IBM i Global

 View Only
Expand all | Collapse all

ACS Rollout

  • 1.  ACS Rollout

    Posted Thu December 08, 2022 11:00 AM
    Hello All,

    I hope everything is going well for you!
    I'm looking for the IBM ACS Rollout Project. I need some input and suggestions, probably pros and cons.
    I could see there are three deployment options; among these three options, can you please propose which option would be best for the technical teams and end users, and please comment on the pros and cons of each solution? That would be greatly appreciated.

    Also, if anyone has worked on this ACS rollout project, please help to provide the approach documentation; you could probably erase any confidential information before sending it to me.

    • Local and User Customized
    • Local and Admin Customized
    • Remote and Admin Customized

    Regards
    Swaroop

    ------------------------------
    swaroop pulagala
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: ACS Rollout

    IBM Champion
    Posted Thu December 08, 2022 08:02 PM
    Edited by Satid Singkorapoom Thu December 08, 2022 08:20 PM
    Dear Swaroop

    Here are my 2 cents from my experience. I may not express them outright as pros and cons as I see the deciding factors as being more context dependent.

    First, User VS Admin Customized.  In my experience, the vast majority of, if not all, business end users generally have no desire nor intention to customize the use of ACS by themselves. They would be content to  make requests to admin for the customization needed. Ans there may also be prevailing corporate security policy that restricts end users from using certain ACS functions which prevents them from doing their own customization.   Only some technically oriented users would have a need, and are allowed by policy, to do their own customization but this group can be small.  You may have one or both groups of these users to cater for.

    Then, Local VS Remote deployment. For users who have consistent access to fast and reliable network (local and remote networks) as well as fast and reliable file server (and perhaps also a mirroring server for availability), having one shared location of ACS codes for remote use would make an admin's life less burdensome.  Users who do not have the same privilege to such HW resources would do better to have local copy of ACS codes to run from. And if the latter group is a business user type, they would more likely have no desire to do the customization by themselves.  Again, you may have one or both such groups of users

    Depending on these factors mentioned (and a few more I do not have experience about), you may have to roll out just one or a mixed, if not even all these three, deployment styles.

    Other considerations are also described here and there in this article : https://developer.ibm.com/articles/i-ibmi-access-client-solutions-customization-trs/
    ------------------------------
    Right action is better than knowledge; but in order to do what is right, we must know what is right.
    -- Charlemagne

    Satid Singkorapoom
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: ACS Rollout

    Posted Mon December 26, 2022 08:00 AM
    Edited by swaroop pulagala Mon December 26, 2022 08:07 AM
    Hello Satid,

    Thank you for your valuable response.
    I also noticed , ACS Slow startup - about 5- 10mins to get the ACS screen. Much quicker with subsequent - as quick as 10 -15 seconds.
    Is this typical? What might be slowing it down so much? Any suggestions ?

    ------------------------------
    swaroop pulagala
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: ACS Rollout

    IBM Champion
    Posted Tue December 27, 2022 02:10 AM
    Edited by Satid Singkorapoom Tue December 27, 2022 02:13 AM
    Dear Swaroop

    You need to state what method of deployment you were using when you encountered the situation you asked about.   When running ACS locally from my notebook PC, it took about 6 seconds for me to see its main screen appearing.

    Is it the case that you ran ACS from a client PC accessing ACS codes from a file server ?  If so, I suspect that your file server does not provide good disk response time and/or your network does not provide sufficient data speed.   The reason your subsequent invocation of ACS was fast should most likely be due to the fact that it was access from the file image buffered in your PC's memory (which is a typical feature for a client PC accessing files from a file server).

    ------------------------------
    Right action is better than knowledge; but in order to do what is right, we must know what is right.
    -- Charlemagne

    Satid Singkorapoom
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: ACS Rollout

    Posted Tue December 27, 2022 05:55 AM
    Hello Satid,

    This is deployed on a local user PC, i.e  All the pieces of ACS will be on the local system.


    ------------------------------
    swaroop pulagala
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: ACS Rollout

    Posted Tue December 27, 2022 07:19 AM
    Swaroop,

    I would add to Satid's points the following.  To tell if you have a local installation, you can Edit/Preferences in ACS.  Go to the Local Settings tab.  When my ACS was running slow, all of my path's were Network drives.  When I installed ACS to my local machine (all of my paths were C:\Users\...) then it was MUCH quicker.  Similar to what you are seeing in the 10-15 second range.  

    Mark.

    ------------------------------
    Mark Soulje
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: ACS Rollout

    Posted Wed December 28, 2022 09:31 AM
    Hi
    on earlier releases we had this in the AcsConfig.properties file (eg. 1.1.8.7)

    # Setting the property com.ibm.iaccess.DataCache=true will reduce working set size
    # and will significantly reduce startup times when the product jar file is remote
    # (e.g network share).
    # com.ibm.iaccess.DataCache=true

    but i dont see that on the latest download anymore. 
    might still work

    Markus

    ------------------------------
    Markus Avogaro
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: ACS Rollout

    Posted Wed December 28, 2022 11:18 AM
    Hello Mark,

    Yes, exactly my home path is showing as a network drive, so I had to change this base directory to a local directory on the "AcsConfig.properties" file 
    But even though ACS start-up is slow initially approximately  5mins , the subsequent ones are as quick as possible.

    ------------------------------
    swaroop pulagala
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: ACS Rollout

    IBM Champion
    Posted Wed December 28, 2022 10:50 PM
    Edited by Satid Singkorapoom Thu December 29, 2022 07:41 AM
    Swaaroop

    >>>> But even though ACS start-up is slow initially approximately 5mins , the subsequent ones are as quick as possible. <<<<

    Does ACS's long first start time repeat again after every Windows restarts? If so, my guess is that a 5-minute time-out kicks in after failure to access the remote startup file because ACS may be coded to switch to the local one and stick with it for subsequent invocations.

    It sounds strange that your home path points to a remote one when you intend to do local deployment.  Did you not run the provided script file named install_acs_32 (or 64).js in ACS's Windows_Application folder ?

    ------------------------------
    Right action is better than knowledge; but in order to do what is right, we must know what is right.
    -- Charlemagne

    Satid Singkorapoom
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: ACS Rollout

    Posted Mon January 02, 2023 11:08 AM
    Edited by swaroop pulagala Mon January 02, 2023 11:09 AM
    Hello Satid,

    Yes, exactly , i used to run .js of a single user script , but the windows environment variable's playing the role as per GPO policies so, this is something windows admin could be controlled by default . However, i've changed the user configuration to local directory on the "AcsConfig.properties" file 
    But even though ACS start-up is slow initially approximately  5mins , the subsequent ones are as quick as possible.

    ------------------------------
    swaroop pulagala
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: ACS Rollout

    Posted Wed December 28, 2022 11:17 AM
    Hello Mark,

    Yes, exactly my home path is showing as a network drive, so I had to change this base directory to a local directory on the "AcsConfig.properties" file 
    But even though ACS start-up is slow initially approximately  5mins , the subsequent ones are as quick as possible.

    ------------------------------
    swaroop pulagala
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 12.  RE: ACS Rollout

    Posted Fri December 30, 2022 09:01 AM
    Hi Swaroop
    this location from the properties file one stores the individual config. like systems and session definitions
    com.ibm.iaccess.AcsBaseDirectory=X:/XXX

    try to add this one to your properties file and see if there is a change:
    set this to true
    com.ibm.iaccess.DataCache=true

    may be it helps
    Markus

    ------------------------------
    Markus Avogaro
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 13.  RE: ACS Rollout

    Posted Mon January 02, 2023 11:05 AM
    Hello Markus,

    i've already changed the user configuration to local directory , but the problem seems to be that the product installation is also going to network drive


    ------------------------------
    swaroop pulagala
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 14.  RE: ACS Rollout

    Posted Mon January 02, 2023 11:14 AM
    Hello Satid,
    My experience with IBMi Access for Windows is very limited. So I would like to understand the few differences between iAccess for Windows and IBM ACS. If you could help to list a few points, that would be appreciated.

    ------------------------------
    swaroop pulagala
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 15.  RE: ACS Rollout

    IBM Champion
    Posted Tue January 03, 2023 02:33 AM
    Edited by Satid Singkorapoom Tue January 03, 2023 02:48 AM
    Dear Swaroop

    Here are some key differences between IBM i Access for Windows and IBM Access Client Solution (ACS)

    • IBM i Access for Windows ends at its release 7.1 (do not confuse this release with IBM i release) and was out of support in April 2019.  No enhancements ever since.
    • IBM i Access for Windows runs only in Microsoft Windows OS.   ACS is a Java-based application that can run in any OS that has Java Runtime Engine (JRE).  
    • Most of ACS functional components do not needed to be installed at all when deployed and managed individually (as opposed to centralized).  For Windows, you need to install only ODBC, OLE DB, Active X, ADO, ADO.Net, and printer drivers.  When you centralize ACS deployment, it mostly does the file copy and only a few installation. 
    • ACS has a long roadmap into the future and therefore its components have been constantly enhanced.  The functional component of ACS that has been enhanced a lot is Run SQL Script tool.  PC5250 that comes with ACS also has more features than the one from the old IBM i Access for Windows :  https://www.tug.ca/MoMHandouts/2016-01-20/MyEmulatorisBetterthanYourEmulator.pdf

    >>>>  i've already changed the user configuration to local directory , but the problem seems to be that the product installation is also going to network drive <<<<

    I'm fairly sure ACS installation script does not have any defect that causes the issue you are facing.   I suggest you do a clean uninstall of any ACS components in the PC using this Technote :  https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/how-uninstall-iaccess-client-solutions     Then you just copy the latest ACS codes into your central file server and run the install script again from each PC according to the deployment style you want.  Before you do this, make sure you read and understand this article :  https://developer.ibm.com/articles/i-ibmi-access-client-solutions-customization-trs/  or read this paper  https://static.helpsystems.com/helpsystems-security-services/pdfs/guides/hs-access-client-solutions-secure-deployment-guide.pdf  

    ------------------------------
    Right action is better than knowledge; but in order to do what is right, we must know what is right.
    -- Charlemagne

    Satid Singkorapoom
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 16.  RE: ACS Rollout

    Posted Mon January 09, 2023 05:20 AM
    Edited by swaroop pulagala Mon January 09, 2023 05:24 AM
    Hello Satid,

    Thank you so much for your response and sharing the valuable information .
    BTW, I've opened this link " https://www.tug.ca/MoMHandouts/2016-01-20/MyEmulatorisBetterthanYourEmulator.pdf"  under page 5 , i didn't understand the below point. If possible, can you pls shed some light on this ?

    Solution themes
    • Device & OS Neutral

    Also, I worked with the Windows admin guy, and he said that the Azure WVD network will be slow for the ACS launch, and he also said that McAfee scanning could be causing the ACS slowness.

    ------------------------------
    Swaroop Pulagala

    Original Message


  • 17.  RE: ACS Rollout

    IBM Champion
    Posted Mon January 09, 2023 06:45 AM
    >>>> • Device & OS Neutral <<<<

    This is about ACS being developed with Java and thus is able to run in any OS in any device that has JRE. 


    >>>> Also, I worked with the Windows admin guy, and he said that the Azure WVD network will be slontw for the ACS launch, and he also said that McAfee scanning could be causing the ACS slowness. <<<<

    You need to indicate if you really want centralized deployment for ACS or not?  If so, what you described above causes performance penalty to ACS access and is the obstacle to such a deployment and you may consider changing to local deployment if the performance issue in centralized deployment is beyond tolerable.

    ------------------------------
    Right action is better than knowledge; but in order to do what is right, we must know what is right.
    -- Charlemagne

    Satid Singkorapoom
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 18.  RE: ACS Rollout

    Posted Mon January 09, 2023 09:52 AM
    Hello Satid,

    Thank you for the response.

    We are not even looking for a central deployment despite having latency issues; we are looking for a local deployment.

    I observed performance issues with the local deployment, and it has since been determined that McAfee's virus scan is to blame.



    ------------------------------
    swaroop pulagala
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 19.  RE: ACS Rollout

    IBM Champion
    Posted Mon January 09, 2023 08:11 PM
    >>>> I observed performance issues with the local deployment, and it has since been determined that McAfee's virus scan is to blame. <<<<

    I also suffered this same annoying problem back when I had HDD in my PC every time Windows Security ran. This problem was effectively addressed by using PCIe SSD instead of HDD. Make sure you use a PC that supports PCIe SSD rather than the old SATA or SAS.

    ------------------------------
    Right action is better than knowledge; but in order to do what is right, we must know what is right.
    -- Charlemagne

    Satid Singkorapoom
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 20.  RE: ACS Rollout

    Posted Wed January 25, 2023 09:19 AM
    One other note about performance.  I just recently switched from Oracle Java to the IBM Semeru and found performance better plus user friendly entry screens provides the user with a start screen that end users can know see something happening immediately.  I also found the install of this version of java very simple.

    Here is a link to the IBM site for a free version of Java

    https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/java-options-ibm-i-access-client-solutions

    ------------------------------
    Peter Larsen
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 21.  RE: ACS Rollout

    Posted Thu January 26, 2023 12:37 PM
    Me too I use Semeru JRE 1.8 , it works without problems (more recent version of the java platform had some quirk for me regarding fonts, so I keep using 1.8).
    Regarding deployment, if the the OP is talking about Virtual Desktops in the cloud, the best solution IMHO is just to keep all local in the desktop image themselves, don't fetch the jar from the net... if the AV is the problem, just propagate a policy to exclude the ACS code/folder from interference...

    ------------------------------
    --ft
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 22.  RE: ACS Rollout

    Posted Fri January 27, 2023 06:46 AM
    Edited by swaroop pulagala Fri January 27, 2023 09:06 AM
    Thanks Satid . This makes sense , BTW, you saying that we need to change the drive type ? I need to check with Windows Admin and  these are Azure WVD , need to check on the possibility.

    I would also need your help to highlight few differences between ACS Standalone install and ACS Full install 

    Appreciate your response.

    ------------------------------
    swaroop pulagala
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 23.  RE: ACS Rollout

    IBM Champion
    Posted Fri January 27, 2023 07:34 PM
    Edited by Satid Singkorapoom Fri January 27, 2023 08:45 PM
    >>>>  I would also need your help to highlight few differences between ACS Standalone install and ACS Full install  <<<<

    I have no idea what you meant by ACS standalone VS Full Install. They appear to be the same to me. Did you ask this under the context of Azure WVD?  If so, I'm not familiar with Azure WVD virtual desktop environment and am not able to respond.

    Since you are trying to address performance issue with using ACS from within Azure WVD environment and I have a gut feeling that ACS performs better outside of virtual desktop environment.  I suggest you try using ACS functions from a standalone Windows PC (with SSD preferably) to compare its performance with your WVD environment. If WVD comes out consistently worse and ACS performance is crucial for your users, you should deploy ACS OUTSIDE of WVD environment and try using IBM Semeru java engine as previously suggested. 

    ACS is more performance sensitive than its predecessor IBM i Access for Windows as described in this Technote that I just found : https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/deploying-ibm-i-access-client-solutions-rdp-environments. Do not mind that RDP may not be exactly the same as WVD, the principle explained in the Technote should still apply to your case.  

    ------------------------------
    Right action is better than knowledge; but in order to do what is right, we must know what is right.
    -- Charlemagne

    Satid Singkorapoom
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 24.  RE: ACS Rollout

    Posted Sat January 28, 2023 07:49 AM
    Edited by swaroop pulagala Sat January 28, 2023 07:49 AM
    Hello Satid,

    1.) I mean ACS standalone VS Full Install as below , but expecting few more differences 

    ACS Standalone - is simply unzip it to a folder of your choice and then run the ACSBUNDLE jar file:
    ACS Full Install - Running .js script which is a full install which also add file association to the configuration files. 

    2.)Also, is there any difference between "Restrictions Tab" and exclude components in AcsConfig file ? because excluding the features to users could be achieved by both these ways

    3.)Also, on what scenarios we use Auto.Import version = * or 1 ( integer value ) in the acsconfig file

    ------------------------------
    swaroop pulagala
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 25.  RE: ACS Rollout

    IBM Champion
    Posted Sat January 28, 2023 08:06 PM
    Edited by Satid Singkorapoom Sat January 28, 2023 08:36 PM
    1) The answer to Full Install can be found in this Technote : IBM i ACS Windows Install Scripts Examined.   The install script lets you control the ways you deploy ACS and also accommodates the use of some ACS components for you.

    2) There are 2 different manners for restricting the use of various ACS functions.

    - AcsConfig file is used to restrict ACS function for a particular deployment. The install script does this for you when it asks a number of questions that you respond.

    - Runtime restriction which can be set only by Administrator or Root level authority user using Edit --> Preference from ACS main menu bar.  This restriction applied to all ACS users using a particular workstation.

    More details on both in Manual Settings section of this presentation: IBM i Access Client Solutions Administration Secrets.    

    3) I cannot find Auto.Import. I can only suspect that it is already obsolete?  I find only  com.ibm.iaccess.autoimport.  Read about it in the presentation file from the link I provided above and some more in section 9.4 here: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/ibm-i-access-acs-getting-started  and here: https://developer.ibm.com/articles/i-ibmi-access-client-solutions-2/ 

    ------------------------------
    Right action is better than knowledge; but in order to do what is right, we must know what is right.
    -- Charlemagne

    Satid Singkorapoom
    ------------------------------

    Original Message