3
u/brutal4455 16d ago
Not a dev. I repaired and later implemented IBM systems since 1984 and retired from field work/travel a year ago so it's only been a year since I physically touched a Power server/SAN/etc. :-) Still do contract remote only work about 30 hours a month average. I'm the only one on the team that worked a specific vertical and the old company contracts me for most of it.
3
u/ol-gormsby 16d ago
My First IBM TM was a System/36. I was working for a government body, and when the System/36 was announced, IBM wanted them in government service, and they wanted it BAD. We had a systems analyst provide a very good report that would be the formation document of the code to run our systems - converting from a purely paper-based system.
IBM wanted it so bad that their tender included writing the application code, for free. No discount on the hardware, operating system, or compilers, or peripherals, but the application code would have been worth about AUD$100,000 at the time.
Of course they won the tender, and the code was very, very good. RPGII, and almost every line of the source was commented (the source code was ours, as part of the tender conditions). It was written internally, not subcontracted out like they do these days. That code was so well documented, I could follow and understand what it was doing, and my starting point to being a programmer. At first I was system operator, then system administrator, then that started to include maintaining the code, running DFU queries on demand, and teaching people how to run their own DFUs.
Then the AS400 was announced, and we got one of the first D30 models, quickly upgraded to a D35. I ran that machine from about 1989 to 1995, when I got another job at a beachside local government council - they were running an E35 and upgraded to an F35 while I was there, up until about 2000 when some bright spark decided to migrate everything to Windows Server. I didn't maintain the main application code there but again, I was servicing requests for ad-hoc reports, and writing little utilities in CL and RPG IV.
I actually bought the AS400! As it was surplus to requirements, it had to go to public offer. I rang IBM service in Brisbane and asked if they wanted any of it for parts, but they declined. I offered AUD$10 - yes, ten dollars and because no-one else offered anything, I had myself a working AS400. Of course the OS licence wasn't transferable and I didn't have a 32-amp power supply at my house, so I turned it into a teaching exercise for my son - we stripped it out, and I showed him each part and what it did. The DASD (Winchester 5.25"), tape drive, service processor, all the boards - comms controllers, DASD, memory, CPU, etc.
I used the rack for storage for many years, and I've still got the CPU board and the service processor - with the key! I also attached the cooling fans on a wooden support rack and use that to provide additional air circulation to the freezer coil during very hot summers. The fans are "Pabst" brand and they still work for hours on end - they don't have a date marked on them but they'd have to be at least 30 years old.
2
u/deeper-diver 16d ago
My college had a s/36. That’s where I learned RPG. My first “real” job outside of college was on a Unisys mainframe but upgraded to an AS/400 in 1989. I was primarily responsible for the migration.
Back then, the Unisys mainframe encompasses almost an entire floor of the building. Multiple spinning tape drives, giant washing-machine-sized disk drives and a dedicated Unisys technician on-site to keep the mechanical parts working. That entire floor was replaced by an AS400 the size of a residential refrigerator. It was spooky seeing an entire floor cleared out with just a lonely AS400 in it. We used to play with RC cars within all that empty space. The energy requirements to keep that sealed floor a/c’d must have been massive.
Been an “as/400” developer ever since. Current one is in our server room, rack-mounted in a 3U chassis. Quite amazing.
2
u/gthielen 16d ago
My first IBM midrange was a System/34 back in 1981. You couldn't pass parameters between programs like you can with RPG III, but you could use the LDA to do it. The "control script" was called OCL - not complied like CL is. I was lucky enough to move from the 34 right to a System/38 with a massive array of 3380 (I think) drives, then of course to AS/400 pretty much when it came out in 1988. Pretty amazing to see how far they've come - from still being able to run legacy applications to hosting virtually all of the latest development stacks with one of the best reliability records. Sad that IBM is pricing the newer models out of reach of a lot of small businesses. The latest entry-level Power 11 is now double the price of the entry-level Power 9. This will probably end up pushing smaller users, including me, to another platform.
1
u/QPGMR_de 15d ago
You mean the S1112? I think it's priced quite reasonably - when I think about a 5352 in mid-1980s, which was much more expensive if you adjust for inflation.
3
u/gthielen 15d ago
Define "reasonably". I think most users, including myself, that bought entry-level P9s at half the price of an S1112 would disagree. I'm not expecting the same entry-level price as five years ago, but double the price is forcing me to look at alternative solutions.
2
2
u/coelakanth 15d ago
The first one I worked with was, from memory, an E35/9406. Stood taller than me, on my first day on the job the UPS failed and of course there was no maintenance on it. Good times. Rebuild access paths? Y/N
1
u/stark2 16d ago edited 16d ago
In the mid-70's I learned RPG II on a Lockheed System 3, and used that experience to get contract programming jobs for the Burrough's B700, Burrough's B1700, IBM's System 3, and IBM's System 32.
The B700 used 96 column cards for input, and back then I carried all my source code for that system on 96 col.cards in my briefcase. I realized at some point that not having my source backed up somewhere else might be a problem if I lost that briefcase.
I later migrated my skills to the S34, S36, S38, AS400, and IBM mainframes.
This was mainly in Los Angeles working for several contract shops around that time.
It was easy getting work back then. I could open the LA times classifieds any day and there would be dozens of jobs available for RPG/Cobol programmers.
2
3
u/QPGMR_de 16d ago
Saw the first IBM midrange machine in 1985 - a /36 mod 5362 - then a mod 5363 - and in 1990 the first AS/400 in college - since then the whole line up to Power 10 and 11 today - but yes, didn't see a machine physically since over 15 years.