(888) 682-5335

Platform Reference

Glossary

Midland Information Systems sells, supports, and migrates AS400 and IBM i Power Systems hardware and software, from legacy AS400 environments through the current IBM Power 11 line, plus Managed SIEM services for IBM i shops replacing self-run Splunk.

5

  • 5250 Emulation

    Software running on a modern PC that displays and interacts with IBM i's traditional text-based screens, the interface most people mean by "green screen."

A

  • AS400

    The original IBM midrange business computer line, introduced in 1988, whose operating system evolved into today's IBM i running on IBM Power Systems.

C

  • Capacity on Demand (CoD)

    A licensing option on IBM Power Systems hardware that lets a customer activate additional processor or memory capacity already installed in the machine, as needed, without a physical hardware change.

D

  • DB2 for i

    The relational database built directly into the IBM i operating system, rather than installed as a separate product.

E

  • End of Support (EOS)

    The date after which IBM stops issuing security patches, fixes, and official support for a given hardware generation or IBM i release.

F

  • FIELDPROC

    A DB2 for i feature that automatically encrypts and decrypts specific database columns, added transparently without changing existing application code.

I

  • IBM i

    The operating system descended from the original AS400's OS/400, now running on current IBM Power Systems hardware, with an integrated relational database (DB2 for i) built into the OS itself.

  • IBM Power Systems

    IBM's current server hardware line built on the Power processor architecture, the direct successor to System i/iSeries hardware and the platform current IBM i systems run on.

  • IBM Storwize

    IBM's discontinued mid-range and entry-level virtualized SAN storage brand (V7000, V3700, and others), replaced by IBM FlashSystem in 2020.

L

  • LPAR (Logical Partition)

    A logically divided, independently running slice of a single physical IBM Power Systems server, each with its own operating system, memory, and processor allocation.

  • LTO (Linear Tape-Open)

    The open tape cartridge standard used by IBM's tape libraries and autoloaders, currently on its 10th generation (LTO-10, 40 TB native per cartridge).

M

  • Managed SIEM

    A SIEM offered as an ongoing service by a third-party provider, rather than software an organization installs, tunes, and staffs itself.

P

  • Power 11

    The current generation of IBM Power Systems hardware, the newest platform a legacy AS400/IBM i workload can be migrated onto.

  • PowerVM

    IBM's built-in virtualization layer for Power Systems hardware, the hypervisor that creates and manages LPARs.

R

  • RPG

    A programming language, originally built for business reporting, that is still the dominant application language on IBM i systems today.

S

  • SIEM

    A security system that collects log and event data from across an organization's systems and analyzes it centrally to detect and alert on threats.

T

  • Tape Autoloader

    A compact, single-drive tape unit that automatically loads cartridges from a small internal magazine in sequence, without the multi-drive capacity or cost of a full tape library.

  • Technology Refresh (TR)

    IBM's periodic incremental update to a given IBM i release, delivering new features and fixes without requiring a full operating system upgrade.

V

  • Virtual Tape Library (VTL)

    A disk-based backup appliance that presents itself to backup software exactly like a physical tape library or drive, so existing tape-based save jobs and scripts keep working unchanged.