Event in Luxemburg : 'Consolider avec zEntreprise'

I already mentioned this in a previous post, but I would like to give this event some extra attention as we're also involved in the organisation of it. I told you before about our partnership with Sogeti. Well, here's a first joint event for our customers in Luxemburg.

When : Wednesday October 19, 2011 from 9.30 am until 2.30 pm
Where : L'olivier, Route d’arlon 140A, L-8008 Strassen

The agenda :

9.30 am - 10.00 am	Reception and coffee
10.00 am - 11.00 am	z114, the future of hybrid computing
11.00 am - 11.10 am	Break
11.10 am - 11.50 am	Introduction to Fit For Purpose (F4P)
11.50 am - 00.10 pm	Partnership Sogeti - RealDolmen
00.10 pm - 14.30 pm	Lunch

Information and registration over here.

5 years of blogging

People need this kind of anniversaries to look back once in a while. So I just reread my first post from five years ago. I started out real quiet, not knowing where this would lead me. The first months I had about some 200 readers per month. And it motivated me to keep going. Of course I googled for my blog in the beginning (everyone does, I guess) and I was glad when it finally kept showing up on the first pages. Now, I'm having 200+ readers on a peak day and when people started googling for the last red alert I was mentioned before the IBM site.

Don't get me wrong. I don't want to brag about this. I'm realistic enough to realize only one group of people made this possible and that's you, my readers. So I'll try to keep giving you useful information and keeping you up te date on what goes around in the mainframe world.

So I'm just going to end this post with the same words I posted the last couple of years : thanks for stopping by from time to time and don't hesitate to leave some comments if you have any kind of remarks.

As Apu Nahasapeemapetilon (from The Simpsons) would say : "Thank you, Come again".

Upcoming events and webcasts

Well, summer's over and a lot of events and webcasts are coming our way. I'll try and give a summary of what'll be happening during the next month(s).

IBM Events in Belgium

September 28-30, 2011 - Total Solutions Event for System z 2011
IBM Forum Brussels
I've been blogging about this, so take a look over here.
Information and registration - Detailed agenda

October 3 and 27, PoT - Experience Cognos 10 in Realtime
IBM Forum Brussels
The IBM Cognos 10 Proof of Technology (PoT) acquaints participants with the IBM Cognos 10 Business Intelligence solution, through hands on interaction with key IBM Cognos 10 solution elements.
Information and registration : October 3, October 27

October 5 - Innovate comes to you 2011 - The Rational Software Conference
IBM Forum Brussels
"Innovate 2011 is the event that recognizes the essential role that software and systems play in our companies, our lives, and wider society. Throughout an inspiring full-day program it covers the latest systems engineering and software trends and developments via demonstrations, presentations and testimonials."
Information, Agenda and Registration

October 25, 2011 - PoT - Discover the IBM WebSphere DataPower SOA Appliances
IBM Forum Brussels
"This one-day Proof of Technology (PoT) provides a hands-on experience for those needing to understand how DataPower® appliances can help ease and accelerate the deployment of enterprise SOA implementations".
Information and registration

Other events in Belgium and Luxemburg

Here's two events I already want to mention : they're not officially announced yet, but as far as I can see, that's only a matter of days. I'll provide the links for registration as soon as they're available.

October 19, 2011 - Introduction to hybrid computing and the new z114
l’Olivier - Route d’Arlon Strassen, Luxemburg
Organised by Sogeti in cooperation with RealDolmen
An introduction to hybrid computing, all the details about the z114 and an introduction to Fit For purpose (F4P)

November 17, 2011 - Introduction to StorWize and Real Time Compression
IBM Forum Brussels
Organised by RealDolmen
This event will introduce our customers to StorWize and Real Time Compression solutions of IBM. Normally, there will be a couple of demos and a customer testimony as well.

IBM Webcasts

September 13 (today) at 3 pm GMT, 5 pm Brussels
The intersection of DB2 for z/OS and Workload Manager : Understanding the basics
"This session will show you how Workload Manager helps improve the performance management process and enables you to Prioritize workload, based upon goals and business objectives, Let the system optimize and prioritize resource management, Make sure that the most important workload gets the appropriate resource".
Information and registration

September 20 at 3 pm GMT, 5 pm Brussels
Enterprise Modernization: The cornerstone of Smarter Computing
"In this webcast, you’ll learn how IBM solutions, including the zEnterprise platform, can help : Manage and automate operations to lower the cost of both new and existing workloads, Rapidly develop new workloads for the mainframe using an integrated and collaborative software delivery platform, Optimize the value of existing software assets, skills and infrastructure when you consolidate or redeploy existing workloads, or deploy new workloads".
Information and registration

September 27 at 3 pm GMT, 5 pm Brussels
Realizing Your DB2 for z/OS Utilities and Tools Investment
"This complimentary webcast looks at the most recent enhancements made in the DB2 Utilities Suite, DB2 Sort 1.2 and DB2 Utilities Enhancement Tool 2.2. We’ll discuss new features that increase performance and availability and through the use of automation in DB2 tools, make your life easier" ...
Information and registration

September 28 at 5pm Brussels
z/VSE Live Virtual Class
z/VSE Fast Path to Linux on System z
The Fast Path to Linux on System z is a brand new function included in z/VSE V4.3. This session will give an overview about the Linux Fast Path function.
Information and registration

October 11 at 3 pm GMT, 5 pm Brussels
DB2 10 Performance and costs savings: Why, How & Where performance matters!
"Join us in this webcast to understand Why, How and Where performance matters and to learn how to build the business case for DB2 10. We will discuss about DB2 10 performance, its potential impact on yours’ company bottom line and the process to build and effective costing scenario".
Information and registration

Other online events

Webcast - September 15, 2011 at 5 pm Brussels
Support update and Early Customer experiences with Oracle 11gR2 on Linux on IBM System Z
Organised by the International zSeries Oracle SIG
"This session will include early customer experiences with 11gR2, such as some of the new 11gR2 Oracle features to exploit, performance improvements with 11gR2, and disk storage configurations for running Oracle 11gR2 with IBM System z Linux. Oracle support will also provide new information for Oracle 11GR2 on Linux on IBM System z, including installation notes, recommended patches, and most importantly, recent customer experiences"
Information and registration

Webinar - September 14, 2011 at 2 pm EDT, 8 pm Brussels
Craig Mullins' DB2 10 for z/OS: For Developers Only
Contents : The most important DB2 10 enhancements for programmers and analysts. Unique DB2 10 features that can greatly improve your application performance and reliability.
Information and registration

DB2Night Shows

The new season of DB2Night shows has started again. You can find all information over here.
Here's a short list of the next few episodes. They're all scheduled at 11 am EDT, 5 pm Brussels.

• September 20 by Cristian Molero
  Distributed access to DB2 for z/OS - Successful administration
  Information and Registration

• September 27 by Namik Hrle
  Smart Analytics Optimizer - Technology Update
  Information and Registration

• October 6 by Willie Favero
  First Look at Changes to DSNZPARMs by DB2 10
  Information and Registration

• October 17 by Dave Beulke
  Data Warehousing Performance and DB2 10 Temporal Tables
  Information and Registration

As I always say, just check them out !

Sampling Techdocs - June-August 2011

Here we are with some new documents from TechDocs I recently came across or found while browsing through the latest publications.

• Presentation : Why Websphere Application Server for z/OS
  Starting point of this presentation is : "Websphere is Websphere" no matter what platform you run it on. But is that really so ? No, not at all. Websphere Application Server for z/OS is very aware and is using the underlying platform to a considerable extent. So, there might be a couple of reasons why you would specifically want to use WAS for z/OS . . . So, read on, here they are.
  
  
• Presentation : z114 Hardware Management Console 2.11.1
  "The 2.11.1 Traditional Hardware Management Console (HMC) is new with the z114 Server. This presentation covers the enhanced features and functions of the 2.11.1 Traditional HMC which is available at Driver 93 for both the z196 and the new z114".
  
  
• Technical document : DS8000 EasyTier Implementation Guide
  This is a DS8000 EasyTier Implementation Guide Using DSCLI with examples. Subjects discussed are Easy Tier Overview, Easy Tier implementation using DSCLI, DS8000 Logical configuration, Data Relocation with Easy Tier Automatic Mode and with Easy Tier Manual Mode.
  

• Flash : IBM zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension Top of Rack Switch (TOR)
  New technology usually comes along with lots of new terminology as well. Well, it's not different with the zBX and here you'll find two documents explaining everything about the Top of Rack Switch and the connectivity with the mainframe.
  

• FAQ : Frequently asked questions from IBM and Oracle customers about Linux on IBM System z
  Nice FAQ that "answers a few common questions about Oracle products running on IBM System z running Linux. This document was jointly written by IBM and Oracle". Subjects are Oracle product availability on the System z platform, Oracle Grid and IBM System z and Technical Support.

• Referral pages :
  I'm concluding with some classics that keep getting updated every once in a while.
  First there's 'Withdrawal of z/OS Function Beginning with z/OS Release 5 Through Current z/OS Release'. "This flash lists those items IBM has announced intention for removal in a specific z/OS release. These items have already been announced in previous IBM z/OS announcement letters. Consideration should be given to this list when planning your migration to a z/OS release".
  The second is the 'IBM System z I/O Feature Reference Table'. This table provides information about System z I/O features and the specific machine types on which they are supported. It is grouped by card type / function: OSA, FICON, Parallel Sysplex, Cryptography, ESCON, and I/O Support.
  The last one is the 'IBM Mainframe Life Cycle History' : System z mainframe hardware product marketing and service life cycle history since 1994.
  

Well that's it for now. As I always say : just check them out !