Re: Forbidding Special characters in passwords
The first longer stay I had in IBM Poughkeepsie was to write a redbook about SMP4 and MVS repackaging (must have been the SUs at that time). I was located in the World Trade System Center (Route 55). It took a few weeks before our so called 'world-trade' team realized that there was no techie IBMer with initials BXH in Building 706 with the same problems as we had - just a secretary typing up my problem reports. Birger Heede IBM Denmark Tony Harminc wrote: Shmuel Metz (Seymour J.) wrote: 9. Not allowing special characters in personal names, e.g., 't Hooft. The customer knows better than you do how to spell his own name. Assuming that everyone on the planet has exactly one middle initial. Tony M. F. H. -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
Re: Is anyone still running..........................
Tom Moulder writes: I first made an assumption that like all software from IBM new versions would have an increased MLC. This has been true for DB2 for as long as I can remember. However, my initial checking seems to indicate that moving from OS/390 V2 to z/OS V1 could possibly result in decreased MLC. In the vast majority of cases, yes, z/OS has a lower price than OS/390. But not only price: it has more business-friendly pricing terms and conditions, notably VWLC (variable workload license charge, i.e. subcapacity licensing) and zNALC (lower price for adding new application workloads). The pricing terms are often at least as important as the price, especially in an enterprise environment. I apologize to IBM for my assumption that appears to be incorrect. Relax -- learning is a good thing. You're not the first and, unfortunately, probably not the last person to have a misconception about mainframe technology costs. Computing infrastructure is a lot like airplanes: the price of the airplane bears little or no relation to the ongoing costs and benefits. It's always critically important to understand the whole picture in any financial analysis. Re: DB2 prices, by the way, what you describe isn't necessarily so either. VWLC means a lot of DB2 customers have seen their monthly license charges decrease (around about Version 7 for most shops I think, depending on when their last OS/390 LPAR disappeared and when they cut the first SCRT reports). The zIIP technology is another reason you might see a decrease in DB2 MLC starting with Version 8. Still yet another reason (for all IBM software and most other software) is that the MSU basing changes from model to model. If you get a System z9 with the same capacity as your z800/z900 or prior model, then your MSUs (basis for software charges) will be about 19% lower. That means your software charges will be lower (not 19% lower, but lower) for the same versions. And that's not counting zIIP, zAAP (Java workload shift and proximity benefits), IFL (HiperSocket proximity benefits), or crypto benefit effects, to pick a few examples. Lots of shops keep making incremental progress on performance tuning, and that yields cost benefits. (There's also a wider and better choice of performance testing and analysis tools than ever.) Some middleware product versions -- CICS 3.1 and DB2 V9 (stored procedures) come to mind -- possess characteristics which may help code run more efficiently. Reducing the number of mainframe footprints -- smaller number of higher capacity mainframes -- also tends to offer software cost savings. (It's generally easier to get aggregated pricing benefits with fewer but bigger machines, and you tend to fill whitespace better so that the total number of MIPS-on-the-floor is slightly lower for equivalent performance.) Machine offerings like CBU (Capacity Backup) and CoD (Capacity On Demand), which are relatively new, can offer substantial software price benefits. Your mileage may vary, but for IBM software the typical shop should be seeing stable or declining per-MIP software prices, at least if you stay current on software and hardware technology (and licensing offerings). [Most especially, please don't bust Single Version Charges (SVCs). It should be so unnecessary to pay for two versions, so please don't.] Whether your total software bill does the same (stable/declining) is another question entirely. A lot of shops are putting more and more work on the mainframe (business growth, server simplification and centralization, more application functionality, etc.), so that might increase software costs. (But cost of growth tends to be much more modest on the mainframe relative to other platforms, which tend to be more straight line.) It also depends on your software vendors of course: different suppliers may have different pricing practices. - - - - - Timothy Sipples IBM Consulting Enterprise Software Architect Specializing in Software Architectures Related to System z Based in Tokyo, Serving IBM Japan and IBM Asia-Pacific E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
Re: Is anyone still running..........................
Yes, there are still some shops in Japan running OS/390. It's more expensive to do that than it is to run z/OS, so it's changing at a good pace. There are myriad reasons why that is so, as anyone who knows Japan knows. Some of those reasons are changing now. It's not a phenomenon unique to the mainframe. Japan tends to be a bit behind much of the rest of the world in software versions on all platforms when looking at the whole marketplace. That said, there are some extremely cutting edge customers in Japan. We have lots of WebSphere Application Server for z/OS, at the new versions, installed in Japan. Of course there's plenty of IMS V9, CICS 3.1, DB2 V8, etc., and they're all growing fast. The new models (System z9 EC and BC) are bought as quickly as anywhere. Linux adoption has been incredible, and I believe the two largest (most IFLs) mainframe Linux installations in the world are in Japan. - - - - - Timothy Sipples IBM Consulting Enterprise Software Architect Specializing in Software Architectures Related to System z Based in Tokyo, Serving IBM Japan and IBM Asia-Pacific E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
Re: Is anyone still running..........................
On Jan 13, 2007, at 6:02 AM, Timothy Sipples wrote: Yes, there are still some shops in Japan running OS/390. It's more expensive to do that than it is to run z/OS, so it's changing at a good pace. SNIP-- Timothy, Is one of the reasons Japan is behind is that they sometimes heavily customize the OS? I had heard this once or twice and was wondering if it was really true. Ed -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
Re: Is anyone still running..........................
On Sat, 13 Jan 2007 20:44:56 +0900, Timothy Sipples [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The zIIP technology is another reason you might see a decrease in DB2 MLC starting with Version 8. Still yet another reason (for all IBM software and most other software) is that the MSU basing changes from model to model. If you get a System z9 with the same capacity as your z800/z900 or prior model, then your MSUs (basis for software charges) will be about 19% lower. That means your software charges will be lower (not 19% lower, but lower) for the same versions. And that's not counting zIIP, etc etc ... Please could we stop all this never ending marketing propaganda ? I feel like hearing myself when i go to my big boss asking him to replace my boxes . The only thing is that i know i am not telling the whole truth But luckily ( i hope) my chairman does not look at this list . So now let us not kid ourself . We know better , and the audience here is made of techies so let us have the whole picture : Give us the increase in consumption between a CICS 2.3 and a 3.1 . Give us the increase in consumption between a DB2 V7 and a DB2 V8 . Explain why IBM stops MLC on some products and oblige us to buy the license ( thus financing IBM years ahead , and us borrowing the money for financing) Why IBM refuses to charge Vwlc on products that they know is not used on the capacity of the machine ? Give use the real numbers . I happen to work in a small shop where i am a deciding factor for hardware, software , network and architecture choices . ( yeah i am a boss as well as a system guy) An i happen to pay the bills !(for mainframe ,for Windows,for Linux , and fo the network) so it is slightly more difficult to tell me how it works . I have never seen my mainframe software bill going down . Yes of course it is going down against the mips usage , but the amount of cycle is increasing because the software is consuming more , because all code is written in higher level languages . Because the disks are faster and the MVS dispatcher is dispatching a lot more quickly so the change of disk cost me 10 % more CPU the day after ( dS8100 ) the change to cics 3.1 is 7.6 % more consumption the day after The change from Db2 v7 to V8 will be how much ? ( i have already been given some figures at Guide Share Europe) This system brings so much money that IBM announced PVU's for other non mainframe platforms .( based on core , not yet on MSU's) If people like microsoft start also charging like IBM according to the megahertz race ,our 100 dollar license that was for a 300 mhz server will cost a million dollar on a dual 4 GHZ processor . ( ok yes it is a joke but it is the idea ) I just received 2 x z9 last week,because i was short on power with my z990's and the only way to do a business case was to plead for the one year warantee (reduced maintenance) the lower MSu rating ( you do that on false planned future increased consumption) , but you know and I know that i'll pay more software this year than last year and we will put it on increased demands as i already planned it in my 2007 budget . Bruno Bruno(dot)sugliani(at)groupemornay(dot)asso(dot)fr -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
Re: Is anyone still running..........................
Timothy, I wish your statements were true, but IMHO they're not. 1. Does it really save any cost to switch from OS/390 to z/OS ? I assume other factors unchanged - CPC, workload, memory, etc. 2. How can I justify cost increase for new versions of DB2 and CICS? DB2 is even SLOWER, but costs more. I mean 64-bit world: DB2 7-8, CICS 2-3. Maybe those products are significantly enhanced, but I simply don't need those features. Oh, BTW: AFAIK CICS functionality was REDUCED (Interdependency Analyzer). The most important advantage I see is to be up to date, supported, etc. I'm not awaiting almost any of the new features (maybe except some RACF enhancements), people I talk to have same feeling. My $0.02 -- Radoslaw Skorupka Lodz, Poland -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
Re: Special characters in passwords was Re: RACF - Password rules .
R.S. wrote: Ted MacNEIL wrote: BTW: I changed 3 strikes rule to 5 strikes and number of password reset issues was reduced over half (less than 50% left). We have no control of 'N'. Our security department picked three. Some auditors told me that it should be 3. I always asked why - because it should be 3. Everywhere is 3. My answer: here is 5, si it invalid number? It's not true about everywhere, because in many places it's infinity. I also discussed it on RACF-L. The only reasonable answer I've got is it came from baseball rule: three strikes and you're out. Maybe the rule sounds different I have no idea about baseball rules. I'm not sure if there are any. g At one time (a number of years ago) we had a RACF revoke limit 5. Got similar argument from auditors who wanted 3. We analyzed RACF SMF records to determine how much lowering the threshold would raise number of daily revokes on legitimate users to arrive at some estimate of cost in terms of user aggravation and increased workload/staffing of the Help Desk and determined that for us 5 was a reasonable value and have stuck with it. We have specific applications that will force the user out after 3 attempts, but actual revoke takes 5 consecutive bad attempts from any combination of applications. We're talking here about userids that aren't directly exposed to the Internet, so there is some physical security involved as well; and there is also a daily review of failed logon attempts to look for unusual activity. Any auditor that claims everyone uses 3 or that there is something magic that makes 3 optimum is shoveling B.S. -- Joel C. Ewing, Fort Smith, AR[EMAIL PROTECTED] -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
Re: Special characters in passwords was Re: RACF - Password rules .
Any auditor that claims everyone uses 3 or that there is something magic that makes 3 optimum is shoveling B.S. As I said in my original response, it's the security people. Auditors do not set rules. That's for the SME's. Auditors do not enforce rules. That's for the compliance department. Auditors take input from the SME's and report on how you are doing to the compliance people. Anything else is wrong. . Questions? Concerns? (Screems of Outrage?) -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
Re: Is anyone still running..........................
snip Re: DB2 prices, by the way, what you describe isn't necessarily so either. VWLC means a lot of DB2 customers have seen their monthly license charges decrease (around about Version 7 for most shops I think, depending on when their last OS/390 LPAR disappeared and when they cut the first SCRT reports). The zIIP technology is another reason you might see a decrease in DB2 MLC starting with Version 8. unsnip Timothy I have worked with many shops making the leap to V8. I have never seen a shop yet that saw a decrease in costs for V8. Not even with the changes you've talked about. The zIIP will only offload a narrow workload and for most customers this has little impact on costs. Perhaps V9 will expand on that list, time will tell. From what I've seen, VWLC is not the panacea that you paint for DB2. It has been helpful in reducing costs elsewhere, but not on the charges for DB2. I have seen customers segregate DB2 to reduce software costs, but it is done at the expense of flexibility and potential availability options. Because of the many changes associated with DB2 Version 8 and hardware changes associated with the version and now available to support that version, I have found it extremely difficult to determine the difference between CPU usage and costs when comparing V7 and V8. There are a good number of customers I work with that have upgraded processors in advance of V8 to support 64-bit processing. When making performance changes I try to limit the number of changes at the same time to measure the differences of the change. The number of changes with V8 make it difficult to determine exactly what changes made what difference in usage. What I have also seen is that DB2 SQL tuning has the greatest potential for cost savings. Much greater than any software pricing could ever produce. There is a lot of low hanging fruit when the customer has written the SQL, it gets a little harder when you have a purchased application and can not change the SQL. It is always possible to reduce costs. V8 offers several ways to reduce CPU usage of the SQL, some require SQL changes and some do not. Tom Moulder -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
Re: Is anyone still running..........................
Re: DB2 prices, by the way, what you describe isn't necessarily so either. VWLC means a lot of DB2 customers have seen their monthly license charges decrease (around about Version 7 for most shops I think, depending on when their last OS/390 LPAR disappeared and when they cut the first SCRT reports). The zIIP technology is another reason you might see a decrease in DB2 MLC starting with Version 8. Timothy! Timothy! Get out of your ivory tower and stop drinking the Kool-aid. We are not seeing any of these so-called price reductions! We are seeing longer transaction times. So, our prices are going up! On a cost-per-butt basis, it's still cheaper. But, the costs are non-zero. Therefore, they are going up! . Questions? Concerns? (Screems of Outrage?) -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
Re: Is anyone still running..........................
These words : more expensive cutting edge customers have lots of Of course there's plenty are bought as quickly as anywhere. Linux adoption has been incredible I believe the two largest Note: These words are all Marketing BS that you send into mostly the USA from Asia.. Join an ASIA email list because we have enough marketing brochures in the USA. unless you want to use real names and real measurably values on a technical email list. You know if your read enough BS, you start believing it !! Anton Timothy Sipples wrote: Yes, there are still some shops in Japan running OS/390. It's more expensive to do that than it is to run z/OS, so it's changing at a good pace. There are myriad reasons why that is so, as anyone who knows Japan knows. Some of those reasons are changing now. It's not a phenomenon unique to the mainframe. Japan tends to be a bit behind much of the rest of the world in software versions on all platforms when looking at the whole marketplace. That said, there are some extremely cutting edge customers in Japan. We have lots of WebSphere Application Server for z/OS, at the new versions, installed in Japan. Of course there's plenty of IMS V9, CICS 3.1, DB2 V8, etc., and they're all growing fast. The new models (System z9 EC and BC) are bought as quickly as anywhere. Linux adoption has been incredible, and I believe the two largest (most IFLs) mainframe Linux installations in the world are in Japan. - - - - - Timothy Sipples IBM Consulting Enterprise Software Architect Specializing in Software Architectures Related to System z Based in Tokyo, Serving IBM Japan and IBM Asia-Pacific E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html -- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
