Chapter 1. DB2 Product Overview

The relational database of choice for modern distributed applications is IBM's DB2 Universal Database(UDB). Relational databases form the core backend of most enterprise scale applications because of their capability to deliver high performance, support advanced features such as transactions, and maintain data integrity. The Structured Query Language (SQL) provides a powerful standard for accessing and manipulating databases. Its widespread acceptance across all major vendors has also contributed to the success of relational database technology.

This chapter introduces major DB2 products so that you can plan the products required for your environment. This is a key to planning the DB2 UDB solution, as shown in Figure 1.1, that is suitable for your project or your organization.