AS400 History Timeline

AS400 Timeline With Hardware, Software, and Market Milestones

1. 1988 Platform launch AS/400 Rel 1 AS/400 launches as IBM's integrated successor to System/36 and System/38 IBM combines two midrange lineages into one business platform with hardware, OS/400, database, communications, and operations bundled together.

   Significant date: June 21, 1988 announcement ... August 26, 1988 general availability

   IBM announced AS/400 Rel 1 on June 21, 1988 and shipped it on August 26, 1988. The launch mattered because IBM was not introducing an isolated server model. It was creating a unified path forward for System/36 and System/38 customers under one integrated architecture.

   • IBM release life cycle records both the announce date and the general-availability date for Rel 1.
   • IBM Heritage describes the line as opening network computing to small and medium-size organizations, not just large institutions.
   • The integrated approach is a core reason the platform became sticky in production environments.

   Often missed The real event was platform consolidation, not just product launch theater.

2. 1988 Software architecture Machine interface Technology independence and backward compatibility are part of the platform from the beginning The architecture is deliberately built to preserve application continuity across future hardware changes.

   Significant date: Built into the original platform design in 1988

   OS/400 sat at the heart of AS/400 and IBM later emphasized that it stayed backward compatible with most System/36 and System/38 applications. The machine interface and object-based design are what let later processor changes happen without turning every customer upgrade into a rewrite project.

   • IBM Heritage highlights backward compatibility as a major reason firms could move onto AS/400 without replacing existing software.
   • Standardized displays, menus, and interfaces widened the platform beyond a narrow technical audience.
   • This architectural decision is the foundation underneath every later rename and hardware transition on this page.

   Often missed Most timelines celebrate the brand name and skip the engineering choice that made the lineage durable.

3. 1995 Hardware breakthrough RISC transition AS/400 moves from CISC to RISC without forcing a mass application reset IBM changes the processor foundation while protecting business workloads that were already in production.

   Significant date: June 21, 1995 announcement ... December 22, 1995 V3R6 general availability

   The V3R6 cycle marks the move to PowerPC-AS RISC hardware. This is one of the strongest proofs that the platform's abstraction model worked because customer software largely survived a deep processor change that would have been far more disruptive on many other systems.

   • IBM release life cycle lists V3R6 announced June 21, 1995 and generally available December 22, 1995.
   • This is one of the most important technical milestones in the platform's history, even though non-specialist timeline pages often compress it into a single sentence.
   • The RISC transition is the clearest early example of continuity winning over forklift replacement.

   Often missed If you want one event that proves AS/400 was more than a badge, this is it.

4. 1998 Market position 500,000 systems IBM says more than 500,000 AS/400 systems are installed worldwide By the late 1990s IBM is describing a huge installed base and a software ecosystem that most competitors would have wanted.

   Significant date: September 11, 1998 V4R3 general availability period

   IBM materials tied to the V4R3 era say more than 500,000 AS/400 systems had been installed worldwide and that customers could choose from over 30,000 applications built for the platform. That is a better market signal than an unsupported market-share percentage because it shows real commercial weight in production.

   • IBM also positioned V4R3 as part of the AS/400e move into e-business workloads.
   • Installed systems and software depth help explain why IBM kept funding the platform instead of sunsetting it.
   • This was not a fringe installed base waiting to disappear.

   Why it matters When you cannot verify a precise market-share number cleanly, installed-base scale and application depth are the stronger evidence.

5. 2000 Branding shift eServer iSeries AS/400 becomes eServer iSeries IBM modernizes the commercial label for the internet era, but the platform lineage does not reset.

   Significant date: May 22, 2000 V4R5 announcement ... July 28, 2000 general availability ... October 2000 brand rollout

   The iSeries name reframes the platform for e-business language and the eServer family. For working shops, though, the practical story is continuity rather than a clean break. Existing skills, applications, and operational habits largely keep carrying forward.

   • IBM release life cycle records V4R5 announced May 22, 2000 and generally available July 28, 2000.
   • The rename matters historically, but it is less important than the continuity of applications and operating-model assumptions.
   • Search behavior today still proves that many buyers and administrators never stopped saying AS400.

   Often missed iSeries was a commercial repositioning move layered on top of the same long-lived workload base.

6. 2004 Hardware + OS Power 5 arrives Power 5 and i5/OS V5R3 bridge the old AS/400 world into the Power era IBM launches the first POWER5-based i platform and renames the operating system to i5/OS.

   Significant date: May 4, 2004 announcement ... June 11, 2004 V5R3 general availability

   This is one of the most useful dates in the full lineage because it is where AS/400 history starts blending into the modern Power story. IBM announced V5R3 on May 4, 2004, shipped it on June 11, 2004, and described the systems as the industry's first POWER5-based servers.

   • V5R3 is the release-life-cycle marker for the first POWER5-based i platform generation.
   • IBM announcement material from 2004 ties the hardware launch directly to i5/OS V5R3 and virtualization-era positioning.
   • For research purposes, this is the cleanest bridge between classic AS/400 branding and later IBM Power hardware conversations.

   Often missed A lot of timelines jump from iSeries to System i and miss the Power 5 bridge entirely.

7. 2006 Software + branding System i V5R4 and System i tighten IBM's family branding before the full IBM i split IBM keeps compatibility intact while pushing the System i label and extending the life of the i5/OS era.

   Significant date: January 31, 2006 announcement ... February 14, 2006 V5R4 general availability

   V5R4 becomes the last i5/OS major release before IBM i 6.1 arrives. The System i label continues IBM's server-family simplification, but the deeper fact is that the same application lineage is still being carried forward instead of replaced.

   • IBM release life cycle lists V5R4 announced January 31, 2006 and generally available February 14, 2006.
   • Many quick histories skip V5R4 even though it sits directly between the i5/OS and IBM i naming eras.
   • For shops tracing upgrade ancestry, this is a real waypoint, not trivia.

   Often missed If you inherited a long-running environment, V5R4 often sits somewhere in its memory even when nobody mentions it publicly.

8. 2007 Hardware breakthrough Power 6 Power 6 extends the roadmap and becomes a future upgrade boundary IBM brings the next Power generation into the System i and Power Systems path.

   Significant date: May 22, 2007 official POWER6 server announcement

   IBM materials tie POWER6 server announcements to May 22, 2007. For IBM i customers, Power 6 mattered not only as a hardware refresh but later as a planning boundary, because IBM eventually made clear that IBM i 7.3 would not support Power6 systems.

   • Official IBM licensing documentation references the May 22, 2007 POWER6 announcement date.
   • Power6 systems are now well outside the eligible range for modern major-release planning.
   • That makes this generation historically important and operationally useful when triaging old hardware.

   Often missed Old hardware is only history until an upgrade project has to identify its last supported release.

9. 2008 Naming model IBM i + Power Systems IBM i becomes the OS name while Power Systems becomes the hardware family This is the naming split that still defines the platform today.

   Significant date: January 29, 2008 announcement ... March 21, 2008 general availability for IBM i 6.1

   IBM i 6.1 formalizes the modern terminology. IBM i is the operating system. Power Systems is the hardware family. AS400 remains the market shorthand many people still use, but the official product taxonomy now separates software identity from hardware identity.

   • IBM release life cycle lists IBM i 6.1 announced January 29, 2008 and generally available March 21, 2008.
   • This is the cleanest answer to the common question of whether AS400 became IBM i or IBM Power.
   • The accurate answer is that the operating system and hardware family were split into separate names.

   Often missed Many pages say AS400 became IBM i and stop there, but that is only half the naming story.

10. 2010 Hardware + OS Power 7 Power 7 and IBM i 7.1 define the next long production window IBM pairs a new processor generation with a new IBM i release and extends the line for another decade of real-world use.

    Significant date: February 18, 2010 POWER7 hardware announcement ... April 13, 2010 IBM i 7.1 announcement ... April 23, 2010 general availability

    IBM's Power Virtual User Group records a POWER7 hardware announcement on February 18, 2010, while IBM i 7.1 was announced April 13, 2010 and reached general availability April 23, 2010. For many organizations, this combination became the basis for a long stable production cycle.

    • IBM later states that IBM i 7.3 is the last major release supporting Power7 and Power7+.
    • That makes Power7 one of the most important cutoff points in present-day remediation planning.
    • The historical launch date matters because it anchors hardware age and support-path conversations.

    Often missed Power 7 is where history and current upgrade pressure meet.

11. 2014 Hardware + OS Power 8 Power 8 and IBM i 7.2 open another major refresh wave IBM i 7.2 arrives almost simultaneously with the first Power 8 server announcements for IBM i workloads.

    Significant date: April 28, 2014 IBM i 7.2 announcement ... May 2, 2014 general availability ... April 30, 2014 first Power 8 server announcements

    IBM release data places IBM i 7.2 at April 28, 2014 announcement and May 2, 2014 general availability. IBM's Power Virtual User Group records Power 8 server announcements on April 30, 2014. This is another moment where hardware and software decisions converge instead of happening in isolation.

    • IBM later says IBM i 7.4 is the last major release that supports Power8 systems.
    • That makes 7.4 the end-of-the-road software target for shops still anchored to Power8 hardware.
    • Power8 is one of the most common still-relevant milestones in midlife environments.

    Often missed The useful fact is not just that Power 8 existed. It is that it still shapes current upgrade limits.

12. 2016 Software milestone IBM i 7.3 IBM i 7.3 becomes the final major software stop for Power 7 and Power 7+ IBM i 7.3 later turns into the last major release available to older Power 7 estates.

    Significant date: April 12, 2016 announcement ... April 15, 2016 general availability

    IBM i 7.3 was announced April 12, 2016 and reached general availability April 15, 2016. In hindsight, its lasting significance is that IBM later identified 7.3 as the last release supporting Power7 and Power7+ processor-based systems.

    • IBM release-life-cycle and future-hardware pages both reinforce 7.3's role as a cutoff point.
    • IBM support extends 7.3 availability through service-extension paths into September 30, 2028.
    • That gives very conservative shops extra runway, but it does not change the hardware-generation ceiling.

    Often missed A release becomes historically important when it turns into the final safe landing zone for old hardware.

13. 2017 to 2018 Hardware breakthrough Power 9 rollout Power 9 arrives as a staged rollout rather than a single clean launch date The Power 9 era starts in late 2017 and becomes the next mainstream IBM i hardware target during 2018.

    Significant date: December 6, 2017 first Power 9 system reveal ... February 22, 2018 Power 9 scale-out announcement ... September 2018 enterprise IBM i support

    Power9 is best understood as a rollout sequence. IBM unveiled the first system in December 2017, followed with a scale-out announcement on February 22, 2018, and by September 2018 IBM i platform-support pages were documenting enterprise POWER9 support.

    • IBM future-hardware planning now states that IBM i 7.5 is the last major release supporting Power9 systems.
    • That makes Power9 current enough to matter to many estates, yet old enough to sit under a real deadline.
    • Research pages that assign Power9 a single simplistic date usually miss this rollout nuance.

    Often missed This is why a serious timeline sometimes needs a date range instead of a single launch day.

14. 2019 Software milestone IBM i 7.4 IBM i 7.4 becomes the last major release for Power 8 and a broad landing zone for mixed fleets IBM i 7.4 is long-lived and unusually important because it spans Power8 through Power11 support windows.

    Significant date: April 23, 2019 announcement ... June 21, 2019 general availability

    IBM i 7.4 was announced April 23, 2019 and reached general availability June 21, 2019. IBM support shows end of marketing on April 30, 2026, change in service level on September 30, 2026, and extension availability through September 30, 2029.

    • IBM support says 7.4 runs on selected Power11, Power10, Power9, and Power8 hardware.
    • That breadth makes 7.4 a common landing zone for estates that cannot jump to the newest release immediately.
    • It is also the last major release supporting Power8 systems.

    Often missed If you are mapping a mixed estate, 7.4 is often the compromise release that keeps the most doors open.

15. 2021 to 2022 Hardware breakthrough Power 10 Power 10 restarts the hardware conversation and becomes the floor for IBM i 7.6 IBM unveils Power10 in September 2021, then broadens IBM i support across new scale-out systems in 2022.

    Significant date: September 8, 2021 Power 10 and Power E1080 announcement ... July 2022 scale-out IBM i support

    IBM announced Power10 and the Power E1080 on September 8, 2021. IBM i platform support details then show July 2022 as the point where IBM i supports new Power10 scale-out systems such as the S1014, S1022, S1022s, and S1024.

    • Power10 is the minimum hardware generation for IBM i 7.6.
    • For many teams, the real blocker behind a newest-release discussion is the underlying Power generation, not the OS media itself.
    • Power10 also frames the move into newer NVMe-centric scale-out options.

    Often missed Power 10 is the hardware prerequisite behind the newest IBM i conversation.

16. 2022 Software milestone IBM i 7.5 IBM i 7.5 adds real platform engineering, including BOOLEAN in SQL IBM i 7.5 is not maintenance theater ... it brings meaningful database, security, and platform updates.

    Significant date: May 3, 2022 announcement ... May 10, 2022 general availability

    IBM i 7.5 reached general availability on May 10, 2022. IBM's base enhancements page highlights BOOLEAN added to SQL, a maximum index size increase to 16 TB, new IBM i Services, stronger password and SNMPv3 options, and support for new Power10 offerings.

    • IBM future-hardware planning says 7.5 is the last major release supporting Power9 systems.
    • That gives 7.5 a split identity: current enough for modernization work, but also the final major stop before hardware replacement for some estates.
    • The BOOLEAN addition is one of the clearest examples that IBM i is still receiving meaningful database evolution.

    Often missed A platform does not get BOOLEAN in SQL and new security work if it is only being kept on life support.

17. 2025 Software milestone IBM i 7.6 IBM i 7.6 brings built-in MFA and resets the current-release baseline As of July 21, 2026, IBM i 7.6 is the current major IBM i release.

    Significant date: April 8, 2025 announcement ... April 18, 2025 general availability

    IBM i 7.6 was announced April 8, 2025 and became generally available April 18, 2025. IBM's IBM i product page highlights built-in multi-factor authentication, and IBM upgrade guidance says IBM i 7.6 requires Power10 or later hardware.

    • IBM i 7.6 supports Power11 and Power10 only.
    • Upgrades to 7.6 are supported from IBM i 7.4 and 7.5.
    • This is the clearest current evidence that IBM i remains an actively engineered platform with new security investment.

    Often missed If a page still treats 7.5 as the latest major release, it is already outdated.

18. 2025 Hardware breakthrough Power 11 Power 11 becomes the newest hardware generation in the AS400 lineage Power 11 is the latest planning marker for IBM i environments descended directly from AS/400 workloads.

    Significant date: July 8, 2025 announcement ... July 25, 2025 general availability

    IBM announced Power11 on July 8, 2025 and said general availability would begin July 25, 2025. IBM i platform support details then documented July 2025 code support for the first Power11 family systems.

    • IBM paired the Power11 launch window with IBM i 7.6 and later added the Power S1112 entry system in July 2026.
    • For the first time, IBM said Power11 general availability would include high-end, midrange, and entry servers together.
    • A timeline that stops at System i or even Power9 is no longer current enough to be a serious reference source.

    Often missed The useful endpoint for a modern AS400 timeline is the current Power-generation decision facing real IBM i shops.