AS/400, iSeries , i5 server overview

Introduction to AS/400
1970 - The architecture of AS/400 is born in a Ph.D. dissertation by Frank Soltis 1978 - IBM System/38 announced; shares the unique technology-independent architecture of AS/400 1983 - IBM System/36 announced 1988 - IBM AS/400 announced, combining the application program compatibility of the System/36 with the technologyindependent architecture of the System/38 1989 - IBM announces a new high-end AS/400 Model B70

Introduction to AS/400
1990 - Low-end AS/400 C models announced (first to market with 3.5-inch disk drive units). AS/400 Models C04 and C06 announced. AS/Entry Model Y10 announced 1991 - AS/400 D Series announced; new servers deliver more than 50 percent price/performance improvement. AS/400 Model D80 is the first n-way processor for AS/400. OS/400 Version 2 Release 1 (V2R1) announced 1992 - OS/400 Version 2 Release 2 (V2R2) ships three months ahead of schedule. AS/400 is first to market with RAID-5 for business computing

Introduction to AS/400
1996 - AS/400 Advanced Entry Model 150 announced. AS/400 provides e-business capability with support of Web-serving function. Version 3 Release 2 (V3R2) and Version 3 Release 7 (V3R7) of OS/400 are certified Year 2000-ready by the ITAA (Information Technology Association of America), making OS/400 the first operating system in the industry to achieve this certification

Introduction to AS/400
1994 - AS/400 Advanced Series announced. The relational database that has been integrated into OS/400 since 1988 is given a name-- DB2/400 -- making it instantly the world's most widely installed relational database. IBM ships the first system to include the 64-bit RISC chip -- the AS/400 Advanced 36.. OS/400 Version 3 Release 1 (V3R1), one of the largest releases of new software ever, greatly enhances AS/400's strength in client/server with new Client Access software, the PC coprocessor (called the Integrated PC Server) and the Integrated File System (allowing multiple file types to be supported within OS/400 TCP/IP performance greatly improved, and POSIX enhancements made to OS/400

Introduction to AS/400
1997 - IBM announces AS/400e series, including 12-way processors, making the new high-end system 4.6 times more powerful than the previous largest system.

Introduction to AS/400
1998 500,000th AS/400 system installed; 183,000 customers worldwide. Version 4 Release 3 (V4R3) announced. IBM and Lotus announce native Lotus Domino for AS/400. OS/400 strengthens its e-business capabilities by providing support for 27,030 Lotus Domino users (the largest number of Domino users on a single system); Java enablement; Internet business transaction security In just 10 months of availability, AS/400 becomes the second leading platform for Lotus Domino, ahead of all UNIX servers combined.

Introduction to AS/400
OS/400 Version 4 Release 4 (V4R4) delivers Net.Commerce with SET (secure transaction protocol) for secure electronic commerce transactions over the Web. New AS/400e 7xx series consolidates multiple server models into smaller, more powerful family; truly transformed into a back-office and front-office server, all in one box. The new servers offers customers an average 30 percent price/performance improvement. IBM announces the AS400e Dedicated Server for Domino, the industry's first server designed specifically for Lotus Domino workloads. Customers can connect users through e-mail, run multiple Domino applications, collaborate on projects or host Web sites, all on a single server

Introduction to AS/400
2000 - IBM introduces OS/400 Version 4 Release 5 (V4R5) and new AS/400 8xx models, the world's first servers powered by microprocessors made with silicon-on-insulator transistors and copper wiring. The 24-way AS/400e Model 840 shatters industry benchmarks: . Oct. 3, 2000: AS/400 becomes eServer iSeries, as IBM introduces the IBM eServer line of products for the next generation of e-business

Introduction to AS/400
2001 - IBM announces OS/400 Version 5 Release 1 (V5R1), with new server consolidation solutions designed to help mid-sized customers manage infrastructure complexity and reduce the cost of running an e-business by 20 to 25 percent. Highlights include support for Linux, the Integrated xSeries Adapter, dynamic logical partitioning and the ability to manage iSeries remotely using wireless devices.

Introduction to AS/400
2004 iSeries was renamed to i5server,this server runs on Power5 Processor.

Introduction to AS/400
The IBM System/38 was a computer , introduced in 1978 and commercially available in August 1979 , The System/36 was a minicomputer marketed by IBM from 1983. The first AS/400 systems were delivered in 1988 , its a combination of system/38 & system/36. IBM renamed the AS/400 to iSeries in 2000 The product line was further extended in 2004 with the introduction of the i5 servers, the first to utilize the IBM POWER5 processor. The AS/400 was the first general-purpose computer system to attain a C2 security rating from the NSA (National Security agency), and in 1995 was extended to employ a 64-bit processor and operating system.

AS/400 hardware overview

Iseries hardware overview

There are two components to the operating system software on an iSeries server. This important distinction is unique in the industry in its completeness of implementation. The two components are System Licensed Internal Code (SLIC) and Operating System/400 (OS/400). SLIC provides the TIMI, process control, resource management, integrated SQL database, security enforcement, network communications, file systems, storage management, JVM, and other primitives. SLIC is a hardened, high-performance layer of software at the lowest level, much like a Unix kernel, only far more functional.

Iseries hardware overview

Application programs on an iSeries server are unaware of the underlying hardware characteristics, because of the iSeries layered architecture approach, Technology Independent Machine Interface (TIMI). TIMI frees application code from worrying about processor technology, such as moving from 32- to 64-bit or Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) to Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC).

Object-based system

Single level storage

iSeries partition overview

i5 server overview

I5 overview
Hypervisor : Serviceability (RAS) The hypervisor is a common firmware layer between the hardware and the operating system partitions. This layer provides support for system level functionality, virtualization, logical partition management, on-demand resource management, FSP: The Flexible Service Processor (FSP) is a hardware device connected to the system for interfacing with the master processors. It provides System Services, HMC communication services & Control Panel Services.

Console type
Twin axial console Operation console (LAN) Operation console (Direct) HMC

Twinaxial Console

LAN Operation console

Local console through dialup support

Remote console through dialup network

Operation console (direct)

HMC

Logical partition on AS/400 server

Supports logical partition on selected model with multiple processor Support Windows on Hosted partition

LPAR on iSeries Server

Supports LPAR . On demand processor Supports micro partitioning Support Linux, windows partition Dynamic movement of resources

LPAR on i5 server
Supports LPAR (HMC must) On demand processor, memory Supports micro partitioning Supports Linux, windows, AIX Dynamic movement of resources Uncapped partition support.

LPAR on i5 server