If you've been wondering when IBM is going to enhance its iSeries Client Access Family, here's the good news. When IBM ships OS/400 V5R2 this August, it will also issue a new release of the iSeries Client Access Family that will bear a different name and contain additional products. What's more, the computer giant plans to post a second beta version of selected V5R2 components on the iSeries Access Web site in several weeks.
With the upcoming release, IBM is dropping the word "client" from all product names and creating a new brand--the iSeries Access Family. This reflects the fact that many products in the suite don't reside on clients, as they are server-based tools that let an increasingly wider variety of thin clients connect to the iSeries. This includes wireless devices, which gain their own access product in this release. Let's walk through the enhancements that IBM is delivering with each product in the iSeries Access Family V5R2.
iSeries Access for Windows
Formerly known as iSeries Client Access Express for Windows, the V5R2 release of this product will contain significant enhancements. Among them is Kerberos authentication, a feature that will allow Windows 2000 servers to pass Kerberos tickets to an iSeries server for authentication. From an ease-of-use perspective, this means that users won't have to log in to the iSeries if a Windows server has already authenticated them. Note, however, that this feature will require OS/400 V5R2 and that IBM has only tested it on Windows 2000 servers. Earlier Windows releases may not support Kerberos ticket passing.
If you have power users that need more data transfer functionality, you can let them know that the new release will let them upload more than the current limit of 128 columns to spreadsheets and databases. While I'm still working to get details, it appears likely that V5R2 will allow database uploads of up to 8,000 columns. In addition, both the ODBC and OLE DB drivers will support ROWID, a function that lets users work with tables on a row basis. By the way, both drivers will run on Intel's 64-bit (IA-64) platform, allowing users of IA-64 clients to query iSeries databases. Moreover, both the data transfer and OLE DB facilities will let users access multiple databases in the independent ASPs that OS/400 V5R2 supports.
For added usability, iSeries Access for Windows will include the PC5250 5.5 emulator, a new release that provides further options for working with green screens. For instance, when you're cutting and pasting data between 5250 and Windows screens, you'll be able to choose whether to place plus and minus signs before or after numbers, a feature that could make many screens more readable.
The new release also contains features that could make the lives of PC administrators a little easier. Among them is an indicator that lets users know when an installation is taking place on their desktop system. This reminds users not to shut down their system during the installation. In addition, administrators will be able to create their own custom installation CDs that include software that users currently have to download from the server, such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). This should simplify the install process at many sites.
While IBM is adding many features to iSeries Access for Windows V5R2, there is one feature it is taking away: support for Windows 95 clients. Fortunately, the computer giant will continue to support Windows 95 via previous releases of iSeries Client Access Express for Windows. Customers can get IBM support for two of these releases--V4R5 and V5R1--through December 31, 2002, and May 31, 2003, respectively. Beyond that point, customers with Windows 95 clients will be on their own.
iSeries Access for Web
As those of you who read my previous article about iSeries Access for Web know, IBM has already posted a beta release of the V5R2 product on its Web site. In late June or early July, however, IBM intends to post a second beta of this product at the same location. This beta will include many new features, including a 5250 interface for browsers that will run on both the WebSphere Application Server 4.0 (WAS 4.0) and the Tomcat server. The 5250 browser interface will offer many enhancements, including screens that support 132 columns instead of the restrictive 80 columns of the V5R1 release. Internet Explorer users will gain the ability to use their keyboard's function keys just as they would in a PC5250 session, and all users will be able to record keystrokes and assign them to keys. In addition, the new beta will let users assign workstation IDs to browser clients.
WebSphere Host Publisher 4.0
Both the upcoming beta release and iSeries Access Family V5R2 will include WebSphere Host Publisher 4.0, the new version of the Web enablement tool that IBM announced a little over a month ago. As anticipated, WebSphere Host Publisher 4.0 supports WAS 4.0 but not the Tomcat server. However, it does support Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs) and XML, features that allow developers to integrate 5250 applications with Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) applications and Web services. This significantly broadens the capabilities of the iSeries Access Family as an e-business development tool.
While we're on the subject of WAS support, remember that IBM intends to ship WAS 5.0 later this summer and intends to provide an iSeries version that costs less on a per-CPU basis than WAS 4.0. Sources within IBM tell me they should be able to release PTFs that will enable iSeries Access for Web V5R2 to support WAS 5.0 within 90 days after the new application server ships. Corrective service diskettes that add WAS 5.0 support to WebSphere Host Publisher 4.0 will likely appear in the same time frame.
iSeries Access for Wireless
Though this product is new to the iSeries Access Family, its capabilities are already part of other products. Essentially, iSeries Access for Wireless takes the existing Management Central - Pervasive product and packages it with two new products--the IBM Toolbox for Java Micro Edition (for developing programs that access the iSeries from wireless and remote devices) and a driver for wireless JDBC data access. By packaging all three products into the iSeries Access Family, IBM is making it easier for developers to start working with wireless technologies.
As you can see from the list of enhancements I've reeled off, the next release of iSeries Access Family offers something for everyone, from users to administrators and developers. It also signals IBM's intent to open the iSeries to access from a new generation of clients and, just as importantly, from applications that want to access the iSeries across the Internet. In a world where the entities that need such access will increasingly be applications rather than people, offering such capabilities will be critical for the iSeries and its customers.
Lee Kroon is a Senior Industry Analyst for Andrews Consulting Group, a firm that helps mid-sized companies manage business transformation through technology. You can reach him at
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