Migration Guides
IBM Power, IBM i, and AIX Migration Guides
Practical, vendor-neutral guidance from Power Systems Advisors for planning IBM i and AIX cloud migrations, understanding IBM Power hosting cost, and building disaster recovery and modernization plans, before you commit to a provider or migration path.
Independent IBM Power, IBM i, and AIX cloud advisory
What do these guides cover?
This library covers the practical decisions behind moving, protecting, and modernizing IBM i, AIX, and IBM Power workloads: your options now that Power9 has reached end of standard support, whether to upgrade, jump releases, or pay for a service extension as IBM i 7.4 nears its own end of support, how Power10 and Power11 compare now that Power10 is being withdrawn from marketing, migration readiness checklists for IBM i and AIX, what actually drives IBM Power migration and hosting cost, disaster recovery planning, modernizing IBM i without a full rewrite, and when a hardware refresh makes more sense than moving to cloud or hosted infrastructure. Each guide is written for infrastructure, operations, and IT leaders evaluating a specific decision, not general cloud marketing.
The guides cover the decision itself. Two other parts of this site cover what comes after it: the comparison of IBM Power cloud and modernization options narrows the field to the option types worth shortlisting, and the IBM Power cloud provider directory covers who actually delivers each one, including profiles such as Recovery Point Systems for IBM Power disaster recovery and managed resiliency and Thrive for managed IBM i backup, archiving, and disaster recovery.
The library
Explore the guides
Start with the guide that matches the decision in front of you. Each one includes a decision table, implementation steps, and common mistakes to avoid.
IBM i Hosting and Cloud Options
Compare managed IBM i hosting, PowerVS, private cloud, colocation, and on-premises refresh options for IBM i, AS/400, and iSeries workloads.
Read the guide →AIX Cloud Hosting and Managed Hosting Options
Compare PowerVS, managed AIX hosting, private cloud, colocation, and on-premises paths, including compatibility and provider responsibility questions.
Read the guide →IBM i Disaster Recovery: Options, RPO/RTO, and Testing
Compare backup, replicated standby, high availability, and hosted DR for IBM i, then build recovery objectives and a testable runbook.
Read the guide →IBM Power End of Life Dates: Every Server, IBM i, and AIX Release
One table for the whole estate. Power7 through Power11 end-of-service dates, every IBM i and AIX release, and the hardware ceiling that decides whether your deadline is a software upgrade or a capital purchase.
Read the guide →Power9 End of Support Has Arrived: Your 4 Options in 2026
Power9 scale-out servers left IBM standard support January 31, 2026. An honest comparison of upgrading to Power10/11, extended or third-party maintenance, moving to cloud, and doing nothing.
Read the guide →AIX End of Life: The Real 7.2 and 7.3 Support Timeline in 2026
IBM has published no end-of-service date for AIX 7.2 or 7.3. What IBM's lifecycle pages actually commit to, the technology level deadlines that really bind you, and why AIX 7.1's April 30, 2027 extension date is the only hard one.
Read the guide →Third-Party Maintenance for IBM Power: Smart or a Trap?
What TPM really covers on Power, AS/400, iSeries, and AIX hardware, the IBM machine code rule that decides the whole question, and the cases where a 30 to 70 percent discount is worth taking.
Read the guide →IBM i 7.4 End of Support: Upgrade to 7.5, 7.6, or Buy the Service Extension?
IBM i 7.4 leaves standard support September 30, 2026. An honest comparison of upgrading to 7.5, jumping to 7.6, or buying IBM's paid Service Extension, including the Power8/Power9/Power10 hardware ceiling each path runs into.
Read the guide →Power10 vs. Power11 for IBM i Shops in 2026
Power10 sales end July 31, 2026 for most models, and the Power S1112 just closed Power11's missing entry-tier P05 gap. An independent comparison across entry, mid-range, and enterprise tiers.
Read the guide →IBM i Cloud Migration Checklist
A step-by-step readiness checklist covering LPAR inventory, DB2 for i dependencies, backup strategy, HA/DR, licensing, and cutover planning.
Read the guide →AIX Cloud Migration Checklist
What to inventory, test, and validate before moving AIX workloads to the cloud, including mksysb, NIM, PowerHA, and Oracle/SAP dependencies.
Read the guide →What Drives the Cost of an IBM Power Cloud Migration
A breakdown of the licensing, compute, storage, backup, and services factors that actually determine what a Power cloud migration costs.
Read the guide →IBM Power Disaster Recovery: Options and Planning
How to set RPO/RTO targets and choose between backup-based, replicated, and DRaaS recovery approaches for IBM i, AIX, and Power.
Read the guide →How to Modernize IBM i Without Rewriting Applications
Incremental modernization patterns (UI, APIs, and database access) that reduce risk without a full application rewrite.
Read the guide →Power Hardware Refresh vs. Moving to Cloud
How to weigh a Power11 hardware refresh against hosted or cloud alternatives based on cost, control, staffing, and growth.
Read the guide →Can You Run IBM i on AWS? What Is Actually Possible in 2026
IBM i cannot boot on AWS EC2. What works instead: managed Power hosting adjacent to AWS, PowerVS interconnects, split-stack architectures, and replatforming.
Read the guide →IBM i Licensing in the Cloud: Entitlement Transfer, Subscription, and BYOL
How processor groups, serial-number entitlements, subscription terms, and ISV licensing behave when you move IBM i to PowerVS or managed hosting.
Read the guide →JD Edwards on IBM i: Hosting, Cloud, and Replatform Options
An independent map for JDE shops: stay and refresh, move LPARs to PowerVS or managed hosting with JDE intact, or replatform, with Oracle support facts.
Read the guide →IBM i High Availability: PowerHA, Db2 Mirror, Logical Replication, and Hosted HA
How PowerHA and IASPs, Db2 Mirror, logical replication (MIMIX, Maxava, iCluster), and managed HA services compare on RPO/RTO, cost, and operational load.
Read the guide →IBM i 7.6 Upgrade: Features, Requirements, and Timing
What IBM i 7.6 adds, why it runs only on Power10 and Power11, and how the hardware floor forces a refresh-or-cloud decision for older systems.
Read the guide →IBM Power Virtual Server Pricing: How the Bill Is Built
The components of a PowerVS bill (cores, memory, storage tiers, licensing, egress) and the gotchas that surprise first-time buyers.
Read the guide →Is the AS/400 Dead? AS/400, iSeries, and IBM i Explained
The platform's naming history from AS/400 to IBM i, the evidence it is actively developed, and what an AS/400 shop should actually worry about.
Read the guide →SAP on IBM Power: AIX, HANA, and RISE on PowerVS
The compound deadline facing SAP-on-AIX shops and the three realistic paths: stay on ECC, S/4HANA on Linux on Power, or replatform.
Read the guide →IBM Power Migration Timeline: How Long It Actually Takes
A lift-and-shift to cloud Power runs 3 to 6 months; modernization and AIX-to-Linux replatforms run 9 to 18 months or more. The four phases, the wave-versus-single-cutover call, and what really sets the pace.
Read the guide →Linux on Power: Where It Can Run in the Cloud
Linux is the portable member of the Power family. Compare keeping it on cloud Power (PowerVS, managed hosting, Skytap) against replatforming to x86, and how the ISV support matrix usually decides it.
Read the guide →Not Sure Which Path Fits Your Environment?
Every environment carries a different mix of workloads, dependencies, and constraints. Get a directional assessment of your IBM i, AIX, or IBM Power estate before you commit to a migration, refresh, or modernization plan.