Software meets e-business data-management needs.
Press Release Summary:
DB2 Universal Database Express Edition v8.1, for Linux and Windows, suits small and medium businesses positioning themselves for e-business. Silent install capability allows application provider to incorporate DB2 UDB Express as transparent part of solution. Suite of advanced management and autonomic computing capabilities support simplification and automation of administration tasks. Scalable features allow seamless transition to other DB2 editions as businesses grow.
Original Press Release:
IBM DB2 Universal Database Express Edition V8.1 for Linux and Windows
At a Glance
DB2 Universal Database (UDB) Express Edition V8.1 is specially tailored to meet the needs of small and medium businesses (SMBs) by offering a database that is:
o Easy to install and deploy: Includes an option for a silent install from within an application
o Simple to manage: Autonomic (self-management) features reduce the skills and resources required to manage the solution by eliminating complexity
o Affordable: Competitively priced to address the needs of SMBs
o Open: Based on open industry standards and portable across pervasive operating platforms (such as Windows and Linux) to avoid vendor lock-in
o Scalable on demand: Features the full-function DB2 UDB engine to allow seamless transition to other DB2 UDB editions as businesses grow
o Extensible: With IBM Software Group middleware, includes Lotus® for collaboration, Tivoli® for management, and WebSphere® for dynamic e-business
DB2 UDB Express easily integrates with applications and results in faster deployment and faster time to market for partner applications.
For ordering, contact: Your IBM representative or the Americas Call Centers at 800-IBM-CALL (Reference: VE001).
Overview
DB2 Universal Database® (UDB) Express Edition V8.1 combines the power, function, and reliability of an open industry-standards-based relational database with simplicity in packaging, installing, and deploying at a minimal investment cost. DB2® UDB Express meets the data management needs of small and medium businesses (SMBs) positioning themselves for e-business on demand(TM).
DB2 UDB Express was developed in consultation with IBM Business Partners. It is ideal for those partners embedding it in their application or reselling it as part of their market-ready solutions for SMBs.
DB2 UDB Express delivers the following benefits:
Easy to Own
DB2 UDB Express has a very low entry cost and it can reduce or eliminate costs associated with deploying and maintaining your data. The silent install capability allows an application or solution provider to incorporate DB2 UDB Express as a transparent part of the solution. Similarly, autonomic computing capabilities such as the Health Center, Configuration Advisor, and Query Optimizer eliminate many of the complexities and costs traditionally associated with managing relational databases.
Flexibility of Open Industry Standards
DB2 UDB Express can be deployed on either Linux or Windows® and supports a full range of industry-standard application interfaces including JDBC, SQLJ, ODBC, OLE DB, ADO, ADO.NET, DB2 CLI, Embedded SQL, XML, and Web Services.
Ready to Grow
As your business grows, you cannot afford to continually start over with new technologies to meet your changing needs. DB2 UDB offers the same core capabilities across the entire line of database servers. You benefit from the same reliability, security, and optimization as your data volumes or utilization increase. You can leverage your existing investments with DB2 UDB Express through available upgrades to other editions of DB2 UDB to support more platform choices and larger hardware installations.
All of these benefits combine to improve your return on investment and let you quickly derive the most value from your information assets required to operate your business.
Key Prerequisites
Refer to the Hardware Requirements and Software Requirements sections.
Planned Availability Date
o May 30, 2003, electronic software delivery
o June 27, 2003, media and documentation
Description
DB2 UDB Express Edition V8.1 is the newest member of the DB2 UDB product family. It delivers the following key functions to the solution providers and their customers in SMBs:
Simplified Deployment
The silent install capability enables an application or solution provider to incorporate the install of DB2 UDB Express as a transparent part of the solution. It combines silent installation with the ability to create databases and configure DB2 UDB Express using scripts. It also supports the ability to create an up-and-running application solution. DB2 UDB Express can be deployed on either Linux or Windows, the two pervasive deployment platforms for SMBs, offering you flexibility in the choice of hardware and operating system for deployment.
Autonomic Management Capabilities
DB2 UDB Express incorporates a suite of advanced management and autonomic computing capabilities. These support the simplification and automation of administration tasks, eliminating many of the costs traditionally associated with managing relational databases. The Configuration Advisor provides facilities to configure the DB2 UDB Express environment to optimize performance. The Health Center monitors your DB2 system, alerting you to potential DB2 operational issues, and providing advice about resolving them.
Design for 24/7 Operation
DB2 UDB Express supports 24/7 operation by eliminating the need to shut down the database to perform maintenance. Changes to key database and database manager configuration parameters can be made while the database is online and take effect immediately. This gives you more flexibility for deciding when to change the configuration to better suit changing workload characteristics. In some cases, you can set a parameter to be automatic. This allows DB2 to adjust the parameter value without intervention from you as workload on the database changes.
Support of 24/7 operation is further enhanced by the online utilities available with DB2 UDB Express. Database backups can be performed online or offline, as can data reorganizations.
Application Development Support
DB2 UDB Express supports a wide set of application programming interfaces including ODBC, OLE DB, ADO, ADO.NET, JDBC, SQLJ, DB2 CLI, embedded SQL, and emerging interfaces such as XML and Web services. This is the same set that is supported across the scalable DB2 UDB family of offerings. A wide range of industry solutions that utilize these interfaces can run with DB2 UDB Express.
DB2 UDB provides add-ins for popular IDEs (such as WebSphere Studio Application Developer, Microsoft(TM) Visual Studio .NET 2002, Microsoft Visual Basic, Microsoft Visual C++, and Microsoft Visual InterDev). This facilitates seamless integration for application development and gives application developers the ability to:
o Leverage the advanced functions in the programming model of DB2 UDB they are familiar with
o Leverage their existing skills
o Reduce time to market
o Cut overall application deployment costs
o Accelerate time to value
Investment Protection
DB2 UDB Express offers the same core capabilities across the entire line of database servers. This provides you the ability to benefit from the same reliability, security, application development interfaces, and optimization as your data volumes, number of users, or utilization increase. Leverage your existing investments with DB2 UDB Express through available upgrades to other scalable editions of DB2 UDB to support more platform choices and higher throughput on larger hardware installations.
Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act
DB2 UDB Express Edition V8.1 is capable, as of June 27, 2003, when used in accordance with IBM's associated documentation, of satisfying the applicable requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, provided that any assistive technology used with the product properly interoperates with it.
Product Positioning
DB2 UDB Express Edition is the database server designed for deployment in an SMB, generally as part of a solution built by an IBM Business Partner. It is limited to deployments on servers that will run 32-bit applications with up to two CPUs running either Linux or Windows. DB2 UDB Express offers a full function database server at a low-entry cost with a named user-based pricing model.
For customers with higher scalability, performance, and throughput needs, IBM offers the following server editions of DB2 Universal Database:
o DB2 UDB Enterprise Server Edition (ESE) meets the database server needs of midsize to large businesses. It can be deployed in Linux, UNIX®, and Windows server environments on any size server, including 64-bit servers. DB2 UDB Enterprise is the ideal foundation for building data warehouses, transaction processing, or Web-based solutions as well as a backend for packaged solutions like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERM), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Supply Chain Management (SCM). Additionally, DB2 UDB Enterprise offers connectivity and integration for other enterprise DB2 and Informix(TM) data sources.
o DB2 UDB Workgroup Server Edition (WSE) is the database server designed for deployment in a departmental or small business environment that involves a small number of internal users. DB2 UDB Workgroup uses a licensing model designed to provide an attractive price point for smaller installations while still providing a full-function database server. It can be deployed in Linux, UNIX, and Windows server environments on systems with up to four 32-bit CPUs.
o DB2 UDB Workgroup Server Unlimited Edition (WSUE) offers a simplified per-processor licensing model for deployment in a departmental or small business environment that has Internet users or number of users that makes per-processor licensing more attractive than the WSE licensing model. The WSUE can be deployed in Linux, UNIX, and Windows environments on systems with up to four 32-bit CPUs.
