Some useful tools and websites to assist you with your planning:

• Preventative Service Planning (PSP)

This lists Cumulative PTF packages, high impact and pervasive problems (HIPERs), Service Packs and Group PTFs for installation, upgrades and ongoing maintenance.

http://www-912.ibm.com/s_dir/sline003.nsf/sline003home

• Memos to users

This is a must if planning a software version or release upgrade and will assist you in identifying potential problems and help you prepare for changes between current and new release.

V6R1

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/systems/topic/rzaq9/rzaq9.pdf

V5R4

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/iseries/v5r4/index.jsp?topic=/rzahg/rzahgmtu.htm

V5R3

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/iseries/v5r3/index.jsp?topic=/rzahg/rzahgmtu.htm

• IBM InfoCenter

This covers a wide range of topics including the System i family of models, warranty, partitioning, migration etc.

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/systems/scope/hw/index.jsp

• IBM Prerequisite Tool

This tool enables you to search by machine type, model and feature code and will give you the operating system level, the server firmware level and the HMC firmware level required to support that feature.

http://www-912.ibm.com/e_dir/eServerPrereq.nsf 

GENERAL AVAILABILITY 

New 560 Express Editions, Enhanced 570 and 520/550 Power Systems - Nov 21

New 550 - May 23rd

12X features - May 6th

New 570 (9117-MMA with IBM i ) - May 6th

SMART IOA FIBRE CHANNEL SUPPORT DATES

Library/Media and Drives - Support Date

3592/ 3592 J1A and 3592 E05 rack mounted  - 1Q08 with V6.1

3584 (TD3500) / LTO2 and 3, 3592 J1A and E05-  1Q08 with V6.1

3494/3592 J1A and E05 - 1Q08 with V6.1

3573(TS3100,TS3200)/LTO 3 and 4 - 4Q08 with V6.1

3576 (TS3310)/ LTO 3 and 4 - 4Q08 with V6.1

3577(TS3400)/3592 E05 - 4Q08 with V6.1  

3584(TS3500)/LTO 4 - 4Q08 with V6.1

Libraries/Drives for which Smart Fibre IOA not planned to be supported are:

3581, 3582, 3583, 3590

LTO1 and LTO2 other than listed above

• WITHDRAWALS FROM MARKETING (support not withdrawn)

8th July 2008

9405-520 and 9406-520 (Power5+) - Replacement is Power 520 or Power5+ 515/525

9406-570 (Power5+) - Replacement is Power 570

9406-MMA - Replacement is same hardware ordered via 9117-MMA

Upgrades to MMA - most notably 550 to MMA, no ongoing upgrade path for 550 to 570 

9944-100 thin console

Associated features/conversions with the above  

1st Dec 2008

Various features and conversions

17th November 2008

70gb  disk drives

1st Jan 2009

P5+ 515, 525 and 550 withdrawn from marketing

P6 M15, M25 and M50 withdrawn from marketing

• Hardware Support

Consoles -

Power6 supports ethernet lan-attached (lan console), wan-attached(ops console direct attach)

and HMC

Power6 520/550/570/595 does not support thin console or any iop based console if Power 520 1-core

Models 520,525,550,570,595 are the last models to support:

5074/5079 hsl-1 towers

Optical hsl

8gb 10k rpm and 17gb 10krpm disks #4317, #4318

Older PCI cards

2763,2782,4748,4778 disk controllers

2765, 2766 fc controllers

4723,4838,2743,2760 ethernet adapters

2772,2773,4745,9771 WAN adapters

2757, 2780 disk controllers without aux write cache (unless in mirrored environment)

Older tape drives

9348, 3570/3575, 3490 attach via 2749

358X LTo attached via 2749

4gb/16gb/25gb qic

VXA.

SOFTWARE PLANNING

• i5/OS Release Support  

V5R2 end of program support - 30/04/2008

V5R3 end of program support - 30/04/2009

V5R3 withdrawal from marketing - 04/01/2008

i5/OS V6R1 is  supported on 515, 520, 525, 550, 570, 595, 800, 810, 825, 870, and 890 models

i5/OS V6R1 will be final release supported on 800, 810, 825, 870 and 890

i5/OS V6R1 is the final release to support AnyNet

i5/OS V6R1 is the final release to support Access for Wireless (XP1)

i5/OS V6R1 is the final release to support wan attached console

i5/OS V5R4 is the final release supported on 270, 820, 830, 840, SB2 and SB3 models

i5/OS V5R4 is the final release to support Spool File Archive, Anystore, Record Archive and Object Archive. Existing Spool File Archive implementations must be migrated from the Spool File Archive environment to Content Manager OnDemand 5722-RD1  Common Server BEFORE the system on which they are running is upgraded to i5/OS V6R1. Beginning with Content Manager OnDemand V5R3, a Spool File Archive migration utility has been available as part of the CM OnDemand licensed program  product, providing capability to migrate report definitions and indexes from the legacy Spool File Archive environment to the Common Server environment. It is critical to note that existing Spool File Archive implementations MUST be migrated from the Spool File Archive environment to Common Server BEFORE the system on which they are running is upgraded to i5/OS V6R1.

i5/OS V5R3 is the final release supported on 170, 250, 720, 730 and 740 models. Final release to support attachment of spd towers or migration. 

Version and release life cycle information can be found at http://www-304.ibm.com/jct01004c/systems/support/i/planning/upgrade/suptschedule.html
 

• Preparing for V6R1   This is a major release requiring the conversion of all programs created under previous releases. The conversion upgrades and refreshes programs to maximise on the latest system enhancements. In order for a program to be converted its creation data must be available - this is also better known as 'observability' to many of you.   To aid this conversion IBM have created the Analyze Object Conversion tool (ANZOBJCVN) for i5/OS V5R3 and V5R4 which will enable you to identify potential problem programs and put an estimate on the time to convert.   Some of our customers may well remember this process as this will be the third such conversion in the history of the AS400/System i, the last one being in 1995 with V3R6M0. This conversion should be much simpler and faster than previously.   For more information check out the latest IBM Redpaper - i5/OS Program Conversion, Getting Ready for V6R1 and the V6R1 FAQ paper -

http://www.304.ibm.com/jct01004c/systems/support/i/planning/upgrade/v6r1/faqs.html.

• Also as disclosed before, after years of shipping OS/400 media in the form of CD, IBM have announced that starting with V6R1 i5/OS will now be shipped on DVD. This will reduce the number of disks being shipped. Anyone planning on upgrading in the future will need to ensure they have a DVD ready installed.

  
  If you have any queries regarding this information please contact Sarah Redding.