IBM Release IBM i Version 7.5

IBM has announced IBM i version 7.5. Among the new features with this release are enhancements to Db2 Mirror, better security configurations, and new database features. A new modernization framework called Merlin and a new subscription option were also announced. IBM i 7.4 Technology Release 6 was also announced.

It’s worth noting that IBM i V7.5 is only available on Power 9 and Power 10 processors.

Enhancements in IBM i 7.5

Db2 for i

• SQL Boolean Support: Db2 for i. Supports RPG development as well as JSON data.
• Larger Indexes: Previously, the binary radix index in Db2 for i was limited to 1.7 TB. With IBM i 7.5, the database can now hold 16 TB of data in its primary index.
• Full SQL Support:

Db2 Mirror for i

• Mixed Release Support: IBM now officially supports the ability for customers to run different versions of the operating system on a Db2 Mirror cluster. Customers will be able to run both operating system releases and even to use Db2 Mirror to perform a “rolling upgrade” to 7.5. (This feature is supported in both IBM i 7.5 and 7.4 TR6.)
• Read-Only Mode: Customers can now direct one of the two nodes in a Db2 Mirror cluster to function in a read-only mode that cannot be updated. This is only supported when both nodes are at 7.5

Strengthen Security

• Stronger Passwords: IBM has increased the power of encryption available to encrypt passwords. The maximum previously was a 256-bit SHA1 algorithm, but it’s now supporting a 512-bit SHA2 algorithm. It also added a new API that will tell the administrator wh
• ether a password has met all the password rules.
• Default *PUBLIC Authority: IBM changed the default setting for many objects on the system. Instead of an administrator requiring simply *CHANGE authority for objects shipped with *PUBLIC authority, they must now have *USE authority.
• The Digital Certificate Manager (DCM) has also been enhanced in several ways to improve the user experience, such as new buttons that eliminate the need to type IFS paths and file names, as well as an object signing store and automation of workflows related to object signing. (This feature is supported in both IBM i 7.5 and 7.4 TR6.)

Other New Features In 7.5

IBM has updated many other subcomponents of its IBM i operating system and the family of LPP products that are commonly used with it. IBM i 7.5 is also getting a few features that are exclusive to it, and that is not delivered in the previous version, including:

• Update to the two-digit date format, which previously had a range of 1940 to 2039. Furthermore, IBM has pushed the limit for two-digit dates from 2039 to 2069.
• The new default value for the ASYNCBRING parameter on the Save Object (SAV) command and the QsrSave API, which should provide better performance for saving IFS data;
• Update to the Restore User Profiles (RSUSRPRF) command;
• Progress messages for IFS restore;
• Support for SNMPv3 enhancements;
• Support for TCP Selective Acknowledgment (SACK);
• Support for IBM Tivoli Directory Server for i (LDAP);
• Various enhancements for DNS, FTP, and SMTP functions

New features that are common to both 7.5 and IBM i 7.4 TR6, include:

• New RPG compiler features, including SND-MSG and ON-EXCP opcodes;
• An array of new IBM i Services and SQL Services;
• Enhancements to the Integrated Web Services (IWS) engine, including expansion of supported parameters per REST API call and new logging functionality;
• New QSYS2-based functions for using HTTP requests to publish or consume Web services, including the use of embedded SQL in REST services.
• Support for ZLIB for better data compression;
• Declared support for alternative open source Web application servers, including WildFly, Eclipse Jetty, and Apache Tomcat;
• Reduction to perform Cluster Resource Group (CRG) switchover;
• Support for the latest generation of PCIe4 NVMEe disks in the U.2 form factor for Power9 servers;
• Higher input/output requests per second (IOPS) in high-bandwidth fibre channel adapters, such as the 16 Gb and 32 Gb adapters.
• Enhancements and new features for the new IBM Navigator for i spanning SNTP, SMTP, VPNs, IKEs, LDAP, and various other TLAs (and some FLAs too);
• Updates to CCSIDs;
• Delivery of Access Client Solutions (ACS) version 1.1.9.
• Update to BRMS;

Merlin

Another part of the IBM i 7.5 announcement is Merlin, which stands for the Modernization Engine for Lifecycle Integration. Merlin is a set of tools that run in openshift containers, which guide and assist software developers in the modernisation of IBM i applications.

Merlin comes pre-loaded with tools like Git and Jenkins for DevOps-style code management, as well as an RPG code converter. It runs in a Linux-based Red Hat OpenShift container running on the Power platform.

OS purchasing models

The IBM i users are getting a new way to obtain the operating system in addition to the existing perpetual license model. IBM has announced the ability for customers to buy subscriptions to IBM i for periods of one to five years. This gives customers the ability to obtain the IBM i operating system using operating expenditure (Opex). Perpetual and subscription-based licenses can reside on the same machine.

The focus is on lower-end environments, for the moment, so the subscription is limited to four-core P05 machines, but IBM says it will be expanded in the future for bigger environments.

IBM i simplification

IBM has announced a change to how it bundles ancillary products that are often used with IBM i. and is putting 11 licensed program products (LPP) and eight optional features into the core operating system entitlement. That means the customer can obtain these LPPs or features for no additional charge (although they are obtained separately).

For further information please follow this link: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/ibm-i-75-base-enhancements