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Thursday May 21st, 2009 | 8:30 AM
IBM i 6.1 Upgrade Planning - Smooth Sailing

Presented by Gerri Passe, IBM Sr. I/T Specialist, Rochester MN

Whether you are considering upgrading to IBM i 6.1 a few months from now or perhaps later this year, this presentation includes planning considerations which will prove useful for your upgrade to IBM i 6.1 (previously known as i5/OS V6R1). You will learn about the on-line upgrade planning resources available to you as well as the additional planning needed due to the program conversion involved with IBM i 6.1. Last but not least, you will hear about a helpful IBM pre-upgrade verification tool and the 'Top 10 keys' for a smooth upgrade to IBM i 6.1.

IBM i Announcements Update
During this presentation, you will be introduced to the recent IBM Power Systems and IBM i related announcements made on April 28, 2009. A variety of topics will be highlighted including the new IBM Power 520 and 550 processor options for i Editions, enhanced BladeCenter support for IBM i, virtualization enhancements, new high performance Solid State Drive (SSD), new DB2 Web Query functions and other enhancements.

Handouts can be found here:
IBM April Annoucements
Upgrade Planning - Smooth Sailing

Tuesday March 17th, 2009 | 9:00 AM
SEQUEL Viewpoint - Heath Kath

Are you tired of your old query interface? Are you still using native SQL (Structured Query Language)? Are you still using SEQUEL's green screen to design SEQUEL views? ViewPoint, SEQUEL's graphical user interface (GUI), simplifies and modernizes your access to data. If you are on the go, use SEQUEL Web Interface to access your data through your browser. ViewPoint is free to anyone current on SEQUEL maintenance. ViewPoint is easy to use and provides functions not available through the green screen interface. Come to this session to learn how SEQUEL can access your data on the System i or remote system, how easy it is to drill into your detail information; how to distribute the data, and see new ways you can use SEQUEL!

This session will include a power point presentation, and live demonstrations showing you:

  • An overview of ViewPoint
  • How to convert your existing queries into SEQUEL objects
  • How to build graphs from your data
  • How to build tables
  • How to build a report
  • How to download records to your File or PC
  • How to build dashboards
  • How to view your SEQUEL objects through your browser

BIO

Heath Kath is a Technical Sales Consultant specializing in SEQUEL demos, business intelligence webinars, and customer support. At Help/Systems, Heath has worked as an Educational and Consulting Services instructor and as a technical support representative for automated operations and business intelligence products. He is a Robot and IBM Certified Specialist with more than 17 years of System i experience, including 11 years at IBM working in product support, testing, software support, and training. His background also includes CL and RPG programming, Query/400, Query Manager, SQL, and journaling. Heath teaches online e-training classes, runs a bi-weekly webinar for business intelligence products, and works closely with Regional Sales Managers to provide technical support for new customers.

Tuesday February 17th, 2009 | 9:00 AM
IBM DB2 Web Query - Jackie Jackson

The February MAMSUG session was presented by Jackie Jansen, IBM i Solutions Manager at Information Builders. The topic was DB2 Web Query for System i.

IBM's replacement for Query/400. Come and see what all the excitement and buzz is about. IBM DB2 Web Query for System i is a new advanced reporting and graphing solution for i5/OS that will allow users to migrate or convert their current Query/400 applications. DB2 Web Query is a browser based suite of reporting tools that enables users to create dashboards, analyze reports through slicing, dicing and drilling into their data, work off-line or in disconnected mode and much more. This is a must see session for anyone who is interested in query and reporting on the System i.

This session included live demonstrations of creating reports, graphs and dashboards quickly with DB2 Web Query.

Click here for a copy of the handouts from this presentation.

BIO
After 31 years specializing in Database and Business Intelligence Jackie Jansen has recently retired from IBM. She has joined Information Builders and is responsible for IBM DB2 Web Query. Jackie is the author of a variety of published columns including 'Business Intelligence with Jackie' and 'Jackie's Forum'. Jackie is a frequent speaker at IBM i Technical Conferences and User Group meetings. Contact her at jackie_jansen@ibi.com.

Tuesday January 20th, 2009 | 9:00 AM
High Availability and Disaster Recovery Techniques - Jeff Bender

Presented by Jeff Bender of SPSI (a local Madison area partner of the noMax High Availability product). Topics will include discussions of High Availability and Disaster Recovery techniques, examples of networking solutions, best practices and implementation options.

There will be a very brief overview of the product *NoMax in regards to how it uses the IBM I Series journaling to replicate data files and libraries, user ID’s, the Integrated File System, Spool files and more. Our discussion will include questions and answers during and at the end of the presentation.

Click here for a copy of the presentation.

Tuesday November 18th, 2008 | 9:00 AM
System i Access for the Web - Linda Hirsch

Linda Hirsch from IBM will be presenting a full day seminar on System i Access for the Web.

Tuesday October 21st, 2008 | 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
6.1 Announcements - Jamie Barnes

Jamie Barnes from IBM St. Louis will be presenting information on I 6.1 and new announcements.

Tuesday September 16nd, 2007 | 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Paperless Environment- Greg Ritch

See a paperless environment in action. Understand what is needed to truly get to paperless in your company. We are pleased to have Greg Ritch of Quadrant Software to discuss how to streamline workflow and reduce costs with paperless process management.

 Tuesday May 22nd, 2007 | 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Disaster Recovery - Richard Dolewski

Fires, floods and long-term power outages are just some of the threats our businesses face. Does your business have a plan to survive and recover from a disaster? Are you the one tasked with drawing up the plan, or putting it into practice? Are you really ready? Maybe you've been wrestling with these questions recently, or maybe you'd like to, but don't know where to start.

Disaster Recovery Primer – Ready, Set, Plan (COMMON Silver)
Do you have a Disaster Recovery Plan? Are you really prepared? The difference in surviving in business depends on how well you prepare for the unexpected. If a disaster struck, how would your company do? This seminar is designed for IT personnel responsible for systems availability. Using the Business Continuity Model, the seminar breaks down the various components of the disaster recovery planning as it relates to the availability and recovery of computing services. Attendees will be provided with the tools to writing a successful computer Disaster Recovery Plan.

Is Your H/A Truly High Availability? (COMMON Bronze)
You have invested in a High Availability solution. Have you ever used your solution in a planned or unplanned outage? Is your target box ready to run your production applications? This session reviews the audit process and identifies common findings for failure. A gap analysis will provide a basis for discussion. Can you really run your business from that other box? Make your H/A ready for true Disaster Recovery.

By the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
1. Understand common failures in H/A.
2. Make your H/A system reliable.


DR & Security Confessions – The Movie ®
Debut at COMMON Miami – Speaker of merit award
Disaster Recovery and lack of Security can be a good or painful experience. The mistakes are common and plenty. Learn from someone who has seen the good, the obvious and the ugly within System i Security breaches, Backup and Disaster Recovery. This session is a compilation of assumptions, technical gaps, blunders, Oops, and good practices recommendations. Ensure this movie does not portray your IT shop as the names have been changed to protect the guilty. We forgive all to those who confess and enjoy plenty of movie trivia.

Disaster Strikes your AS/400, Are you Ready? (COMMON Bronze)
You have a disaster recovery plan but are you really prepared? Your plan references the AS/400 Backup & Recovery manual--all 600 pages of it. Where do you start? In this session, a complete step by step recovery of an AS/400 will be presented. Attendees will leave this session with a working technical recovery script (provided) for recovering their AS/400s back home. This session will also investigate numerous exposures in the disaster recovery in today's IT shops. This is a technical interactive session.

About the Speaker
Mr. Richard Dolewski is a certified systems integration specialist and disaster recovery planner. As Vice President for technical and contingency services provided by Mid-Range, he has extensive experience in Disaster Recovery Planning , BCP, Backup & Recovery program design, and Systems Availability. Richard has supported 14 computer room disasters, and conducted over 150 disaster recovery tests. Richard is an award winning speaker at technical conferences including IBM Common, IBM Executive Events, and Local user groups.


Tuesday April 17th, 2007

Document and Content Management Trends
Larry John and Derek Nordaune
RJS Software Systems

Join Larry and Derek of RJS Software Systems for an educational overview of current Document and Content Management trends. They'll be discussing:

  • Electronic Document Management: Learn how scanning and storing documents electronically can save time and money.
  • Electronic Workflow:Learn how managing work processes electronically can greatly improve productivity.
  • Automating Report and Data Delivery: Learn how to create electronic forms, convert and manage System i and PC data, and automatically deliver information to the people who need it.
About the Presenters:

Larry John, Technical Sales and Support General Manager. Larry has 22 years of experience in the technology industry and has worked for RJS since 2000. His insight and experience will help you understand how managing critical business documents electronically will help optimize your business processes.

Derek Nordaune, Sales. Derek has four years of technology sales experience. He is available to help diagnose technology needs and discuss RJS solutions.


Tuesday March 20th, 2007 | 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Tom Huntington, Vice President of Technical Services
Help/Systems, Inc.

Many of MAMSUG's members use Help/Systems' popular ROBOT line of products to automate their processing. Back by popular demand, Tom will be speaking on 2 topics:
1.Business Intelligence with SEQUEL
2. Robot/SCHEDULE 10.0 and Robot/NETWORK 10.0 new versions

Business Intelligence with SEQUEL
SEQUEL is a powerful System i Centric solution for providing data analysis and reporting on your data base.   During this session we will demonstrate how to convert your OS/400 based queries into SEQUEL, how to drill into detail data from summary data, how to build executive dash boards and how to extract data into tables ready for Exel or other formats.  Along the way we will discuss how SEQUEL can eliminate the need for a data warehouse and the ability to access other data bases outside of the System i.

Robot/SCHEDULE 10.0 and Robot/NETWORK 10.0
Robot/NETWORK 10.0 has been enhanced with a graphic interface for viewing events and a topology map for console consolidation.   The new version will provide enhance security, event consolidation and many ease of use features.

The world of computer operations has just gotten easier.  Robot/SCHEDULE 10.0, a new version, shipped in December of 2006 and Robot/NETWORK 10.0, new version, shipped in March of 2007.   We will demonstrate the new versions via PPT and Live sessions.   You will learn how easy the new Java interfaces are to operate and navigate.   Some of the new version 10.0 schedule features are: job monitors for service level agreements, Schedule Activity Monitor (SAM) for quick view of the schedule, Schedule Blueprint for flow charting, and consolidated reporting.  

Tom, a long-time employee of the company, oversees technical alliances, public relations, international business partners, business relationships, and large customer relationships. It is his job to make sure that the Robot Automated Operation Solution and Business Intelligence Software works with other major software and hardware vendors worldwide. Tom often speaks on automation topics, iSeries technology, Business Intelligence and Help/Systems products, and conducts technical presentations on work management, security, automated operations, IFS, LPAR and backup/recovery. He has written several articles on automated operations and business intelligence for leading iSeries and System i trade journals and is the host of the popular Internet E-conference program at Help/Systems, Inc. Bring your questions!


Tuesday January 16th, 2007 | 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM

High Availability/Business Resilience
Paul Weyer, Lakeview Technology

 Can Your Business Survive a Downtime Crisis?

Today's real-time, on-demand businesses rely on the continuous flow of data and the availability of applications. Globalization, eBusiness, customer self-service, supply-chain integration and mobile workforces demand higher uptime from core and mission critical applications and data. Join us as Lakeview Technology conducts this highly informative workshop. Learn how to improve your long-term business resilience with a business resiliency plan.

Get the essentials of business continuity:
  • How the information availability continuum affects your business
  • How to define availability objectives
  • Understand continuous data protection, high availability, data recovery and how they enable SOA and business intelligence/data warehousing 
  • How to calculate business resilience ROI 
  • How to develop and implement the business resilience plan 
  • How the information availability continuum affects your business
  • How to define availability objectives
  • Understand continuous data protection, high availability, data recovery and how they enable SOA and business intelligence/data warehousing 
  • Tips and techniques from the field-case studies of successful business continuity plans
Who Should Attend?
  • IT Managers & Directors
  • IT Operations, Systems & Network Managers
  • DR & Business Continuity Planners
  • Critical & Core Business Application Managers


Tuesday November 21st, 2006, Joe Pluta, Pluta Brothers Design
WDSc, Step by Step

In this seminar, Joe will show you how to use WDSC to do what you used to do in PDM and SEU, only better and faster.  WDSC is IBM’s direction for all iSeries development, and this presentation will get you productive in the new tool immediately.  Learn how to do all of your day-to-day tasks, as well as new techniques that only WDSC provides.

  • Connections – Getting WDSC Started
  • Filters and Tables – Navigating Your Source
  • Actions – Just Like PDM, Only Better!
  • Searching – Search Multiple Files, Even Multiple Libraries!
    LPEX Editor – All of Your Old Favorite Commands, and a Whole Set of New Ones!
  • Outline – The New Outline Capability Can Make You More Productive Immediately
  • Verify – This is the Quick Way to Check Your Program and Fix Your Errors
  • Compiling – Create Multiple Compile Configurations Easily
  • Debugging – The Integrated Debugger Blows STRDBG Away, and SEP is a Programmer’s Dream
Joe Pluta is the founder and chief architect of Pluta Brothers Design, Inc. and has been extending the IBM midrange since the days of the IBM System/3. Joe uses WebSphere extensively, especially as the base for PSC/400, the only product that can move your legacy systems to the Web using simple green-screen commands. He literally wrote the book on WDSC: WDSC: Step by Step, along with E-Deployment: The Fastest Path to the Web and Eclipse: Step by Step.  Joe performs onsite mentoring and speaks at user groups around the country.


Tuesday October 17th, 2006 , Leonardo Llamas, IBM
Technical Introduction to Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)

Many companies have millions of lines of legacy code that run their business. How can your investment in this code (and the people that maintain it) be kept, and yet leveraged to take advantage of all the promise the Web offers?

Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is the answer. This session describes the concepts and implementation of SOA in the iSeries environment. Topics include retrofitting or re-using existing 3GL (RPG, COBOL, etc.) applications and DB2 data in a Service Component Architecture (SCA), exposing these resources as Web Services, to automate and optimize business processes. Because the iSeries is capable of running multiple operating systems, it is capable of participating in multiple areas within the SOA infrastructure. Some of the capabilities within WebSphere Development Studio Client (WDSc) will also be discussed.

 

Leonardo Llamas is a Certified Consulting IT Specialist on the System i for WebSphere, Performance, Service Oriented Architecture; Web Services;and Application Integration. He is part of the IBM Advanced Technical Support team, located in Rochester, MN.

September 19th, 2006, Joshua Heling, SecurePipe, Inc.
Network Security and Business Risk

With identity theft and computer crime a daily topic in the news, this widely requested topic is relevant not just to iSeries users, but all IT professionals. If if your computers are locked up tighter than Alcatraz, come hear an expert discuss the following topics:

  • Network and Computer Security: security trends, vulnerabilities, legal and business risks
  • Security Fundamentals: what are all of these acronyms, layers?
  • Reasonable precautions and options for managing your Security requirements: what level(s) of IT security should be implemented?

    SecurePipe, founded in 1996, is a managed security services provider (MSSP) offering outsourced network security solutions. For modest monthly fixed fees; SecurePipe delivers best of class perimeter and internal network security to clients 24x7x365, via its Security Operations Center. SecurePipe employs three shifts of security engineers providing the vigilance, tools, and reporting systems required to deliver regulatory compliant network security services. SecurePipe has deployed and currently manages devices on six continents throughout the world.

    Joshua Heling is Co-Founder and CTO of SecurePipe, and is responsible for the Network Operations and R&D activities at the Company.  Joshua previously served as a Networking and Systems engineer at LFCI, Inc., and has been working with the development and implementation of network security solutions since 1995.  Joshua obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science at the New College of the University of South Florida. His thesis was “An Implementation of Virtual Private Networking for the Linux Operating System.”  Joshua is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).


    May 16, 2005 - Maureen Mueller, IBM>
    What's new in the iSeries world?

    During the last few months, IBM has announced and begun to roll out many new things for those of us in the iSeries community.  Come hear the new things that have recently been released, and what is planned for the near future.

    Maureen Mueller is a Senior iSeries Presale Technical Support Specialist, assigned to the IBM Central Region iSeries sales team.  She has been with IBM for over thirty years in various capacities such as small, medium and large account Systems Engineer, Product Planner, Regional specialist and midrange system consultant.  She has spent the last fourteen years with IBM working exclusively with the AS/400/iSeries.  Currently, Maureen is focused on providing iSeries marketing and technical support for IBM Business Partners, IBM Sales Specialists and customers.


    February 21, 2006
    Successful Project Management
    Garrett Peterson, Yahara Software

    Garrett's presentation to the group last year generated more positive comments than any other. As the old saying goes, if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. This is never more true than when you are managing a project. This year Garrett will focus on illustrating through presentation and hands-on participative exercises some of the most important activities necessary for project success.

    Whether you manage an ongoing list of issues, a small one-time project, or a major IT initiative that will reshape the way your company does business, this presentation is for you! Even better, bring your supervisor along!

    Presented by: Garrett Peterson, Yahara Software, Madison, WI
    Garrett has been a software development professional for 20+ years. He has worked as a software developer,designer and project leadership for his entire career.  He comes to us as a representative of Yahara Software, where he is frequently engaged to help organizations enhance their project management capabilities through training and other consultative activities.


    January 17, 2006 -- Scott Klement
    RPG and the IFS

    o, what is this IFS thing? Scott will be visiting us to explain how you can get started using the Integrated File System from your RPG programs. The IFS is typically used for reading and writing "PC-style" files on the iSeries, and is an important tool for integrating with other computers or business partners. When you attend this presentation, you'll see how to directly access the IFS from your RPG programs. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about this advanced topic and see how it can be improved or implemented in your company. Join us!

    November 15, 2005 -- Warren Acker, IBM Rochester
    iSeries Access for Web: Database Access

    Is it a pain to keep Client Access up to date at every workstation in your company? Are you worried about how secure your database is?

    iSeries Access for Web is software that runs on the iSeries server. It provide access to various iSeries functions through a browser and provides a user-centric, web-based view of iSeries or AS/400 applications and information. No software is requred to be installed on the client, other than a web browser.

    Its many tools include a robust database access function, allowing users to easily upload, download, and query iSeries files using wizards, Client Access transfer requests, or SQL. Warren will be speaking about how to use these tools. Part of his presentation will focus on security and customization, so your system can be safe and your users productive.

    Warren Acker is a Senior Software Engineer at IBM in Rochester, Minnesota. He has spent the last 16 years of his career working on the PC Support/ Client Access/ iSeries Access family of products. His main area of expertise is providing workstation-based solutions for accessing the iSeries database. Currently, Warren is the team leader for the iSeries Access for Web product.


     October 18, 2005 -- Tom Huntington, Help/Systems, Inc.
     Help/Systems is the developer of the Robot line of iSeries automation software, which is the most widely used iSeries automation software in the world.

    Tom will give a brief overview of all Robot products, and then will speak on 2 specific products, Robot/CONSOLE and Robot/SPACE.

    Robot/CONSOLE monitors message queues, FTP activity, the security audit journal, and the system history log (QHST), and automatically reacts to messages and events. For instance, it performs recovery procedures, pages experts, and redirects messages.

    Robot/SPACE eliminates disk space crises. It collects disk usage statistics, predicts future disk usage, and performs more than 20 disk cleanup duties. It even reclaims disk space!


    Tuesday May 17th, 2005
     Business Continuation: The Cost of Downtime, and How to Avoid It
    Jim Hackett, Lakeview Technologies

    Could your business function without its iSeries? Probably not, and if it could, it wouldn't be pretty. Companies depend on their computers being online more than ever before. Like telephone and electrical service, computers are expected to be ready to perform at any hour of the day or night without exception. If keeping your computer available for use is your responsiblity, you won't want to miss this discussion.

    This presentation will include:
    1. An introduction to business continuation terms, concepts, and levels, and what's driving the industry,
    2. The cost of downtime and calculating ROI from an availability solution,
    3. How to develop an availability plan that's right for your organization,
    4. Best practice considerations when implementing an availability solution within your organization

    Note: As part of his presentation, Mr. Hackett referenced a spreadsheet that can be used to calculate the cost of business downtime. Feel free to view it using the link below and save it to your local system.
    Business Downtime Calculator
    PDF of Presentation


    Tuesday April 19th, 2005 | Daylong Conference | 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM
    Jim Sloan

    Jim Sloan is a retired IBMer who is President of Jim Sloan, Inc. Jim was the lead software planner on the S/ 38 Operating System beginning with the early stages of development. He continued in this capacity through the development and early releases of AS/ 400. While working on S/ 38, Jim started what was known as the QUSRTOOL library and wrote all of the TAA Tools in the library. Jim Sloan, Inc. has a license from IBM to include the TAA Tools in the TAA Productivity Tools product. Jim is the developer of this product. Jim has spoken at every COMMON conference since 1979 and is a frequent speaker at various user groups in the U.S. and abroad. He continues to speak and write on a variety of AS/ 400 subjects. He is the author of the book 'Jim Sloan's CL Tips & Techniques.'

    Jim will be presenting 3 sessions during our conference:

    1. Intermediate CL: Jim shows you how to take your CL programming skills to the next level.

    2. Open Query File: What is OPNQRYF and how do I use it? Where does it work best? How do I use the parameters? What are the performance issues of Open Query? These questions and more are answered in this session.

    3. TAA Tools overview: What is in this product? Jim shows us what is in this toolkit, and how using these tools in your code and everyday tasks can greatly improve your productivity.


    Tuesday Feb. 15th, 2005 | 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM
    Maureen Mueller, IBM Corporation

    During 2004, IBM made several exciting announcements for iSeries which included new servers, new packaging, and new advanced capabilites that address the requirement of an OnDemand world.  Come hear about all the 2004 i5 and i5/OS V5R3 announcements.

    Maureen Mueller is a Senior iSeries Presale Technical Support Specialist, assigned to the IBM Central Region iSeries sales team.  She has been with IBM for over thirty years in various capacities such as small, medium and large account Systems Engineer, Product Planner, Regional specialist and midrange system consultant.  She has spent the last fourteen years with IBM working exclusively with the AS/400/iSeries.  Currently, Maureen is focused on providing iSeries marketing and technical support for IBM Business Partners, IBM Sales Specialists and customers.


    Tuesday Jan. 18th, 2005 | 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM
    Successful Project Management

    As the old saying goes, if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. This is never more true than when you are managing a project. This presentation will dish out tips for success, and things to watch for to avoid failure. Project sponsorship will also be discussed, as the roles of project manager and project sponsor are frequently confused. Whether you manage an ongoing list of issues, a small one-time project, or a major IT initiative that will reshape the way your company does business, this presentation is for you!

    Presented by: Garrett Peterson, Yahara Software, Madison, WI
    Garrett is a developer and project manager for Yahara Software. He has worked in project management for 5 years, and is a Microsoft Framework (MSF) Instructor. He has been a software development professional for 17 years.


    Tuesday Nov. 16th, 2004 | 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM
    iSeries Access Family: What's New in V5R3

    Soon IBM will be delivering the latest versions of its iSeries Access products. Are you aware that iSeries Access now provides client solutions that run entirely in your browser (ie, no desktop install or configuration) and work with any PC operating system? Come hear about iSeries Access for Web V5R3 and HATS LE V5. We will also discuss other iSeries Access clients, such as iSeries Access for Windows V5R3 and the new iSeries Access for Linux offering.

    Presented by: Carol Miner of IBM
    Carole Miner is a Senior Software Engineer in the iSeries Client Integration area at IBM Rochester Laboratory. Carole has a strong grounding in programming, planning and leadership including the original PC Support, FSIOP (now called Integrated xSeries Server). Caroles current focus is client integration technologies and support for iSeries Access products. She is an internationally known technical speaker, author, and iSeries authority.



    Tuesday Oct. 26th, 2004 | 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM
    V5R3 - LPAR Installation Issues and Recovery

    This session will cover some of the more common (and some of the uncommon) issues that occur during the implementation of an LPAR. Knowing that the issues exist is an advantage when performing an installation. This session will arm you with the information necessary for recovering from these undocumented gotchas.

    Speakers:
    Larry Bolhuis is a  principal at Arbor Solutions, Inc, an IBM Business Partner in Grand Rapids, Michigan and Oak  Brook,  Illinois. An award winning COMMON speaker and frequent user group speaker, Larry grew up learning about computers from his father who repaired them starting in the 1960's.  Continuing with tradition, Larry graduated  from Calvin College with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and almost immediately began working on IBM's midrange equipment.  Larry has worked extensively with the S/34 and S/36, the AS/400 and continues to work on  the iSeries and today's eServer i5.  Larry is a certified IBM Expert on the iSeries and he holds nearly 40 IBM iSeries and AS/400 certifications. Larry specializes in connectivity, security, performance, system design and migrations.  He also works extensively with Cisco routers and firewalls and other supporting network infrastructure equipment.
     
    Paul Weyer is a Senior 2 Consultant with New Resources Consulting.  He has been working on midrange since 1986 and specifically on the iSeries (AS/ 400) since 1988. His background includes both applications and systems work. 6 1/ 2 of his 18 years in midrange systems have been in the technical support area.  During this time he lead the AS/ 400 team and supported the development staff.  Paul not only created development utilities, but educated the staff as well. Paul's consulting career began in 1993 and has supported many clients during that time frame. Paul is a bronze award winning speaker at COMMON on the topic of LPAR Installation Issues and Recovery.  He holds many iSeries certifications including "IBM eServer Certified Systems Expert - iSeries Technical Solutions LPAR V5R2".

    PDF of Presentation


    Wed, September 15th, 2004 | 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM
    Linux on the AS/400

    Ready or not, Linux is coming.  In fact, it is already here!  Linux is being accepted, it is happening and it is exciting!  Every day there seems to be another major press release or announcement about Linux.  Learn what all the buzz is about by attending Strategies & Solutions' Linux demo at the Madison Area Midrange Systems User's Group on Tuesday, September
    15, 2004 at 9:00 am. We will discuss Linux's emerging role in low cost commodity services.  Our certified Linux engineers will discuss and demonstrate just how powerful and easy to deploy the Linux operating system and its associated services are, and the benefits to be gained through consolidation of your existing servers.

    There will be a live demonstration of Linux using 2 projectors and
    screens.We will be demonstrating a Linux server, along with a Linux client and a Microsoft client, comparing and contrasting each.  A demonstration of OpenOffice will be included.  While Linux runs on any platform, we will feature IBM's xSeries and iSeries servers.  Each person attending will leave with a Live demo of SUSE Linux 9.1!

    We will have two presenters, Eric Ludvigson and Sam Wozniak.


    Wednesday, April 21st, 2004

    Web Application Architectures
    This session will cover the basics of web communication protocols and techniques. You will be introduced to various web concepts, including TCP/IP communications and HTTP Protocol, as well as a number of concepts centering on web page design. The session finishes up with a brief discussion of web application topics

    Web Enabling Legacy Systems
    This session will cover the various approaches used to web enable legacy systems, ranging from remote emulation to screen scraping to full web enablement.

    Introduction to WDSci
    This session will cover the basics of the WebSphere Developemnt Studio client for iSeries, WDSci, and its underlying framework, Eclispe. In this session you will be given a demonstration of the vious features of WDSci, including basic web page and web site design, development of servlets and JavaServer Pages and testing of applications. Included will be information on the Remote System Explorer, which allows you to develop and debug RPG applications on the host.

    Question Roundtable
    During this session, the floor will be open for various questions surrounding web development. If desired, we can do a quick demonstration of web-enabled systems using one or two different techniques.

    Presented by: Joe Pluta of Pluta Brothers Design, Inc.

    Joe is the founder and chief architect of Pluta Brothers Design, Inc. He has been working in the field since the late 1970s and has made a career of extending the IBM midrange, starting back in the days of the IBM System/3. Joe has used WebSphere extensively, especially as the base for PSC/400, the only product that can move your legacy systems to the Web using simple green-screen commands. Joe is also the author of E-Deployment: The Fastest Path to the Web and Eclipse: Step by Step. For any questions on this topic, he can be reached at joepluta@plutabrothers.com.

    Wednesday, February 18th, 2004
     EDI - Past, Present and Future
    a.k.a "EDI - Death of a Legacy or Maybe NOT" attempts to answer many of the questions that suppliers and demand side users of EDI may have. We'll take a look at many of the perceptions and misconceptions that surround EDI. This presentation will cover some definitions that may confuse the user community. It will also analyze trends, directions and the forces that effect change upon the EDI community. The presentation finally will look at the true cost of doing EDI and things that can be enacted to lower the cost, while also improving your company's return on investment.

    presented by Jim Brunner, New Resources Consulting

    Wednesday, January 21st, 2004
     iSeries Navigator
    -Managing Users and Groups and what they access
    -Work Management

    presented by Dan Moravec of IBM

    Wednesday, November 19th, 2003

    Project Management: Danger Ahead
    -Learn the Warning Signs of Failing IT Projects- According to the Standish Groups CHAOS study roughly forty percent of IT projects are canceled before completion and thirty-five percent more are challenged by major cost and schedule overruns. As a profession we must learn to recognize the characteristics of challenged projects and take steps to rectify the problems quickly. During this presentation we will discuss the most common reasons for project failure and how we can put processes in place to detect these issues and resolve them.

    presented by Garrett Peterson of Yahara Software

    Wednesday, October 15th, 2003
     WebSphere Development Studio Client
    WebSphere Development Studio Client (WDSc)
    -Overview of WDSc - What is it and why is IBM introducing it now?
    -Comparison of WDSc to its predecessors
    -Why you should adopt WDSc for your development
    -Developing both native and web development projects working directly from within WDSc
    -Q & A

    presented by Marty Acks of MKS, Inc

    Wednesday, September 17th, 2003
     iSeries Performance Management
    -Performance Management-Its just not for System Administrators!   PPT   PDF

    presented by Paul Weyer of PSC Group.

    Tuesday, April 15th, 2003
     SQL Developers Class
    -Introduction to SQL on the iSeries and AS/400
    -SQL Tricks and Techniques on the iSeries and AS/400
    -Creating and Managing Database Objects Using SQL
    -Embedding SQL in RPG and COBOL Programs

    -Predictive Query Governor Presentation

    presented by Skip Marchesani from Custom Systems Corporation.

    Tuesday, February 19th, 2003
     iSeries Navigator: Overview
    -Basic Concepts
    -Powerful Techniques and Shortcuts
    -Managing Multiple Systems
    presented by Greg Hintermeister of IBM in Rochester.

    Tuesday, January 21st, 2003
     Printer requirements for IP printing
    -what to know BEFORE buying your next laser printer--
    -Device description configuration
    -Using workstation customization to customize/control output
    -Troubleshooting
    presented by Walter D Clinch, Independent Consultant.

    November 19th, 2002
    Disaster Recovery: A Proactive Approach
    presented by Kenneth Zaiken of Lakeview Technologies

    October 15th, 2002
    V5R2 Overview | Greenstreak.
    presented by Gary Marx of IBM.

    September 17th, 2002
    LPAR (AS/400 Logical Partitioning) and LPAR vs Named Spaces
    presented by Jim Oberholtzer and Paul Weyer of Computech Resources.