Would you buy a new box or use the AS400?

[Askin4it]

Hello all,

My experience has been totally with Unix and windows OS in the past and I must admit never even looked an AS/400's way until I just started a new admin job where as it turns out they used to have a software company that provided an AS/400 system. This company has since gone under as well as their software (ugly lawsuits and the such ). So anyway I was pilfering through the inventory and found an entire AS/400e system in storage. It says it is a type 9406-170. Can someone tell me the approximate age and specs of this machine?
Now I have heard that the AS/400 is a strong machine, but do you think it would be worth me learning an entire new platform to utilize the AS/400 we have or to stick to the platforms I already know and purchase a new server? I always welcome a challenge, but not sure if this would be too much to tackle, how intense is the AS/400 platform to get into?
I have seen where running a netfinity server on the AS/400 allows you to install a windows OS on the AS/400? Does this make an efficient setup if I wanted to just utilize the server as a NT server, or does it suffer since the AS/400 processing is not really geared toward this?
Any input is appreciated and if you have any locations of extreme-newbie docs or tutorials I would be needing those too!

Thanks
Alex Skinner
IT Administrator

P.S - I said the AS400 was in storage, actually it was originally setup in the storage room where I found it, still plugged in and still running. I was told the last time anything was even done on this system was in the year 2000, who even knows when it was last cycled before then. Thats gotta say something for the durability of the these servers.

 

[jmd0252]

The 9406-170 was the entry level machine for the AS400 line. That does not mean however that the machine is "out-of-date". There is a lot of similarity between a Unix box and the AS400. I guess it really depends on what you are going to use it for. You can find a lot of information on-line about the AS400, how to, etc. I personally have not had any experience with the netfinity product, so I cannot give you an opinion. The AS400, is a stong, reliable computer built for doing file, date work. So it really depends on what type of drives, etc are installed and what you want it to do. I work with a 170 day in and day out. I like it. Stong and reliable, that is the AS400.

 

[iSeriesCodePoet]

It depends on if you have time to play or something that you might want to use it for, like a database.

iSeriesCodePoet
iSeries Programmer/Lawson Software Administrator

See my progress to converting to linux.

http://koldark.hopto.org/linux/

The Programmer's Knowledge Base ->

http://koldark.hopto.org/twiki/bin/view/Programkb/WebHome

 

[Askin4it]

Well if it will prove worthwhile then I will get paid to play around with it, but it will have to pay off in the end. Yes we do have the need for a strong database server. I am currently trying to find out the complete specs on this machine as well.

 

[tcsbiz]

There are several issues.
Is the OS and all machine-related software still under license?

Is the machine still under maintenance? If not, the AS/400 is a VERY expensive machine to get fixed. You can't just throw in another hard drive. And, as reliable as the platform is, they do have problems. They are rare but they do happen.

What is your budget for upgrades? I don't know about UNIX machines, but, the AS/400 is very costly when you want to add memory or disk space.

But, as costly as the machine can be, over its life, the AS/400 can be less costly. It is the most solid platform around, with the possible exception of IBM mainframes.

You pay through the nose when upgrading or fixing it but the trade off is a rock solid performer that does not require a crew of admins. to deal with problems.

How intensive will the database serving be? The 170 is too small for any real large database transaction processing.

Will you need programming for it? The primary languages used are RPG and COBOL. Most shops use RPG.

I would say, that if the machine is still licensed and ready to go, have at it.

The learning curve can be a bit steep at first but an experienced person should have no real problems.

 

[Askin4it]

Yes everything is licensed and we still have all the software that was provided with it from IBM. About 2 boxes full of it. The machine is not under maintenance any longer but IBM calls frequently to see if we are interested in a new contract. We are the original owners of this machine.

I see what you mean about being a pricey machine. I requested the spec sheet on this machine from IBM. It seems it only has 256 MB memory and 8.58 GB drive units and of course the 170 processor, which was listed at costing $17500 for it alone!!

The database will contain 1 million + records for archival purposes, meaning it will continually grow. It real receive
very heavy usage as well.

I think I would only utilize the server as a database storage, so I wouldn't think any programming would have to be done, but no I do not have any RPG or COBOL experience. Only VB,C,SQL,ASP,VBScript and some JAVA.

I am beginning to think I had better leave this As/400 platform stuff to you guys

 

[iSeriesCodePoet]

If you pay me enough and can convince my finacee (spelling?) to move I will come and help ;-).

Seriously, to run a database you don't need to know progamming, you just need to know SQL. RPG isn't really hard to learn. You can pick up a good book from Amazon or Barnes & Nobel on RPG and learn from there and of course the forums here ;-). Let us know what you decide.

...now if you aren't interested in owning anymore and want to get it off your hands. Let me know, but the price has to be right (if you know what I mean ;-) ).

iSeriesCodePoet
iSeries Programmer/Lawson Software Administrator

See my progress to converting to linux.

http://koldark.hopto.org/linux/

The Programmer's Knowledge Base ->

http://koldark.hopto.org/twiki/bin/view/Programkb/WebHome