Resources

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Get a Handle on Your Job Stream with Forecasting

A Robot Schedule forecast shows you the run activity scheduled for all Robot Schedule jobs over a time period that you specify. Robot Schedule uses the job schedule, job completion history, and any information you add for user jobs, remote prerequisites, and members of remote groups to make its forecast.
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Where to Start with IBM i Operations

Have you recently adopted an IBM server running IBM i and don’t know where to begin with system operations? You are not alone.
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On the Trail of IBM i Audit Data

Believe it or not, auditors are your friends, but audit reporting might be your worst enemy. Gathering all that data can take ages, unless you’ve already keeping automated audit trails across your operations.
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Robot and FlashCopy

Last month, Chuck Stupca (retired IBMer) and Chuck Losinski (Fortra) presented a webinar discussing FlashCopy for IBM i. Based on the attendance, it looks like this is a very important topic for many of you so I wanted to explain how FlashCopy ties to Robot products.
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Add Power to SEQUEL Scripts with Logic

SEQUEL Scripting is a process that allows users to run multiple SEQUEL and system commands together. Scripts allow for much of the same capability of Command Language Programs (CLP) without the need for programming knowledge or a compiling of the objects.
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Dealing with Temporary Files in WebDocs iSeries

WebDocs iSeries uses the IFS directory /RJSTEMP and the library RJSTEMP to store information and files temporarily. In general, it will attempt to clean up after itself, but there are situations which arise that do not perform clean up operations. As a result, files will gradually accumulate, taking up disk that could otherwise be used for other processes. The RJSTEMP library The RJSTEMP isn’t...
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Advanced Troubleshooting in WebDocs iSeries

As a WebDocs iSeries administrator, if something goes wrong your users will look to you to find, and fix, the matter. Simply knowing where to look when an initial error message is unclear can resolve a huge percentage of difficulties.
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The Partitioning Paradox Solved

There is rarely a dull moment for IBM i administrators, as their operating environments continuously absorb and distribute new data. While this trend certainly keeps teams engaged, it also triggers fears that current protocols may not be enough to meet the challenges of tomorrow. First and foremost, there is often some doubt as to whether storage plans will be able to scale to manage the sheer...
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Easily Accessing Data on Remote Databases with SEQUEL

With SEQUEL you can retrieve information not just from your local IBM i, but also on other IBM i’s, SQL servers, Oracle, MySQL, and other remote databases. Once you have the remote host definition defined you are ready to convert data on other platforms into meaningful information right from your local IBM i. The ability to design views with SEQUEL SQL and translate them on the fly to native SQL...
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Get Started with Remote Database Access

Many organizations are expanding to use multiple platforms in their IT environments. There are many reasons for this: it can be due to company acquisitions or application vendor platform shifts, or when a department requires a certain software package with features that require a different platform. For example, many Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools employed by sales teams reside on a...
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Considerations For Securing NFS Shares For Use With Webdocs iSeries

NFS has long had a tentative relationship to security. As with its cousin, CIFS/SMB (more commonly know as Windows File Sharing), security was not an area of primary focus. The elements of security that exist are significant, but they are nontrivial to implement, particularly across operating systems and with third-party applications.
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How-To: Slice and Dice Your Data with Client Tables

In the era of big data users need to view their data in a way that makes sense and lets them dive deeper. SEQUEL’s Client Tables are an interactive solution, much like pivot tables, which allow users to reorganize and summarize columns and rows of data in a spreadsheet-like format both on a PC and on a mobile device or tablet. With Client Tables on the go, you can access data from your office, in...
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HANDS OFF! Saying Goodbye to Manual Data Access

Organizations today face an ever-expanding volume of information that must be analyzed and delivered to the right people. While the resulting business intelligence offers us insight into processes and customers, many companies still rely on practices and technology that aren’t suited for managing data on a large scale. As a December 2012 Financial Director article highlighted, 60 percent of those...
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Robot Best Practices

Wondering about best practices for automating your IBM i processes with Robot systems management solutions? Take a look at this list and get off to a good start.
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Working with Variables Part II: Taking SEQUEL Runtime Prompts to the Next Level

In an earlier article, we introduced prompted views as a way to enable end users by allowing them to retrieve data without the need for code. We discussed how this approach meets the needs of users while freeing time that database administrators might otherwise spend running countless similar queries. Finally, we showed you how to configure default values for your prompts and explained how to use ...