Hi John,
I hope you don't mind me replying here. I have been interested in IBM's Z(P)DT offering for a while now.
This year I've been accepted as a Partner Plus member, I am still navigating this with my contact at IBM. I put in a query to them about LE and if it would be available again. No response on this. I have also e-mailed IBM Sales as per official procedure but that was never responded to.
The one thing I did get, in a ticket with IBM Support was the following from an engineer named No
ël, they were helping me with the IBM Z Trial:
"Regarding ZD&T's Learner Edition, ZD&T LE will remain unavailable for sales until an alternative option, most likely cloud based, will become available later this year."
It is quite a shame that they have considered this stance to make it cloud based. I sincerely hope they will change their mind on this, as alternatives to run mainframe operating systems exist. I would prefer an official, on-premises option that is not going to cost an arm and a leg!
Currently, it is looking better and better to obtain a used frame, I'm trying to work out the details on this and am actively searching for other sellers of hardware in Canada. It seems like it's more cost effective to make a deal for one and host it in my garage instead of using the emulator.
P.S. Did you know the ZDT Enterprise Edition was briefly available for free during Covid-19? This is unavailable now, but shows you their offering was quite open for a time.
https://epwt-www.mybluemix.net/software/support/trial/cst/welcomepage.wss?siteId=921&tabId=2182&w=1------------------------------
Kim Rosebush
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Original Message:
Sent: Wed January 11, 2023 03:10 PM
From: John Malinoski
Subject: zDT Learners Edition Renewal
Yeah, I even opened a case with support but was referred to Amber. I emailed Amber but she no longer works with the zD&T stuff so I was referred to Luis. She stated that zD&T LE was removed from the site but wasn't sure what was happening with renewals. She mentioned about a cloud version being available in the near future but had no details.
I did notice that the cost for personal edition almost doubled in cost from last year. So even thinking about pursuing that option is a non-starter.
The value of zD&T LE for anyone looking into the mainframe realm, even some of us experienced mainframers is incredible. Although most of my mainframe career has been as a developer, psudo systems guy and now a DB2/IMS DBA has been focused on those technologies, I've learned so much about things like SMS, the IPL process among other things that may not seem relevant to my role but make understanding what goes on behind the scenes much more valuable and able to help when diagnosing problems.
I actually have my customizations to zD&T separated from the ADCD distribution simply with my own IPL parm. A little more technical that that, but it makes it easier to roll in newer ADCD distributions. I mean where can you IPL a dozen times during the day and see what affect parm changes have during the IPL process.
I'm hoping IBM understands the value that is provided here because it seems to be getting harder and harder to replace mainframe staff. We need more go-getters, and this exposure can definitely spawn interest.
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John Malinoski
Original Message:
Sent: Tue January 10, 2023 09:59 PM
From: Sam Knutson
Subject: zDT Learners Edition Renewal
John I am in the same situation. I have spent hours on this so far unsuccessful. Colin the issue is not that we don't have an idea of how to install a new license but that IBM seems to have broken every path technically or administratively to accept payment for renewal of the existing ZD&T Learner's Edition. I have had phone calls, email correspondence after hitting the cul de sac trying to simply login and pay on-line but to no avail.
Thanks, Sam Knutson
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Sam Knutson
Original Message:
Sent: Fri January 06, 2023 03:29 AM
From: Colin Paice
Subject: zDT Learners Edition Renewal
Original Message:
Sent: 1/4/2023 10:03:00 PM
From: John Malinoski
Subject: zDT Learners Edition Renewal
I've had a zDT Learners edition since early last year. I got an automated email with my renewal for my Learners Edition license recently that expires at the end of February 2023. Trying to renew online doesn't work, and I seem to be going in circles with support.
Anyone is the same situation? I know the Learners Edition disappeared from the website early last year, so maybe I was one of the lucky ones to get all the way thru the process.
My USB key doesn't expire until May of 2023, but it's been 2+ months of trying to get the renewal completed. I don't want to lose the license, since this is like the greatest thing for us mainframers to dig deeper into the functions of a zSeries box. As an example, I'd learned so much about the IPL process and base configurations that I never thought I would ever need to know, but it was very valuable to related to the actual things I support day to day.
Hoping this isn't going to be short-lived.
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John Malinoski
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