Respond to system messages from any device.

HelpSystems extends Web Server, a universal interface for its IT management software products for IBM i and other platforms, to its Robot SCHEDULER product. Previously available only for Robot NETWORK, the server gives users a graphical interface to HelpSystems' Robot SCHEDULE job-scheduling product. The interface is accessible from any device with Internet access, including browsers, cell phones, tablets, and other mobile devices, without requiring any type of emulation.

The centerpiece of the server is a customizable graphical dashboard that displays critical data about scheduled jobs, system performance, and other operational metrics. The interface is designed to be flexible enough to let users combine performance and metrics into a single dashboard, create a list of preferred systems or partitions and have the dashboard display only that data, and incorporate summary widgets that display information in the order of status severity.

The server lets users monitor and manage critical jobs, view live job-flow diagrams, respond to system messages from any device, and let selected outside observers, such as customers or auditors, view the data without needing an IBM i user profile.

Designed based on Responsive Web Design principles and using JavaScript, the interface adapts automatically to form factors on any mobile device. The server also lets users combine performance and metrics into a single dashboard, share customized dashboards with colleagues, and work with critical jobs any time of the day or night without being tied to the office. It also helps administrators control jobs on servers that may be geographically dispersed or that have numerous partitions assigned to different divisions or enterprises.

"I believe this is the best user interface of any software currently available for IBM i," noted Chris Heim, CEO of HelpSystems. "It's modern, mobile, and easy to maintain. Deployment takes only minutes, and the server has a zero footprint."

The upgrade doesn't require a software license and supports all recent versions of Robot SCHEDULE and Robot NETWORK. HelpSystems plans to extend this framework to all of its products in successive upgrades over the next couple of years.

Although capable of monitoring a large number of systems or partitions, HelpSystems views this as also potentially helpful for smaller shops with fewer servers. "It's easy to navigate, and you don't need a lot of i knowledge to use it," Heim notes. Heim particularly points out that it eliminates some manual processing regardless of an enterprise's size. "For example, a number of our customers currently have operators querying the data from Robot SCHEDULE and Robot NETWORK and then manually transposing that data into spreadsheets for executives." The new interface provides a graphical means of accessing that information, as well as automatically moving it into spreadsheets if needed.

The interface also provides active job-flow diagrams that help users analyze job-process flows, plan future scheduling, and see instantly what effects altering a job flow have made. In addition, it streamlines auditing processes by helping users collect pertinent data for auditing reports.

For more information, see helpsystems.com.

John Ghrist has been a journalist, programmer, and systems manager in the computer industry since 1982. He has covered the market for IBM i servers and their predecessor platforms for more than a quarter century and has attended more than 25 COMMON conferences. A former editor-in-chief with Defense Computing and a senior editor with SystemiNEWS, John has written and edited hundreds of articles and blogs for more than a dozen print and electronic publications. You can reach him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..