We've been hearing an increasing number of questions on Domino DB2 integration. Domino 8 will include general availability of the DB2 feature. Here are some common questions and answers.

Why do I need DB2 in Domino anyway?
  • First, we have seen customers leverage DB2 for very large Notes applications that have many views. These applications may have accumulated so many old views and have grown so large over time, that they can spend much of their time indexing. With this type of application, Domino moves the indexing load to DB2 and hence these types of  applications tend to respond a lot faster. This may be further improved if DB2 is run on a remote server, seperate from Domino.
  • Second, developers are able to build much more flexible views and reports of data using the Query View capability. These new views are created using Domino Designer, via SQL rather then Notes @functions or LotusScript. Query Views are dynamic and always run against the most up to date data.
  • Third, customers are able to build new Query Views that join data from multiple Notes or external DB2 databases (as long as you can understand how to create SQL joins).
  • Finally, for some organizations, DB2 data storage may better fit with their corporate data strategy. Domino data, including email stores, can become a more integral part of that database strategy.

Do I need to move all my Domino data to DB2?
No. In fact you can and should chose the specific servers and databases that you want to access via DB2. We have even seen some customers maintain their critical application on traditional NSF stores, but create a replica of that data on DB2 for the purpose of building management reports using many Query Views. Prior to using Domino and DB2, there was always another report being requested that had to be created - now its just a matter of building another SQL statement and adding a new view.

What platforms will IBM support in Domino 8.0?
Domino 8.0  will support DB2 Universal Database on Domino servers running on Microsoft Windows 2003, IBM AIX and Linux on x86 hardware (Novell SuSE 10 and Red Hat 5).  You will need to use DB2 9 for Linux UNIX and Windows.

Can I use a browser to access Domino DB2 data?
Yes. Domino 8 supports Query Views that can to run from a Notes client or a web browser - there is a new Domino web syntax to define a web Query View. This means you can build new web apps with SQL access to Domino application fields stored in DB2

Is DB2 license included in Domino 8?
Yes. We will be entitling Domino 8 licensed users to a copy of DB2 9.1 Enterprise Server Restricted License - free. There will be restrictions in this license to only use it when accessing data via Domino and not for other general purpose data management uses. More details of the actual 'legalese' will be found in the Domino 8 license agreement when we ship. Anyone can buy a full license to DB2 for other purposes, including accessing the Domino stored DB2 data  directly via other non-Domino applications and tools.

Is DB2 store faster than NSF?
It depends on the application. This is a very important point to consider. Not all Domino applications will run faster on DB2. It really does depend on the application itself. Do not just simply assume DB2 = faster performance. Do some investigarions, pilots and planning first. Chose DB2 storage option when it delivers clear business value.

We have some great additional information planned for the upcoming Notes and Domino Deployment Redbook, which is in editorial review now. If you cannot wait for the ship date, go ahead and download the Domino 8 beta and start exploring the capability today.

Let's hear your questions and ideas on how you have been using or plan to use the feature.