Plan for your Operations Console installation or upgrade

The console features matching the connectivity that you plan to use should be specified as part of the order for your new IBM® i or Power® system.

LAN attached Operations Console prerequisite information

Prerequisite information for LAN attached Operations Console users who are upgrading to, or installing, IBM i 7.4:

The service tool server which includes LAN console is removing support for SSL V3 ciphers which means the LAN console feature in the IBM i 7.1 Access for Windows client is no longer supported in IBM i 7.4. IBM i Access Client Solutions is now required for LAN console in IBM i 7.4. IBM i Access Client Solutions, which is shipped with the system, should be installed on your PC before installing the License Internal Code (LIC) on the IBM i. The LAN console feature in IBM i Access Client Solutions can connect to any supported IBM i release.

Note: The LAN console feature in the IBM i Access for Windows client will work for a D-mode install because SSL ciphers aren't used during the D-mode IPL but on the following A-mode IPL the IBM i Access for Windows LAN console will fail to connect. The IBM i Access for Windows client does not need to be removed from the PC but be aware the IBM i Access for Windows console will not continue working if the system is upgraded to IBM i 7.4.

If you are upgrading to IBM i 7.4 and you want to replace an existing console with a LAN attached Operations Console, upgrade the system before you migrate the console. This prevents any conflict between the existing console and the Operations Console.

For all upgrades and installations, you need to establish a connection between the system and the Operations Console PC using the 11111111 (eight 1's) service tools user ID. The default password for this user ID is 11111111; however, this password might have been changed following a previous installation. This default user ID ensures a successful re-authentication of the client connection to the system. When you receive the operating system release upgrade, the shipped service tools user IDs are expired. To re-authenticate the client connection to the system, enter the service tools user ID of 11111111 (eight 1's) and either the default password of eight 1's or the password you might have previously created for this user ID. This is especially important for automatic installations.

Important: During a manual IPL of the system, if no console has been specified before, you will receive two extra screens to confirm the setting of the console type. The first requires pressing F10 to accept your current console type and the second shows that a value did not previously exist (a zero is present for the old value) and the new value is shown. Pressing Enter exits and sets the console type automatically. The IPL continues to the IPL or Install the System screen. This condition is most likely to occur during the installation of a new partition but might happen on your first manual IPL of IBM i 7.4; for example, the A-mode IPL following the restore of Licensed Internal Code during the upgrade or install when a console value of zero is found.