Lukas Beeler’s IT Blog

This is from a post i made on Midrange-L a while back. It still contains valuable info, so i’m posting it here.

• The Documentation sucks - there is none. You can use some documentation directly from Neoware to figure out rather important things like changing the keyboard layout from US English to whatever locale you’re using.
• The thin console is silver. Not black. It features a rather prominent Neoware logo.
• It’s supplied with a black IBM USB Keyboard without the System i Keyboard Layout. There’s no documentation on how special access keys are mapped. This keyboard is plugged into the front of the Unit.
• It’s supplied with the cheapest mouse i’ve ever seen, which is plugged into a PS/2 slot on the back of the unit. It’s not an IBM mouse, it is supplied by Neoware, further enhancing the consistency of this product.
• There’s no documentation on how to change the ip address of the thin console. It connects automatically to the default ASMI-IP Adresses.
• No Documentation on where to get new software for the thin console, or how to install it
• No remote access with the thin console. You can’t access it remotely.
• You can’t turn off the thin console while your system is running (Generates SRC B17CE433, calls IBM, lights attention light). I’ve had a PMR open because of this, and got “works as designed” back. This message may also pop up if you disconnect your HMC from the machine - something which is a lot more problematic than disconnecting a thin console.
• LIC IPL Status is not displayed on the thin console. As far as i know, the Twinax console is still the only one which can do that.
• When ordering an Express i520 with twinax console: you get an IOP and a twinax card for free (about 4000-5000CHF value), when ordering with a thin console, you get the thin console for free (about 1000CHF value)