The document discusses establishing a regular segment called "How can i?" at National iSystems User Group meetings. This segment would involve briefly discussing the pros and cons of different solutions to common technical problems faced by iSeries/AS400 users. Suggestions for topics that could be discussed include reducing backup windows and accessing files from another system. The goal is to share knowledge, spark new ideas, and show relative benefits of solutions without any one presentation or sales pitch.

1. The National iSystems User Group
How can i?
Steve.Bradshaw@RowtonIT.com

2. The National iSystems User Group
• What is he talking about?
• Attitudes have changed, sharing knowledge is now the norm
• Gone are the days of hiding information , tricks and tips
• Instead we make daily use of information sources Google,
LinkedIn, System i Network, NiSUG.Org, etc
• I believe we need to share our collective knowledge and experience
• Face to face contact to build trusted relationships
• Genuine, honest opinions
• Inspiration and ideas
• Reference and Reassurance re direction and solutions
• Save time and money
• Satisfaction of making a difference
• Getting more Out of your membership
• If you were to save just one day of consultancy you could save
enough money to pay for two or more years membership

3. The National iSystems User Group
• So, what is “How can i?”
• “How can I?” is the most commonly asked question I asked
• Just a few that have cropped up in the last few months
• How can I convert a spool file into a PDF?
• How can I see where the bottleneck is on this job?
• How can I make my backups windows smaller?
• How can I send a XML file to my webserver?
• How can I encrypt my data and backups?
• How can I make my printouts look better?
• How can I access my DB2 files from another system?
• There is no one correct answer to any of the questions posed above,
• All of the above had “free” or “fee” based solutions

4. The National iSystems User Group
• So, what is “How can i?”
• A brief, high level, opportunity to discuss the pros & cons of the
different ways you could solve a specific problem.
• If you find it useful, it will be a regular agenda item with topics that
you suggest.
• It should stimulate and complement our own conversations, current
sources of information and hopefully the use of the NiSUG forums.
• It will allow the audience to see the relative benefits of one
solutions over another.
• Nothing is off limits, the solutions we discuss can be home grow,
open source or third party applications.

5. The National iSystems User Group
• What “How can i?” IS NOT!
• It is not a step by step tutorial
• It is not a replacement for your third party tools and support
• It is not a dry technical discussion where you are told what to do
• It is not a selling opportunity for the BPs and consultants

6. The National iSystems User Group
• Please don’t fall into the following trap
• Thinking that your idea is not relevant to other members because:
• They work in a different industry
• They are larger or small organisation
• Your solution is home grown
• You think your solution is specific to your company
• You think I’ll drag you up to the front and make you give
presentation
• Thinking this is a competition to find the best solution

7. The National iSystems User Group
• An Example “How Can I”
• How can i reduce my backup window?
Background: I backup approximately 300GB each night to a single
LTO2 tape drive and it is 5 hours, this needs to be reduced to 3 hours
The backup mix is approximately:
• 50GB applications
• 100GB DB2 Files
• 150GB IFS objects
What are my options?

8. The National iSystems User Group
• An Example “How Can I”
• How can i reduce my backup window?
• Free Stuff
• Procedural, process or programming changes that require
time and effort but not capital outlay
• Modest Costs
• Small to medium investment in hardware, software or
services to resolve the issue
• Strategic Investment
• Significant investment that would solve the problem in for
the long term and enable future benefits and or savings

9. The National iSystems User Group
• An Example “How Can I”
• How can i reduce my backup window?
• Free Stuff
• Check that DTACPR(*DEV) & COMPACT(*DEV) parameters
• Monitor backup job to check it’s not waiting on locks
• Use Virtual Tape for backup whilst application is offline, then
DUPTAP to physical when and applications active
• Change backup routine into two stage process:
• 1st that requires the application to be shutdown
• 2nd that can run whilst application active (often large
portions of the IFS can be backed up whilst in use)
• Modest Costs
• Upgrade to faster tape drive (LTO3, 4 or 5 drive)
• Main Store (RAM) or DASD (Disk) Upgrade
• Strategic Investment
• Implement Software High Availability replication tool like
iCluster, Mimix, MaxAva and backup for HA server.
• Migrate to external storage (SAN), backup using FlashCopy
and / or Copy Services

10. The National iSystems User Group
• What happens if we can not come up with a solution?
• This seems remarkably unlikely but if it did, then I either:
• One of the NiSUG community would find something and let us
know at or before the next even. As every loves a challenge!
• I would raise it as an issue at the next monthly CEAC meeting
and seek ideas from the other European team or from IBM
direct.

11. The National iSystems User Group
• How can i – suggest a topic for discussion?
• Take you pick from any of the following:
• Post a request in the NiSUG forums
• Email me direct: steve.bradshaw@rowtonit.com
• Speak to me or any of the other NiSUG committee members
• Write it on your feedback forms