Overview

Here is a list of the most frequently asked general product questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. We are running VxRyMz of a Gumbo product. Is it compatible with the new IBM i release?

    Yes, all of our products and all of their releases are upward compatible with each new IBM i release. When we find IBM® PTFs that are in play, we list them at the bottom of http://www.gumbo.com/ptfs.shtml.

    At 6.1 the behavior of API QUSCRTUS changed and at 7.1 the behavior of API QGSLRSC changed, giving rise to the following exceptions.

    Exceptions for IBM i V6R1 and V7R1 or Later Release:
    Product Name LicPgm Minimum Required For 6.1 Minimum Required For 7.1 or Later Release
    Report Designer 2A55RDA V2R6M0 or later release. V2R6M0 or later release.
    Report Manager 2A55RM1 V2R2M0 with PTF 2R20046 applied, or later release. V2R3M0 with PTF 2R30007 applied, or later release.
    Spool-a-Matic 2A55SAM V1R9M0 with PTF 1A90033 applied, V2R1M0 with PTF 2A10037 applied, V2R2M0 with PTF 2A20008 applied, or later release. V2R3M0 with PTF 2A30011 applied, or later release.
    SpoolMail 2A55SM1 V2R2M0 with PTF 2M20036 applied, V2R3M0 with PTF 2M30039 applied, V2R4M0 with PTF 2M40014 applied, or later release. V2R5M0 PTF 2M50012 applied, or later release.
    Gumbo Mail 2A55SM2 V1R4M0 with PTF 1S40006 applied, or later release. V1R4M0 with PTF 1S40006 applied, or later release.
    Dicer 2A55DCR V1R4M0 with PTF 1C40010 applied, V1R5M0 with PTF 1C50001 applied, or later release. V1R6M0 with PTF 1C60004 applied, or later release.
    Excel-erator 2A55XL1 V1R6M0 with PTF 1X60005 applied, or later release. V1R6M0 with PTF 1X60005 applied, or later release.
    Dumpster 2A55DMP V1R4M0 with PTF 1P40005 applied, V1R5M0 with PTF 1P50001 applied, or later release. V1R6M0 with PTF 1P60003 applied, or later release.
    Notes:
     
    1. You can determine your release and PTF status by running:

      DSPPTF LicPgm
  2. We are running VxRyMz of a Gumbo product, which is several releases back from the current release. Must we load each release, one over the other, or can we just load the current release?

    There is no need to load intervening releases; you can skip directly to the new release.

  3. We are upgrading our system hardware, is a new permanent authorization code required?

    It depends, see our Upgrade Policy for the specifics.

  4. We are upgrading to a new IBM i release, is a new permanent authorization code or a new release required for our Gumbo product?

    No, a permanent authorization code does not depend on your IBM i release. All of our products and all of their releases are upward compatible with each new IBM i release. When we find IBM® PTFs that are in play, we list them at the bottom of http://www.gumbo.com/ptfs.shtml.

  5. We are running VxRyMz of a Gumbo product, which is older than the current release. Is there a way we can run both releases in order to test the current release?

    Yes, see New Release Testing for detailed instructions.

  6. We have a Gumbo product running on our production system. How do you handle licensing for our high availability/hot site/backup/failover/some other machine? Do I get a discount?

    There are two choices. You can either buy a license or take advantage our Hot Site Authorization for free. There are no discounts.

  7. We will be testing our backup procedures by running our Gumbo product on a high availability/hot site/backup/failover/some other machine. Do I need a permanent authorization code or temporary authorization code for the test machine?

    No, a temporary authorization code is generated automatically. See Hot Site Authorization for details.

  8. How do we tell which Gumbo products and releases are installed on our system?

    Run: WRKLICINF PRDID('2A55*')

  9. How do we tell what the most recent release of a Gumbo product is?

    See our downloads page for the most recent release.

  10. We have a Gumbo product running in multiple partitions of our system. Will installing a new IBM i release or a new release of the Gumbo product in one of the partitions affect the Gumbo product in other partitions?

    No, the copy of the Gumbo product in each partition runs independently and has no knowledge of the other partitions. This is also why an authorization code must be entered in each partition.

  11. Can we install PTFs for a Gumbo product while the software is in use? Do we have to IPL after installing PTFs for a Gumbo product?

    Yes, and no IPL is required. We only ship "immediate" PTFs. These can be installed while the software is in use and never require a machine IPL. However, jobs that are using the software will not see the effects of the changes until they are restarted.

  12. Must our system be in "restricted state" to install a new release of a Gumbo product?

    No. While restricted state can be used, it is not required. You must however insure that the software is not in use as the installation runs a CLRLIB command (after saving user data if any) on the library as part of the restore process. If the software is in use, for example if a job has the menu displayed, the install will fail. When an install fails, the Gumbo product is automatically restored to the state it was in at the initiation of the RSTLICPGM command. Although the previous release is functional, IBM i marks the product as in error until the new release is successfully installed. See "software installation , upgrade, and deletion tasks" in the IBM®Information Center for additional details.

  13. We are changing the "system security level" system value QSECURITY from XX to YY on our system. Will our Gumbo product work correctly?

    Yes. Our products are compatible with all IBM i security levels. We use only published interfaces.

  14. We are mirroring/replicating our system to another system, which objects should we include/omit?

    It depends. We aren't convinced that Gumbo products should be mirrored. Ask your mirroring vendor how licensed program products are handled by the mirroring software. In particular, when PTFs are applied to the source system, is the PTF status of the target system updated or just the objects?

    Our authorization codes are stored in a *USRSPC with attribute ICO in each product's library.

    Each product contains a directory /Gumbo/ProdData/2A55xxx/tmp where temporary work files are stored.

  15. We are preparing to install IBM i release 6.1 (or later release). When we run the ANZOBJCVN tool from IBM®, some Gumbo objects are flagged as "some attributes will be lost". Is there a need to install a newer version of your product?

    No. The attribute lose can be ignored. The lost attributes are the digital signatures that we apply to our objects. When programs are restored to 6.1 they are rewritten, invalidating our digital signature which IBM i discards. Our software works correctly at 6.1 but you are no longer able to meaningfully run IBM i's Check Object Integrity (CHKOBJITG) command. The following information is from Memo to Users V6R1:

    Conversion impacts on digital signatures
    Programs, service programs and module objects created on releases before V6R1 that are digitally signed and then restored onto a V6R1 or later system will be treated as unsigned. Pre-V6R1 signatures are not recognized on V6R1 and later releases for these object types. Similarly, programs, service programs and module objects created and digitally signed on V6R1 and later releases will be treated as unsigned if restored on a release before V6R1.

    Moving programs, service programs and modules created on releases earlier than V6R1 to V6R1 and later releases will convert these objects to a format compatible with V6R1 before the objects can be used. Programs, service programs and modules created on V6R1 and later releases that are restored to a release before V6R1 will be converted to pre-V6R1 format. The conversion process will cause all digital signatures on these objects to be removed.

    Note: Observability was inadvertently removed from Report Manager V2R1M0 in 2004, and you must upgrade before installing V6R1 or later.

  16. Can we install our Gumbo product in a user ASP?

    No. Nothing in our software depends on or checks the ASP number. However, according to IBM®: "The RSTLICPGM command does not support the use of user ASPs (auxiliary storage pools). All objects supplied by a licensed program must remain in the system ASP." Gumbo products are packaged as licensed programs.