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The acquisition of Informix by IBM has provided the opportunity for Informix customers to consider new alternatives to further enrich their data management systems infrastructure. They can now more easily take advantage of available products, services, and capabilities as they grow and change. This IBM Redbook focuses on strategies, techniques, capabilities, and considerations for using Informix Extended Parallel Server (XPS) and DB2 Universal Database (UDB). It provides detailed discussions and data to give a good understanding of the two products, their capabilities, and their similarities. XPS customers can choose to adopt a database strategy of coexistence or consider transitioning to DB2 UDB. The features and functionality of each DBMS are briefly described for a better understanding, in areas such as architecture, partitioning techniques, SQL considerations, configuration, indexing, data types, DML, and DDL. It also discusses products and tools to complement these database management systems. With this information, you can better decide which products satisfy your particular requirements, and better plan on how to achieve your objectives as you develop your database management system strategy. You will be better positioned to make informed decisions that can give you the best return on your DBMS investment.

This IBM Redbook describes how to create and implement a federated data management environment. That environment can enable access to, and use of, multiple heterogeneous data sources as if they were all resident in the same data management system. We use Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) and DB2 as the primary data sources, along with Informix Extended Parallel Server (XPS), Red Brick Warehouse, Oracle9i, and Microsoft Excel as data sources. We also use data management tools, such as IBM DB2 Information Integrator and Informix Enterprise Gateway Manager, to provide the data federation. For data access tools, we use DB2 Command Center, Server Studio JE for Informix, and Brio Explorer to show data federation in action. With the combined functionality of the Informix and DB2 database management systems and the DB2 Information Integrator, you can implement a very powerful federated data management environment. Informix customers will be well positioned to take advantage of the expanded capabilities for integration through data federation, as well as future enhancements.

Integration solutions incorporate one or more elements of process, application, user interface, and information integration. Coping with the information explosion now requires information integration, a class of middleware which lets applications access data as though it were in a single database, whether or not it is. This IBM Redbook shows, through examples, the various ways in which information integration can be implemented as a "pure play" or in conjunction with the other approaches for integration. Using IBM DB2 Universal Database V8.1, we describe how to start implementing several information integration scenarios based on DB2 UDB V8.1 to federate data from multiple sources such as message queues with DB2 and Informix databases using SQL; to access your information using a DB2 Web services solution; to store, compose, and manipulate XML data; and to populate a common data store. This book will help architects and implementers to understand the integration technologies in DB2 Universal Database and DB2 Information Integrator and to start implementing information integration solutions.