Autonomic is Automatic with IBM Database

IBM said it has added features to its database software for its eServer zSeries mainframes to help businesses improve and automate the flow of their information.

DB2 Universal Database for z/OS 8.1 relies on the Armonk, N.Y. company’s autonomic capabilities in order to boost system performance and availability, as well as making it easier for administrators to port applications across different platforms.

For example, a point-in-time recovery feature in the new software provides customers with a snapshot of the database to minimize data loss and simplify recovery efforts in the event of a system outage, according to an IBM. This feature also decreases down time by allowing administrators to keep database services online while updating the database.

Such improvements in automation are key pieces of IBM’s overarching strategy to provide e-business on-demand, which customers would adopt to control the flow of their computing power, increasing or decreasing it by toggling a few switches.

Autonomic, or “self-healing” features that allow a system to monitor a network’s “health,” are instrumental in furthering IBM’s on-demand strategy and are increasingly being added across Big Blue’s software lines for uniformity.

In the database space, IBM competes with heavyweights Oracle and Microsoft, but has the advantage of producing database software in this instance because it makes mainframes.

DB2 for z/OS Version 8 customers can now access information in distributed and mainframe DB2 data stores, as well as take advantage of the improved Query Management Facility (QMF) business intelligence tool.

QMF now integrates with IBM DB2 Cube Views, which automates business information inside the database for any reporting or analysis tool. It also provides users the wherewithal to use drag-and-drop features to build OLAP analytics, SQL queries and other reports.

Lastly, the QMF improvement now has a tool for WebSphere users that lets any Web browser become a thin client for visual access to DB2 data, the company said.

DB2 for z/OS Version 8 users can also use Unicode, a standard designed to support the worldwide exchange of diverse languages and technical disciplines to access and integrate application or database information.

Priced according to MIPS workload, DB2 for z/OS Version 8.1 for eServer zSeries products will be available IBM March 26.