Recently, I went undercover as a typical customer and tried to get a copy of WDSC Version 6.0. Going undercover wasn't that difficult; it's not like my name is a household word. All I had to do was call one of the standard IBM numbers, and I was immediately treated like any other customer. Nice even playing field.

A few weeks ago, I lamented my trials and tribulations of trying to get Version 6.0 of WDSC through the standard channels. I won't go into all the gory details here; you can review them in my August "Weaving WebSphere" column. However, I'll do a quick recap:

1. The phone number on the IBM Web site didn't work.
2. I called 1-800-IBM-SERV, where someone took all my information and then directed me to IBM Direct (1-800-426-2255).
   
3. IBM Direct told me I couldn't get WDSC 6.0 with V5R1 because V5R1 was "out of service."

Since I had recently paid up my Software Maintenance Agreement (SWMA), I knew that V5R1 was most definitely not out of service and that in fact it was in service until September 30. But the support line was adamant that I was not qualified to receive the software, so I decided to get some more people involved.

As it turns out, the "software configurator" that identifies which products are available to which customers does not recognize WDSC Version 6.0 as a valid component for V5R1 customers. IBM realizes the severity of the problem; it could have caused valid customers to not receive software to which they were entitled. And frankly, anything that keeps WDSC out of the hands of iSeries users is a bad thing. WDSC is the best thing to happen to iSeries developers since the IBM midrange itself.

V5R1 is not out of service, and WDSC 6.0 is available, but only until September 30. This is the official out-of-service date for V5R1, so if you don't plan to upgrade to V5R2 or V5R3 in the next 30 days and you want a copy of WDSC 6.0, you must order it immediately. After the end of September, you will need to upgrade your operating system in order to get WDSC. But that's not necessarily a bad thing; V5R1 will be officially out-of-service by that time, anyway, so you should probably at least have ordered V5R2 and/or V5R3 for your machine. I can see how IBM might be a little reluctant to make any major changes to its systems in order to allow WDSC 6.0 to go out with a release of the operating system that is due to be put out to pasture in just a few weeks. At the same time, if the process is so rigid that IBM can't make an exception, then the process needs some review, and that's what we're providing here. IBM can think of this as a public service message .

The Real Deal

Just for the heck of it, I called the number from the Web site today (August 22), and it was working! The IBM Service Response Center answered and gave me a whole new set of directions! According to them, we have to go to the Passport Advantage site and order the media that way. After giving them my system and company information and repeatedly being put on hold, I finally talked to a Passport Advantage representative, who told me that since I wasn't a member of Passport Advantage, I'd have to go through the iSeries group. There is no number for the iSeries group, but if I was willing to wait on line, they would connect me. In for a penny, in for a pound, I thought, so I waited. I eventually got connected to a nice lady who told me in no uncertain terms that I could not get WDSC 6.0 with V5R1. She has since sent me an email with documentation indicating that she is prevented from sending WDSC to V5R1 customers. I forwarded those documents to the appropriate people.

And the folks at IBM have been true to their word, having come up with a final workaround for this problem. IBM will officially publish this shortly (perhaps even by the time you read this), but I can lay it out for you here. Most of the following information comes from an email I received from Jenny Wong, who was gracious enough to listen to my grousing and come up with a reasonable compromise.

V5R1 was withdrawn from marketing in November of 2003. Withdrawn from marketing means you can't order that release any more. Out of service means that you can't get support. V5R1 is currently in limbo between those two states until it goes officially out of service at the end of September 2005.

When an OS has been withdrawn from marketing, the configurator no longer supports that EOMed release (EOM is short for "end of marketing", and EOS stands for "end of service"). You can usually get upgrades for EOM releases, but there was additional confusion: The part number for WDSC seems to have changed, so WDSC 6.0 is not even a valid part number for V5R1.

In order to get around this issue, Toronto has put in place a manual process that will be posted soon and communicated to the IBM Techline staff. The process requires that you go through an IBM rep or Business Partner. If you are a V5R1 client who does not have either an IBM marketing representative or a Business Partner, please contact me directly via email, and I'll try to get you hooked up with the right folks. If you do have a rep, though, here's the procedure:

Have your representative send an email request directly to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. in the Toronto lab on your behalf. In the email, the requester must provide the following information:

• Requester name (Business Partner or IBM rep)
• Are you a Business Partner or IBM rep?
• Business partner phone number
• Address the CD is to be shipped to
• Customer name, customer number, contact person, and phone number (customer must be an entitled WDS customer.)

Thanks to everyone at IBM who helped with this, especially John Quarantello and Jenny Wong. This will get us over this hump, and Ms. Wong has assured me that now that they understand the issue, they will keep an eye out for it in the future.

Just to Be Clear

I have neither had nor heard of any problems getting WDSC 6.0 for any machine with V5R2 or V5R3. Only V5R1 customers have a problem during this ever-shortening window where V5R1 is out-of-marketing but not out-of-service (which ends on September 30, 2005). For the newer versions, it's as simple as a refresh of feature 2656 or 2657, depending on which version of WDSC you have (2656 for standard edition, 2657 for advanced). So the easiest thing for V5R1 customers to do is to order the upgrade to V5R2 and get the refresh that way. The only problem there is if your box doesn't support V5R2 or if for any other reason you simply can't upgrade to V5R2. If that's the case, just follow the procedure in the previous paragraph.

And to the folks in the trenches at Techline: I meant no disrespect; I was just trying to get my job done. Thanks for your concern.

Joe Pluta is the founder and chief architect of Pluta Brothers Design, Inc. He has been working in the field since the late 1970s and has made a career of extending the IBM midrange, starting back in the days of the IBM System/3. Joe has used WebSphere extensively, especially as the base for PSC/400, the only product that can move your legacy systems to the Web using simple green-screen commands. Joe is also the author of E-Deployment: The Fastest Path to the Web, Eclipse: Step by Step, and WDSC: Step by Step. You can reach him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..