Recent customer problem, sharing with anyone that might have a similar issue...   Client added an HBA to a TSM server, but this causes problems that needed to be anticipated with Windows servers.  TSM Device names for tapes and the library itself will change as Windows does not keep names consistent as hardware changes.   The TSM server thus lost communication with the tape library and tape drives, as the device names changed to the Operating System.   This was diagnosed by remote tech support as a faulty Library controller board, and IBM was dispatched to change it.   In all the up/down with the situation somehow now TSM and DB2 is not coming up correctly.   So your plan of attack should be: 1) Get TSM and DB2 resolved.  This does NOT inc...

IBM recently encountered a few clients experiencing loss of access to DS8000 data when attached to servers running VMWare 4.1 or higher with vStorage API for Array Integration (VAAI) enabled.  If you use VMWare 4.1 or higher, you may want to review your environment to avoid this situation. Title Potential DS8100/DS8300/DS8700/DS8800 loss of access issue when running VMWare 4.1 or higher with vStorage API for Array Integration ( VAAI ) enabled Abstract The extended features of VAAI are not yet supported by DS8000, but are enabled by default on ESX 4.1 or higher.   Mitigation To avoid any issues, use the following to disable them.  All OTHER non VAAI features of VMWare ESX 4.1 or higher are certified with DS8000 (all models) and function normally. Here's a KB for disablin...

April 23, 2012, IBM announces the entry Enterprise SAN24B-5 Switch for the next-generation platform designed to unleash the full potential of private cloud storage and virtualization.   The IBM System Networking SAN24B-5 Switch is designed to provide outstanding price/performance value, combining flexibility, simplicity and enterprise class 16 Gbps Fibre Channel functionality. The SAN24B-5 is configurable in 12 or 24 ports and supports 2, 4, 8, or 16 Gbps speeds in an efficiently designed 1U package. It comes standard with a single power supply or dual power supplies with integrated fans.   A simplified deployment process and a point-and-click user interface make the SAN24B-5 both powerful and easy to use. Moreover, the SAN24B-5 offers low-cost access to industry-lead...

Did you know companies typically experience over 50% growth of unstructured data year over year?   IBM recently announced IBM SmartCloud Enterprise Object Storage Cloud service. This new IBM/Nirvanix partnership allows companies to manage unstructured and object data such as documents, spreadsheets, presentations, audio files, email and text messages at very cost effective pay-as-used prices. This gives clients the ability to upload a file of any size once, from virtually anywhere in the world and access it from virtually anywhere; with availability from 99.9% to 99.99%.   Are you interested in finding out how can you leverage this powerful capability?   Do you have infrequently accessed unstructured content that you need to keep or retain for regulatory com...

Members of Team thinkASG spent a wild weekend in Baja California, April 1-4, 2012, with Wide Open Baja.  We raced in uniquely built Class 10 off road race vehicles across Baja 1000 trails from Ensenada to San Felipe to the world famous Mike's Sky Rancho and back to Ensenada.  It was 4 days of extreme driving at speeds up to 75 mph, across desert, pine forests, dry lake beds, sand dunes, beaches, rocky terrain, sandy washes, jumps, water, mud, mountain and ocean side cliffs.   The days were filled with thrilling driving, trading off between driver and passenger every hour, catered hot lunches that miraculously appeared in the middle of the remote Baja trails, and closed with beach front and mountain high resorts to recoup in at night with delicious dinners at fine Mexican resta...

In an effort to ensure the current IT strategy of Cloud Infrastructure doesn't leave you in a fog...Here is a link to help you get started:   Improve storage efficiency and data mobility with IBM SmartCloud Virtual Storage Center http://www-01.ibm.com/software/tivoli/solutions/storage-hypervisor/

Web applications are the biggest area of risk for organizations. Help address that risk with source code and dynamic security testing for web applications and web services. Breach Trends: Security breaches are expensive ($5.5M USD on average) and cause damage to the brand. (2011 Cost of a Data Breach, Ponemon) According to the IBM 2011 X-Force Trend & Risk Report released in March 2012, 41 percent of all issues reported were Web application related. 39% of executives say their companies do not address security issues in application development, waiting until the launch or post-launch phase. (2012 US Business Case for Data Protection, Ponemon) Why choose IBM for Application Security: IBM is in the leaders’ quadrant in Gartner MQ for both dynamic and static applicatio...

  Due to a known Linux kernel issue, Storwize V7000, Storwize V7000 Unified block node canisters and SAN Volume Controller nodes will reboot after running for 208 continuous days since their last power on or software upgrade.   A widely documented Linux kernel issue will result in a kernel panic occurring after 208 days of continuous uptime, due to an internal counter overflow. For Storwize V7000, Storwize V7000 Unified block or SAN Volume Controller nodes or node canisters running V6.2.0.x, V6.3.0.x or V1.3.0.x, this will trigger a self-recovering reboot event once this amount of time has elapsed.   Although each reboot event is only expected to last between five to ten minutes, for clusters in which both nodes in an I/O group were last booted in close proxim...

The iPad and other tablets are making a big splash on the corporate scene.  Many enterprises are incorporating the iPad and other tablet technologies into their workforce for agility and marketing.  IBM Global Financing has a program to support clients with their tablet and PC lifecycle strategy.   Learn More

IBM posts best 2-processor performance ever published on TPC-E benchmark   IBM System x3650 M4 sets new record for 2-processor server performance on TPC-E   March 6, 2012 ... IBM has published a benchmark result that sets a new record for 2-processor performance on the TPC-E benchmark, which is designed to enable clients to more objectively measure and compare the performance and price of OLTP systems.   The IBM System x3650 M4 server achieved 1,863.23 tpsE (transactions per second E) at $207.85 USD / tpsE. (1) This result is faster than all the other currently published TPC-E results for 2- processor servers, and represents a significant performance benefit compared to systems using previous-generation processors. For example, the x3650 M4â€...