IBM i 7.4 extension only

What it brought

• IBM Db2 Mirror for i (5770-DBM): synchronous replication between two partitions, both active
• Authority collection by object, queryable through the QSYS2.AUTHORITY_COLLECTION_* views
• TLS 1.3 in System TLS; NetServer and QNTC move to SMB3
• New SQL services including QSYS2.MESSAGE_FILE_DATA, QSYS2.DATA_AREA_INFO, SYSTOOLS.SPOOLED_FILE_DATA and SYSTOOLS.FIRMWARE_CURRENCY
• CL programs and commands can be compiled directly from IFS stream files
• Commands to create, change and delete service tools user IDs
• Db2 Mirror also replicates IFS data and can be used for disaster recovery
• SMTP: distribution lists and longer subjects and notes in SNDSMTPEMM

Which machines it runs on

• Power11, Power10, Power9 and Power8 servers (Power11 from TR12)
• It is the last release to run on Power8
• Does not run on Power7, Power7+ or earlier

What is gone

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

• IBM i Access for Windows (5770-XE1), unsupported since 30 April 2019: Access Client Solutions replaces it
• The 5733-OPS options: open source software ships only as RPMs
• WebSphere Application Server V8.0 and Java 7
• The "heritage" Navigator, unsupported since 31 December 2022 on every release up to 7.4
• Communications Utilities, S/38 Utilities, XML Toolkit and Application Management Toolset go out of service in September 2023

Technology Refreshes

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

1. TR12 25 July 2025 SF99737 level 12

   • Support for the Power11 servers E1180, S1124, S1122, L1124, L1122
   • Migrate While Active adds the Partition Mirroring migration method

   IBM page →

2. TR11 22 November 2024 SF99737 level 11 Db2 SF99704 level 29

   • SQL: GENERATE_UUID
   • SYSTOOLS.END_JOBS, SYSTOOLS.IFS_ACCESS, SYSTOOLS.CONFIGURATION_STATUS
   • RPG: %HIVAL and %LOVAL

   IBM page →

3. TR10 14 June 2024 SF99737 level 10 Db2 SF99704 level 28

   • Audit Journal Data Mart and QSYS2.COMPARE_IFS
   • SQL: ANY_VALUE and CREATE ALIAS on the last member
   • RPG: CONST for fields and data structures
   • Support for the Power S1012
   • Merlin 2.0.0, running on Red Hat OpenShift

   IBM page →

4. TR9 17 November 2023 SF99737 level 9 Db2 SF99704 level 26

   • SYSTOOLS.SEND_EMAIL, SYSTOOLS.GENERATE_SPREADSHEET, SYSTOOLS.PING
   • SQL: ENCRYPT_AES256
   • RPG: %LEFT, %RIGHT and simple enumerations

   IBM page →

5. TR8 5 May 2023 SF99737 level 8 Db2 SF99704 level 25

   • QSYS2.SAVE_FILE_INFO, QSYS2.SAVE_FILE_OBJECTS, QSYS2.TAPE_CARTRIDGE_INFO, SYSTOOLS.DEFECTIVE_PTF_CURRENCY
   • SQL: ADD_DAYS and the other ADD_ functions
   • RPG: %PASSED, %OMITTED and SELECT with an operand
   • Java 17 in option 20; Rational Developer for i 9.8

   IBM page →

6. TR7 2 December 2022 SF99737 level 7 Db2 SF99704 level 23

   • SQL: REMOTE TABLE, JSON_UPDATE and the SQL Error Logging Facility
   • QSYS2.COMMAND_INFO and QSYS2.HARDWARE_RESOURCE_INFO
   • RPG: OPTIONS(*CONVERT), %CONCAT and %CONCATARR
   • Node.js 18 and Merlin

   IBM page →

7. TR6 24 May 2022 SF99737 level 6 Db2 SF99704 level 20

   • SQL: TRY_CAST and HTTP_PATCH
   • The same new services as 7.5, including QSYS2.SPOOLED_FILE_INFO, QSYS2.JOURNAL_RECEIVER_INFO, QSYS2.DNS_LOOKUP
   • RPG: SND-MSG and ON-EXCP
   • Support for the Power10 S1014, S1022, S1022s, S1024, L1022, L1024
   • ACS 1.1.9 and PowerHA 4.7.2

   IBM page →

8. TR5 10 September 2021 SF99737 level 5 Db2 SF99704 level 15

   • The HTTP functions in QSYS2 (HTTP_GET, HTTP_POST, HTTP_PUT, HTTP_DELETE), with URL_ENCODE and BASE64_ENCODE
   • QSYS2.COLLECTION_SERVICES_INFO and QSYS2.WORKLOAD_GROUP_INFO
   • RPG: %MAXARR, %MINARR and SORTA by several subfields
   • Support for the Power E1080 (Power10)
   • The new IBM Navigator for i, rewritten as a web interface
   • Node.js 16, Python 3.9 and the tn5250 emulator in PASE

   IBM page →

9. TR4 16 April 2021 SF99737 level 4 Db2 SF99704 level 13

   • The first audit journal functions: SYSTOOLS.AUDIT_JOURNAL_AF, _CA, _OW, _PW
   • QSYS2.SECURITY_INFO, QSYS2.QCMDEXC as a function, QSYS2.SEND_MESSAGE, SYSTOOLS.GENERATE_PDF
   • RPG: %LOWER, %UPPER and %SPLIT
   • Db2 Mirror also replicates user spaces and user indexes; ACS 1.1.8.7

   IBM page →

10. TR3 13 November 2020 SF99737 level 3 Db2 SF99704 level 10

    • QSYS2.IFS_READ and QSYS2.IFS_WRITE: reading and writing IFS files from SQL
    • QSYS2.EXIT_POINT_INFO, QSYS2.EXIT_PROGRAM_INFO, QSYS2.SERVER_SHARE_INFO, QSYS2.OPEN_FILES
    • SQL: DROP ... IF EXISTS
    • Open source: tmux, curl with SSH and SFTP, Node.js 14

    IBM page →

11. TR2 17 July 2020 SF99737 level 2 Db2 SF99704 level 7

    • Work management services: QSYS2.SUBSYSTEM_INFO, QSYS2.AUTOSTART_JOB_INFO, QSYS2.PRESTART_JOB_INFO, QSYS2.ROUTING_ENTRY_INFO
    • QSYS2.OBJECT_PRIVILEGES and QSYS2.IFS_OBJECT_PRIVILEGES: who holds which authority, from SQL
    • SQL: JSON_TABLE with arrays, INTERPRET and HASH_ROW
    • RPG: %TIMESTAMP to the microsecond and %TIMESTAMP(*UNIQUE)
    • Navigator and the HTTP Server support TLS 1.3
    • Db2 Mirror also works on internal disks

    IBM page →

12. TR1 15 November 2019 SF99737 level 1

    • Data queue services: QSYS2.DATA_QUEUE_INFO, QSYS2.SEND_DATA_QUEUE, QSYS2.RECEIVE_DATA_QUEUE
    • IFS services: QSYS2.IFS_OBJECT_STATISTICS, QSYS2.IFS_OBJECT_LOCK_INFO, QSYS2.IFS_JOB_INFO
    • RPG: DATA-GEN, overloaded prototypes (OVERLOAD) and OPTIONS(*EXACT)
    • SQL: UTF-8 source for the precompiler and the ISNULL and NOTNULL predicates
    • Db2 Mirror supports Live Partition Mobility and application evaluation

    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.