IBM i (AS/400) HA/DR Evaluation Checklist

This checklist is designed to help IBM i organizations evaluate high availability and disaster recovery solutions in a consistent, evidence-based way. Each criterion is measurable and can be validated through testing, observation, or documentation.

Data Integrity and Consistency

• Can the solution guarantee transactional consistency at recovery time?

• Is replication aware of IBM i journals, commitment control, and object dependencies?

• Can recovered systems be proven to represent a known, consistent point in time?

• Are integrity checks continuous rather than periodic?

Evidence to request: Recovery test results, integrity validation reports, documented recovery points.

Recovery Time and Recovery Point Objectives

• Can RTO and RPO be defined in business terms, not just technical metrics?

• Are RTO and RPO achievable during peak processing periods?

• Does latency measurement reflect end-to-end recoverability, not just transport delay?

• Can RPO be demonstrated rather than assumed?

Evidence to request: Latency trends, recovery test logs, peak load behavior analysis.

Recoverability and Testing

• Can recovery procedures be executed without disrupting production?

• Are role swaps planned, repeatable, and reversible?

• How often is recovery tested in real conditions?

• Are recovery outcomes predictable and documented?

Evidence to request: Test schedules, test outcomes, documented procedures.

Scalability Under Load

• Does replication continue to keep up as transaction volumes increase?

• Can apply processing scale without becoming a bottleneck?

• How does the system behave during spikes and backlog catch-up?

• Does replication overhead remain stable on the production system as load grows?

Evidence to request: Receiver throughput data, peak period behavior, backlog recovery metrics.

IBM i Operational Manageability

• Is replication health clearly visible without constant intervention?

• Are alerts actionable rather than noisy?

• Can IBM i teams manage HA without reliance on external infrastructure teams?

• Does operational effort remain stable as environments grow?

Evidence to request: Operational dashboards, alerting examples, staffing impact over time.

Platform and Environment Flexibility

• Does the solution support multiple IBM i releases concurrently?

• Can environments mix releases during upgrades?

• Are hardware refreshes treated as routine technical events?

• Is the architecture resilient to environmental change?

Evidence to request: Supported release matrices, upgrade case studies.

Commercial Transparency

• Is pricing predictable over the life of the solution?

• Do hardware upgrades trigger licence or maintenance increases?

• Are processor-based pricing tiers clearly defined and stable?

• Can long-term TCO be modelled accurately?

Evidence to request: Pricing documentation, upgrade pricing policies.