DB2 UDB Connect Products
In prior versions of DB2, the DB2 Connect product was used to connect to Distributed Relational Database Architecture (DRDA) database servers. DRDA is an open standard, high-level protocol for database-related communications, and prior to DB2 UDB v8, the DRDA database servers of the DB2 world were DB2 host databases running on OS/390 (z-Series), AS/400 (i-Series), VM, and VSE. DB2 on common platforms such as Windows and UNIX used a proprietary protocol known as DB2RA.
In DB2 v8, all DB2 servers and clients use DRDA for communications, thereby adhering to a common standard. DB2 clients, however, are not licensed to access DB2 host databases directly, thus either DB2 ESE server or DB2 Connect must still be used to connect to a host database. The flavors of DB2 Connect are Enterprise Edition, Unlimited Edition, Personal Edition, and Application Server Edition. The components for each product are shown in Figure 1.4. DB2 Connect Personal Edition allows a single system to connect to a host DB2 server. It also can connect to any other DB2 server, and other DRDA servers in general, however, it does not accept remote connections.
Figure 1.4. DB2 UDB Connect Enterprise Edition.
DB2 UDB Connect Enterprise Edition
DB2 Connect Enterprise Edition is a connectivity server that concentrates and manages connections from multiple desktop clients and Web applications to DB2 database servers running on host or iSeries systems. IBM's DB2 UDB for iSeries, DB2 for OS/390 and z/OS, and DB2 for VSE and VM databases continue to be the systems of choice for managing most critical data for the world's largest organizations. While these host and iSeries databases manage the data, there is a great demand to integrate this data with applications running on Windows and UNIX workstations.
DB2 Connect Enterprise Edition enables local and remote client applications to create, update, control, and manage DB2 databases and host systems SQL, DB2 APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), ODBC (Open Database Connectivity), JDBC (Java Database Connectivity), SQLJ (Embedded SQLJ for Java), or DB2 CLI (Call Level Interface). In addition, DB2 Connect supports Microsoft Windows data interfaces such as ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), Remote Data Objects (RDO), and Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) DB.
DB2 Connect Enterprise Edition is currently available for AIX, HP-UX, Linux, Solaris, and Windows operating systems. These servers provide support for applications running on UNIX (AIX, HP-UX, Linux, and Solaris operating environment) and Windows workstations.
DB2 Connect Enterprise Edition is often installed on an intermediate server to connect DB2 clients to a host or iSeries database. It also can be used on machines in which multiple local users want to access the host or iSeries servers directly. For example, DB2 Connect Enterprise Edition can be installed on a large machine with many local users. It also can be installed on a Web server, a machine that is running a Transaction Processor (TP) monitor, or other three-tier application servers with multiple local SQL application processes and threads. In these cases, you can install DB2 Connect Enterprise Edition on the same machine for simplicity, or on a separate machine to off-load CPU cycles.
DB2 Connect Enterprise Edition is most appropriate for environments in which:
Host and iSeries database servers do not support native TCP/IP connectivity and direct connectivity from desktop workstations via Systems Network Architecture (SNA) is not desirable.
Web servers run Web-based applications.
Web servers run Web-based applications using data-aware Java applications.
A middle-tier application server is used.
TP monitors, such as CICS, Encina, Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS), Tuxedo, Component Broker, and MQSeries are used.
Licensing is based on the number of registered user connections made from the Internet and/or intranet. Connections made through other products that act as connection concentrators must be counted as DB2 Connect users.
DB2 Connect Enterprise Edition is included in the DB2 UDB Enterprise Edition and DB2 UDB Enterprise-Extended Edition. This edition of DB2 Connect is packaged with the following products:
DB2 Connect Enterprise Edition
Application Development Client
Administration Client
Run-Time Client
WebSphere Studio Site Developer
DB2 UDB Connect Unlimited Edition
DB2 Connect Unlimited Edition is a unique package that allows complete flexibility of DB2 Connect deployment and simplifies product selection and licensing. This product contains both DB2 Connect Personal Edition and DB2 Connect Enterprise Edition with license terms and conditions that allow the unlimited deployment of any DB2 Connect product. License charges are based on the size of the S/390 or zSeries server that DB2 Connect users will be working with.
This package offering is only available for OS/390 and z/OS systems. Licensing covers VSE/VM and OS/390 customers by including the connection to one DB2 server for VSE and VM database server in addition to one DB2 UDB server for OS/390 and z/OS. Where the host system is part of a sysplex, service units in millions (MSUs) are based on the DB2 entitlements of the entire sysplex.
This edition of DB2 Connect is packaged with the following products:
DB2 Connect Unlimited Edition
Application Development Client
Administration Client
Run-Time Client
WebSphere Studio Site Developer
WebSphere MQSeries
DB2 UDB Connect Personal Edition
DB2 Connect Personal Edition provides access from a single workstation to DB2 databases residing on servers such as OS/390, z/OS, OS/400, VM, and VSE, as well as to DB2 UDB servers on UNIX and Windows operating systems. DB2 Connect Personal Edition provides the same rich set of APIs as DB2 Connect Enterprise Edition. This product is currently available for Linux and Windows operating systems.
DB2 Connect Personal Edition is used to connect a single Windows operating system, or Linux workstation, to a host or iSeries database. DB2 Connect Personal Edition is best suited for environments in which native TCP/IP support is provided by the database servers, and the application being deployed is a traditional two-tier client-server application.
For example, DB2 Connect Personal Edition is a good choice for enabling traditional two-tier Visual Basic and Microsoft Access applications. Applications that require a midtier application server need to use DB2 Connect Enterprise Edition.
This edition of DB2 Connect is packaged with the following products:
DB2 Connect Personal Edition (single connection)
Application Development Client
Administration Client
Run-Time Client
DB2 UDB Connect Application Server Edition
The DB2 Connect Application Server Edition product is identical to the DB2 Connect Enterprise Server in its technology. Just like the DB2 Connect Enterprise Edition, it is designed for large-scale demanding environments. However, its licensing terms and conditions are meant to address specific needs of multitier client-server applications as well as applications that utilize Web technologies.
The DB2 Connect Application Server Edition license schema is based on the number of processors available to the application servers where the application is running. Licenses are not affected by the number of users of the application, size of the DB2 Connect server itself, or the size of the mainframe database server.
The DB2 Connect Application Server Edition comes packaged with the following products:
DB2 Connect Application Server Edition
DB2 Application Development Client
DB2 Administration Client
DB2 Run-Time Client
WebSphere Studio Site Developer
WebSphere MQSeries
The supported server platforms are Windows NT, Windows 2000, AIX, HP-UX (32 and 64 bit), Solaris (32 and 64 bit), Linux, Linux/390.
The supported client platforms are Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows XP (32-bit) Home Edition and Professional Edition, Windows NT, Windows 2000, AIX, HP-UX (32 and 64 bit), Solaris (32 and 64 bit), Linux, and Linux 390.