AUMERIAL recently participated in two important events highlighting NTi, our data access provider for IBM i from .NET: a webinar and a hands-on demonstration.
These events, organized by Paul Bentley and Dexter Sean Charles, demonstrate today how NTi has become the native .NET solution for IBM i. We were delighted to be invited by Paul Chapman to take part in these sessions.
We would like to thank them and Laurent Mermet for their participation, technical expertise and support at both events.
Demonstration videos and Webinars
Why choose .NET?
- Multi-platform: .NET Core lets you develop applications running on different architectures (x86, ARM, Power).
- Support for .NET on Power: Since last November, IBM has supported .NET 8 on Power, enabling customers to develop and run . NET applications on POWER, offering an alternative to x86.
NTi and .NET on Power benefits
- Improved performance and security: Applications benefit from faster response times and enhanced security thanks to the POWER VM hypervisor's internal network.
- Speed: up to three times faster performance than x86 architectures when connected to an external network.
- Portability: porting applications from x86 to Power is simplified thanks to the "lift and shift" model.
NTi use cases
- Web Application and API: Development of high-performance, secure websites and APIs.
- Desktop and Mobile Application: Support for various environments such as Android iOS, macOS, and Linux.
- AI and Machine Learning: integration of Artificial Intelligence* and Machine Learning solutions.
Deployment scenario
- For deployment, a Linux partition can be added to existing IBM power servers running IBM i.
- .NET workloads can then be run in Docker or OpenShift containers on this Linux partition, facilitating rapid, scalable deployment while using existing infrastructure.
Performance improvements
- Query speed: A database query can be executed in around 3 milliseconds.
- Network efficiency: Network performance is three times better than x86 configurations with an external network.
Demonstration details
Environment configuration
- Use of an IBM Power9 server with two VIOS (Virtual I/O Servers).
- Creation of an internal network between VIOS and partitions using the PowerVM hypervisor.
- Set up two main partitions: a Linux partition and an IBM i partition.
- Added a small Linux partition hosted by the IBM i partition.
Application architecture
- Creation of two containers on each Linux partition: one for a concert booking website and another for a QR code scanner.
- The IBM i partition hosts the database and is not directly exposed to the Internet.
- Communication between the containers and IBM i uses the internal network for enhanced security and performance.
Demonstration scenario
- Presentation of a concert booking website where users can book tickets and receive QR codes.
- Use of a phone to scan QR codes, simulating concert entry.
- Real-time ticket validation on the IBM i database.
- Prevent reuse of already scanned tickets.
Security features
- The IBM i partition is not directly accessible from the Internet.
- Containers use HTTPS with certificates for secure connections.
- The NTi connector manages database access with limited user rights.
Performance
- Three times faster than x86 with an external network.
- Internal network connections were 15-20% faster than external connections.
- Creation of 10,000 database entries in around 7 seconds.
- Similar performance between the stand-alone Linux partition and the small Linux partition hosted on the IBM i.
NTi** Key Benefits
- 3x faster than x86 with external network.
- Version-independent: works with IBM i versions 7.1 to 7.5.
- Minimal footprint on IBM i: requires only one library with a product key file.
- Efficient use of resources: small container sizes and low CPU/memory requirements.
- Easy integration of .NET applications with existing IBM i systems.
*For more details, you can view the webinar replay and demo via the links provided at the top of this article.
And for more information about NTi, don't hesitate to contact us to try it out!