_______________________________________________________________ - - OS/2 WARP FM Transmitting 100% Pure Java Energy _______________________________________________________________ - ________________________________________________________________________ VOLUME 4 - OS/2 WARP FM '99 - InfoFlash 2 http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp/warpfm _________________________________________________________________________ News You Can Use about OS/2 Warp ... OS/2 Warp Server for e-business is here! The latest, and best yet, version of OS/2 Warp Server -- OS/2 Warp Server for e-business -- is now generally available. This new release has the functions you have been waiting for; the Journaled File System, the Logica Volume Manager, improved TCP/IP support that increases the maximum number of sockets by 32 times, and a Java(TM)** Virtual Machine that is so fast you won't believe it [see "Blazing Performance Numbers" below]. You can get all the details on these new functions by following this link http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp/warp-server/summary/ Video Library The video library presents 23 video clips, extolling the virtues and defining the characteristics of the new release. These clips are available now for your viewing pleasure. They range from technical overviews of the new features to experiences from customers and IBM business partners. You will see and hear short films from Pat Sueltz, General Manager of Java and OS/2, Jeff Smith, Vice-President of Java and OS/2 Development, Jim Koerner, Director of Marketing Programs for Network Computing Software, and many of the technical experts of OS/2 describing the improvements that they bring to you in this release. You can find the video library at this link http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp/products/aurora/videos/ The latest video describing the details of the announcement is on that page. For access to the other clips, select the "Video Book Archive" link. Tired of your old Screen Saver? If you would like a new screen saver that has state-of-the-art graphics, come to http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp/warp-server/screens/ There you will find 6 screen savers with "out of this world" graphics on an OS/2 Warp Server for e-business theme. Be the first on your block to have one, or collect all 6! Blazing Performance Numbers If you haven't seen it already, the March, 1999 edition of JavaWorld contains an article by John Neffenger entitled "The Volano Report: Which Java platform is fastest, most scalable? A JavaWorld exclusive!" It provides the detailed results, with graphs, of the new VolanoMark 2.1 server benchmarks, which reveal how 10 virtual machines stack up on 6 OSs. Not surprisingly, IBM's Java Virtual Machine 1.1.7 running on OS/2 Warp Server for e-business took home top honors. Introducing the results, Neffenger says "Yet while Sun and Microsoft battled it out in public, another Java vendor quietly, very quietly, stole the lead, beating Sun with its own technology and Microsoft on its own operating system." The allusion, of course, is to IBM's efforts in the technologies surrounding Java. "Each time I run a set of VolanoMark tests against the latest batch of Java virtual machines" says Neffenger, "I find some surprises, and this time is no exception. IBM now dominates VolanoMark performance, whether on Windows NT 4.0 or on its new OS/2 Warp Server for e-business. IBM's Java virtual machine for Windows NT is a remarkable 20 percent faster than the alternatives from Microsoft and Sun. On OS/2 Warp Server it even beats Tower Technology's TowerJ static compiler, showing that it is possible for normal Java virtual machines to surpass native performance, even if that's not yet happening on the same operating system." Strong words indeed to support both Java and OS/2. You can find the complete article at http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-03-1999/jw-03-volanomark.html Hey, get your new Redbook right here! If you haven't had the pleasure before, Redbooks are IBM publications that get into the nitty-gritty workings of IBM products and how to make them work. IBM has been publishing them for as long as anyone can remember, first as an aid to IBM people working in with customers, and more recently for anyone who has the interest. They give insights into the inner workings of many of our products, and focus on the knowledge that is gained through the development of the product. They help with installation and the ongoing support of production systems. One of the latest Redbooks to be released is entitled "IBM SecureWay Host On-Demand: Enterprise Communications in the Era of Network Computing", and is available in hard copy (IBM Publication No. SG24-2149) or through the website http://www.redbooks.ibm.com then choose the "Just Published" button on the left side, then browse through the list until you find SG24-2149. You can read the abstract, download a PDF version, or order a hard copy there. Also, don't overlook the ability to subscribe to the abstracts as they are published. Be careful though ... you might just find enough interesting and relevant Redbooks there to exceed your lifetime reading capacity in just a few minutes. In case of emergency ... Sometimes, even the most sophisticated operating systems run into difficult situations and cannot proceed. To determine the cause of the failure it is sometimes necessary to see what was happening in the machine at that specific point in time. To do so, OS/2, if prepared properly, will automatically save all information in memory prior to rebooting. Here is some information from our technical support staff about how to do that: Creating a Dump Partition If you are experiencing traps or hangs with your server, you may be asked by IBM technical support to provide a memory dump of the system in order to analyze the problem. A memory dump is performed when a problem is difficult to reproduce or other methods of problem determination do not identify the problem. To assist with this, you may wish to consider allocating a dump drive -- a hard drive partition created specifically for the purpose of storing memory dumps. The following will outline the steps to create a dump partition on OS/2 Warp v3, OS/2 Warp Server, and OS/2 Warp version 4 systems: Create the dump partition. This partition may either be on a newly installed hard drive, separate from that on which the operating system is installed, or it may be created by using FDisk to change the partitions on the existing hard drive (remember that modifying existing partitions with FDisk causes all data on the changed partitions to be lost). Create a partition that is approximately 10 MB larger than the amount of random access memory (RAM) installed. This partition should be empty; the memory dump erases whatever is on the partition. Format the new partition as FAT by entering FORMAT x: from an OS/2 prompt -- where x is the name of the newly created dump partition. Label this partition SADUMP Edit the CONFIG.SYS file and change (or add) the TRAPDUMP statement as follows, where x: is the partition letter: TRAPDUMP=ON,x: Before performing this instruction, please make a backup of the CONFIG.SYS file. If you wish to dump Ring 0 TRAPs only, modify the TRAPDUMP=ON,x: statement above to read: TRAPDUMP=R0,x: For more information on the TRAPDUMP statement, enter HELP TRAPDUMP from an OS/2 prompt. Restart the system. Remember that most dumps will happen automatically when there is a software (and sometimes even a hardware) failure. If the dump does not occur, it can be forced by pressing and holding the CTRL- ALT keys, and pressing the NUM LOCK key twice (if your keyboard does not have a NUM LOCK key, or if this key sequence does not illicit the dump, you may press the F10 key twice, instead) Note that some systems do not support booting from partitions which reside outside the first 1024 cylinders of the hard drive. If you have such a system, the dump partition must also reside within the first 1024 cylinders. If you are unsure about your system, you may boot with a DOS diskette and you should be able to access the SADUMP drive. If you have additional questions or would like to review other tips and techniques, there is a Domino database that allows you to do keyword searches to find information about technical support topics. You can find it at http://service5.boulder.ibm.com/pspsdocs.nsf It is a good first stop if you have technical questions. That's all for this issue of InfoFlash. More information will be coming your way as it happens. # # # Back Issues of OS/2 WARP FM are available on-line at http:// www.software.ibm.com/os/warp/warpfm. For more information on the OS/2 Family of products see: http://www.software.ibm.com/os/warp. Check out other Network Computing Software Division Publications -- Subscribe to Java Update at http://www.software.ibm.com/mailing-lists/java-update. Visit the on-line edition of the SecureWay Connection newsletter at:http://www.software.ibm.com/network/connection/. * Indicates trademark or registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. ** Indicates trademark or registered trademark of respective companies. Copyright IBM Corporation 1999 All Rights Reserved _______________________________________________________________ - Thank you for your interest in OS/2 WARP FM To unsubscribe send the following 1-line message to: - listserv@mail.software.ibm.com - signoff warpfm For additional information visit the OS/2 Warp Home Page at: - http://www.software.ibm.com/os2warp/ _______________________________________________________________