IBM i 7.2 out of support

What it brought

• Row and Column Access Control (RCAC): access rules attached to the Db2 table, by row and by column
• Many QAUDJRN audit records carry both the old and the new value
• The QPWDRULES system value accepts *ALLCRTCHG, which applies the password rules also when an administrator sets them
• RPG: free-form CTL-OPT, DCL-F, DCL-S, DCL-DS, DCL-PR and DCL-PROC statements, and /FREE is no longer needed
• Support for Power8 (Power S814 and S824) and an in-core crypto accelerator
• Spooled files saved with SAVCHGOBJ; SAVSTG and the storage restore are removed
• PowerHA SystemMirror for i Express Edition, with HyperSwap
• Navigator: system monitors and temporary storage details
• Elliptic curve algorithms in the cryptographic services

Which machines it runs on

• Does not run on System i 515, 520, 525, 550, 570 and 595 or on earlier iSeries and System i models
• The load source must have at least 70 GB of usable space
• On Power6 it no longer supports RIO/HSL loops or IOPs: IOP-less adapters are needed
• IBM announces it as the last release planned for Power6

What is gone

Products and functions that IBM lists as not supported on this release, on its upgrade planning page.

• IBM i Access for Linux; Access Client Solutions replaces it
• Java 5 and Java 1.4
• DB2 Extenders 9.5, replaced by the XML integrated in Db2 for i
• WebSphere Application Server 6.1 and 7.0
• Rational Open Access RPG Edition as a separate product: it joins Rational Development Studio

Technology Refreshes

A Technology Refresh adds function without changing the release number, through PTF groups. The date is when IBM made it available.

1. TR9 14 September 2018 SF99717 level 9

   • Support for the Power E980
   • QSYS2.GENERATE_SQL_OBJECTS and QSYS2.JOB_DESCRIPTION_INFO
   • Open source as RPMs: OpenSSL 1.1.1, GCC 6.3.0, Node.js 8, Python 3.6

   IBM page →

2. TR8 16 March 2018 SF99717 level 8

   • Support for the Power9 S914, S922, S924, H922, H924
   • RPG: DATA-INTO

   IBM page →

3. TR7 27 October 2017 SF99717 level 7

   • SQL: JSON publishing functions and full LIMIT and OFFSET
   • QSYS2.JOB_QUEUE_INFO and QSYS2.STACK_INFO
   • LTO-8 tape drives
   • ACS launches the SSH client installed on the PC

   IBM page →

4. TR6 17 March 2017 SF99717 level 6

   • SQL: LISTAGG and JSON predicates
   • QSYS2.LICENSE_INFO, QSYS2.USER_INFO, QSYS2.AUTHORIZATION_LIST_INFO
   • ACS 1.1.7.0: CL prompting inside Run SQL Scripts

   IBM page →

5. TR5 11 November 2016 SF99717 level 5

   • SQL: JSON_TABLE
   • SYSTOOLS.GROUP_PTF_DETAILS, QSYS2.PARSE_STATEMENT, QSYS2.HISTORY_LOG_INFO

   IBM page →

6. TR4 20 May 2016 SF99717 level 4

   • QSYS2.OUTPUT_QUEUE_INFO, QSYS2.ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLE_INFO, QSYS2.SERVICES_INFO
   • The SQL0913 message tells who holds the lock
   • Git, Orion, PHP and Python 2.7 among open source

   IBM page →

7. TR3 20 November 2015 SF99717 level 3

   • SQL: OFFSET and LIMIT, OVERLAY and LOCATE_IN_STRING
   • The column 8-80 limit goes away for free-form RPG and embedded SQL
   • QSYS2.MEMORY_POOL, QSYS2.SYSTEM_STATUS, QSYS2.OBJECT_LOCK_INFO, QSYS2.NETSTAT_INFO
   • HyperSwap on SVC and Storwize; simpler sign-on to Navigator

   IBM page →

8. TR2 29 May 2015 SF99717 level 2

   • SQL: CREATE OR REPLACE TABLE
   • QSYS2.ACTIVE_JOB_INFO, QSYS2.SCHEDULED_JOB_INFO, QSYS2.JVM_INFO
   • QSYS2.CLEAR_PLAN_CACHE
   • Java 8, also on 7.1

   IBM page →

9. TR1 11 November 2014 SF99717 level 1

   • SQL: regular expressions, LPAD and RPAD, pipelined table functions
   • QSYS2.JOBLOG_INFO, QSYS2.LIBRARY_LIST_INFO, QSYS2.JOURNAL_INFO
   • Support for the Power E870 and E880
   • Node.js in 5733-OPS

   IBM page →

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.