There was a time not long ago when IBM called the shots in the marketing of hardware and software for the entire computing industry. This was particularly true in the PC arena. When IBM said "Jump," everybody asked, "How high?" To see how this climate in the industry has changed doesn't take a gypsy fortune teller with a crystal ball. However, looking at the tea leaves of AS/400 news may help us guess where the fortunes of the midrange platform might be found.

One key indication that IBM is shifting out of the mass-merchandized PC market is its announcement last December that it would no longer attend the Comdex shows. IBM and Lotus are following Compaq's lead in telling the PC world that the glamour and glitz of Comdex is no longer the best forum in which to tell their stories. It's not surprising.

Last fall's Comdex was about the "Microsoft-Me-Too" message, and over the last few years, the show has become a ghetto-like PC bazaar with garish booths and bargain basement sell-offs of products. IBM and Lotus, by contrast, are interested in reaching a different level of clientele; they're after the corporate customer who is seeking hardware and software solutions for the business organization.

When IBM introduced the PC platform in the 1980s, it was an exciting new tool with a bright, open future. At those first Comdex gatherings, IBM had products for Microsoft DOS and-later- OS/2. In those days, the brightest star of all was the Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet program. However, as the Microsoft/Intel platform has expanded-and the future of IBM's OS/2 has contracted-there's been a realization that the Comdex forum for products is no longer really meshed with IBM's new image as a solutions provider. In fact, the last exciting moment for the AS/400 at Comdex was several years ago, when IBM claimed that its newly released black boxes could outperform Microsoft's SNA Server-a claim that Microsoft hotly disputed.

What's interesting for AS/400 users is that IBM is also pulling Lotus from the Comdex show. Over the last two years, IBM has spent tremendous resources integrating the Lotus

Notes/Domino groupware product with OS/400. Historically, Lotus has been one of the driving forces behind Comdex-first with 1-2-3, and then with cc:Mail, the first standard email network software by which all PC messaging software was measured. To witness Lotus pulling up stakes at Comdex is indeed baffling. (Jason Chudnofsky, president and CEO, ZD Comdex and Forums, contends that it's merely a misunderstanding about IBM's seating arrangements.) Something is definitely happening within the IBM/Lotus team, something mysterious and unsettling. Are IBM and Lotus abandoning their market presence in the desktop arena? Have they been so marginalized by Microsoft that they are folding their tents and leaving town? Or is this action one more hint at a new market strategy? If so, how will it play out over the next few months to affect our fortunes with the AS/400?

IBM's AS/400 announcements this quarter will, no doubt, clarify some of the confusion. At the top of the list of AS/400 enhancements is the native OS/400 implementation of the Lotus Domino server-a messaging, groupware, and Web application development server that will enable up to 5,000 clients to work collaboratively. The Domino 4.6 server began shipping for other platforms (Windows NT, AIX, HP-UX, NetWare, and OS/2) last October, and that release has been widely touted as the strongest yet from Lotus. It supports Internet Messaging Access Protocol version 4 (IMAP4), Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension (MIME), Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), and Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP) for standards-based access to Domino mail, directories, and databases. It also provides support for Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) version 3.0 for secure Web serving support. Finally, Domino 4.6 allows Web pages developed in Notes to support Java 1.1 agents and Java-based access to Notes database objects. Servers set up with Domino 4.6 allow any user with a standard Internet Web browser to access the Lotus Notes groupware databases to send and retrieve mail. It allows Domino administrators to publish the Lotus Notes databases as customizable Web pages and to use other Lotus e-commerce software packages to securely extend the organization's presence out to the Web.

IBM Rochester has promised that the AS/400's native version of Domino will be fully compatible with other versions of Domino, so it will be a mark of IBM's commitment to see how the new AS/400 server-scheduled for V4R2 of OS/400-fills the bill. But IBM Rochester took OS/400 development of the Domino server away from IBM Lotus. This raises all sorts of questions about IBM's long-term commitment to Domino. Key to that commitment will be how OS/400 Domino is kept current: Lotus releases Domino updates about twice a year, so Domino
4.6 will be four months old when OS/400's native version debuts this month. In the groupware marketplace-where the Microsoft Exchange server is rapidly gaining ground on Domino-it's important to know if IBM Rochester can keep up with the demands of a competitive software release cycle.

Why is this so important to the AS/400 platform? Because the Lotus Domino platform itself is expanding rapidly, and this expansion is bringing loads of cross-platform solutions to MIS-many of them written by Lotus, and many written by third parties. However, if IBM Rochester is the project owner for Domino on the AS/400-with a separate development team and different release schedule-how well will these add-ins integrate to the AS/400 platform?

For instance, last December, Lotus announced a partnership with BackWeb Technologies to bundle BackWeb's 4.0 Server software with Domino.Merchant 2.0 Server Pack. Domino.Merchant is Lotus' e-commerce solution for small to mid-sized organizations. The

combination of Domino.Merchant and BackWeb's server will enable businesses to streamline marketing and communications projects that are targeted toward their e-commerce customers. Using Domino.Merchant and BackWeb, organizations will be able to integrate personalized direct marketing programs with their other e-commerce solutions.

The value of Domino.Merchant is its ability to let organizations deploy commerce solutions quickly, easily, and with minimal Internet programming experience. For instance, the Domino.Merchant 2.0 Server allows companies to create an online storefront where customers can access catalogs, search for products and information, and make purchases. Will Domino.Merchant work with the AS/400? This is still unclear. But in the meanwhile, IBM Rochester has been focusing on a different, non-Domino e-commerce solution called Net.Commerce for the AS/400.

Now, wouldn't it be nice for AS/400 customers to have a wider selection of products from which to choose? Wouldn't AS/400 customers want to leverage their investment in Domino for the AS/400 with other software solutions such as BackWeb? Of course! However, if IBM Rochester treats Domino for the AS/400 as a mere geriatric remedy for IBM's old OfficeVision/400 messaging product and doesn't make Domino fully compatible with other third-party add-ins, customers will be once again faced with the dilemma of selecting a different hardware platform to gain the full benefit of the Domino server's architecture.

Another case in point is Lotus' announced upgrade of its Domino.Doc document management software. Domino.Doc is a Lotus application that allows organizations to manage large numbers of business-related documents using the Lotus Notes database. The new version of Domino.Doc is compliant with the Open Document Management API (ODMA) and allows other ODMA- compliant applications access to Domino's document databases through any Web browser. It has a redesigned user interface and a much improved search capability that takes advantage of Notes agents written in LotusScript. It would be fantastic if AS/400 users could combine this new document management facility with applications running on the AS/400. Currently, however, IBM's only sanctioned document management software system for the AS/400 is OpenVision/400, an IBM package that runs natively on the AS/400. Domino boosters are hopeful that, by bringing Domino to the AS/400 as a native OS/400 server, customers will also have the capability of leveraging Domino with Domino.Doc, offering more choice in their selection of document management software. However, as of this writing, this compatibility is unclear.

The list goes on. At last December's Internet World in New York, Lotus also announced a plan to allow Web developers to use NetObjects' Fusion Web site authoring tool. This tool will tap into the Domino server's databases and object stores to create more dynamic Web sites. From a Domino perspective, customers building Web sites with Notes Designer for Domino will be able to add styles and themes to a Web page with Fusion. The key to the integration between Domino and Fusion is a number of new Java components that are being created based on NetObjects' NFx component architecture and APIs. The components will enable Fusion developers to drag and drop dynamic connections to Domino onto Web pages.

For AS/400 customers just starting to build their Web sites, tools such as NetObjects would greatly speed the process of development. But will the Domino product for the AS/400-as created and maintained by Rochester-support NetObjects' NFx component architecture? What

about the APIs? These types of questions raise the bar for Domino on the AS/400, and it will only be a matter of time before we know all the answers.

Meanwhile, IBM has been separately bringing its own set of e-commerce development tools to market. At the top of that list is an integrated set of products called VisualAge for eBusiness. VisualAge for eBusiness is a suite designed to make it easier for development teams-site designers, content publishers, and Web application programmers-to coordinate their efforts. It includes IBM's recognized Java graphical development environment, VisualAge for Java, NetObjects' Fusion for publishing content, Lotus's BeanMachine for tying JavaBeans into applets, Lotus' Domino Go Web server, Netscape's Navigator browser, and the developer's edition of IBM's DB2 database management system, Universal Database.

What's curious about IBM's announcement is that it does not mention the applicability of VisualAge for eBusiness for the AS/400 architecture. Again, is IBM building its e-commerce tools for all its operating system platforms, or will the AS/400's implementation of e-commerce relegate it to a limited and specialized set of tools? In my opinion, if IBM is really serious about moving the AS/400 into the mainstream of e-commerce, it must address overall platform compatibility in its marketing. Until this is clear in the minds of MIS executives, the future of the AS/400 as an e-commerce server will be murky because we won't know if the AS/400 is in the mainstream of Web development or merely a sideshow.

For those of us who look to the AS/400 for more traditional client/server tools, IBM's enhancements to VisualAge for RPG (VARPG) are also pushing us toward the Internet. The latest version will support native TCP/IP, and this will enable us to build applications for this communications protocol without the prerequisite AnyNet TCP/IP implementation through Client Access/400. This will make for a considerably thinner PC client running VARPG applications, requiring less memory and providing faster response to the AS/400 server. Also included will be enhancements to the VARPG GUI Designer and most of the V4R2 RPG IV language extensions that will couple with RPG IV on the server.

There has been an ongoing debate within the AS/400 community about the role of VARPG: Should programmers even bother with this client/server application development environment ifas many believe-the future of AS/400 application programming will be in the Java language? After all, why bother to train a traditional green-screen programmer how to use VARPG when Java is a much more robust, object-oriented programming language? Isn't VARPG going to further isolate the MIS development team into IBM's proprietary RPG syntax?

On the other side of the debate, RPG programmers and their managers see VARPG as an easy, cost-effective path for developing new, user-friendly GUI client/server applications. They argue that VARPG leverages their programming skills, allowing them to quickly develop new projects without the long learning curve associated with Java or C.

What's making the debate heat up is a special IBM project in Canada. IBM Toronto has been working on a compiler that will use VARPG source code to create Java-compliant byte code- code that is ready to run inside of any Java Virtual Machine (JVM). This byte-code compiler will be the linchpin that will enable VARPG programmers to bridge the AS/400 application gap between thick-client PCs and thin-client Network Stations. IBM's Network Station 1000 Series uses TCP/IP and a RISC CPU, making it unsuitable to run standard Windows-based client

software. Using the Java-compliant byte-code compiler, VARPG programmers will be able to extend their AS/400 client/server applications out to Network Stations that are running TCP/IP. This will also make the Network Stations much more cost-effective clients, allowing AS/400 RPG shops to quickly build new applications that can make use of the network-centric devices. It was originally assumed that this VARPG byte-code compiler would be available the first quarter of 1998, but rumors abound that it may now arrive with V4R3 of OS/400 later this summer.

Does this hush the VARPG debate among programmers? Of course not! Naturally, Java boosters say the IBM resources would be better spent writing new Java enablers for other projects instead of deluding RPG programmers into a false belief that RPG has a real future. Regardless of your personal stance on RPG, it's obvious that VARPG is being positioned to make the thin client Network Station a viable member of the AS/400 thin client farm. Will this Java byte-code capability leverage the VARPG language to other Java-compliant platforms? This is an interesting question that many old-time RPG fans are anxiously waiting to find the answer to. If so, the debate about the value of RPG may yet continue well into the 21st century.

Does this push to move the AS/400 to the network-centric model seem like a mad stampede to you? Does all this attention to TCP/IP and e-commerce make you scratch your head and wonder at the hype? Well, you may not be alone. Many AS/400 managers look at the number of IBM's V4R2 network-centric announcements and try to square that with the reality of their own MIS network infrastructure.

The AS/400 TCP/IP enhancements and services include faster TCP/IP response times, Routing Internet Protocol 2 (RIP2) for greater bandwidth, ISDN dial-up lines with TCP/IP Point-to-Point (PPP) connectivity, Domain Name System (DNS), and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), along with JVM, the Integrated PC Server (IPCS) firewall, Net.Commerce, and Domino. But the majority of AS/400s in the field are still running the SNA protocol with twinaxial controllers and green-screen displays. IBM Rochester seems to be reliving the movie Field of Dreams, hoping that if it builds it, they will come.

But a white paper written by Gartner Group entitled "Network Computing: The Rest of the Story" seems to read a different subtext to the old Hollywood movie plot. The report paints a very gloomy picture in which a lack of network bandwidth, technical support, and personnel training all conspire to thwart the network-centric computing model. And the culprit? The real villain in the plot is not Microsoft, but the actual age and condition of the network infrastructure itself. Since the first generation of network-centric products will not be capable of computing offline, the demands placed upon aging network backbones such as Token-Ring and 10Base-T Ethernet will probably not sustain the increases in bandwidth that are needed to technically support network computing. This will result in poor performance, causing users to get frustrated, and will probably make hypersensitive applications fail. That in turn will create support headaches for MIS personnel who haven't been adequately trained in the new technologies. Ultimately, LAN and WAN bandwidth will likely need to be increased at enormous expense.

The report goes on to say, "While industry leaders debate the merits of network-computing architectures, IS managers must ensure that their infrastructure can support the new computing environment." This should be a warning to us that we may be faced with a real choice when we begin implementing the features of V4R2: Upgrade our networks or suffer the humiliation of poor performance, increased numbers of support calls, and mass frustration from our users.

This leads me to wonder what was in IBM's head when it spent its engineering resources-as rumored-providing a V4R2 enhancement to twinaxial cable. Twinaxial cable is a vestige left to the AS/400 from the days of the S/34 and S/38. Thousands of miles of this unwieldy cable have been laid down or buried in walls throughout the decades to allow 5250-style terminals and printers to connect to the AS/400. The rumored V4R2 enhancement to twinaxial cable would take the aging 1 MB per second cabling medium and allow it to handle TCP/IP. IBM's premise is that AS/400 managers will want to use all that old embedded twinaxial cable infrastructure to run the newer TCP/IP protocols in tandem with older 5250-style terminals and printers. Will this enhancement increase the bandwidth of twinaxial cable, or will it actually decrease the throughput of TCP/IP? Is IBM positioning itself to finally replace its support for dumb terminals with the Network Station? If so, how successful will these devices be when they are coupled with the obsolete medium of twinaxial cable?

Once again, it seems we may be given a poor choice between functionality and performance in the implementation of AS/400 hardware. The throughput specifications of this twinaxial cable enhancement-if it is announced-will be interesting to study.

Last December, Microsoft released its new SQL Server 6.5 Enterprise Edition and its SNA Server 4.0 server. SNA Server 4.0 is geared to support Microsoft's Distributed Internet Applications architecture, and it lets administrators reuse CICS and IMS transactions as Common Object Model (COM) components. It also provides access to data stored on an AS/400 through OLE DB applications. Microsoft is billing SQL Server 6.5, Enterprise Edition, as the scalable answer to accessing AS/400 and mainframe legacy systems. It supports eight-way symmetric multiprocessing servers and clustering through Windows NT Server 4.0. It also includes a natural language functionality, called Microsoft English Query, to simplify the process of information retrieval. Once the query has been defined, it can be treated like any other COM component, making it capable of being embedded into other Windows products, or even into a Web page, for quick, distributed access. Users can also build their own glossary with the software to store particular descriptions of the data.

Of course, with IBM's announced support of Windows NT Server on the IPCS, the invasion of Microsoft into the AS/400 architecture is nearly complete. Now, the next question on many upper-level managers' minds will be, "If the AS/400 will run NT, why are we spending so much money on AS/400 hardware?"

If your management is considering NT as part of your MIS solution, you may want to take a look at a white paper developed by D.H. Brown Associates entitled "Comparing NT Server and AS/400 in the Enterprise" at http://as400.rochester.ibm.com/library/ compare.htm. The paper goes into technical depth about the architectural differences between the two platforms and provides insights into why the AS/400 is positioned to provide the necessary cost-protection for the organization. While the paper is not "architecturally neutral" in the debate about NT, it is a good technical starting point for AS/400 MIS managers who have yet to jump on the Microsoft NT bandwagon. It points out the similarities and the differences between Microsoft's and IBM's approaches to information infrastructure and how those strategies are technically delivered in their products. Since Microsoft NT is now a formally accepted part of the AS/400's suite of solutions, it will make good lunchtime reading.

A technical understanding of NT is going to be increasingly important for other reasons as well.

The majority of traditional AS/400 software vendors are expanding their support of critical MIS packages to include integration with Microsoft products. Leading the pack is J.D. Edwards. It announced in December an NT integration suite called OneWorld. It runs on Microsoft BackOffice 4.0 and provides a flexible business application system for companies building extended supply chains that include the Windows NT platforms. It uses Microsoft SQL Server to gain access to AS/400 data and Microsoft Exchange Server to transmit that data across the Internet. OneWorld recently received full Microsoft BackOffice certification and uses distributed object-based applications that integrate across the TCP/IP network.

At the same time, Wall Data is providing a new version of RUMBA Office 95/NT that allows companies to easily translate IBM mainframe, AS/400, VAX, UNIX, and Hewlett-Packard (HP) data to corporate intranets and extranets. The connectivity suite was built as a set of Microsoft ActiveX controls-branded RUMBA OBJECTX-to enable users to quickly and easily tailor the product to meet their host and Internet needs. RUMBA OFFICE 95/NT V5.2 also now includes the RUMBA Internet Companion, Wall Data's Internet/intranet connectivity application that consists of FTP, newsgroup, multihost access applications, and network diagnostic utilities. The RUMBA Internet Companion is integrated with Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.02 or higher. Users can now access host systems and conduct Internet and intranet information searches with one application, maximizing productivity. RUMBA Internet Companion's HotList features personalized folders where users can save and organize Internet addresses for Web sites, FTP sites, host sessions, and newsgroups in any way they choose, further enhancing user productivity. Users can also distribute their HotLists to other users via email through any SMTP-based email application.

So what is in the crystal ball for the AS/400? Is IBM's defection from Comdex a clue to a new strategy for reaching new customers? When all the news is tallied-even IBM's much awaited NT announcements for the AS/400 IPCS-one trend is perfectly clear: IBM has made a change in strategic direction. Instead of attempting to add value to the Microsoft products-enhancing Bill Gates' vision of an NT-centric client/server platform-IBM is using NT to add value to the AS/400 network-centric product line. Instead of investing new dollars in platform-specific client/server application tools, IBM is creating new tools and modifying old ones to deliver platform-neutral applications that can reach the widest possible computing audience. Instead of throwing more resources at making the AS/400 fit as a part of the PC client platform-and showing off those products at Comdex-IBM is sliding gracefully behind the network-centric model of client/server. It's building the development tools, porting the servers to the AS/400, and retrofitting its infrastructure to address the new computing model.

For our AS/400 shops, this transition is not going to be as easy as IBM thinks, and the expense for our organizations may be buried in upgrading the infrastructure of networks and personnel. Nor will the transition be simple for the AS/400's traditional third-party vendors, who must continue to service the Microsoft architecture while mapping IBM's progress with Java and the Network Station.

Yet, perhaps, in the end, the event of IBM's departure from Comdex will be seen as the defining moment in the fortunes of the AS/400's evolution. There is no doubt that IBM is building a network-centric AS/400. But one question still remains to be answered: When it's built, will anyone come?

Thomas M. Stockwell is a technical editor for Midrange Computing. Email him comments and questions at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Thomas M. Stockwell is an independent IT analyst and writer. He is the former Editor in Chief of MC Press Online and Midrange Computing magazine and has over 20 years of experience as a programmer, systems engineer, IT director, industry analyst, author, speaker, consultant, and editor.  

 

Tom works from his home in the Napa Valley in California. He can be reached at ITincendiary.com.

 

 

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