IBM Db2 Database Reviews

Db2 is mainly used for Core Banking Systems, credit card systems, and production systems for CBS collecting.

Db2's best features are that it's self-maintaining and self-monitoring, which means I have to view and monitor the database far less often.

There are some issues with Db2's database file system not being readable. The storage could also be increased, and the monitoring could be improved.

I've been using IMB Db2 Database for nine years.

There were a few hiccups directly after installation, but Db2 has been very stable since then.

Db2's scalability is very good, especially when used in the IBM power system.

The initial setup was very straightforward.

I would rate Db2 Database eight out of ten.

On-premises

We use this solution for financial software and also for asset management.

We have a public cloud deployment using Microsoft Azure.

The most valuable features of this solution are security and stability.

We would like to see a web-based interface for this solution, as it would help to improve visibility.

It would be helpful to have more querying tools and more development tools for us to work easily with Microsoft. For example, ODBC drivers would make work easier for our development team.

I have been using this solution for fifteen years.

This solution is very stable. We have had no problems since it was set up.

This solution is scalable. We have an infrastructure that is based on virtual machines, so we can add more to grow as we need. I am very happy about that.

We have perhaps sixty or seventy people using this solution.

Technical support for us in São Tomé is very difficult because we don't have a local representative from IBM. We have to get our support from Portugal, so it can take a long time to solve the problem.

The initial setup of this solution was very complex.

Our deployment took one or two days.

We needed to contract a specialist from Portugal to assist with the installation and the planning.

I don't think that we will be changing solutions within the next year.

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

Our primary use case for IBM Db2 is ERP.

The most valuable feature is PowerPC support.

Performance is something that can be improved with DB2.

We have had issues with respect to scalability.

The usability can be simplified.

We have been using IBM Db2 for two years.

Technical support is okay and we haven't had any issues with it.

In summary, this is a good solution and one that I recommend. However, there is room for improvement in terms of performance and scalability.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

On-premises

• PureScale
• Blu acceleration
• XML and JSON datatypes
• Autonomous computing (storage, memory, and maintenance)
• HADR
• NoSQL (RDF and MongoDB).

Due to the stability, the applications can have a very long uptime, even with modifications in the application.

I have never needed to install a fix pack because there is a problem on the engine where new functions are used. Users forget to know that a DB2 is supporting the data.

Monitoring. There are very few applications that really monitor DB2.
Marketing. IBMers from other IBM brands, do not rely on DB2.

12 years.

It is easier to administer and to use than other RDBMS; however, developers like complex things and they get into trouble when using DB2 for the first time.

Not at all.

A lot of scalability can be done in DB2, it only depends on the money you want to invest in it and on the functions that you really need. It can go from a free database to a very big infrastructure.

Customer Service:

In other countries, different to US or Canada, the support is not straightforward. This product has a small market share outside North America, and for this reason, experts outside that part of the world are very few, even inside IBM. Thus, the customer support is very basic, and any medium problem needs to go to Canada.

Technical Support:

A six out of 10.

I have used a little bit of Oracle, SQL Server, PostgresSQL, and MySQL. They are good platforms, but they are not as easy to work with as DB2 is.

DB2 is easy to install. You just need to run the installer, and that is all. In AIX, it runs smoothly.

In Linux, it requires some libraries. Sometimes in 32 bits they are not easy to get, but once you got them, the installation is normal.

In Windows, it is just next, next. Once the binaries are installed, the instance is created in less than a minute, and it is only necessary to know what an instance means in DB2.

Finally, the database is just a command, that in some very specific cases it need extra parameters. If not, it creates a database in two minutes, and then, you have a powerful database ready to receive your data.

If you are creating a small budget project, DB2 could be your first option. You have almost no limits with the Community-C edition (the free one), and then you can scale up to a supported version. Instead, when you have a very big infrastructure, I recommend you to check what you need, then DB2 could be a very good option.

Compared to Oracle, it is so much cheaper.

It has a good, stable performance, and it's not Oracle. 

Some of the internal rearrangement in the administration is not as straightforward as it is in competing products. 

More than five years.

Not very solid compared to its competitors' products.

Scales well enough for a relational database. Not exceptional; scales at or slightly below its peers.

Do not use it. Freely available documentation is a bit weak.

No. I have previous experience extensive with Oracle, SQL Server and Sybase. It is a good product. Better than Sybase, but not as good as Oracle, and comparable to SQL Server. 

I can't comment. I have no experience here.

They are competitive and honest (compared to how peer firms approach licensing conversations).

No, they were the incumbent.

Prototype any use of fringe functionality, XML-specific handling, JSON Processing, NoSQL Extensions, etc. 

Our primary use case for this solution was as a data lake, in an on-premises deployment.

We stopped using this solution almost a year ago. 

The most valuable feature of this solution is the integration with other IBM products.

This solution has good storage capabilities.

I would like to see better support for advanced analytics.

I had been using this solution for nine years.

This is definitely a stable solution. I would rate the stability a nine out of ten.

I would say this solution is scalable, in terms of memory.

There are approximately one thousand users.

Technical support for this solution is good.

Prior to using this solution I was using Oracle, although it was not for exactly the same purpose.

The initial setup of this solution is straightforward.

There are between ten and fifteen staff that maintain this solution.

Licensing fees are on a yearly basis.

We have changed to a new platform, so I am no longer using IBM DB2.

If somebody is looking for stability then I recommend this platform, although it depends on whether they want a Data Lake or are looking for analytics.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

I have benefitted from many features including:

1. Product is built on RDBMS principles and principles of Normalization. Have benefitted by the normalization capabilities built into the product;
2. SQL Query capabilities, Tools such as SPUFI, QMF, BMC Catalog Manager,DB2 File-Aid make it easy to query the data,
3. Programming capabilities (such as host variables, cursors ) provided by languages such as COBOL to invoke DB2 DML statements to query, modify the DB2 Tables;
4. Ability of DB2 rows to be presented to CICS screens, Batch Jobs, Web Programs;
5. Entire 4 GL Tools such as Cool:Gen, Advantage Gen Encyclopedias implemented as DB2 tables;
6. Entire Advantage Gen / Cool:Gen / IEF components viz. programs, program components are modeled as DB2 tables. Thousands of programs, program components built, accessed by thousands of programmers are stored as DB2 table entries. These are easily queried, extracted, modified, loaded to other regions by customized programs. Entire models can be created by copying DB2 tables. These are done reliably, consistently, and scalability is provided. This speaks about the power and capability of DB2;
7. Entire Cool:Gen components / DB2 entries can be queried by IBM Websphere with ODBC connection and the results can be web enabled. This means DB2 is programmable for the web as well;
8. DB2 entries can be extracted, modified and loaded to other regions and datawarehouses. IBM DB2 Unload, Load Utilities, products such as IBM Optim, IBM Websphere Datastage, IBM Websphere all enhance the capabilities and features of IBM DB2.

The product has improved our organization in many ways. IBM DB2 has been used in many client projects. These projects are used for a number of years (more than 20-30). Entire Enterprise Applications in the IBM Mainframes have been built with the capability of IBM DB2. Many applications have thousands of DB2 tables and millions of rows. These are accessed for Batch Programming via COBOL, for online / CICS programming via COBOL. Some entries can be accessed by IBM Websphere for Web Programming. This has provided the organization the ability to implement millions of business functions through online / batch / web programs.

It should be easier for web enablement. It is currently easy, but the more web products use the tool, the better it is.

I have been using IBM DB2 (Mainframe Version) for more than ten years.

No. Occasional bind problems would occur, but were resolved through proper configuration management tools, such as ENDEAVOR or CHANGEMAN.

No

No

Customer Service: We didn't have to contact customer service. Our DBAs would contact customer service if and when needed. However, the near-100% availability of DB2 and Advantage Gen Encyclopedia that was housed in IBM DB2 speaks of the reliability of the product and its customer service.Technical Support: Very Good. When I contacted my DBAs, they were able to resolve the binding errors, authorizations etc. quickly and efficiently.

We switched from VSAM to DB2. DB2 is much more sophisticated and advanced than VSAM and provides a number of features which make it easier to access the data and present it, as well as use it.

It was straightforward and easy. Many of the utilities provided by the vendor functioned very well. We were able to upgrade the Gen Encyclopedia easily.

Through an in-house expertise.

It is enormous. We were able to implement many business projects on an ongoing basis without any issues.

I was not involved in the pricing negotiations. I would say it was cost effective based on the number of successful projects.

No, IBM DB2 has been used by the clients for a number of years; in some cases more than 20-30 years.

I would say that IBM DB2 is one of the topmost Database products. It has very high availability and scalability just like the other products from IBM, such as IBM Websphere server, IBM Websphere MQ Server, and IBM Websphere Datastage. IBM is the king of servers and infrastructure. You will do well going with IBM products such as DB2, Websphere. I would say that these are very stable and scalable and available products and provide much needed reliability for businesses.

Internet & Mobile banking database

E-Payroll & E-Statement solutions

Website database

A) The command set is almost the same in Windows and AIX operating systems, which greatly minimize the administration efforts to manage DB2 in both environments. Needless to say that working with the banking sector (which is my default playground) I need the ability to deal with many operating systems.

B) The ability to understand and interpret PL/SQL queries, with ease switching from Oracle to DB2.

C) Stability, scalability and security with high performance.

Our software products have to be PCI-DSS compliant, so encryption of customers' credit card numbers is a must-have feature. Using DB2 AWSE v11 enables us to do out-of-the-box encryption with ease.

Backing up databases from Windows and restoring them on AIX and vise-versa.

Support for migrating DB2 v9.7 to 11 in a single process with no intermediate versions jumping

More than five years.

No.

No.

IBM Knowledge Base is more than enough, I never asked them for support.

I used Oracle DB and am still using it with some of my customers, but Oracle administration is a nightmare compared to DB2.

The initial setup is straightforward, but securing your environment is a bit more complex.

Use DB2 Express for your development environment, but consider using Workgroup Server Edition if you need to federate two databases together or need to server a huge amount of data. If you plan to be PCI-DSS compliant, use AWSE.

MS SQL Server 2014 and Oracle 12g.

I recommend it to medium-to-large enterprise applications