Db2 Edition, Support & Fixpack Updates
Dean Compher
31 October 2017
IBM is putting a renewed focus on Db2 on-premises editions and there is a lot happening with the product. This is fantastic news to someone who calls himself db2Dean! These changes run the gamut from cosmetic changes like new names, through feature packaging changes to new capabilities and new ways of installing and supporting Db2. Because significant features are being released with each new fix pack, I anticipate this will accelerate. This article is current as of Db2 11.1.2.2.
The first thing you will probably notice is the change of name from “DB2” to “Db2”. Along with this some of the cloud variants are now called Db2 as well, but that is a topic for another article. All traditional on-premises software Db2 platforms have the new “Db2” handle, but there have been some changes as you can see from the following table:
|
Current name |
Most Recent Previous Name |
|
Db2 (yep, just Db2) |
DB2 for Linux Unix and Windows (DB2/LUW) |
|
Db2 for z/OS |
DB2 for z/OS |
|
Db2 for i |
DB2 for i |
As I noted fix packs will generally include new features for Db2 11.1. The format of fix pack numbers is VV.RR.MM.FF defined as follows:
VV = Version number
RR = Release number
MM = Modification number
FF = Fixpack number
For some time the newest VV.RR will all be 11.1. If MM is ever 0 that means that there were no modifications and only fixes were included. If FF is ever 0 that means that there were no fixes included and only new features were included with the fix pack. The General Availability (first release) of the current version was 11.1.0.0 as you would expect. So far there have been two fix packs for 11.1 and both included both modifications and fixes. So, the numbers were 11.1.1.1 and 11.1.2.2. The Knowledge Center has a summary of the fixpacks.
Continuing Support 9.7 and 10.1
One nice surprise is that some support will continue to be provided for Db2 9.7 and 10.1 even though they went out of support on 30 September 2017. Assuming you continue to pay maintenance, this means that you can still contact IBM support for these versions and they will help you within some limitations. The biggest items not support is that they will stop investigations if they determine that you have hit a previously unknown defect and only fixes already created will be provided. See this article about Db2 Continuing Support for the details about what is and is not covered.
Db2 Editions
The packaging of DB2 underwent some significant changes with version 11.1 from 10.5. There are some new editions, some editions went away and some changed the features that they include.
|
Edition in 11.1 |
Change |
Notes |
|
Db2 Express-C |
None |
No charge, Only community support, limited features, limited to 2 cores, 16GB RAM |
|
Db2 Developer-C |
New |
No charge, Only community support, has ALL features, limited to 4 cores, 16GB RAM, Docker Container install available. |
|
Db2 Developer Edition |
None |
User based bundle of all editions for non-production uses. |
|
Db2 Workgroup Server Edition (WSE) |
Features Added |
Now includes Native Encryption, limited federation, limited pureScale, MDC, and parallelism features and others. Limited to 16 cores and 128 GB RAM. |
|
Db2 Advanced Workgroup Server Edition (AWSE) |
None |
All advanced features included except Advanced Recovery Features. Limited to 16 cores and 128 GB RAM |
|
Db2 Enterprise Server Edition (ESE) |
Features Added |
Now includes Native Encryption, limited federation, limited pureScale. |
|
Db2 Advanced Enterprise Server Edition (AESE) |
None |
All advanced features included except Advanced Recovery Features. |
|
Db2 Direct Standard Edition |
New |
Features similar to Db2 WSE. Licensed by virtual core and not by physical core so you don’t need to know the underlying processor technology to purchase it. Licensing makes it easy to move around between your premises and the cloud. |
|
Db2 Direct Advanced Edition |
New |
Features similar to Db2 AESE. Licensed by virtual core and not by physical core so you don’t need to know the underlying processor technology to purchase. Licensing makes it easy to move around between your premises and the cloud. |
It is interesting to note that WSE and ESE are nearly identical in the features they offer and the that AWSE and AESE are nearly identical in the features they offer. The main difference being that the workgroup editions are limited to 16 cores and 128 GB of RAM. See the Functionality in Db2 product editions and Db2 offerings chart in the Knowledge Center for the details about which features are in which editions.
If you have a restricted use license of DB2 ESE that you got as part of another IBM product like WebSphere Application Server and you want to use some of the advanced features of Db2 you are in luck! You can now buy a trade-up part called Db2 OEM High Capacity Add-on to get all of the features of AESE. Prior to this you had to purchase new licenses of Db2 AESE. This trade-up allows you to use Data Server Manager Enterprise Edition monitoring, Compression, pureScale and all of the other advanced features.
Download and Go
An effort is underway to make it very easy to get Db2 loaded on your machine. Docker and Docker Containers are playing a large role in this. The first entry in this experience is the Download and Go Db2 Developer Community Edition container. This will install Docker if you don’t already have it and installs Db2 in a container. I found this install quite easy and you can read about how to do this in my Db2 Docker article. You can just download this Db2 container and start using Db2. With a normal Db2 download you have to go through an install process.
11.1.1.1 and 11.1.2.2 highlights
In the summary of the fixpacks article you can see the list of changes in the two fix packs released so far, but I wanted to highlight a few here. You can also read about them in the Db211 Ebook.
· A Hardware Security Module can be used as of 11.1.1.1 for enterprise key management
· SSL for federation to Db2 Family Sources
· Asynchronous UNDO allowing connectivity to the database during crash recovery.
· Multiple agents involved in inserts to column organized tables.
· Enhanced JSON processing
· Indexes on BLU tables (Preview Mode – not production ready)
***
As you can see there are many good things going on in Db2 Land. If I missed any you think are important then please share them on my Facebook Page or my db2Dean and Friends Community along with any other comments you may have.