The IBM System i is IBM's previous generation of systems designed for IBM i users, and was subsequently replaced

by the IBM Power Systems in April 2008. In 2006, the platform was rebranded to System i as part of IBM's Systems branding initiative. Previously it was known as eServer iSeries in 2000 and before that it was introduced as AS/400 in 1988. In April 2008 IBM announced its integration with the System p platform. The unified product line is called IBM Power Systems and features support for the IBM i (previously known as i5/OS or OS/400), AIX and Linux operating systems. Previous hardware ran OS/400 exclusively.

Contents
[hide]

1 Summary 2 Features o 2.1 Instruction set o 2.2 Software o 2.3 Programming 3 History 4 Hardware o 4.1 CPU in AS/400, iSeries, i5 o 4.2 Models of AS/400, iSeries, i5 systems 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Summary
The AS/400 was introduced in 1988 by IBM as a minicomputer for general business and departmental use. It underwent several rebrandings until its last rebrand in 2006 to the name of IBM System i. It remained in production until April 2008 when it was replaced by the IBM Power Systems line. It uses an object-based library-based operating system called IBM i. The operating system also underwent rebrandings in accordance with the name changes of the general line. At first it was called OS/400 (following the name schema that gave birth to OS/2 and OS/390). Later on became known as i5/OS in line with the introduction of the eServer i5 servers featuring POWER5 processors. Finally, it was called just IBM i coinciding with the 6.1 release. Features include a DBMS (DB2/400), a menu-driven interface, multi-user support, dumb terminal support (IBM 5250), printers, as well as security, communications and web-based; which could be programmed either inside the (optional) IBM WebSphere application server or in PHP/MySQL[1] using a native port of the Apache web server.

While in Unix-like systems everything is a file, on the System i everything is an object, with built-in persistence and garbage collection. It also offers Unix-like file directories using the Integrated File System [2]. Java compatibility is implemented through a native port of the Java virtual machine.

[edit] Features
The IBM System i platform extended the System/38 architecture of an object-based system with an integrated DB2 database that was designed to implement E. F. Codd's relational database model, which is based on Codd's 12 rules, in the operating system and hardware. Equally important were the virtual machine and single-level storage concepts which established the platform as an advanced business computer.

[edit] Instruction set

One feature that contributes to the longevity of the IBM System i platform is its high-level instruction set (called TIMI for "Technology Independent Machine Interface" by IBM), which allows application programs to take advantage of advances in hardware and software without recompilation. TIMI is a virtual instruction set; it is not the instruction set of the underlying CPU. User-mode programs contain both TIMI instructions and the machine instructions of the CPU, thus ensuring hardware independence. This is conceptually somewhat similar to the virtual machine architecture of programming environments such as Smalltalk, Java and .NET. The key difference is that it is embedded so deeply into the AS/400's design as to make applications effectively binary-compatible across different processor families. Note that, unlike some other virtual-machine architectures in which the virtual instructions are interpreted at runtime, TIMI instructions are never interpreted. They constitute an intermediate compile time step and are translated into the processor's instruction set as the final compilation step. The TIMI instructions are stored within the final program object, in addition to the executable machine instructions. This is how application objects compiled on one processor family (e.g., the original CISC AS/400 48-bit processors) could be moved to a new processor (e.g., PowerPC 64-bit) without re-compilation. An application was saved from the older 48-bit platform and restored onto the new 64-bit platform, where the operating system discarded the old machine instructions and re-translated the TIMI instructions into 64-bit instructions for the new processor. The IBM System i's instruction set defines all pointers as 128-bit. This was an original design feature of the System/38 (S/38) in the mid 1970s. For PowerPC processors, the virtual address resides in the rightmost 64 bits of a pointer (48 bits in the S/38 and CISC AS/400), leaving room for addresses to be expanded past 64 bits in future processors. The 64-bit address space addresses all of main memory and disk (the single-level storage concept). The original AS/400 CISC models used the same 48-bit address space as the S/38. This was expanded to 64-bits in 1995 when the PowerPC RISC 64-bit CPU processor replaced the 48-bit CISC processor.

[edit] Software
The IBM System i includes an extensive library-based operating system, i5/OS, and is also capable of supporting multiple instances of AIX, Linux, Lotus Domino, Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003. While i5/OS, AIX, Linux and Lotus Domino are supported on the POWER processors, Windows is supported with either single-processor internal blade servers (IXS) or externally-linked multiple-processor servers (IXA and iSCSI). iSCSI also provides support for attachment of IBM Bladecenters. Windows, Linux, and VMWare ESX(VI3) are supported on iSCSI attached servers. LPAR (Logical PARtitioning), a feature introduced from IBM's mainframe computers, facilitates running multiple operating systems simultaneously on one IBM System i unit. A system configured with LPAR can run various operating systems on separate partitions while ensuring that one OS cannot run over the memory or resources of another. Each LPAR is given a portion of system resources (memory, hard disk space, and CPU time) via a system of weights that determines where unused resources are allocated at any given time. The operating systems supported (and commonly used) under the LPAR scheme are i5/OS, AIX, and Linux. Other features include an integrated DB2 database management system, a menu-driven interface, multi-user support, non-programmable terminals (IBM 5250) and printers, security, communications, client-server and web-based applications. Much of the software necessary to run the IBM System i is included and integrated into the base operating system. The IBM System i also supports common client-server-based technologies such as ODBC and JDBC for accessing its database from client software such as Java, Microsoft .NET languages and others. The IBM System i also provides an environment for AIX applications to run natively on i5/OS without the need for an AIX LPAR. AIX programs are binary compatible with OS/400 when using OS/400's PASE (Portable Applications System Environment). PASE is essentially "an operating system within an operating system", supporting the most recent stable version of AIX. Binaries need to be recompiled on the AIX system, with 16-byte (quadword) pointer alignment enabled. Once the program is compiled with this option, it can be executed under the PASE Korn Shell.

[edit] Programming
Programming languages available for the AS/400 include RPG, assembly language, C, C++, Pascal, Java, EGL, Perl, Smalltalk, COBOL, SQL, BASIC, PHP, PL/I, Python and REXX. Several CASE tools are available: AllFusion Plex (see *Plex Wiki), ADELIA, Synon, AS/SET, IBM Rational Business Developer Extension, LANSA and ProGen Plus. The IBM System i fully supports the Java language, including a 32-bit Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and a 64-bit JVM.

Commands in the Control Language (CL) are promptable using the keyboard F4 function key, and most provide cursor-sensitive help to make specifying command parameters simpler. All command names and parameter keywords are based upon uniform standardized and mostly 3letter abbreviations for verbs and subjects, making for easy rendering and interpretation by the application developer, as opposed to other operating systems with often cryptic or inconsistent command names for related functions or command parameter switches. For instance, the parameter keyword to apply a text description to any object to be created or changed is spelled the same way for all such commands. Examples:

CRTUSRPRF - Create user profile DSPUSRPRF, CHGUSRPRF, DLTUSRPRF - Display, change, and delete user profile DLTLIB - Delete library CRTLIB, DSPLIB, CHGLIB - Create, display, and change a library ADDLIBLE, CHGLIBL - Add to or change library list CPYF, CRTF, DSPF, CHGF, DLTF - Copy, create, display, change, and delete file WRKACTJOB - Work with Active Jobs WRKSYSSTS - Work with System Status STRSST, STRPASTHR, STRSBS - Start System Service Tools, start pass through (remote login), start subsystem VRYCFG - Vary configuration, bring interfaces up or down PWRDWNSYS - Power Down System WRKSPLF - Work with spool files

For traditional business programming languages such as RPG, COBOL, and C, the IBM System i provides an interface to the integrated database that allows these languages to treat database files much like other platforms treat ISAM or VSAM files. Support for 5250 display operations is provided via display files, an interface between workstations, keyboards and displays, and interactive applications, as opposed to batch processing with little or no user interaction. ASCII terminals and PC workstations are equally and well supported, also via internet or LAN network access supplemented by either IBM or non-IBM communication software, for example TELNET or TELNET 5250.

[edit] History
The IBM System i, then known as the AS/400, was the continuation of the System/38 database machine architecture (announced by IBM in October 1978 and delivered in August 1979). The AS/400 removed capability-based addressing.[3] The AS/400 added source compatibility with the System/36 combining the two primary computers manufactured by the IBM Rochester plant. The System/36 was IBM's most successful mini-computer but the architecture had reached its limit. The first AS/400 systems (known by the development code names Silverlake and Olympic) were delivered in 1988, and the product line has been refreshed continually since then. The programmers who worked on OS/400, the operating system of the AS/400, did not have a UNIX

background. Dr Frank Soltis, the chief architect, says that this is the main difference between this and any other operating system. The AS/400 was one of the first general-purpose computer system to attain a C2 security rating from the NSA (Gould UTX/C2, a UNIX-based system was branded in 1986[4]), and in 1995 was extended to employ a 64-bit processor and operating system. In 2000 IBM renamed the AS/400 to iSeries, as part of its e-Server branding initiative. The product line was further extended in 2004 with the introduction of the i5 servers, the first to use the IBM POWER5 processor. The architecture of the system allows for future implementation of 128-bit processors when they become available. Existing applications can use the new hardware without modification. Although announced in 1988, the AS/400 remains IBM's most recent major architectural shift that was developed wholly internally. Since the arrival of Lou Gerstner in 1993, IBM has viewed such colossal internal developments as too risky. Instead, IBM now prefers to make key product strides through acquisition -- e.g., the takeovers of Lotus Software and Rational Software -- and to support the development of open standards, particularly Linux. It is noteworthy that after the departure of CEO John Akers in 1993, when IBM looked likely to be split up, Bill Gates commented that the only part of IBM that Microsoft would be interested in was the AS/400 division. (At the time, many of Microsoft's internal systems ran on the AS/400 platform.[5])

[edit] Hardware
The AS/400 was originally based on a custom IBM CISC CPU which used a CPU architecture known as Internal MicroProgrammed Interface (IMPI) and an instruction set similar to the IBM 370. It was later migrated to a POWER-based RISC CPU family eventually known as RS64.[6]

[edit] CPU in AS/400, iSeries, i5

The System i5 uses IBM POWER CPUs. These CPUs are developed and manufactured by IBM. The POWER 4/5/5+ chips contain two cores. There are Multi-Chip Modules (MCM) available. They have 2 CPUs (4 cores) or 4 CPUs (8 cores) in one MCM.

CPU

Year

Clock Speed

Server-Model

Cobra (A10)

since 1995

55 or 75 MHz

Model: 4xx, 5xx

Muskie (A25/A30)

since 1995

125 or 154 MHz

Model: 53x

Apache (RS64) (A35)

since 1997

125 MHz

Model: 6xx, 150

NorthStar (RS64 II)

since 1998

200, 255 or 262 MHz

Model: 170, 250, 7xx, 650, S40, SB1[7]

Pulsar (RS64 III)

since 1999

450 MHz

Model: 270, 820

IStar

since 2000

400, 500, 540 or 600 MHz

Model: 820, 830, 840, SB2, SB3

SStar (RS64 IV)

since 2001

540, 600 or 750 MHz

Model: 270, 800, 810, 820, 830, 840

POWER4

since 2002

1.3 GHz

Model: 890

POWER4

since 2003

1.1 or 1.3 GHz

Model: 825, 870

POWER5

since 2005

1.5 or 1.65 GHz

Model: i5-520; i5-550; i5-570; i5595

POWER5

since 2006

1.9 GHz

Model: i5-595

POWER5+

since 2006

1.9 GHz 2.2 GHz

Model: i5-520, i5-550, i5-515, i5525 Model: i5-570

POWER6

since 2007

4.0 GHz 4.7 GHz

Model: BladeCenter JS22, JS12 Model: i5-570 (MMA)

Models: M50, M25 & M15

[edit] Models of AS/400, iSeries, i5 systems

Model Year CPU Group Base - CPW

B10, B20, B30, B35, 1988, 1989 B40, B45, B50, B60, B70

P10, P20

2,9 - 20

C04, C06, 1990 C10, C20, C25

P10

3,1 - 6,1

D02, D04, D06, D10, D20, D25, D35, D45, D50, D60, D70, D80

1991

P10, P20, P30

3,8 - 56,6

E02, E04, E06, E10, E20, E25, E35, E45, E50, 1992 E60, E70, E80, E90, E95

P10, P20, P30, P40

4,5 - 116,6

F02, F04, F06, F10, F20, F25, F35, F45, F50, 1993 F60, F70, F80, F90, F95, F97

P05, P10, P20, P30, P40

5,5 - 177,4

P01, P02, P03 1993, 1994, 1995

P05

7,3 - 16,8

150

1996

P05

10,9 - 35,0

S10, S20, S30, 1997 S40

P05, P10, P20, P30, P40, P50

45,4 - 4550

SB1, SB2, SB3

1997, 2000

P30, P40

1794 - 16500

10S, 100, 135, 1995, 1993 140

P05, P10, P20

17,1 - 65,6

170

1998

P05, P10, P20,

30 - 1090

200, 20S, 236 1994

P05, P10

7,3 - 17,1

250

2000

P05

50 - 75

270

2000

P05, P10, P20

50 - 2350

300, 30S, 310 1994

P10, P20, P30, P40

11,6 - 177,4

400, 40S, 436 1995

P05, P10

13,8 - 91,0

500, 50S, 510, 1995 530, 53S

P10, P20, P30, P40

18,7 - 650

600, 620, 640, 1997 650

P05, P10, P20, P30, P40, P50

22,7 - 4550

720

1999

P10, P20, P30

240 - 1600

730

1999

P20, P30, P40

560 - 2890

740

1999

P40, P50

3660 - 4550

800

2003

P05, P10

300 - 950

810

2003

P10, P20

750 - 2700

820

2000, 2001

P05, P10, P20, P30, P40

100 - 3700

825

2003

P30

3600 - 6600

830

2000, 2002

P20, P30, P40, P50

1850 - 7350

840

2000,2001,2002

P40, P50

10000 20200

870

2002

P40, P50

7700 - 20000

890

2002

P50, P60

20000 37400

520

2004 - 2006

P05, P10, P20

500 - 7100

550

2004 - 2006

P20

3300 - 14000

570

2004 - 2006

P30, P40

3300 - 58500

595

2004 - 2006

P50, P60

24500 -

216000

515

2007

P05

3800 - 7100

525

2007

P10

3800 - 7100

570

2007

P40

16700 58500

MMA (9406)

2007

P30

5500 - 76900

M15

2008

P05

4300

M25

2008

P10

4300 - 8300

M50

2008

P20

4800 - 18000

MMA

2008

P30

8150 - 76900

JS12

2008

P05

7100

JS22

2008

P10

13800

JS23

2008

JS43

2008

570 (9117)

2008

P30

104800

595 (9119)

2008

P60

294700

AS/400: basics
The Application System/400 (also known as AS/400), now System i (also known as iSeries), is a type of minicomputer produced by IBM. It was first produced in 1988. It was then renamed to the eServer iSeries in 2000 as part of IBM's e-Server branding initiative. Now with the global move of the server and storage brands to the System brand with the Systems Agenda, the family has been renamed to System i in 2006, with the POW ER5 -based members of the series being called the System i5.

Features
The AS/400 is an object-based system with an integrated DB2 database that was designed to implement E. F. Codd's relational database model, which is based on Codd's 12 rules, in the operating system and hardware.

Instruction set
The AS/400 and its successors survive because their instruction set (called TIMI for "Technology Independent Machine Interface" by IBM) allows the operating system and application programs to take advant age of advances in hardware and soft ware without recompilation. TIMI is a virtual instruction set; it is not the instruction set of the underlying CPU. All user mode programs are stored as TIMI instructions, which means that it is not possible for them to use the instruction set of the under lying CPU, thus ensuring hardware independence. This is conceptually somewhat similar to the virtual machine architecture of programming environments such as Smalltalk, Java and .NET. The key difference is that it is embedded so deeply into the AS/400's de sign as to make all applications and even the bulk of its operating systems binary -compatible across different processor families.

Note that, unlike some other virtual -machine architectures in which the virtual instructions are interpreted at runtime, TIMI instructions are never interpreted. They constitute an intermediate compile time step and are translated into the processor's instruction set as the final compilation step. The TIMI instructions are stored within the final program object, in addition

to the executabl e machine instructions. This is how a program compiled on one processor family (e.g. the original CISC AS/400 processors) can be moved to a new processor (e.g. PowerPC) without re -compilation. The program is saved from the old machine and restored onto the new machine, whereupon the operating system discards the old machine instructions and re-translates the TIMI instructions into machine instructions for the new processor.

The AS/400's instruction set defines all pointers as 128 -bit. This is one of the surviving features of the System/38, which used the 128 -bit address space to enable all devices, including disk and tape storage, to be directly addressable.

The S/38 used 48 bit addressi ng. This was expanded to 64 bits with the original release of the AS/400.

I/O architecture
An AS/400 system is actually an intelligent network of computers: database I/O is handled not by direct constant intervention of the CPU, but instead by processors dedicated to database and "channel" I/O. Likewise, the interactive terminal sessions are offloaded to a workstation processor. In this way, the apparently low-power/low clock-speed CPU is really not a limiting factor in the overall performance of the syste m - and performance can be modified to meet requirements: no terminal I/O processors and more disk subsystem for a dedicated web server, for example.

Software
The AS/400 includes an extensive library-based operating system, OS/400, and is also capable of supporting multiple instances of AIX, Linux, Microsoft W indows 2000 and W indows Server 2003. W hile OS/400, AIX and Linux are supported on the POW ER processors, W indows is supported wi th either single-processor internal blade servers (IXS) or externally -linked multiple-processor servers (IXA).

LPAR (Logical PARtitioning), a feature introduced from IBM's mainframe computers, facilitates running multiple operating systems simultaneously

on one AS/400 unit. A system setup with LPAR can even run different operating systems on different partitions while ensuring that one OS cannot run over the memory or resources of another. Each LPAR is given a portion of system resources (memory, hard disk space, and CPU time) via a system of weights that determines where unused resources are allocated at any given time. The operating systems supported (and commonly used) under the LPAR scheme are OS/400, AIX and Linux.

Other features include an extremely f ast databas e management system, a menu-driven interface, multi -user support, terminals (IBM 5250) and printers, security, communications, client -server and web-based applications. All software necessary to run the AS/400 is included and integrated. More than 2,500 business software applications were available when the first AS/400 was delivered in 1988. Applications can run without modification on any model in the product line, from small, single -processor machines up to those with 64 multi -core CPUs.

The later generations of the AS/400 - the iSeries and System i servers also support common client -server-based technologies such as ODBC and JDBC for accessing its database from client -based software, created with languages such as Java, Microsoft .NET langua ges and others.

Programming

Programming languages available for the AS/400 include RPG, assembly language, C, C++, Java, Smalltalk, COBOL, SQL, BASIC, PHP, PL/I, and REXX. Several CASE tools are available: AllFusion Plex (see *Plex W iki), Synon, AS/SET, LANSA, ProGen Plus and Magic EDeveloper.

Commands in the Control Language (CL) are promptable and most provide cursor-sensitive help to make entering parameters easier. A command name consi sts of a three-letter verb and a subject part, also referred to as a noun. Some command names provide a "modifier" as well. This is intended to make it easy to understand CL code.

Exampl es:

* CRTUSRPRF - Create (verb) user (modifier) profile (noun) * DLTLIB - Delete (verb) library (noun)

* CPYF - Copy file * WRKACTJOB - Work with Active Jobs * WRKSYSSTS - Work with System Status
For traditional business programming languages such as RPG , COBOL, C and SQL, the AS/400 has support for external files, display files and object-oriented programming, which allows for increased programming productivity. It also supports Unix-like file directories, support for Java, client-server technologies and a native Apache web server, for multi-tier applications.

Integrated language environment

Despite the lack of a "Uni xy" background, the AS/400 has, over the year s, picked up the programmi ng/runtime model found on Uni x, Linux, and W indows systems. Traditional AS/400 programming is a "one -stop shop", where a programmer writes computer code, compiles the code, and then executes the code. Ther e is no link step that is found in other environments.

However, in 1995, that changed. IBM re -christened the one-stop shop programming style "OPM" (for Original Programming Model) and introduced a new language paradigm called "ILE" (for Integrated Language Environment). ILE had significant enhancements over OPM, including the ability to create modules (similar to .obj or .lib files), and then bind (link) the modules toget her into a single executabl e. The executable could be created as a program or a service program (service programs are similar to .lib or .dll files).

The real power of the ILE environment is in th e "integrated" aspect, however. Modules in ILE -compliant languages (RPG, COBOL, C, C++, and CL) could be created and bound together. For the first time, AS/400 programmers could expl oit t he strengths of multiple ILE -compliant languages in a single program. Also, with the introduction of service programs, standard routines could be externalized more easily, and modularity increased. To ensure proper migration to the ILE environment, OPM RPG and COBOL programs could be migrated to ILE easily.

The iSeries fully supports the Java language, including a 64 -bit JVM that is implemented below the Operating System layer, closer to the hardware for

superior performance. With i5/OS V5R4 there is now a 32-bit JVM that is also supported.

History
The AS/400 was the result of the combination of the System/38 database machine (announced by IBM in October 1978 and delivered in August 1979) and the System/36. The first AS/400 systems (known by the development code names Silverlake and Olympic) were delivered in 1988, and the product line has been refreshed continually since then. The programmers who worked on OS/400, the operating system of the AS/400, did not have a UNIX background. Dr Frank Soltis, the chief architect, says that this is the main difference between this and any other operating system.

The AS/400 was the first general -purpose computer system to attain a C2 security rating from the NSA, and in 1995 was extended to employ a 64 - bit processor and operating system.

In 2000 IBM renamed the AS/400 to iSeries, as part of its e -Server branding initiative. The product line was further extended in 2004 with the introduction of the i5 servers, the first to use the IBM POW ER5 processor. The architecture of the system allows for future implementation of 128 -bit processors when they become availabl e. Existing programs will use the new hardware without modification.

Although announced in 1988, the AS/400 remains IBM's most recent major architectural shift that wa s developed wholly internally. Since the arrival of Lou Gerstner in 1993, IBM has viewed such colossal internal developments as too risky. Instead, IBM now prefers to make key product strides through acquisition -- e.g. the takeovers of Lotus Software and Rational Software -and to support the devel opment of open standards, particularly Linux. It is noteworthy that after the departure of CEO John Akers in 1993, when IBM looked likely to be split up, Bill Gates commented that the only part of IBM that Microsoft would be interested in was the AS/400 division. (At the time, many of Microsoft's internal systems ran on the AS/400 platform [citation needed].)

Hardware
The AS/400 was originally based on a custom IBM CISC CPU which used a

CPU architecture known as Internal MicroProgrammed Interface (IMPI) and an instruction set similar to the IBM 370. It was later migrated to a POW ER-based RISC CPU family eventually known as RS64.

CPU in AS/400, iSeries, i5

The System i5 uses IBM POW ER CPUs. These CPUs are developed and manufactured by IBM. The POW ER 4/5/5+ chips contain two cores. There are Multi-Chip Modules (MCM) available. They have 4 CPU (8 cores) or 8 CPUs (16 cores) in one MCM.