The Independent User Group for users of Sage Enterprise Software

By Barry Thorn

There are some key trends occurring around databases, including:

The requirement for storing more and more data, and more disparate types of data (for instance, voicemail recordings).

The use of pervasive devices and the need to share database information between servers and those devices.

The requirement of tight integration and self managing database management systems

The emergence of Linux as an environment for new applications and databases.

The need to analyse more and more data (Business Intelligence).

DBA skills are in great demand.

SQL is the industry standard for database access and programming. While the heritage of application development on the iSeries has been to use RPG-like native interfaces such as Data Description Specifications (DDS) for defining databases, and using HLL languages such as RPG or COBOL to manipulate the data - ISVs and other application development efforts will be done using SQL.

From a terminology standpoint, there are many SQL-based database access methods, but they are all fundamentally using the SQL (Structured Query Language) constructs. For instance, JDBC, ODBC, DRDA, CLI are all common standards that leverage SQL.

A key BENEFIT of DB2 UDB for iSeries is that you can use SQL or DDS/HLL interfaces interchangeably because you have a SINGLE database management system (DB2 UDB for iSeries). For example, tables created with SQL can be accessed by HLL programs like RPG. Files (Tables) created with DDS can be accessed by SQL programs.

Another benefit of this architecture is you do not have to DIVE FULL SPEED AHEAD into SQL - but you can move at the pace that makes the most sense as you obtain more SQL skills.

As IBM pushes the eServer strategy to include self-managing systems, DB2 UDB for iSeries is already well positioned to leverage this as it relates to self managing databases. Let's take a look at some of the attributes that define a self-managing database:

Self Configuring - DB2 UDB for iSeries leverages the iSeries' Single Level Store architecture to automatically configure how data is spread across disk subsystems. No special database installation or configuration is required with a new system or at version/release updates.

Self Healing - System Managed Journaling, System Managed Access Paths, and auto-restart of the system on system failures helps ensure database integrity is maintained without special processes to reload or rebuilding of indexes.

Self Protecting - DB2 UDB for iSeries is built into the OS, and the object based OS protects the database from intrusions. OS security protection at both the system level and database level helps ensure levels of security required for mission critical or other applications.

Self Optimizing - DB2 UDB for iSeries' SQL Optimizer is a sophisticated cost-based optimizer that leverages statistics maintained by the database to fully optimize SQL operations. DB2 UDB for iSeries' optimizer takes into account resources available for SQL operations when building execution plans, and through the maintaining of statistics, can handle data skew based on real statistics vs. other database management systems that use "best-guess" approaches.

eLiza concepts, combined with the high reliability and availability of the iSeries, provides a foundation for DB2 UDB for iSeries AVAILABILITY that is unsurpassed in the industry.

The iSeries itself provides extremely high reliability, as noted in the TCO study by IDC, Sept. 2001.