COMMON POWERUp 2023

IBM i Access Client Solutions is a platform independent client that is supported running on multiple Operating Systems like Macintosh, Linux, and Windows. Familiarity with IBM i Access Client Solutions is very important as this is the future of the IBM i Access Family software on workstation operating systems. This future is already here as IBM i ACS is the only client supported on Windows 10 and later OS, and IBM i Access for Windows is being withdrawn from support on April 30, 2109. Though, this future is very bright as IBM i Access Client Solutions provides ease of deployment, and operational improvements in nearly every function the client provides. During this session we will make a survey of the IBM i Access Client Solutions functions and features that allow us to accomplish the tasks and processes we use IBM i Access for. Become familiar with IBM i Access Client Solutions!

Learning Objectives:

IBM i Access Client Solutions is a platform independent client that is supported running on multiple Operating Systems like Macintosh, Linux, and Windows. Familiarity with IBM i Access Client Solutions is very important as this is the future of the IBM i Access Family software on workstation operating systems. Being a platform independent product the install or deployment of IBM i Access Client Solutions onto the workstation is approached via approaches and mechanisms unique to this product. This session will walk though the tooling and capabilities available to deploy IBM i Access Client Solutions and the best practice approaches to get this new client out and updated in your enterprise including the newer support to automatically update from an IBM i!

Learning Objectives:
1. Learn best practice approach to deploying and updating IBM i Access Client Solutions

When the number of IBM i nodes that are interacted with using IBM i Access Client Solutions increase the complexity of interacting with the IBM i ACS environment can increase.  In this short 20 minute sessions we will go over some of the ease of use items that have been added that help when managing multiple systems.  Users who manage a smaller number of systems may also find value in approaches taken.
 
Learning Objective:  Learn how to leverage the IBM i Access Client Solutions capabilities directed at users having to manage multiple IBM i nodes in their environment.
 
Audience: IBM i ACS users who have to manage a large number of IBM i systems.

Managing software updates can be a time consuming and even frustrating endeavor of IT shops. IBM i Access Client Solutions is working to simplify things by adding function to enable Auto Update capability. In this session I will show you how easy it is to setup IBM i ACS for automatic updates.

Learning Objectives:

Whether you're new to the IBM i or already advancing your career on this incredibly stable platform, join me in reviewing the many features of ACS. I have seen many great colleagues in my company who said, "ACS? Oh yeah, that's the emulator, right?" Yes, ACS is an emulator. But saying ACS is an emulator is like saying the swiss army knife is just a knife. No matter your job description, ACS has many tools that can help you work smarter.

Learning Objectives:
Learn some timesaving tools available with ACS.
Discover how to work smarter with ACS whether your a user, administrator or a fellow code monkey like me.
Learn how ACS can not only improve how you work, but improve how you collaborate with your coworkers.

IBM i Access Client Solutions uses a configuration file of settings and their values called AcsConfig.properties.  In this quick 20 minute session we will dig into how this file is used and discuss several of the more common properties that are used and how the impact IBM i ACS behavior.

Learning Objective: Learn how AcsConfig.properties can be used to change IBM i Access Client Solutions behavior

When looking to control what functions of IBM i Access Client Solutions are available to the end users it is not a one size fits all solution.  IBM i Access Client Solutions can be secured via 3 different approaches that have their own pros and cons.  In this quick 20 minute session we will go over these different options and provide some guidance on what you may want to use.
 
Learning Objective:  Learn how to secure IBM i Access Client Solutions using the available capabilities to control what functions of IBM i ACS the user can run.
 
Audience: Those who manage IBM i Access Client Solutions client deployments and behavior

There are times when it is desirable to have functions run without user intervention via scripting and IBM i Access Client Solutions provides what we call Plugin support that allows calling most functions from a command line or script.  This is also how we can run IBM i ACS right on IBM i. In this quick 20 minute session we will cover this Plugin capability and go over a couple of scripting examples, including on the IBM i.

Learning Objective: Learn how to use the IBM i ACS Plugin capability to script functions to run without user interaction.