Domino 7.0 and DB2
by Volker Weber
I recently wrote about Notes "Hannover" on heise news. There is also a snippet in there saying that IBM will first have to deliver features that have been promised for version 7. I mention that DB2 will not be provided with the 7.0 release. I have received numerous questions about this. I do know that DB2 support is provided in the current beta release. Unfortunately I cannot reveal the source of my information.
IBM is really quiet about this but I have some very solid information that DB2 support will be turned off in the initial Domino 7.0. Select customers will be able to use it but it is not meant to be used by everyone.
Keep in mind that putting a relational datastore underneath the Notes database model is really hard. It appears they have not been able yet to deliver on it completely.
Comments
I know this is bait for me :)
The story is fairly simple, but not finalized. I think it's a reasonable story, and when I blog it (soon), everyone will relax about what the rumour really means.
I do remember them saying at LS05 that DB2 support wouldn't be available for the DB2 UDB on iSeries in the 7.0 release but sometime in the 7.0x timeframe.
I've tested the DB2 Integration in the beta release on windows environment. There is nothing 'exciting' about it.
The nsf-files are stored in BLOB-Fields in a DB2 database schema. Some nsf metadata are stored in ordinary table fields.
It's not putting a relational datastore underneath a nsf-file. It's more replacing the filesystem (as nsf-file container) by a relational database.
If you already have a DB2 and tools for backup you'll not need another tool to backup your nsf-files.
There is no 'mapping' between nsf-fields and db2 tables or things like that.
@Chris
The DB2 UDB on iSeries is not the same version than that DB2 UDB on Windows. As I tested the integration on the windows environment I needed the exact DB2 version with a few fixpacks. These were not available for the iSeries DB2.
Nothing "exciting", except perhaps Query Views that allow JOINs, both within Notes data and between Notes and federated data. That's not a little thing, and it's well worth waiting for if they can get it working.
This is also true for the new AccessViews. If you do a lot of integrational stuff with Domino, AccessViews working bidirectionally are an extremely powerful feature. True, it's really worth waiting.
We all were hoping that the DB2 support would bring real relational features to Domino when it was announced, we all wondered how this should be achieved and we all were not really surprised when we found out it is just not possible. Domino can never be put into a relational frame with all pros and cons.
@Tobias - yeah, I was aware that they were different versions. Thanks!
Since more than one person has interpreted my response above as tepid in some way, I want to clarify: a) I can't post a lot more because some things just haven't made it through IBM processes yet and b) You will be able to run Domino databases on DB2 when Domino 7.0.0 ships.
{Big sigh of relief} My current project is counting on that DB2 option for the next phase :)
