Integrated file system conversions (V5R4 to IBM i 7.1 upgrade)

Integrated file system conversions should not affect the overall length of time for an IBM® i upgrade, but it might be advantageous for you to analyze and possibly change certain file names before you upgrade. As of V6R1, file systems that are not case sensitive in the integrated file system support Unicode Standard 4.0 for names stored in directories.

In V5R4, the integrated file system stores all names in Unicode and supported Unicode Standard 2.0. After upgrading from V5R4, an automatic conversion runs to update the integrated file system directories in file systems that are not case-sensitive to support Unicode Standard 4.0. Unicode Standard 4.0 defines additional characters and updated casing rules. The file systems included in this conversion are "root" (/) and user-defined file systems (UDFS). These file systems are in any auxiliary storage pool that is created with the parameter value CASE(*MONO) on the Create User-defined File System (CRTUDFS) command.

Before you upgrade from V5R4, it is recommended that you review Information APAR II14306 and the IBM Redpaper publication IBM i Program Conversion: Getting Ready for IBM i V6R1 . These resources will help you to analyze your system and to identify objects that are going to be affected by the Unicode conversion. You can then decide if you want to change the names of the affected objects before you upgrade or let the automatic conversion occur. The information APAR is in the preventive service planning information on the Support for System i® Web page. Select the link for technical databases; then select the link for Authorized Problem Analysis Reports (APARs).

The conversion of the directories automatically begins for any of the file systems shortly after IBM i 7.1 is installed. This conversion runs in the background during normal operations and should not significantly affect your system activity. For more information about integrated file system directory conversions, see Converting names to support additional characters .