7.3 Items to Be Aware of When Upgrading to IBM i 7.3 – Part 4

This is part 4 of a 4 part series on the new IBM i 7.3 Upgrade. See the first posts in this series below:

know the minimum releases to run on IBM i 7.37. Supported Versions

There are certainly Licensed Program Products (LPPs) which will need to have minimum releases to run on IBM i 7.3, and some releases are no longer supported on IBM i 7.3.  In either case, how did you think I was going to provide 7.3 items to consider? This next item is the seventh item, Supported Versions, and I have 3 points under this last highlight.

  1. Java.  IBM Developer Kit for Java 5770-JV1 will be removing IBM Technology for Java 6.0 (options 11 and 12) on IBM i 7.3.  Therefore, before upgrading use the WRKJVMJOB command to ensure that all your jobs are using a newer version of a JVM.  By the way, the default JVM for IBM i 7.3 is Java 8.0 32bit, which is option 16.
  2. Domino.  For 7.3 the minimum release of Domino has yet to be published by IBM, we know the minimum release for IBM i 7.2 is Domino 9.0.1.  Most of the time the compatibility is related to the dependent release of Java.  If you are below version 9.0.1, you will need to be looking at an upgrade, and we are waiting for IBM to update the website. (Collaboration and Social(Lotus) Software for IBM i Compatibility Guide)
  3. IBM WebSphere Application Server.  Versions 8.0 and earlier versions are not supported and will not function on IBM i 7.3.  You will need to be on version 8.5 or later of WebSphere Application server, with fix pack 8.5.5.9. You must upgrade to a supported version before upgrading to 7.3.

This isn’t the actual upgrade guide, but some of the issues that people may run into during an upgrade which they have to address prior to the upgrade in their planning process.  There are other issues like with iSCSI, WebSphere MQ minimum releases, IBM Content OnDemand minimum releases, and changes to Universal Connection hostnames.

In any upgrade, planning is one of the most important steps and should never be rushed or glossed over.  If you need help, would like iTech to do the upgrade for you, or just want to have peace of mind knowing that a company that does more upgrades in a week than you will do in a decade is working for you, then contact sales@itechsol.com to enlist our help.

Don’t forget to grab your copy of The IBM i State of the Union, Pete’s Predictions for 2016.

Have questions about your next upgrade? Schedule an Upgrade Assessment with the iTech Solutions team.

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