Installing IBM iSeries Access for Linux in Ubuntu

There are some application that you can used for emulate iSeries from your ubuntu machine. You can easily just using telnet from your terminal or use tn5250.

Actually beside for Windows, IBM also release iSeries Access for linux, though not as complete as the windows version, where they also include iSeries Navigator.

After some trial to install iSeries Access for Linux in Ubuntu, here some steps that I can share for you which I already proven that these steps is working,:D


First of all you need to download iSeries Access Linux from IBM site. Just for your notice you have to registrate yourself before you can download anything from IBM site, this is not a big deal, cause it is so simple.

Because the file that you will get is an rpm file you will need alien to enabling you execute that file in your Ubuntu machine.
If you don't have alien in your Ubuntu then install it using
$ sudo apt-get alien

Then install the iSeries Access and some packages that it needs

$ sudo alien -i iSeriesAccess-5.2.0-1.10.i386.rpm
$ sudo apt-get install libmotif3
$ sudo apt-get install libxaw6
$ sudo apt-get install libstdc++5

After you execute above steps, then here some configuration that you must do

$ sudo ln -s /opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess/lib/libcwbcore.so /usr/lib/ libcwbcore.so
$ sudo ln -s /opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess/lib/libcwbodbc.so /usr/lib/libcwbodbc.so
$ sudo ln -s /opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess/lib/libcwbodbcs.so /usr/lib/libcwbodbcs.so
$ sudo ln -s /opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess/lib/libcwbrc.so /usr/lib/libcwbrc.so

IBM5250 expects something other than en_US.UTF-8, so run this to start.

$ /opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess/bin/ibm5250 -LANGID en_us

For comfortable and easiness to start iSeries Access in your ubuntu you can make a launcher in your desktop, here the steps

Right-click in your desktop












Then it will show you a window like this












Choose Application in Type
Fill any name that you desired (i.e. iSeries Access)
In Command you must fill this
/opt/ibm/iSeriesAccess/bin/ibm5250 -LANGID en_us
For the icon you can used what fatbuttlarry have created and shared in ubuntu forums they are quite nice i think

I have try in Ubuntu 8.04, 8.10 and 9.04 and these steps is worked.
Notes sometimes you need to install msttcorefonts to makes it worked
$ sudo apt-get install msttcorefonts

Have a nice day