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IBM's DB2 Everyplace 8.1.4

Posted by Lori MacVittie
January 30, 2004

Tags: APIs, Cloudscape, DB2 Everyplace, DB2 Everyplace 8.1.4, DB2 UDB, Embedded Linu, IBM, IBM DB2 UDB8, Informix, Linux, Lotus Domino, MDAC, Microsoft SQL Server, Mobile Device Administration Center, Oracle, Palm OS, Sybase, Symbian, Universal Database, Win32, Windows CE/ Pocket PC, client libraries, kernel parameters, synchronization server, wireless, zero-admin client-side database, Content Management, Data Management and Storage, Data Networking & Management, Database Servers, Linux, Mobile Services and Software, Other, Remote Access, Remote Management, Servers, Servers & Storage, Software, Software and Web Development, Wireless, Wireless Data Services, mobile

Channel: Other, Networking & Mgmt, Servers & Storage, Wireless, Content Management

Because only the necessary APIs are implemented for the target device, it's easy to develop apps for mobile devices. DES 56 or 128 is available for secure communications with the synchronization server, and table-level encryption--as opposed to the database-only encryption offered by some mobile-sync products--is used. For larger databases on the client, DB2 Everyplace supports microdrives and Flash memory.

Data synchronization to mobile devices is not restricted to IBM relational databases: DB2 Everyplace supports IBM DB2 UDB8 (Universal Database), Cloudscape, Informix, Lotus Domino, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle and Sybase.

Wanted: Beefy Server

DB2 Everyplace 8.1.4 requires at least a Pentium III with 512 MB of RAM (1 GB is recommended if you're using WebSphere as the application server). Although the server appeared to run fine on a machine with only 256 MB of RAM in my tests at our Green Bay, Wis., labs, running the Java administrative tools was painful.

For a Linux installation, you'll need to do a little work, including manipulating kernel parameters. The changes, which can be made with sysctl, include increasing file-handle maximums, shared memory and thread maximums. You'll also need to export your display if you aren't running X on the server. I did the install locally within X and administration remotely on a laptop running Mandrake Linux 9.1. Both methods worked well.

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