Domino Blog

News, views and directions on IBM Lotus Domino

Hi Rob,

do you have any news about Domino 8 (Win/Linux) license update to let customers use (free of charge) federation to System i (only to connect to System i...) through DB2 9.x server in the context of NSFDB2 feature? Hope you had some news from other IBM colleagues... It's not easy to ask my customer to buy the federation (optional) feature for DB2 server Enterprise 9.x: it would not be necessary if System i had native native NSFDB2 feature... But that's a story you already know.

Will Mr. Hume also speak about the NSFDB2 missing-feature on Domino 8 for System i? Any forecast for the future nsfdb2 release on System i?

thanks

Hopefully Bill Hume is familiar with the controvery and disappointment that many companies feel over the abandoned efforts to more fully integrate System i and Domino, specially NSFDB2 support, and may be prepared to offer solutions in addition to pre-existing integration options. An entitlement to LEI or entitlements to the federation option that Cristian (@1) mentioned above might salve our wounds or at least show some good will.

He definitely will be addressing NSFDB2....see here

{ Link }

I would sure like to see "Online backup of Domino databases without BRMS" on that roadmap. Thanks for the pointer.

It was pretty clear from the Nov 14th webcast that IBM has no second thoughts (or even third or fourth thoughts) about revisiting the NSFDB2 on System i. Two messages were clear:

(a) IBM is committed to both System i and Domino on it -I truly believe that.

(b) implementing NSFDB2 on System i would be really really hard. I get the sense that they tried, then realized it would take too much money to get it right and so if you can't do it right, then don't do it. I appreciate that actually... having standards. No sense in having a buggy and error-ridden implementation. We have enough variables to deal it.

Yet what was not answered were practical suggestions on how to workaround this such as the viability of using Domino on an NSFDB2-supported server and then using "federation" along with DB2 Connect to get to the System i database. AND, can we do it without the expenditure of a lot of extra cash? After all Windows, Linux, and AIX shops get DB2 integration for free. How about a special entitlement for System i shops to get this equivalent NSFDB2 functionality? Would this not be a reasonable compromise and sure sign that IBM is truly supporting Domino and System i integration?

Wait, before I am reminded, I know, I know that Rob Ingram is on record saying he's looking into this and to be patient because this sort of thing takes months. However, that webcast would have been a good opportunity for some one high up on the totem pole to say something like, "We completely understand that System i shops were expecting further integration between Domino and System i data and be assured that we are looking into some promising options, perhaps in the form of entitlements...please be patient until Lotusphere" or something like that.

I should work for IBM's customer relations dept :-)

Nice post