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The Steps Are in Place

Eight steps to enabling IASPs in your environment

I hope by now you've gotten the message that independent auxiliary storage pools (IASPs) are a key foundation of any IBM System i high-availability and disaster-recovery solution. In this article, you'll learn how to make the path to IASP implementation smooth and obstacle free.

No matter how you're associated with System i availability, you'll be affected by IASPs. System i users will experience application and operations management changes. ISVs will need to respond to the market demand by making any necessary changes to enable their applications to be deployed in an IASP model. Business partners will need to learn how to effectively configure systems for IASP deployment. Even if you're not an ISV or business partner, you'll find it helpful to know the requirements of IASPs to better evaluate them and ask appropriate questions.

Steps for System i Users

IASPs open up new availability options. With proper planning, your move to IASPs should be smooth. You may need to make some changes in applications, runtimes, system management and helpdesk, but these changes are usually minor. Let's look at the eight steps to enable IASPs in your environment (see "The Eights Steps to IASP Enablement".).

Step 1: Gain an understanding of IASPs.
Education, IBM Redbooks publications, the i5/OS Information Center, the System i High Availability Web site and magazine articles are great sources to help you learn about IASPs and the benefits they can bring to your business. See "IASP Resources".

Step 2: Perform an application inventory.
To successfully implement IASPs, your first task is to perform an application inventory. You might use a spreadsheet to track it. At a minimum, the information you collect should include application name, version installed, vendor contact information, custom modifications to the application, whether it's IASP enabled, whether it's business critical, recovery time objective and recovery point objective.

Step 3: Determine whether purchased applications are IASP enabled.
For any purchased applications you want to move to IASP, contact the ISV to determine the steps to deploy the application in IASPs. See the System i High Availability Web site for links to ISV whitepapers that detail necessary changes for Oracle/JD Edwards World and Enterprise One, SAP and Lawson Intentia, with others to come. If the application isn't enabled for IASPs, find out when the ISV plans to enable it.

With proper planning, your move to IASPs should be smooth.

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