Re: IBM AS400 Model 2130 Server -- MIDRANGE-L

Dan,

>it was my understanding from earlier posts that, unlike the OS, the
>LPPs do NOT transfer with the sale of a V4 AS/400.  Could make the "cheap"
>AS/400 expensive in a hurry.

That was my understanding, while I was on V3R7.  I just recently got my V4R3
upgrade installed (even without Neil's prodding<g>) and read through the license
agreements which came with it.  I am no longer convinced that the LPP's *can't
be transferred, although I still do not think they are automatically
transferred.

> What are the chances of convincing IBM to let the LPPs transfer on the
>smaller models when the AS/400 hardware is sold to a non-business entity?  Why
>did IBM decide to allow the OS to transfer, but not the LPPs?

When you buy a new machine, the OS now comes bundled with it.  You therefore
have no need to transfer the OS license to a new box to save money.  Not so with
LPP's.  *IF* the customer is replacing the box with a new machine, then the
customer would presumably transfer the LPP licenses to the new box rather than
paying for them all over again.  Thus they would no longer be licensed to the
old box, and not available to transfer to a new owner. It only makes sense that
if the license fee has only been paid once, that only one box gets to use it.  

Once upon a time, particularly in the CISC days, replacements or upgrades tended
to be on a one-to-one basis (you'd buy as many new boxes as old boxes being
replaced).  Since the customer would then want to transfer the LPP (and OS)
license to the new box to save money on the replacement/upgrade, it always
seemed to me the uproar over not letting the used box also run the software was
largely a red herring.  Why should two boxes be allowed to run software which
has only been paid for once?  And if you are buying a new box, wouldn't you
rather transfer the LPP's to your new box instead of letting it go with the old
box at "used" prices? 

However, now we more often see multiple machines being replaced by a single box,
or -- perish the thought -- machines being displaced by an alternative such as
NT.  In these cases, the customer no longer cares about transferring the LPP's
to a replacement box (or only needs to transfer fewer licenses).

Could these LPP's (at V4+) be transferred to a new owner?  It seems to me from
reading the V4 agreement that they could, but as they say, I am not a lawyer.

But I'd also say that, in absence of a specific mention of transferring the
LPP's with the box, it should be presumed that no LPP's are available.  If you
can find a machine being retired so the seller doesn't care about the LPP
licenses, than they could be a good deal indeed -- if the LPP are in fact
transferrable.

Doug
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