I B M   a l p h a W o r k s

By Micheal Hwu, Business Development Manager, IBM alphaWorks

IBM's alphaWorks (www.alphaWorks.ibm.com) is a leading force in IBM's efforts to guide the course of software development by speeding emerging technologies to market over the Web.

The alphaWorks team, situated in the heart of Silicon Valley, scans IBM's research and development labs located around the world and identifies promising technologies for distribution to developers via its Web site. By providing direct access to early versions of its technologies, IBM is able to engage the broader developer community and harness its feedback to refine these technologies and incorporate them into market-driven products. The team's current focus areas are Java, XML, Multimedia, Pervasive and Security.

   
Micheal Hwu, Business Development Manager, IBM alphaWorksMichael Hwu heads the alphaWorks Business Development Team as the lead Emerging Technology Analyst. He is responsible for identifying emerging technologies from the IBM research labs worldwide, evaluating them, and selecting the technologies that are appropriate for the alphaWorks process and website. Working closely with researchers, developers and IBM executives, he is also in charge of commercializing those technologies into new products or licensing opportunities, thus helping to steer IBM's global efforts in identifying and nurturing emerging technologies in the marketplace.

alphaWorks technologies are available for download at no cost. In some cases, free licenses for commercial usage are available, giving software companies a competitive edge in the race to bring their own products to the market. With over 40,000 downloads to date, IBM's XML Parser, Java edition, is an example of alphaWorks success. Developers were demanding a free commercial license of the XML Parser and it was delivered three months after its posting. Last year, 200 new technologies appeared on www.alphaWorks.ibm.com.

Technologies that have graduated from alphaWorks to become commercial products include WebSphere Application Server, VisualAge for Java (the HPJC integration), Lotus BeanMachine, Bamba, Aglets Workbench, Hot Video, Interactive Network Dispatcher, NetRexx, PanaramaIX, and Webrunner Toolkit, among others. Current releases include a wide range of Java-based technologies, XML tools and open source code.

The brainchild of John Patrick, Vice President of IBM's Internet Division, alphaWorks was launched in 1996 and continues to redefine the way IBM does business.

 
alphaWorks and AIX

Several new AIX tools have been posted to the alphaWorks site in the last few months including an AIX system administrator tool, a cluster systems management tool and a wireless management tool.

Fix Automation Service Tool (FAST)

FAST allows system administrators to download and install the latest fixes to AIX 4.3. FAST analyzes the AIX system of needed fixes applicable to a particular machine, informs the AIX system administrator of the fixes, and downloads and installs them automatically. FAST provides the first "self-healing" aspect for software components in the eLiza initiative, IBM's Autonomic Computing initiative to develop services, products and technologies that will allow the IT infrastructure to manage itself.
Some examples of FAST screens

To download FAST, please visit: http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/fast.

Cluster Systems Management for AIX 5L (AIX CSM)

IBM's AIX CSM enables management and monitoring of multiple AIX 5.1 machines from a single point of control. This solution for distributed system management lets a system administrator form a cluster of up to 32 IBM eServer pSeries machines or RS/6000 servers (nodes) that run the AIX 5L operating system. By using functions such as monitoring and configuration file management, an administrator can easily set up and maintain a cluster.

AIX CSM runs on top of an operating system to provide communications between RISC servers. It introduces a rich set of distributed systems management functions and includes the following features:

•  Nodes can be added, removed, changed, or listed (with persistent configuration information displayed about each node in the list).
• Commands can be run across nodes or node groups in the cluster, and responses can be gathered.
• Nodes and applications can be monitored to see whether they are up or down.
• CPU, memory, and system utilization can be monitored, and automated responses can be run when events occur in the cluster.
• A configuration file manager provides synchronization of files acrossmultiple nodes.

A small subset of AIX CSM can be controlled through Distributed Command Execution Manager (DCEM), a graphical user interface also available at alphaWorks. With DCEM, groups of remotely distributed machines can be administered in parallel, and commands or scripts can be executed on multiple distributed machines.

To download AIX CSM, please visit: http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/aixcsm.

Wireless System Management for AIX

IBM's Wireless System Management for AIX is a tool that allows emergency administration for an AIX machine remotely from wireless, WAP-enabled devices. Wireless System Management for AIX contains three menus:

•  The System Information menu lets the user display RAM, CPU, and disk statistics, view, clear the system error log and more.
• The Problem Determination menu lets the user examine device information, list and kill processes, and more.
• The Administration menu lets the user broadcast a message to all users, check the file system statistics, change the file system, start and stop printer queues and cancel print jobs. Administrators can also reboot or shutdown the system.

The minimum requirements are an AIX system for both the gateway and for this product, and a Windows machine or a WAP-enabled wireless device. Ideally, one would include several WAP-enabled, wireless devices. IBM recommends using Wireless System Management for AIX with a wireless-capable device such as the Palm product or Visor with phone attachments. It would also be fine to use a mobile phone that is WAP capable, has a bigger display than typical mobile phones, and is capable of getting through your firewall.

To download Wireless System Management for AIX, please visit: http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/wsm.

For more information on these tools and other alphaWorks technologies, please visit: http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/.