From 1988 to today

IBM i releases

Every OS/400, i5/OS and IBM i release: when it came out, how long it is supported, what it brought and which Technology Refreshes followed it.

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Timeline

IBM i

Since 2008 the system has been called IBM i, and since 7.1 new function arrives twice a year through Technology Refreshes.

  1. IBM i 7.6 supported Available from 18 April 2025 Multi-factor authentication moves into the operating system, and it runs only on Power10 and Power11. 2 Technology Refreshes Open →
  2. IBM i 7.5 supported Available from 10 May 2022 SQL gains the BOOLEAN type, passwords move to level 4, and RPG learns DATA-GEN and FOR-EACH. 8 Technology Refreshes Open →
  3. IBM i 7.4 extension only Available from 21 June 2019 · end of standard support September 2026 Db2 Mirror for i arrives, with two systems active together, and TLS 1.3 enters the system. 12 Technology Refreshes Open →
  4. IBM i 7.3 extension only Available from 15 April 2016 · end of standard support September 2023 Temporal tables and authority collection; the TRs bring Power9, JSON in SQL and the HTTP functions. 13 Technology Refreshes Open →
  5. IBM i 7.2 out of support Available from 2 May 2014 · end of standard support April 2021 Power8 arrives with row and column access control, and RPG becomes free-form in its declarations too. 9 Technology Refreshes Open →
  6. IBM i 7.1 out of support Available from 23 April 2010 · end of standard support April 2018 The first release with Technology Refreshes instead of point releases; Db2 learns XML and MERGE. 11 Technology Refreshes Open →
  7. IBM i 6.1 out of support Available from 21 March 2008 · end of standard support September 2015 The release in which i5/OS becomes IBM i, and in which every program has to be converted to the new format. Open →

i5/OS

From V5R3 OS/400 is called i5/OS: the years of the System i5 with Power5 processors.

  1. i5/OS V5R4 out of support Available from 14 February 2006 · end of standard support September 2013 IOP-less adapters, RAID6 and XML in RPG arrive. Open →
  2. i5/OS V5R3 out of support Available from 11 June 2004 · end of standard support April 2009 OS/400 changes name and becomes i5/OS, and RPG reaches 63-digit numbers. Open →

OS/400 on RISC

From June 1995, 64-bit PowerPC processors: programs move from CISC to RISC without recompiling.

  1. OS/400 V5R2 out of support Available from 30 August 2002 · end of standard support April 2007 A consolidation release; in RPG, bitwise functions and source in the IFS. Open →
  2. OS/400 V5R1 out of support Available from 25 May 2001 · end of standard support September 2005 Signed objects, passwords up to 128 characters and free-form RPG calculations. Open →
  3. OS/400 V4R5 out of support Available from 28 July 2000 · end of standard support July 2002 The iSeries 400 release: the 270 and 8xx models require it. Open →
  4. OS/400 V4R4 out of support Available from 21 May 1999 · end of standard support May 2001 Logical partitions (LPAR) and built-in VPN arrive. Open →
  5. OS/400 V4R3 out of support Available from 11 September 1998 · end of standard support January 2001 PTFs can be downloaded from the Internet and expansion towers can be serviced with the system running. Open →
  6. OS/400 V4R2 out of support Available from 27 February 1998 · end of standard support May 2000 Java runs on the system, and RPG gets variable-length fields. Open →
  7. OS/400 V4R1 out of support Available from 29 August 1997 · end of standard support May 2000 Version 4: RISC only, OS/400 included in the price and on CD-ROM. Open →
  8. OS/400 V3R7 out of support Available from 8 November 1996 · end of standard support June 1999 The second RISC release; RPG IV learns null fields, long names and floating point. Open →
  9. SSP Release 7.5 out of support Available from 8 March 1996 · end of standard support May 2000 The System/36 operating system, hosted inside OS/400 on the RISC models. Open →
  10. OS/400 V3R6 out of support Available from 22 December 1995 · end of standard support October 1998 The first OS/400 for 64-bit RISC processors: programs are saved on CISC and run on RISC. Open →

OS/400 on CISC

The first machines, from 1988: the B to F models and the Advanced Series 2xx and 3xx.

  1. OS/400 V3R2 out of support Available from 21 June 1996 · end of standard support May 2000 The last release for CISC, shipped six months after the first RISC one; in RPG it has the same additions as V3R6. Open →
  2. OS/400 V3R1 out of support Available from 25 November 1994 · end of standard support October 1998 Version 3 on CISC: ILE RPG, ILE COBOL and Client Access/400. Open →
  3. OS/400 V3R0.5 out of support Available from 3 June 1994 · end of standard support May 1997 An intermediate step towards Version 3, available before V3R1. Open →
  4. OS/400 V2R3 out of support Available from 17 December 1993 · end of standard support May 1996 The first ILE language, ILE C/400, arrives. Open →
  5. OS/400 V2R2 out of support Available from 18 September 1992 · end of standard support March 1995 CICS/400 and BRMS arrive. Open →
  6. OS/400 V2R1.1 out of support Available from 6 March 1992 · end of standard support June 1994 An update of V2R1 for the E models. Open →
  7. OS/400 V2R1 out of support Available from 24 May 1991 · end of standard support June 1994 Version 2, for the B, C and D models. Open →
  8. OS/400 Release 1 out of support Available from 26 August 1988 The first OS/400, announced with the AS/400 on 21 June 1988. Open →

Individual PTFs are not listed: there are thousands per release and nearly all of them fix a defect. New function comes with releases and with the Technology Refresh PTF groups, which are here.

Dates checked against the IBM life cycle table on . Go to the IBM table

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