracle foreach of the three main distribution centres, and Progressiveuses Tivoli Storage Manager agents to back up the Oracledatabases inflight. The i5/OS partitions run the SAP R/3Enterprise and SAP ERP Financials software.

“The AIX and i5/OS partitions share the same physicalresources and connections to the SAN, and we can sharecomputing power between them as required,” says GrahamSpencer.

He adds, “Our distribution centres see seasonal peaks atChristmas and Easter, at which times we can borrow capacity

from the i5/OS partitions for the AIX partitions, to improveperformance for the WMS. Likewise, at month-end and year-end we can reassign resources from the AIX partitions to thei5/OS partitions, giving a boost to our financial systems.”

Fully virtualized infrastructure The IBM POWER5architecture of the i570 enables processor resources to bevirtualized and shared dynamically between differentoperating systems in different logical partitions.

“We saw virtualization as the key to enabling betterutilization of our hardwareresources, and better flexibility indealing with peaks in demand,”says Graham Spencer. “We can nowmove power from interactivesystems to assist overnight batchruns, then move the resources backready for the next working day.”

Progressive Enterprises is also making use of virtualizationto improve the efficiency of its Intel-based systems. As itsexisting Windows servers come to the end of their useful lives,rather than replacing them like-for-like Progressive isconsolidating them to virtual servers running under VMwareon IBM System x and BladeCenter hardware.

By consolidating its server architecture to IBM hardware,with all servers booting from the IBM SAN, Progressive hasrationalized its IT infrastructure, improving manageability andreducing long-term cost of ownership. The company hasreleased significant amounts of floorspace in its data centre,while reducing heat output and cooling requirements, and hassimplified the physical cabling infrastructure.

“The new IBM infrastructure has given us a great deal offlexibility,” says Graham Spencer. “With centralized storage,we no longer run out of capacity on individual servers, andserver virtualization has enabled more efficient use of theavailable computing power.”

Accelerated invoicing The combination of new SAP R/3Enterprise and SAP ERP Financials software with the IBMSystem i platform has seen a significant acceleration inProgressive Enterprises’ ability to process accountinginformation, eliminating the seven-day backlogs which hadbuilt up, and providing real-time information about thecompany’s finances.

“By upgrading to SAP R/3 Enterprise on the i570, weachieved a dramatic improvement in performance,” saysGraham Spencer. “Invoices are now processed in real-time, sowe can pay our suppliers more promptly and we have a betterpicture of our cash-flow.

We worked with both SAP and IBM on the upgrade, andreceived excellent support. As the business continues to grow,the new i570 will provide ample power for our business-criticalSAP systems.”

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An in-depth evaluation of System i application

Case Study

Cassa di Compensazione e Garanzia, the clearing andguarantee agency that regulates the trade of equities andGovernment bonds in Italian markets, uses Tango/04 BusinessService Management solutions to assess operational risk in realtime (no time gap between trade execution and novation) fortransactions involving derivatives, cash equity and bonds, andalso to ensure the accuracy of derivatives closing prices at theend of every day.

All transactions involving derivatives, cash equity andgovernment bonds (only for CC&G members) that are conductedin the Italian Stock Exchange depend on CC&G's clearing andguarantee services.

CC&G manages the Central Counterparty Guarantee System(CCP) for the MTA, Trading After Hours, MTAX, TAHX and IDEMmarkets, regulated and managed by Borsa Italiana (Italy's StockExchange), and for the markets that are regulated and managed byMTSS.p.A, with exclusive reference to Italian Government Bonds.

CC&G's presence eliminates counterparty risk, becoming theguarantor of the final settlement of the contracts, acting as buyertowards each seller and as seller towards each buyer. In order tohave these transactions guaranteed by CC&G in case of anytrader's default (e.g. bankruptcy or insolvency), all traders mustbecome members of CC&G and deposit a certain amount of moneyas a guarantee. This amount, also known as risk margin, iscalculated by a risk assessment system according to each trader'soverall risk exposure. The amount of the required guarantee mustbe updated daily to prevent sharp variations in the market pricesof a trader's portfolio from increasing its risk exposure.

Cassa di Compensazione e Garanzia S.p.A. (CC&G) is partof the Italian Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana. It organizes andmanages the Italian stock market with the participation ofnearly 140 domestic and international brokers, who operatein Italy or from abroad using a real-time electronic trading

system. In addition, it performs organizational, commercialand promotional activities aimed at developing high value-added services for the financial community.

But financial transactions involving bonds, futures andderivatives are not all what CC&G must guarantee. ItsInformation & Communication Technology (I&CT) departmentmust guarantee the availability and optimal performance of allits critical business services as well. Strict Service LevelAgreements (SLAs) must be met to enable CC&G's real-timeoperations. If these goals are not achieved, the efficiency of theItalian Stock Exchange as a whole could be seriously affected.Several processes performed on a day-to-day basis enableCC&G to accurately manage the approval of transactions,calculate in real-time any change of the risk exposure of atrader, and demand additional guarantee funds if necessary.

These extremely complex and delicate operations required toprovide CC&G's services must be completed within a precisetime schedule every day. Any failure that can cause even aminimum delay could have serious consequences. As in anymodern company, these operations are dependent on a series ofcritical processes that are carried out by the IT infrastructureand supervised by the I&CT department.

“Every day CC&G keeps track of thousands of transactions”“Traders, banks and other economic players buy and sell on theCC&G guaranteed markets, so every single transaction must betracked, guaranteed, cleared and communicated to the public.”says Mauro Fonzo, Head of Systems Management at CC&G.

To perform its operations, CC&G relies on four IBM System iservers with a total of 11 logical partitions (LPARs) runningmultiple operating systems, applications and databases. Its highavailability production environment comprises two 825production systems located in Milan and Rome. An additional270 system located in Rome serves as back-up, while applications

Tango/04 and IBM System i Keep Riskat Bay in Italy Stock Exchange

Cassa di Compensazione e Garanzia S.p.A. (CC&G) is a vital player in theItalian Stock Exchange system and in the Italian economy, too. CC&G isthe clearinghouse that keeps a detailed track of all trades, approves andguarantees exchanges, ensures that all obligations are met andeliminates any counterparty risks.

http://www.ccg.it

Tango/04 Computing Group, proudly supported in Asia Pacific by:Valok Global Midrange Software SolutionsContact: Claire StammelPhone: +612 9532 0759 (International);

1300 301 957 (Australia Only)Email: [email protected] Visit us: www.valok.com.au

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development tasks are performed on a 270 system located inMilan. Several Windows servers interoperate with the Systemisystems in order to allow traders to access the company'sservices using the Internet, VPNs and dedicated communicationlines. The IBM Websphere application server supports severalSystem iapplications.

“Our IT department consists of fewpeople, so we had a strong need toautomate some of their tasks in orderto focus the available resources atactivities that are more strategic, likedeveloping our own internalapplications,” “At the same time, wemust meet SLAs as strict as the 2-second maximum response time thatbrokers expect from our novation execution in the derivativesmarket.” says Mr. Fonzo.

CC&G asked Tango/04 Italy to help them monitor the mostcritical processes that are performed on a daily basis, with thegoal of minimizing downtime and ensuring the operatinghealth of the company's business services. These are real-timetransaction clearing, creation and upload of the daily tradingreport, and distribution of the day's closing prices.

Real-time Transaction ClearingIn order to authorize and guarantee transactions, CC&G mustreceive notification of every trader. Downtime or a poor responsetime could delay transactions indefinitely, with the consequentloss of time, money and confidence from the market.

VISUAL Message Center alerts the I&CT department every timethat the process exceeds the expected 2-second limit. VISUALMessage Center's enriched events and SMS/email alerts withescalation capabilities provide the operational risk manager andthe IT operators with detailed information to accurately identifythe cause of the problem and to accelerate its solution.

Daily Trading ReportAt the end of the day, when most financial markets arrive totheir closing, all the data about clearing transactions isconsolidated and a final report is stored in a protected FTP areato make it available for the traders, banks and financialinstitutions. This report specifies the volume of titles exchangedand the clearing status for that given day. The consolidation ofthe complex data generated by the daily trading depends on theproper completion of a series of jobs on the System iservers, andon the operational health of the FTP server. The I&CTdepartment must make sure that all the jobs are executedcorrectly, while problems that may lead to downtime or lowresponse time must be rapidly detected and corrected.

VISUAL Message Center makes sure that the consolidationprocess finishes within the expected time frame, checks theavailability of FTP-related jobs, and confirms the existence ofthe report file in the FTP server. If the FTP is down or the FTPjobs are not running, it can automatically try to restart them. If

the FTP cannot be restartedsuccessfully, an SMS message is sentto the person responsible of solvingthe problem. Thanks to its powerfulescalation capabilities, if an action isnot taken in a given period of time, thewarning message is sent again toanother person, and it keeps escalatinguntil someone handles the problem.

Distribution of Day Closing PricesEvery day the press must be informed about the closing pricesof exchanged equities and derivatives products. If any problemarises in the process, the delay must be communicated alongwith a new delivery deadline.

VISUAL Message Center monitors that all the jobs andprocesses involved in producing this information are correctlycompleted and sends an email to the risk management office.

“This is why we chose VISUAL Message Center,” says Mr.Fonzo. “Now that the monitoring and optimization of all ourIT-related business processes rely securely on VISUAL MessageCenter, our IT team can focus most of their energies atdeveloping new applications for traders and investors alike. Wewere expecting from a Business Service Management solutionthe ability to optimize out most business critical processes, tominimize downtime, and to help us improve our Service Levelsand our applications availability.”

After using VISUAL Message Center for one year, CC&G candemonstrate to the management the increased stability of all itsbusiness processes. This has been achieved taking advantage ofVISUAL Message Center's great ease of use, based on its simple,intuitive and customizable graphical interface, the SmartConsole,which does not require any complex training.

The business processes of CC&G have a vital impact on theItalian Stock Exchange and on the whole Italian financialcommunity. VISUAL Message Center makes sure that theseprocesses are constantly and proactively monitored andoptimized, saving precious time, costs and making Italianinvestors sleep peacefully.

“When we chose VISUAL Message Center, our guess was thatif it worked as promised, it could be a powerful tool in order toprevent operational risks and to meet Authorities requirements”explains Fulvio Fabi, CC&G's I&CT manager.

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The Pilgrims Fund Board, or better known inMalaysia as Lembaga Tabung Haji, was established in1962 to enable Muslims in Malaysia to gradually savetowards their pilgrimage expenditure to the Holy Cityof Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Whilst putting together asavings plan, the Board also looks after its members’interests with premium quality services and goodreturns on investments and has played a pivotal rolefor hundreds of thousands of Malaysian Muslims tomaking this Holy pilgrimage.

Aside from ensuring that its member’s arefinancially secure to make this travel, the Board isalso responsible for all matters pertaining to handlingof pilgrims including registration, allocation ofpassports, coordinating of visas, flights schedulingand lodging arrangements for their pilgrims.

With such important responsibilities at hand, andwith a constant grow in members wanting to makethe pilgrimage, Tabung Haji is continuously drivingto provide excellent and comprehensive services tosatisfy the pilgrims’ needs prior, during and aftertheir pilgrimage.

Search for Innovative TechnologyIn 2005, due to overwhelming international interestin the pilgrimage, the maximum number of pilgrimsTabung Haji could send to Mecca during the holymonth each year was 26,000. To ensure that it

reached its annual goal, the company relied on itscore applications to provide accurate and responsivecustomer service. Realizing the need to drive bettercustomer service, Tabung Haji worked with IBMMalaysia to heighten the accuracy of its capturedcustomer information and streamline its data-processing methods using IBM WebSphere softwareand the powerful IBM System i hardware.

In the middle of 2006, Tabung Haji began lookingto innovate their Financial Management System tocomply with the latest industry standard application.The current service was unable to provide the newfunctionalities required by Tabung Haji’s users. Alongside that, the board was also looking to streamlineprocesses to have a more controlled and centralizedmanagement of the financial view as efficiency inreporting is a top priority to their business. That iswhen Tabung Haji once again collaborated with IBMMalaysia to determine which system would be able toachieve all the new requirements while being asupporting tool for the core system that wasimplemented in 2005.

Working with IBM Malaysia again to deliver aneffective solution, Tabung Haji put in place aSystem i platform for the new FinancialManagement System as its flexibility allows it tohandle various applications running at any onetime. With this solution in place, Tabung Haji wasable to leverage on the System iskills that alreadyexisted within their staff to manage their newSystem i platform and avoided further training orcost incurred. This indirectly resulted in thecompany’s IT camp being more focused on the

A look at customers’ successes and achievements

Customer’s Testimonial

Synopsis: The Pilgrims Fund Board in Malaysia realized theneed to drive better customer service, Lembaga TabungHaji worked with IBM Malaysia to heighten their accuracy of capturing customer information and streamline their dataprocessing methods using IBM WebSphere software andthe powerful IBM System i hardware.

Location: Malaysia

Industry: Investment

URL: http://www.tabunghaji.gov.my

The Pilgrims Fund Board (Lembaga Tabung Haji), MalaysiaServing Malaysian Pilgrims Better Thanks to IBM Technology

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technology compared to having a split camps of ITprofessionals managing different platforms.

Along with running their applications in a timelyand efficient manner, this also encouragedconsolidation and efficient management allowingTabung Haji to concentrate on other parts of thebusiness and deliver excellent service to theircustomers. Realizing the fast-paced business worldrequires one to change with the times and keep upwith the advancing technological changes, TabungHaji continuous to embrace innovation in terms ofthe way they run their business as well as theproducts they use to achieve success.

Becoming an On Demand OrganizationTabung Haji views the IBM solution as the idealplatform for developing its applications to deliverimproved services to its millions of customers. Forexample, the enhancement of its deposit applicationis expected to improve response time at its counterservice, says Hajjah Rozaida, Chief Financial Officerat Tabung Haji.

The deployment of the System i platform meansthat Tabung Haji’s crucial banking-type operationscan be carried out without any glitches, Rozaida adds.

The IBM upgrade and on demand capabilities willgreatly improve the management of Tabung Haji’s ITinfrastructure and enable it to respond speedily torapidly changing conditions.

According to Rozaida, one of the criteria specifiedby Tabung Haji for the new server platform was thatit must allow for dynamic reallocation of resourcesacross multiple application environments and thistranslates to easy administration. It provides theability to adjust quickly to changing priorities andthe freedom to run mixed workloads without thecosts and complexity often associated with managingmultiple servers.

“With this technology, you don’t need to maintaina server farm and this makes administration easier.Instead, our IT staff can focus on enhancing existingapplications as well as developing new ones toimprove productivity, efficiency and customerservice,” says Rozaida.

The IBM solutions reassure Tabung Haji that thenew solution can speedily and easily scale up to meetits fast growing customer base. This is vital asTabung Haji, with 5.2m million deposit accounts, isprojecting an increase of between 5 and 10 per centin new accounts annually. The upgraded applicationwill also help Tabung Haji improve the managementand operations of haj for its customers while theenhanced HR application will facilitate bettermanagement of its 1,900 employees.

Tabung Haji views the IBM solution as the ideal platform for developing itsapplications to deliver improved services to its millions of customers. Theenhancement of its deposit application is expected to improve response timeat its counter service.

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About T. JOIN Transportation Co., Ltd. As Taiwan’s leading logistics solution supplier, T. JOINprovides ground freight service, express service, ambient-temperature logistics service and temperature-controlledlogistics service. It has 12 large freezer warehouses andstorehouses across the island.

Listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange in 1990, T. JOIN wasselected among the top 165 companies in CommonWealthMagazine’s special edition in April 2002 and the top 300companies in Business Weekly’s ranking of the 1000 listedcompanies in February 2003. The company currently has 3,600vehicles, 210 major operational terminals and sales offices,36,000-ping of warehouse space, 4,812 employees andrevenues of NT$4.97 billion.

A long-term relationship with IBM System iT. JOIN started computerization in 1977, a period whentransportation was regarded as labor-intensive and mostenterprises in Taiwan had not even heard of the novel concept ofinformatization, let alone knew that e-business would be vital totheir businesses’ growth one day. Fortified by its early start andstrong support of IT infrastructure, T. JOIN made a smoothtransformation into the new operational model and has reignedin the delivery and transportation sector in Taiwan since.

Along the way, IBM System i has been T. JOIN’s favoredserver for its e-business infrastructure. From the IBM AS/400,precursor of IBM System i, IBM4361, IBM System/36, IBMSystem/34, to today’s IBM System i, IBM platforms are thecores that have powered the company’s IT structures.

“Our top priority was stability. Any system disruption willhave serious impacts on the delivery chain,“ said Chi-Wen Yang,IT department manager for T. JOIN, recalling the reason behindthe company’s decision of adopting IBM AS/400. “Then in 1996,when Y2K was the biggest challenge for us, we evaluated thefeasibility of other platforms. In the end, we decided to stickwith IBM to continue to leverage our previous investments andIBM’s established solutions for Y2K compliance.”

IBM System i is built with RPG/400 –coded command tools,so there is no need for specialized development tools, saidYang. In addition, the platform’s outstanding strength inworkload consolidation allows users to put together theirenterprise infrastructures without having to adding layer onlayer of systems in the way houses are constructed. Mostimportantly, System i provides a complete set of operating andsoftware systems, including OS/400, DB2 database andWebSphere Application Server (WAS) Express, thus helping tosimply IT management tasks to a great degree.

A look at customers’ successes and achievements

Customer’s Testimonial

T. JOIN Transportation Co., Ltd., Taiwan

T. JOIN sustains 30 years of growth with pioneering IT infrastructures from IBM

Tajung Freight Firms, predecessor of T. JOIN Transportation Co., Ltd., was established in 1954. Since itsinception more than half a century ago, Tajung has evolved and matured with the change of time. Today’s T. JOINbuilding on its delivery and transportation expertise becomes an integrated service provider that offers clientswith professional warehousing management and all-round logistics solutions. Computerization has played anessential role in the company’s development, and it has been using IBM System i as the IT infrastructure platformthroughout the years. Besides developing it’s own applications on System i, T. JOIN has consolidated the serversto meet the demand of business expansion and trained System i technical experts on its own.

Along the way, IBM System i has been T.JOIN’s favored server forits e-business infrastructure. From the IBM AS/400, IBM4361, IBMSystem/36, IBM System/34, to today’s IBM System i, IBM Platformsare the cores that have powered the company’s IT structures.

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From distributed to centralized managementPrior to 1988, T. JOIN had 38 operation sites in Taiwan, eachequipped with IBM System 36 server. None of the sites had ITmaintenance staff, so the company provided educationalmanual for the machines, which were still un-networked then.The manuals were loaded with illustrations and step-by-stepdirections to ensure staff in each location, who were not ITprofessionals, would know how to run the systems byfollowing the instructions. “We designed a lot of ‘tips andtricks’ including operation procedures, and used our ownvehicles to transport application updates to each location.”Yang laughingly recalled. “We had 6 crews of people especiallyassigned for the task. They had traveled around the country forso many times that we lost count.”

T. JOIN started networking its operation terminals in 1989.The company rolled out a series of products and services,including chiller and freezer logistics and domestic andinternational express services, and established the temperature-controlled logistics business unit. In 1999, T. JOIN launched theweb-based parcel tracing system. In the meantime, T. JOINinstalled many e-business solutions and began to experienceless than ideal server performance. After delving into thepossibility of server consolidation, it implemented IBM eServeri890 in 2003, becoming the first company in Taiwan, 3rd inGreater China, and 5th in Asia that had adopted the server atthat time.

T. JOIN migrated its global logistics system in collaborationwith Asgard Corporation, Peace System Integration’s sistercompany, and consolidated a total of 52 AS/400 servers across allthe locations onto IBM eServer i890. With i890 in place, T. JOINmanages in a centralized fashion 205 depots across Taiwan,Penghu and Kinmen, 2800 ambient-temperature andtemperature-controlled vehicles, 7 operation sites in China and 60million items of goods weighing approximately 2 million tons.

Advantages of management centralization for logistics businessT. JOIN’s IT department manager Chi-Wen Yang elaborates theadvantages they have seen from centralized management: 1. Faster branch office deployment

Server consolidation facilitates the build-up of IT platformsin offsite locations, allowing T. JOIN to meet its schedule fordeploying new operation sites. Such maneuvers, however,would require months of evaluation and search forappropriate servers and involved many complications on thedistributed environment on which the company previouslyran its applications.

2. Enablement of smaller-scale locationsT. JOIN needs to spend no more than NT$1 million to have asmaller operational depot up and running, while the sameundertaking would require over NT$1 million of investmentbefore.

3.Further decrease in downtimeWith more mature fixed-line facilities, which make serverconsolidation possible, and back-up servers in place, T. JOINnow guarantees no-downtime service. In the old days, once asystem failure or networking malfunction occurred in alocation, the staff would have to spend more than 3 timesthe time they usually would to process a delivery. Theinventory checking team would not be able to process theirstock data for fear that insufficient information would leadto inaccurate results. Such instances have completelydisappeared after the consolidation.

4.More comprehensive service capabilitiesReal time parcel checking and tracing services are necessaryfor competing effectively in the transportation industry. Thisis one of the advantages that server centralization hasbrought. What used to require 3 days to track a delivery nowtakes merely no more than a minute after truck drivers onthe road send back the information to the system byscanning the barcodes on the parcels with the equipments inthe car and clients enter the serial numbers of their items onT.JOIN's web portal.

System i continues to be industry’s best choice How, then, has IBM System i helped T. JOIN in its serverconsolidation undertaking? Some used to criticize IBM serversfor being based on closed infrastructures, but IBM has in factmade a lot of improvements, said Yang, particularly in the areaof web application development, which now can be done usingASP instead of DB2 database procedures. In addition, IBMsystem i supports the conversion of Chinese characters.

Over the years, a lot of major ERP providers have approachedT.JOIN with various alternatives, “but their solutions were nottailored-made for the transportation and delivery sector. Wewould still have to develop and design our own environment if

“Our top priority was stability” Chi-Wen Yang, IT departmentmanager for T.JOIN, recalled the reason behind the company’sdecision of adopting BM AS/400.

(continued on page 70)

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A look at customers’ successes and achievements

Customer’s Testimonial

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Insider’s software critique

Spotlight

Y ou’re heard the saying before: “Beauty is onlyskin deep—but ugly goes clear to the bone.”Not too long ago, we functioned in terms of

reports on green bar. There was a lot of green bar. Welived and breathed the stuff. Green bar was part ofour vocabulary. However, to impress managementthese days and keep a competitive edge, we need topresent reports and forms from our IBM* System i*platforms that have the look and feel of professionaldesktop publishing. The days of the ugly-to-the-bonegreen bar are coming to an end.

One way to smarten up your output presentationformat is with overlays. Overlays help format yourreports with graphics, nice borders and more. Now, weall know that overlays have been around for a while,but sometimes they can be a bit tedious to put togetherfrom scratch. Some vendors provide tools that mightmake your life easier. This month I look atKeyesOverlay from Computer Keyes (www.ckeyes.com).

InstallationInstalling the product was rather simple and painless.I just did a download from the Web, expanded theZIP file and followed the read-me file instructions toFTP it to my System i platform. From there, it’s aRestore Library (RSTLIB) command and some minorsetup configuration steps and you’re in.

Because I needed to view the overlays and reportsbeing generated, I also downloaded and installed theKeyesPDF utility, which turned out to be a fairly nicelittle piece of software in its own right.

If you’re loading more than one Computer Keyesproduct at once and using its Web site download, keepin mind that each time you unzip one of ComputerKeyes’ files, you overwrite the previous read-me filewith the current one. So if you think you’re going todownload several products (KeyesPDF andKeyesOverlay in my case), unzip and then upload themall, and make sure you rename the read-me filesbetween each unzip. I hope in the future Computer

Keyes will rename each read-me to be product specific.This would save customers from erroneous overwrites.

There are some post-install setup steps you shouldrun through with tech support the first time you usethe product. They’re painless and more for makingsure you understand where things go once they’recreated. Also, Computer Keyes includes some nice,simple samples to use as examples in a shortwalkthrough. I recommend you take them up on that.

Ease of UseThis product isn’t overly complex in either itsdelivery or methods. After a walkthrough tutorial youshould be able to pick things up fairly quickly.

DocumentationThe manual covers the product fairly well. But it doesso without any pictures to show you what you’reworking with. If you’re a visual person, you’re goingto find yourself looking for pictures to compare withwhat’s on your screen at any given time and notfinding them.

CertifiabilityEverything I tried worked as I expected it to.

Functionality/UsefulnessKeyesOverlay and KeyesPDF are two of a suite ofproducts offered by Computer Keyes. The overlayproduct is just that. It helps you reformat your spool-

Overlaying the Ugly with BeautyBY DON RIMA

Spotlight Profile

Product: KeyesOverlay and KeyesPDF

Company: Computer Keyes

Version: 2.3/3.2

URL: www.ckeyes.com

Overall Rating: 3.640

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file data stream into something that looks a whole lot nicerthan the stuff that would normally come off the line or thelaser printer. Once the overlay is complete, just ship it off tothe PDF creator and in short order, you’ll have a PDF sittingon the IFS. The samples I played with really turned out niceand clean without a lot of overhead.

The overlay product matches an SNA character string spoolprint stream with an overlay mat. It optionally maps yourspool-file content to produce a new, reformatted spool report.This overlay can contain graphics, bar codes and evenmagnetic ink character recognition (MICR) technology, if youhave that need.

From there, you can distribute via e-mail or whateverinternal routing mechanisms you use. Your users will open upreports that look like they came from something a lot nicerthan ugly green bar.

This product doesn’t have report-routing capabilities, butthen, it’s not designed to. Remember I said it was one part of asuite of products, and if you need routing, there are otherparts of the suite that can handle that. Or you can roll yourown.

SupportThe tech support people I talked to were very knowledgeableabout the product and the run environments.

What I’d Like to See in the Next Release• Uniquely named read-me files• Pictorial examples in the documentation

SummaryThis is a simple product that lets you make things nicer foryour users by adding cosmetic value and some functionalvalue with graphics, bar codes and MICR. It’s easy to learnand have productive results quickly. In this case, beauty isonly paper-thin, but that’s exactly what you want.

It’s not an end-all in terms of spool-file managementfunctions, such as store and forward or routing. That’s anotherproduct in the suite.

Use of overlays and PDF files can add a lot of state-of-the-art perception to your operations and users’ as well.Obviously, no new information will appear in the new andimproved reports that’s not already on the green-bar reports.But users make the rules, and they increasingly like thingspretty as well as functional and accurate. And if you want tomake things look nicer, you may want to take a look atKeyesOverlay as part of your planning schema.

Don Rima has more than 20 years of experience with IBMmidrange systems. He can be reached at [email protected].

Category Points Weighting Overall Score

Certifiability 4.00 .100 0.400Installation 3.70 .150 0.555Ease of Use 3.60 .150 0.540Documentation 3.40 .150 0.510Functionality 3.60 .150 0.540Usefulness 3.60 .150 0.540Support 3.70 .150 0.555

Total 25.60 3.640

The Rima Report

KICK THE TIRES: If you’re looking for help getting a handle on formatting reports with overlays, this shouldbe on your software-trial list.

(Points given are on a scale of 0 to 4, with 4 being the highest. Each category is assigned its own weightingfrom the total of 100 percent.)

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Tips & Techniques

Tactical solutions for System i customers

Ruby on Rails in i5/OS PASEBY ANDREA RIBUOLI

T he IBM* System i* platform has always been abusiness computing platform. This strongidentity has been a fortune and a downfall at

the same time. While the technology is advanced,sometimes the tasks performed are very common.Applications have always been the big attraction tocustomers and business partners.

Today, I see new excitement building amongdevelopers about an open-source Web frameworkcalled Ruby on Rails (RoR or Rails). The midrangecommunity has been silently monitoring the sceneand, realizing that Rails is here to stay, wants a betterunderstanding of these agile development techniques. This article introduces Rails, describes thebackground of the IBM i5/OS* Portable ApplicationSolutions Environment (i5/OS PASE) and gives step-by-step instructions on using Rails in i5/OS PASE.Additionally, I’ll mention a new IBM DB2* adapter toextend DB2 on Rails capabilities (see “DB2 on Rails,”page 60).

RailsRails is an open-source Web-development frameworkin the object-oriented programming language Ruby.Rails creates database-backed Web applicationsaccording to the model-view-controller pattern ofseparation and requires only a database and a Webserver to make Web applications ready to go live.Rails developers praise its speed and ease of use,calling it the wave of the near future. The IBMRedbooks* publication “DB2 Express-C: TheDeveloper Handbook for XML, PHP, C/C++, Java, and.NET” (www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/sg247301)describes these Ruby benefits: • Ruby employs a clean syntax. You aren’t required

to put a semicolon at the end of the statement. Thedownside to this is programmers must manage codelayout independently.

• Ruby has regular expressions built in. They’re alsotreated as objects and manipulated in the program(e.g., pattern matching, etc.).

• Ruby is a single inheritance only, which means aRuby class can have only one parent. However, Ruby

provides multiple-inheritance-type functionality byletting classes include the functionalities from apartial class definition.

• Ruby provides a hierarchy of exception classesthat’s easy-to-use.

• Ruby implements threads in the languageinterpreter code itself, so it’s independent of theoperating system. But Ruby threads don’t utilizemore than one CPU.

• Ruby comes with a built-in debugger. You can runit by invoking the debugger with -r option.

• Ruby features its own shell, called “interactive Ruby.”You can simply invoke interactive Ruby by typingthe irb command on your system. This lets you playwith Ruby in case you’re new to the language.

• The Ruby language comes with a code profiler. Youcan invoke it at command line or in the program.

i5/OS PASEIn 1999, IBM System i Chief Scientist Frank Soltisposed the idea of running UNIX* applicationsnatively on the AS/400* without a UNIX operatingsystem. The idea for a portable server applicationsolutions environment was there. The IBM Redbookspublication “Porting UNIX Applications UsingAS/400 PASE” (www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg245970.html) was a milestone that opened newworlds to the AS/400 mindset before Linux* and IBMAIX* partitions became viable options.

Even when Option 33 (i5/OS PASE) wasn’t free ofcharge, no compiler was provided with it. That meantthat to compile something for i5/OS PASE, you hadto buy an IBM System p* platform, buy theVisualAge* C++ for AIX, compile on that platformand transfer binaries to i5/OS PASE. What a process!With OS/400* V5R2, you can install VisualAge C++for AIX within i5/OS PASE.

i5/OS PASE doesn’t support applications that arestatically bound with AIX-shared libraries, but i5/OSPASE programs still work the same as AIX programs.That’s right—you can really download the same binaryand it’ll run on both platforms. Many AIX binariescan now run unaltered on the System i platform.

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GNU/LinuxOriginally, AIX wasn’t interoperable with Linux. In 2001, IBMcrafted a new strategy: AIX Affinity With Linux. As AIX hasadded more compatibility and interoperability with Linux,becoming AIX 5L*, i5/OS PASE has gained those samecapabilities. For example, early versions of i5/OS PASErequired purchasing a VisualAge C++ license to compileprograms. Later versions support the open-source GNUcompiler GCC.

Application interoperability with Linux was completed withAIX 5L Version 5.1. i5/OS PASE was aligned with AIX 5.1inside OS/400 V5R2 (and later, AIX 5.2 within V5R3 and AIX5.3 within i5/OS V5R4).

The IBM publication “Using the GNU C/C++ compiler onAIX” (www.ibm.com/developerworks/aix/library/au-gnu.html)describes why developers may want to use the GCC compileron AIX instead of the XL C/C++ Compiler. Besides being free,it includes easier GNU ports, multiple language support,portability, cross-compiling and the freedom to enhance. IBMprovides binary compatibility so there’s no need to recompilei5/OS PASE applications from V5R2 to V5R4.

So as long as IBM continues to support i5/OS PASE andGCC on AIX, we’ll benefit from using GCC within i5/OS PASEand upgrading GCC itself.

Rails on i5/OS PASE Maintaining a Web site has become tedious—it’s time toconsider Rails on i5/OS. I was looking for a new way tointegrate a traditional green-screen business application withan e-commerce Web site based on Rails and hosted remotely. Iwondered how the design would be cleaner if I used the sametechnology inside. I was surprised to find no informationreferencing an i5/OS PASE port. It was incredibly simple.

I assume you’re ready to compile an open-source package ini5/OS PASE and that /usr/local is a symbolic link to a realdirectory in the QOpenSys file system (/QOpenSys/usr/local).This way, tape archive (TAR) files exploding under /usr/localwill create directories in a file system that preserves case-sensitive naming. (Note: To allow for installation of Zend Corefor i5/OS, you must replace the symbolic link /usr/local with ahard link).

First, download the Ruby source code (ftp://ftp.ruby-lang.org/pub/ruby/1.8/ruby-1.8.6.tar.gz). Then transfer it to/QOpenSys. Access i5/OS PASE by calling QP2TERM, changedirectory to /QOpenSys and unzip the archive. With a listdirectory (ls), you’ll see a ruby-1.8.6.tar file. Extract files fromthe archive issuing the command tar xvf ruby-1.8.6.tar.Change the current directory to the newly created ruby-1.8.6(it’s under /QOpenSys) and issue:

Figure 1

Maintaining a Web site has become tedious—

it’s time to consider Rails on i5/OS.

Figure 2

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./configure Ñbuild=powerpc-ibm-aix5.3.0.0

make

make install

The build option qualifies the machine we’re building on as anAIX platform.

Now download rubygems-x.y.z.tar.gz (currently x.y.z is 0.9.2):

cd /QOpenSys

gunzip rubygems-0.9.2.tar.gz

tar xvf rubygems-0.9.2.tar

cd rubygems-0.9.2

ruby setup.rb

Now let RubyGems install Rails:

gem install rails Ñinclude-dependencies

If you don’t have direct Internet access from i5/OS, you mayprefer to download the required gems, transfer to a newlycreated directory (/QopenSys/xfergems), cd to that directory

and issue the gem install following this order: activesupport,activerecord, actionwebservice, actionpack, actionmailer, rails.From i5/OS PASE (CALL QP2TERM), issue:

gem_server &

Then, from a browser, access http://<hostname>:8808. It’spossible to browse the documentation installed with each gemby following the hyperlinks in Figure 1 (page 59).

Now it’s time to create a new application:

cd /QOpenSys

rails rails_demo

cd rails_demo

ruby script/server -p 3010

From a browser, access http://<hostname>:3010. Note the -poption used to specify a port number other than default (3000)that’s already in use on i5/OS (see Figure 2, page 59).

To help you from this point, I recommend the book “AgileWeb Development with Rails” by Dave Thomas, et al.

Here to StayYou may only know about Ruby because of the building buzzover Ruby on Rails. But the language itself is gainingpopularity, as the TIOBE Programming Community Indexshows (www.tiobe.com/tpci.htm). In January, Ruby broke intothe top 10 on the index, which measures popularity based onworldwide availability of skilled engineers, courses and third-party vendors.

Ruby continues to evolve. Version 2.0 will introduce avirtual-machine approach and support native threads andmultilingualization. Ruby on Rails—the Web framework—isproving to attract developers and justify investments byspeeding applications. Ruby is here to stay.

Andrea Ribuoli is a freelance IT consultant in Italyspecializing in integrating open-source Web technologies inbusiness-application development. Andrea can be reached [email protected].

USERS STARTING WITH RUBY AND RUBY ON RAILS (RAILS) are faced

with downloading source code, obtaining compilers, compiling

code and finding a relational database. IBM offers a set of tools for

Rails and IBM* DB2* (www.alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/db2onrails).

The Starter Toolkit for DB2 on Rails is a conveniently packaged set

of products and technologies that enables the quick creation of a

configuration for building DB2 Web applications using Ruby on

Rails technology. The toolkit comes with a unique one-click

installer for pre-tested and reconfigured installation of not only

Ruby and Rails, but also a complete DB2 Express-C solution.

Running the setup file will start Ruby and Rails and configure

Rails for DB2.

In March, IBM released a new Ruby driver and Rails adapter that

added support for remote connectivity to DB2 for i5/OS V5R3 and

V5R4. Future database support will include native DB2 for i5/OS.

These new tools can be downloaded from the RubyForge Web site

(http://rubyforge.org/projects/rubyibm/), and the IBM development

team is interested in your feedback. Note: These tools are intended for

a client workstation running DB2 Connect, which is not free of charge.

Until now, I was only able to test Rails on i5/OS Portable Application

Solutions Environment with MySQL. As binaries become available for

Rails in PASE, users can find them online (www.midrange-ruby.com).

—A.R.

DB2 on Rails

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Intrusion Detection on System iBY JIM COON AND YESSONG JOHNG

Tips & Techniques

Tactical solutions for System i customers

Hackers, crackers, intruders, oh my!And each with their pride at stake,But rest assured with a System i,You’ll have a host that they can’t break.

T hough the term hacker is used with pride byrelative old-timers who remember the glorydays of self-modifying code, patched binary

code and jury-rigged wire connectors, it’s since takenon more negative connotations, referring to someonewho breaks into computers to disrupt service or “ownthe machine.” Traditional hackers call thesescurrilous creatures “crackers.” We prefer the termhackers to describe both the malicious cracker andthe ethical interloper. The malicious hacker is out tosteal information, drive your business to its knees or

take over your machine. The ethical hacker exposesthe vulnerabilities in your system defenses so youcan plug the holes.

The Intrusion Detection System (IDS) in IBM*i5/OS* notifies you of attempts to hack into, disruptor deny service to the system. Prior to IDS, i5/OStook some protective measures against these types ofintrusions. However, with the new IDS support, thei5/OS system can now tell you about the intrusions.

The types of intrusions on an i5/OS system that arecaught, audited and, in many cases, discarded beforethey become a threat are multiple kinds of attacks,scans and traffic-regulation anomalies for TCP andUser Datagram Protocol (UDP). In this article, we’llexplain these different intrusions and provide anexample of IDS in action.

AttacksTypes of attacks include IP fragments, malformedpackets, synchronization (SYN) floods, InternetControl Message Protocol (ICMP)-redirect messages,perpetual echo, restricted IP options and restricted IPprotocols. These attacks may or may not bemalicious. IDS is notified of various events, and somenotifications may be false alarms. Let’s take a closerlook at each type of attack.

IP fragments—Datagrams too big to be transmittedover a network are broken down into fragments. Thefragmentation process involves tacking on an IPheader to each piece of the fragmented datagram,setting the More Fragments (MF) flag in each IPheader except the last and providing the offset ofwhere this fragment lies within the originaldatagram. The target uses this information, alongwith a fragment identification number and the lengthof data in the fragment itself, when reassembling theoriginal datagram.

On i5/OS, fragments that IDS is notified about fallinto three categories:• Fragments that, when reassembled, would measure

more than 64K and therefore be too large (seeMalformed Packets)

Figure 1

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• Fragments less than 576 bytes long• Fragments with an offset of less than 256 bytes (This

doesn’t mean the fragment itself is less than 576. This maybe an attempt to overlay data in the first fragment.)

In the case of a fragment that’s too large, the intent may be tocrash or hang a system. In the other two cases where thefragments are smaller, the intent may be a malicious attemptto slip through a firewall; then again, it could just be a normalcase of packet retransmission.

Malformed packets—Attackers probe by sending packets.Malformed packets may be designed to cause a system tocrash or hang. The TCP/IP stack detects them in thefollowing instances:• When a checksum is wrong• For a destination port of 0• When a packet size (including fragments) is greater than 64K• When both SYN and FIN are set—indicating that a client is

attempting to establish a connection but has no more datato send, a possible “Christmas tree attack” (see “TCP ControlFlags,” page 64).

Attackers may seek information about ports (e.g., closed portswill send an RST). When flags such as SYN and FIN or allflags are set, the packet is called a Christmas tree packet. Somenetwork devices actually show the flags with LEDs, lightingup the whole array like a Christmas tree. Christmas treepackets have been known to crash or disable a host.

SYN floods—SYN floods are an attempt to tie up systemresources and prompt a denial of service (DoS). They occur whenthe TCP/IP three-part handshake doesn’t complete. An attackerwill initiate a connection attempt to a host (first part of thehandshake: SYN) and provide a spoofed source address for thehost to acknowledge (second part of the handshake: SYN/ACK),and then leave the host waiting on an acknowledgment (thirdpart of the handshake: ACK) that will never come from thespoofed address. This ties up system resources.

ICMP-redirect messages—The ICMP is used for sending out-of-band messages concerning network operations. Many typesof ICMP messages exist (www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc0792.txt). AnICMP type five message is a redirect message. A router maysend this message to a host on the same subnet to indicate abetter route for packets sent by that host to some other targethost in another network. The message will indicate anothergateway (i.e., router) on the same subnet to which the packetsmay be sent and forwarded more efficiently. The originalpacket from the host that precipitated the ICMP-redirectmessage from the router is forwarded anyway, and the hostdoesn’t have to honor the ICMP-redirect message from therouter (i.e., it can choose to ignore ICMP-redirect messages).

A hacker can use ICMP-redirect messages maliciously forman-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks. In an MITM attack, thehacker, posing as a router, sends an ICMP-redirect message toa host indicating that all future traffic should be directed tothe hacker as the optimal route to the intended destination.

Perpetual echo—The UDP “fraggle” attack is an annoyingDoS attack involving UDP echo port seven. An attacker sendsa UDP echo request to an IP broadcast or multicast addressand provides a spoofed source address for all targets to echoback responses. The spoofed source address, which isn’t thehacker’s address, becomes the victim of a potentially largeamount of network traffic. If the source port is also portseven, a perpetual echo results.

Restricted IP options—An IP header may contain the LooseSource and Record Route (LSRR) option traditionally used bytraceroute to map out a network’s topology. Networkadministrators use this option to find out why two hosts on anetwork aren’t communicating or to specify alternate routes torelieve network congestion. A hacker may try to use LSRR to getthrough firewalls. By specifying LSRR and a hop that’s reachableboth by the hacker and private IP addresses, the hacker mayreach what was thought to be a protected IP address.

Restricted IP protocols—The IP protocols most often usedare ICMP, TCP and UDP. Other protocols listed as part of the

Figure 3Figure 2

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Internet Assigned Numbers Authority may be used in anattempt to gain backdoor entry into a system.

ScansScanning entails sending a datagram to a system to determinethe listening ports. A hacker will try to use this information todiscover weaknesses and gain access to the system.With i5/OS, the TCP/IP stack signals IDS when connectionattempts to nonlistening ports are made or when a connectionattempt is made in which the source address is the same as thetarget address, which could be a spoofing attempt.

Scans may be innocent attempts at connections to a serverthat may be down, making the resulting attention event afalse alarm.

However, they may also be suspicious if they come in at avery high or very slow rate. The high-rate variety may beattempts to deny service. The slow, stealthy variety are ofmore interest. A perpetrator may be seeking information onwhat ports to probe, what operating system is running, etc.Hackers may scan from a disposable source such as anInternet cafe or a library. If tracked down in a log, the sourceIP address will no longer be valid. Also, by the time asuspicious IP address is noticed in a log, the hacker may havealready sneaked under the radar, gained access to the systemand stolen valuable information.

Traffic-Regulation AnomaliesTraffic-regulation anomalies are events that cover TCP-established connections or UDP transmissions. Their purposeis to single out an inordinate number of connections to acertain range of addresses, ports or applications. The UDPvariety, being connectionless, is tougher to monitor than theTCP variety. These anomalies may indicate a DoS attack or beused to monitor certain connections and use of certainapplications on a system.

Example of an IntrusionLet’s take a look at the power of i5/OS IDS by considering thedetection of a possible stealthy scan.

First, we’ll start by enabling IDS. To do this, change the TCPattributes so Quality of Service (QoS) is enabled. From ani5/OS command line, enter the following command:

CHGTCPA IPQOSENB(*YES)

Next, make sure you have a security-audit journal(QSYS/QAUDJRN) by entering the following command:

DSPJRN QAUDJRN

If one doesn’t exist, either because you have a new system orthe operating system has been scratch-installed, enter thefollowing command to create one:

CHGSECAUD

orCHGSECAUD QAUDCTL(*AUDLVL)

The second form of the command also enables auditing, whichis our next step anyway.

Next, be sure to enable the auditing of Intrusion Monitor(IM) events in the audit journal by entering the followingcommand:

CHGSYSVAL SYSVAL(QAUDLVL) VALUE(*ATNEVT)

Note: This command could also be executed on the systemvalue, QAUDLVL2, provided that the value, *AUDLVL2, isalready set in QAUDLVL.

Before starting IDS, create a policy. For example:

ibm-idsConditionAuxClass Scan_Policy

{

ibm-idsConditionType SCAN_EVENT

ibm-idsLocalPortRange 1-65535

ibm-idsRemotePortRange 1-65535

ibm-idsLocalHostIPAddress 1

ibm-idsRemoteHostIPAddress 1

ibm-policyIdsActionName Scan_Action

}

ibm-idsActionAuxClass Scan_Action

{

ibm-idsActionType SCAN_EVENT

ibm-idsMaxEventMessage 25

ibm-idsFSInterval 1

THE CONTROL FLAGS IN THE TCP header have different meanings.

Here are some common flags and their definitions.

ACK: Acknowledgment number field is significant

FIN: No more data from sender

PSH: Push function

RST: Reset the connection

SYN: Synchronize sequence numbers

URG: Urgent pointer field is significant

TCP Control Flags

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ibm-idsFSThreshold 25

ibm-idsSSInterval 50

ibm-idsSSThreshold 10

}

This is a policy for a scan event and has been named“Scan_Policy.” The policy specifies to look for a scan event onall local ports (1 to 65535) from all remote ports, to all localIP addresses (within IDS, this is known as format one for IPaddress designation; other valid formats include 2-ip_address-prefix_length and 3-ip_address_start-ip_address_end) andfrom all remote IP addresses. If a SYN is received for a non-listening port or from a spoofed IP address, the actionScan_Action is executed. This action specifies that if morethan 25 SYNs are received over the course of one minute or ifmore than 50 SYNs are received over 10 minutes, an IM recordwill be cut in the system security-audit journal.

This policy can be copied and pasted into the IDS policy fileusing the i5/OS edit file command:

edtf ‘/qibm/userdata/os400/qos/etc/idspolicy.conf’

Once this policy is created in the IDS policy file, start IDS bystarting the QoS server:

STRTCPSVR SERVER(*QOS)

Note: If changes are made to the policy, IDS must be endedand restarted to effect those changes. To end the QoS server,enter the following command:

ENDTCPSVR SERVER(*QOS)

Now we’ll generate a scan to an IBM System i* platform andshow how the System i IDS detects it. We’ll use LanSpy, whichis a freely downloadable tool (http://lantricks.com/lanspy/).

Figure 1 (page 62) shows the LanSpy screen with the IPaddress of a System i platform in the search window. You cansee that LanSpy was able to discover certain aspects (e.g., the

DNS name, the media access control address, the listening TCPports, the listening UDP ports, etc.) of our System i platform.

Now look in the System i security-audit journal for IMrecords by entering the following command:

DSPJRN QAUDJRN ENTTYP(IM)

Figures 2 and 3 (page 63) show the results of entering the abovecommand and selecting one of the IM records to display it.

Sometimes it’s more convenient to see all of the IM recordsat once to look for patterns. By issuing the following twocommands, you can copy all the IM records to a temporaryfile and view them together:

CPYAUDJRNE IM

RUNQRY *NONE QAUDITIM

Figure 4 (left) shows the IM records in their entirety. Afteranalysis, you might be able to determine the remote IP addressof your attacker as long as it’s not a spoofed address. Youcould even use LanSpy to find out more about your attackerprovided the remote IP address is valid.

Greater Security and Peace of MindIDS on i5/OS is an integrated, host-based, highly secure yetflexible notification system. Potential intrusions are presentedas events in the system security-audit journal. These potentialintrusions may signify that a firewall isn’t doing its job andmay need reprogramming by a network administrator.Alternatively, the intrusions may signify that the firewall isdoing its job, within its limitations, and that the host-basedIDS is catching intrusions that have sneaked through thefirewall. At any rate, i5/OS IDS can stand alone as anintrusion-detection system or be used in conjunction with afirewall for even greater security and peace of mind.

Additional information can be found in our IBM Redbooks*publication “IBM i5/OS Intrusion Detection System”(www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpapers/pdfs/redp4226.pdf).

Jim Coon is an IBM software engineer with experience innetworking, data communications, retail applications anddigital certificate management. He holds a master’s degree incomputer science from the University of Tennessee. Jim can bereached at [email protected].

Yessong Johng is an IBM-certified IT specialist at the IBMInternational Technical Support Organization in Rochester,Minn. He started his IT career at IBM as an System/38*systems engineer in 1982 and has been with S/38, AS/400*,iSeries* and System i architecture for 20 years. Yessong can bereached at [email protected].

Figure 4

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A Show SQL button will show the syntax of the SQLCREATE TABLE statement being built for you:CREATE SUMMARY TABLE ORDERS.YEAR_WEEK_DEPARTMENT_MQT

AS (SELECT YEAR , WEEK , DEPARTMENT , SUM ( SALES )

SUM_SALES ,

COUNT ( DISTINCT ORDER_NO ) ORDER_NO

FROM ORDERS.ORDERS_TABLE

GROUP BY YEAR , WEEK , DEPARTMENT )

DATA INITIALLY DEFERRED

REFRESH DEFERRED

MAINTAINED BY USER

ENABLE QUERY OPTIMIZATION;

Notice that the REFRESH DEFERRED and MAINTAINED BYUSER clauses are shown as required, but iSeries Navigator willfill these in for you. They indicate that it’s the user’sresponsibility to refresh or maintain the MQT data.MAINTAINED BY USER is currently the only option for MQTs.Press “OK” to create the MQT. This YEAR_WEEK_DEPARTMENT_MQT should now contain 3,900 rows.

Optimizer’s use of MQTsThe next step is to see if the optimizer will use this new MQT.For the optimizer to do so, the select statement associated withthe MQT definition must include all of the columns used inthe query. The optimizer can also compensate for otherdifferences between the query and the MQT definition. Forexample, it may still apply the MQT if it contains a join overfewer tables, uses different aggregation, or if the query hasmore selection predicates than the MQT.

Also, the optimizer may substitute multiple MQTs in the samequery if the query references multiple tables that have MQTscreated over them. This is the optimizer rewriting your query.

Go back to the Run SQL Scripts in Figure 2. This is one ofthe application’s most frequently run queries. Now that theMQT is created, see if the optimizer is going to use it. Sinceusers must maintain MQTs, the optimizer doesn’t use themunless it’s explicitly told to consider them. To enable theoptimizer to consider using MQTs, the following QAQQINIoptions must be specified: • MATERIALIZED_QUERY_TABLE_USAGE—This should be set

to *USER or *ALL.• MATERIALIZED_QUERY_TABLE_REFRESH_AGE—A

timestamp duration that indicates the age of data in an MQTthat is allowed to be used. This should be set to *ANY if MQTsaren’t being maintained with the REFRESH TABLE statement.

To test the query with these QAQQINI options, go to the Editpull-down menu and select “Change Query Attributes” (seeFigure 4, right).

The Run SQL Scripts job you’re running in is alreadyselected. To change the INI options, select which schema you

want to put your test INI file into—in our case it’s ORDERS.Then press the Edit Options button. Note: The default INI filefor the entire system is in QUSRSYS. Be sure not to changethat one. The edit window lets you change the MQT defaultvalues to *USER and *ANY. Also note that the changes madeto this INI are automatically saved when you switch toanother row or close the dialog. Exit the Edit Options dialogand select “OK” on the Change Query Attributes dialog.

Now that you have the INI file setup for your query, you canuse the Explain only toolbar button to run the statement andsee if the optimizer will consider using the MQT you’ve created.Figure 5 (below) shows the new Visual Explain dialog with thenew optimizer implementation. You can see that MQT has beenused and that the time has been reduced. If this were a largerpicture, you could see the option to go to the View pull-downmenu and select “Highlight Materialized Query Tables” tohighlight the MQTs in the picture.

Figure 4

Figure 5

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How Useful Is It?Now that you know this MQT has potential for yourapplication, and you’ve created it in your production schema,another tool shows you how much the MQT is being used overtime. To do this, start from one of the underlying tables thatthe MQT is based over. Find the table in the Tables folder forthe application schema, right-click on it and select “ShowMQTs.” Figure 6 (below) shows the MQT for this table and,more importantly, the use information for this MQT. You cansee by the Last Query Use and Last Query Use Count that thisMQT is being used. This looks like a successfulimplementation of an MQT. Using the MQT, the DB2 enginecan now select one row by key. Using just the base table, theDB2 for i5/OS engine had to select thousands of rows for agiven department and perform the aggregation.

Because MQTs by nature contain static data until they refresh,it’s the user’s responsibility to refresh or maintain the MQT datawhen the underlying base tables are changed by insert, updateor delete activity. This can be done by right-clicking on the MQTin the Tables folder and selecting the Data Context menu andthen “Refresh Table,” or by using the REFRESH TABLE SQLstatement. The refresh clears and repopulates the MQT data byrunning the MQT query. Alternately, you could run insert,update or delete statements to alter the MQT data directly. Therefresh strategy must be carefully chosen by considering theacceptable amount of difference in the MQT and base table data,the amount of data that has changed and the length of timerequired to run the MQT query.

Another consideration during the MQT refresh is refreshperformance. Since the refresh is running the query you’vedefined as part of it, the query is subject to the same query-optimization considerations as when you query the base tabledirectly. To address this, create appropriate indexes on thebase tables that the MQT is defined over. You can use the newIndex Advisor in V5R4 to help you define indexes beneficialto this refresh action. Launch the Index Advisor by right-clicking on the schema or a specific table and selecting “IndexAdvisor” (see Figure 7, right).

There’s another performance aspect to consider regardingMQTs: creating indexes on the MQT itself. This will give theoptimizer even more information on improving the

performance of application’s statements by taking advantageof the same indexing strategies it uses for regular tables. Thisis vital in an environment where the MQTs are larger and/orjoined to other tables. Notice that in Figure 5 the VisualExplain diagram shows a table scan is being used. This is anexample of where you might consider creating an index overthe base table to help improve the refresh performance of theMQT. There’s no difference when defining indexes on an MQTtable, as it uses the same CREATE INDEX syntax.

This is an example of the index:CREATE INDEX YEAR_WEEK_DEPARTMENT_MQT_IX ON

YEAR_WEEK_DEPARTMENT_MQT

(DEPARTMENT);

To help you determine if an index is valuable to create, usethe Index Advisor feature for the MQT. Find the MQT table inyour application’s schema, right-click and select “IndexAdvisor.” This will show you any recommended indexes thatthe optimizer would like you to create to help performanceeven more.

The Key to Your SuccessThe example showed how defining an MQT over one table canimprove performance. Since the core of an MQT is the queryyou define, you could also use MQTs with much morecomplex queries that include joins of two or more underlyingtables. With the right MQT and indexing strategy, you canmake a real difference with your response time and, moreimportantly, users’ adoption of these applications. For detailson MQTs, read “Creating and using materialized query tablesin IBM DB2 for i5/OS” (www.ibm.com/servers/enable/site/education/abstracts/438a_abs.html).

Theresa Euler is an advisory software engineer at IBM inRochester, Minn. She’s worked for 16 years in databasedevelopment for DB2 for i5/OS. Theresa can be reached [email protected].

Jim Flanagan is an advisory software engineer at IBM inRochester, Minn., in database development for DB2 for i5/OS.He’s the team leader of iSeries Navigator—Database. Jim canbe reached at [email protected].

Figure 7

Figure 6

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OpenUP/Basic itself contains tasks, guidelines (see Figure 1,page 12), concepts, roles, work products and other content,which all help cover iterative development acrossrequirements, testing, project management, design,implementation, architecture and change management. Thereare three major areas, or layers, of OpenUP/Basic to help youidentify where you can leverage the process: management,intent and solution (see Figure 2, page 13). Collaboration is anadditional, core layer of the process that includes elements thewhole team shares.

ManagementThe management layer of OpenUP/Basic describes how aproject is coordinated and tracked. The essential project-management artifact is the WIL, which is a list of changerequests, bugs, requirements, stakeholder requests and similaritems. All team members—including stakeholders—use theWIL. It’s the one place to go to determine necessary tasks,priorities and job roles. OpenUP/Basic teams are self-organizing agile entities, so they work together to prioritizethe WIL and assign work items.

Work items can be large or small, but all of them need to bebroken down into pieces of work that can be completed in afew hours to a few days. Breaking down larger, feature-levelwork items makes them more manageable.

The WIL contains several requirements, but it can alsoreference requirements (or other work products) in separatedocuments. It’s common to add a use case to the WIL whenit’s identified and then reference the details of the use case ina document after it’s been outlined or detailed. The goal is toreduce the overhead of maintaining more artifacts thanabsolutely necessary.

Addressing risk early is another critical goal. Teams focusintently in early iterations on reducing risk to increase thepredictability of the remainder of the project.

IntentThe intent layer describes how a project determines what mustbe built and how to manage the changing nature of the

solution to a problem. OpenUP/Basic’s requirements-management discipline uses a classic but lightweightapproach to use cases. Change management isstraightforward, using the WIL to track and prioritize all bugsand change requests.

A critical aspect of this layer’s testing strategy is theidentification of test cases as soon as requirements areaccepted. Test cases assure that each requirement has clearacceptance criteria. Test scripts and test cases are detailedincrementally as requirements, design and implementationevolve. This assures that quality is woven into the team’scollaborative efforts.

Use-case-driven testing techniques are described to assurerequirements have been addressed. Other agile testingtechniques are leveraged so the system can also be tested fromother perspectives, such as the WIL.

SolutionThe solution layer describes how a team builds the software.OpenUP/Basic takes an evolutionary approach to developing asystem and determining its architecture. Architecture, designand implementation artifacts are evolved after prioritizing andconsidering the development issues for the iteration.

Figure 3 (page 13) shows the general flow ofimplementation and design. Teams select and implement awork item in bite-sized portions. Generally, they shouldperform some up-front design work to consider issues,approaches and architectural consistency. Experience showsthat thinking about a problem before implementing it, evenfor a few minutes, means a better solution. After outliningpotential solutions, teams create and execute developer testsuntil the implementation successfully passes. Teams followTDD to assure the utility of the initial design ideas andmaintain high-quality code.

Evolutionary design happens when the working software isrefactored from fine-grained and coarse-grained perspectives.Good object-oriented techniques are applied, turning classeswith low cohesion into high-cohesion classes, reducingcoupling and allowing good design patterns to emerge. Ifsignificant code changes are required to pass the test after the

design task, teams examine and againrefactor the design if necessary. Once thechange works and is realized by a robustdesign, they address the remainder of thework item (requirement or bug). This cycle can go quickly when teamsimplement small parts of a work item. Pausingat defined points during the implementationallows design to be conducted just in time bydesigning only what’s needed immediatelyand refactoring when new capabilitiesdemand more complexity.

Table 1

OpenUP/Basic Key Principle

Collaborate to align interests and shareunderstanding.

Evolve to continuously obtain feedback and improve.

Balance competing priorities to maximize stakeholdervalue.

Focus on the architecture early to minimize risks andorganize development.

Agile Manifesto

Individuals and interactions over process and tools.

Responding to change over following a plan.

Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.

Working software over comprehensive documentation.

(from page 13)

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The architecture is created and validated in early iterations—in the elaboration phase—to significantly reduce technicalrisks and the potential of reworking major system areas. InOpenUP/Basic, the architecture isn’t complete until the codethat implements it is validated. Teams do this by developingthe solution for the architecturally significant part of thesystem. Architectural decisions and objectives can changebased on what’s uncovered as the solution is being developed(see Figure 4, below).

Teams develop the architecture by identifying system-widearchitectural mechanisms, such as persistence and security;considering significant elements, such as layers andcomponents; and defining the initial analysis classes that willevolve into collaborating design elements. Developers refinethese architecturally significant elements into the design andimplementation with architects’ support. They enforce andchange constraints and decisions collaboratively in parallelwith the software development.

There’s only one architecture artifact, the architecturenotebook. Its contents are flexible and lightweight, intendedas a critical communication mechanism to use withoutburdening other team members.

The robustness and completeness of the system architecture ismeasured by validating builds that contain a subset of thearchitecture. Once the architecture is complete—allarchitecturally significant risks and requirements have beenaddressed in validated builds—the elaboration phase is complete.

EPF ComposerThe EPF Composer is the free Eclipse-based tool for creating,modifying, extending and publishing processes likeOpenUP/Basic. The tool breaks a process into two distinctportions: method content, such as work products, guidanceand tasks, and process information that organizes method

content into full-fledged processes. That information ispublished into a process Web site the team can browse.

Figure 5 (below) shows how EPF Composer displays formsfor editing process content, in this case a guideline foranalyzing the architecture. Method content can also beextended in a variety of ways that extend or replace existingcontent. Most users will likely make simple modifications,such as adding organizational templates or modifying the textof a guideline. EPF Composer also supports incrementaladoption of OpenUP/Basic with the ability to suppressunneeded method content, so only the desired portions of theprocess are published.

Processes can also be built from scratch using EPFComposer. For example, stand-alone Scrum and XP processesare available at the EPF Web site, with DSDM coming soon.For more, you may want to peruse a wiki on OpenUP/Basic(http://openup.epfwiki.net).

Free to DownloadOpenUP/Basic is a comprehensive but lightweight process. Itgives small teams an easy way to adopt a Unified and agileprocess and gives other organizations intellectual capital tosolve their process issues. EPF Composer is the tool to use tocustomize and enhance process content for your organization.Both are freely downloadable at the EPF Web site(www.eclipse.org/epf), where you can also find links torecordings, tutorials, the EPF newsgroup and ways toparticipate with developing EPF processes.

Jim Ruehlin is an Eclipse committer for EPF and works forIBM Rational Software. He’s made significant contributions toOpenUP/Basic since its inception. Prior to working with EPFhe spent six years assessing the development capabilities ofIBM customers and supporting them in adopting modernsoftware-development practices. Jim can be reached [email protected] 4

Figure 5

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forward generation by generation with the industry. I think it’sa great story of commitment to our client base.

System i: Will POWER6 and i5/OS version 6 mean a name change?Mark Shearer: We haven’t changed the name of the product aswe’ve created the Business Systems unit and Power Systemsunit. We’ve just announced i5/OS V6R1. POWER6 technologywas introduced on the System i 570. We will introduce aBladeCenter server that runs i5/OS in the future. We justreleased the new 515 and 525 models. There’s no automaticname change with these new products. POWER6 technologywas introduced on both the System i and the System pplatforms. I think that’s more of a statement about theunderlying technology than about the actual product name.

System i: How does the announcement change your position and duties?Mark Shearer: I am going to stay heavily involved inSystem i community. And I’ll continue to be the seniorIBM executive sponsor for i5/OS and our products thatsupport System i. I’m going to focus on the productsthemselves and the future product strategy.

That includes responsibility for the product line managementand planning for all of our POWER hardware, both high and lowend. It also entails responsibility for all POWER processor-basedoperating systems including i5/OS, AIX and Linux on POWER.

Now that I have access to whole product line, my goal is tohelp our clients bring i5/OS application forward to the hotplatforms of the day. I’ll be working to drive a little more synergyand simplicity across the System i product line. For example, inthe future when we introduce our first POWER6 processor-basedblade you’ll see that hardware platform will support i5/OS, AIX

or Linux. It’s an example of how we might simplify the productsand provide new options for System i product base.

System i: How do Ross Mauri and Marc Dupaquier fit in?Mark Shearer: Ross Mauri is the general manager for the PowerSystems unit. He’s been running the System p business. Ross and Ihave worked together for seven years. I was running marketingwhen he was running development. We both came from themainframe group. We’ve got an outstanding working relationship.

Marc Dupaquier is running the Business Systems team. Heand I spent years together working in marketing. Marc joinedthe STG in January, working on SMB systems strategy. Priorto that he was the VP of marketing for the IBM SoftwareGroup. He’s has a longstanding familiarly with the brand. Infact, he started out as an AS/400 sales rep in France.

Marc will be very engaged with our SMB clients and Rosswill be very engaged with high-end clients. We’ll be a greatteam over the System i segment.

System i: Are you excited about these changes?Mark Shearer: Four or five years ago, a small group of people—including me—entertained this concept. Now I think themarketplace is ready for this. What I feel good about and whyI think some pockets of feedback have been very positive, isthat these organizational alignments are in synch with thereality of the market. Our large clients just want differentthings than our medium-size clients want. And I think byfocusing on the total power of IBM and the synergies of cross-brand capabilities for these distinct client segments, we’regoing to do a better job. So I’m very excited about it. I thinkit’s the right thing and I’ll be working hard to make this cometo life for our clients.

migrating to theirs, which is why IBM System i has remainedour top choice,” explained Yang. “Logistics and transportationare already two different things. There are in fact a plethora ofindustry-specific know-hows in logistics, regarding things likeautomatic warehouses, computerized systems and stocklocations, which most of the ERP systems are unable to deliver,as they are basically designed for the manufacturing sector.Besides, vehicle assignment is another issue that can hardly betotally computerized!”

A fusion of technology and businessIn a highly competitive and mature market such as Taiwan,transportation and logistics providers all strive to maintain

their market shares while continuing to grow businesses. Thereasons behind T. JOIN’s dominance in the market for 3decades are first of all its management team’s vision on whichthe company lays a sound foundation of long-term strategicdevelopment. Secondly, the reliable operation platform built byAsgard Corporation that runs T. JOIN’s core businesses on IBMSystem i leveraging its excellence of stability and economics ofconsolidation also provides unwavering support to thecompany in its pursuit of growth. As the old saying goes “aworkman must first sharpen his tools if he is to do his workwell,” T. JOIN has set an example of using IT infrastructure tobolster business operation. IBM System i will continue to be asteadfast partner that teams with T. JOIN to advance theintegration of technologies and business in the future!

(from page 51)

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For further information on our IBM System i Magazine Asia Pacific, please contact the respectivecountry representatives listed below:

IBM System i Magazine

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An eclectic take on the i5 world

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W hen Hurricane Gaston made landfall in SouthCarolina in 2004, the people of Richmond, Va.,expected the storm to “cruise through,” says Dick

Cosby, system administrator with Estes Express Lines. “Instead,it just kind of stalled over us for most of the day.”

That day was Aug. 30, and Richmond received 14 inches ofrain in just a few hours, pushing the James River to more than10 feet above flood stage. Because of the deluge, the cityturned off some outlyingstorm drains to keep thedowntown area fromflooding more than italready had. The result? “Wewere flooded,” Cosby recalls.

“Flooded” might be anunderstatement. Estes’ground-floor datacenterended up with 4 1/2 feet ofwater in it, as well as storm-sewer backup and acid fromthe uninterruptible-power-system batteries in theroom. But that wasn’t theworst of it, as Cosbyexplains: “Every piece ofhardware, including ourseven IBM* System i*servers, all of the SAN[storage-area network] storage, the fabric switches, routers,network equipment, phone system, was flooded.”

Thankfully, staff at the company—a family-ownedtransportation business with a network of 185 transportationterminals in 46 states and a fleet of more than 29,000 tractorsand trailers—mitigated some of the damage by powering off itssystems as soon as they saw water pouring into the room. “Wehad everything turned off within a half-hour, but it was justtoo late to move anything by then,” Cosby says.

As a matter of day-to-day business, Estes had already madebackups of the data on its production iSeries 870, and thetapes had left that morning. They were off-site and dry. In a

best-case scenario, this meant it would have to re-create onlyone day’s work.

Unfortunately, the seven servers weren’t offsite and dry, butwere standing with their drives completely submerged in stormand sewer water. Rather than panic, the company took ameasured approach to cleaning up the mess, with the cross-fingered goal that it might be able to IPL some of the servers.“We brought in a company to drain the room—it took most ofthe day—and then used a fax machine from a local servicestation to fax IBM with a request for immediate equipmentreplacement,” Cosby says.

After the 870 was taken apart and dried out, staff from IBMRochester put it back together to see if would power back up.Amazingly, it did.

“We lost some drives and things like that, but because theinternal drives are mirrored, it did IPL.” This was a blessingbecause it let Estes complete a full backup of SYSBASE to a

replacement system, whichcame the followingweekend. “The floodedproduction system, withdisk drives that had beenunderwater for 12 hours,continued to operate untilwe shut it down threemonths later,” Cosby says.

As a result of this disaster,Estes has put new disaster-recovery processes andsystems in place, includingthe IBM System Storage*Global Mirror product andtwo off-site System i serversthat mirror the Richmondproduction box to adisaster-recovery site inArizona. “To some degree

we got lucky, but I think our quick recovery—which only tooka week to complete—owes a lot to the help we received fromIBM and our business partner, DP Systems, not to mention theresiliency of the IBM hardware itself,” Cosby says. “It sureseems like the stars were aligned.”

Jim Utsler, IBM Systems Magazine senior writer, has beencovering technology for more than a decade. Jim can bereached at [email protected]

Stormy WeatherEstes Express Lines discovers System i serversrun under 4 feet of water

BY JIM UTSLER

A ring of muck showshow high dirty water fromHurricane Gaston rose inEstes’ datacenter.

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