IBM i 7.1 delivers total integration for business applications

Companies rely on an efficient IT infrastructure to support their business-critical applications. IBM i offers a highly scalable and virus resistant architecture with a proven reputation for exceptional business resiliency. Running applications based on i has helped companies over many years to focus on innovation and delivering new value to their business, not just on managing their data center operations. The new IBM i 7.1 release sets a standard for total integration of business applications.

Total integration

DB2, the integrated database for IBM i, now natively supports XML and helps companies exchange information between customers, suppliers, and partners. XML data can now be stored in its native format, split into relational database columns, or created from existing database objects. Support for OmniFind Text Search in DB2 adds simpler access to non-structured data that is often stored in XML format.

IBM Rational Open Access: RPG Edition simplifies the development of transaction processing applications for mobile devices and web services when developing with Rational Developer for Power.

IBM i now can automatically collect I/O performance data and move the most active data to Solid State Drives (SSD) to achieve optimal system performance.

Data protection and compliance

New column level encryption allows companies to secure - without application changes - a specific column in a database table. Tool providers, such as Patrick Townsend, nuBridges and Linoma Software will supply encryption algorithms that exploit the new support in conjunction with ISV business applications.

Management with Automation

IBM Systems Director Navigator for i now can be used to manage target servers running IBM i 5.4, 6.1 or 7.1 from a single browser environment. Navigator's performance management and investigator capabilities are enhanced with additional storage and tape metrics, plus disk response time and Java memory perspectives. IBM Systems Director management server is also enhanced to monitor and manage target IBM i environments, including management of program temporary fixes (PTFs).

Virtualization without limits

Virtualization support with PowerVM is extended to enable IBM i 6.1 to host i 7.1 partitions and storage to enable simpler testing of a new release before a software upgrade. IBM i 7.1 can also host an i 6.1 partition, enabling companies to keep an application that requires an earlier release after upgrading their main application environment.

Resilience without downtime

Asynchronous Geographic Mirroring with PowerHA extends the distance supported for multi-site DR solutions. PowerHA supports both internal disk and SAN-based solutions. New PowerHA LUN level switching provides a datacenter high availability solution, where a set of disks on IBM DS8000 or IBM DS6000 are automatically switched between servers for scheduled maintenance or in the event of a failure.

More information from the IBM site.