Re: Question about UDB on iSeries

[John Myers <psumba@xxxxxxxxx>]

John,

What you are seeing is part of the difference in the "value equation"
between the two platforms (I'm a reformed mainframer).

iSeries DB2 UDB is "functionally equivalent" to that of the zSeries,
but doesn't run on the same code base.

The iSeries is positioned as a totally integrated platform.  Much of
iSeries DB2 is integrated into the microcode of the machine (building
a DB table index is one instruction to the microcode, for example). 
There are i5/OS operating system commands that do at lot of the
function provided by external packages in the Z/OS world.  Database
administration is greatly simplified in that the operating system
manages much of the work.

This is why it has had such success in smaller companies ... who can't
afford the level of staff that a traditional mainframe requires.  An
ongoing trend is that larger companies have trimmed their IT budgets
significantly ... and people are the largest expense in the IT budget.

The iSeries is a very attractive option for mainframe shops in that it
gives them equivalent computational power, but allows specialists like
DBA's to be closer to the business rather than trapped in technical
minutia.  This gives the company additional "leverage" in implementing
and operating IT solutions.

This is why I chose to leave the mainframe world ... I prefer to deal
with business issues rather than technical ones.

There are some relatively inexpensive third-party tools in the
marketplace that wrap a framework around the I5/OS database commands. 
You might want to check some of them out (I can't make any
recommendations).

HTH,

John Myers
Strategic Business Systems
Ramsey, NJ   USA
+1 (201) 327-9400

On Tue, 30 Nov 2004 08:05:34 -0600, McKown, John
<john.mckown@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Please keep in mind that I know **ZERO** about the iSeries and UDB. We are 
> considering a conversion from z/OS on zSeries to i5OS on iSeries. The company 
> doing the presentation basically said that everything that we need, with a 
> few exceptions, is integrated into the i5OS on the iSeries. In particular UBD 
> is integrated (so we don't need to buy it). But I was wondering if any 
> iSeries people out there have an opinion about the lack of requirement for 
> any extra software to support UDB on iSeries. Such as performance monitors, 
> reorganization utilities, anything at all? I'm confused (as usual) about why 
> UDB on iSeries does not require any such software while it appears, to me, 
> that DB2 on z/OS really requires a lot of extra cost software. This is the 
> whole reason that we are considering this conversion. z/OS simply requires 
> too much extra cost software compared to other platforms.
> 
> > --
> > John McKown
> > Senior Systems Programmer
> > UICI Insurance Center
> > Information Technology