7.3 Items to Be Aware of When Upgrading to IBM i 7.3 – Part 1

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Four part series on Upgrading to IBM i 7.3As with any upgrade, the success is in the preparation. Reading the IBM i Memo to Users and the upgrade guide will help ensure you are on the right path to a successful upgrade. We want to bring to your attention a few items and pre-requisites that you need to consider before you start your upgrade to 7.3. While IBM i 7.3 contains many cool new features and functions, the upgrade has several points that you need to be aware of. These are a few of the items that I want to bring to your attention, and certainly not all the concerns that must be examined before an upgrade.  Every company’s IBM i environment is unique, and careful consideration and planning must be done for each upgrade to ensure there is no interruption to the business.

1. Power6

IBM i 7.3 is not supported on Power6 systems.  This includes Power 520, 550, 560, 570, 595, M15, M25, E4A, E4S, M50, E8A, EMA, MMA, or FHA Machines.  In addition, Power6 BladeCenter models JS12, JS22, JS23, and JS43 machines can’t run 7.3.  Also, IBM i 7.3 isn’t supported on the IBM Flex System p260 and p460 Compute nodes for POWER7 or POWER7+ (Make sure you understand this is just IBM Flex Systems), nor Blades PS700, PS701, PS702, PS703, or PS704.  While we are on the subject of hardware, if you are using iSCSI IBM i 7.3 will not support iSCSI connected System x hardware, as that product has been stabilized.

2. LAN Console

It has always been the recommendation that administrators upgrade the LAN Console software on the PC being used as the console prior to upgrading the OS.  This release is no different but you need to go another step.  You must upgrade to the new Java based Access Client Solutions product before upgrading to 7.3.

Note: The LAN console feature in the IBM i Access for Windows client will work for a D-mode install because SSL ciphers aren’t used during the D-mode IPL but on the following A-mode IPL the IBM i Access for Windows LAN console will fail to connect. The IBM i Access for Windows client doesn’t need to be removed from the PC but be aware the IBM i Access for Windows console will not continue working if the system is upgraded to 7.3. If you are upgrading to 7.3 and you want to replace an existing console with a LAN attached Operations Console, upgrade the system before you migrate the console. This prevents any conflict between the existing console and the Operations Console.

Your choice since 7.2 has been one of two consoles, HMC or LAN Console.  You need to ensure that you have the latest version of the JAVA based IBM i Access Client Solutions product on your PC before starting the upgrade to 7.3.

This was Part 1 of a four part series. See the following posts below:

Upgrade_Assessment