IBM i (iSeries/AS400) Health Check – Get Peace Of Mind That Your System Is In Good Condition

The purpose of this blog is to highlight the importance and the benefits of conducting an IBM i Health Check at least once a year, if not more frequently, based on your needs.?

IBM i is an operating system. iSeries and AS400 are servers. I use these terms interchangeably to make it easier for folks to find this kind of information on the web.

How Do You Know If Your IBM i System Is In Good Condition?

There are many reasons for performing health checks.

Here are a few:

·????????Make sure your hardware is operating as expected and with desired data protection,

·????????Confirm disk storage utilization is under the danger threshold,

·????????Identify processes that are consuming storage abnormally,

·????????Make sure resources are performing at peak level,

·????????Confirm backups are successful,

·????????Identify software patches (PTFs) that should be applied to thwart CVE vulnerabilities.

So, What Does An IBM i Health Check Assessment (HCA) Include?

Our client IBM i HCA includes:

·????????Perform hardware checks i.e. firmware, IOAs, resources

·????????Perform software checks i.e. PTFs, Licensed Programs

·????????Work with reported problems

·????????Review system operator messages

·????????Check system activity; Job CPU utilization

·????????Check ASP utilization; Memory pool page faulting; Jobs in system

·????????Check the storage unit's activity and state of balance

·????????Review backup events

·????????Check data protection and hot spare status

·????????Review product activity log?

·????????Review any service action events

·????????Provide recommendations and report

Here Is An Example Of An HCA Report:?

In this example, this report gives the user summary information about disk utilization, last backup and job activity. Additionally, the report notifies the user of remedial actions to take and to renew MIMIX license key that will expire in 1 day.

Here Is An Example Of Common Vulnerabilities And Exposures (CVE) Vulnerability:

https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6984745?myns=swgother&mynp=OCSS9QQS&mynp=OCSSTS2D&mynp=OCSWG60&mynp=OCSSB23CE&mynp=OCSSC5L9&mync=E&cm_sp=swgother-_-OCSS9QQS-OCSSTS2D-OCSWG60-OCSSB23CE-OCSSC5L9-_-E

Security Bulletin: IBM HTTP Server (powered by Apache) for IBM i is vulnerable to HTTP response splitting and denial of service attacks (CVE-2022-37436, CVE-2006-20001)

IBM HTTP Server (powered by Apache) for IBM i is vulnerable to HTTP response splitting attacks due to a use of malicious backend and a denial of service attack due to an out-of-bounds read or write as described in the vulnerability details section. IBM i has addressed the CVEs by providing fixes to the Apache HTTP Server implementation as described in the Remediation/Fixes section. www.ibm.com

So Why … Now … Should You Consider Performing Health Checks?

Over the decades that I have been involved in the IBM i user community, my sense is that most users do not have a formal process to perform an HCA because their system has been so reliable. What could go wrong?

Or they are unaware of this valuable service.

With the decline of skilled IBM i talent, more small issues can accumulate that can lead to disruption and downtime.

Further, since December 2021 when the US Federal Government announced the ‘log4j’ security vulnerability, IBM has introduced monthly security PTFs (Program Temporary Fixes, or “software patches”) to address newly discovered IBM software security vulnerabilities.?

Many IBM users do not have an IT staff. The HCA can help those with limited IBM i skills understand the current status of their system and suggestions to improve performance, reliability and security.

We even conduct HCA for IBM users with large staffs with in-depth IBM i skills – they outsource it to us because they have so many demands on their time, it is easier for them to have us audit their system.

How Often Should You Conduct An HCA?

For small users on a tight budget, at least once per year.

For medium sized users, we suggest every 3-6 months.

IBM i users with larger staffs may want the HAC done monthly. Some even request it daily based on their volume.

Conclusion

I strongly urge at least an annual HCA to assure your IBM i server has current software support, security protection and your hardware is running optimally.?

Need Help?

Call me at 714-593-0387 or email me at?blosey@source-data.com. Let us know how we can help!

To learn more about us, and view our customer testimonials, please visit our website:?www.Source-Data.com?and see our other links:

1)?????IBM I on POWER (iSeries/AS400)

https://www.source-data.com/ibm-i-on-power-server/

2)?????IBM I (iSeries/AS400) Cloud Hosting

https://www.source-data.com/cloud-400/

3)?????IBM I (iSeries/AS400) Disaster Recovery Options

https://www.source-data.com/cloud400-disaster-recovery/

4)?????IBM I (iSeries/AS400) Version Upgrade

https://www.source-data.com/4-hour-version-upgrade/