Introduction

IBM Informix is IBM's premier database for high-volume online transaction processing (OLTP), as well as integrated applications. With the introduction of the Informix Warehouse Accelerator in 2011, Informix is a blazing-fast data warehouse or analytical database engine. Informix has kept pace with its customers as they've grown and expanded without costing them a fortune for ongoing maintenance and administration. In most cases, these companies have grown without requiring significant infrastructure upgrades because Informix is so efficient. In turn, customers have responded by rating Informix as No. 1 in customer satisfaction for several years.

Customers choose Informix because of its reliability, flexibility, ease of use, and total cost of ownership. In simple terms, this means Informix works without problem or major administrative issues regardless of the operating system Informix is running on, so you can manage your application needs as your business dictates. Informix is available across a broad range platforms and operating systems, including AIX®, HP-UX, Sun Solaris, Macintosh OS X, Linux®, Microsoft® Windows®, and IBM System i®, System p®, System x®, and System z®.

Not all customers need the same database features and functionality, though. In some cases, this is a technological decision. For example, a customer may not be using enterprise replication (ER) or some of the advanced backup and recovery features. In other cases, licensing requirements and the expenses involved drive these decisions. From a product-licensing perspective, Informix is well attuned to both cases. Informix has a flexible and customer-friendly licensing model, including for-purchase and free editions, which can be downloaded and used in production. These editions are tailored from a price and functionality perspective to a specific market segment. The Informix purchased editions offer some sub-capacity pricing models, giving you the flexibility to buy just what you need to support your data-services requirements without having to worry about the total processing power of the hardware on which Informix is installed. All editions may be deployed in virtual environments, giving you additional deployment flexibility. Finally, for the ultimate in flexibility and pricing convenience, you can take advantage of new pay-as-you-go, ready-to-use cloud computing technologies featuring Informix through Amazon Cloud Computing and other providers.

In March 2011, Informix introduced significant functionality that dramatically enhanced its ability to serve as a data warehouse or data analysis server. The Informix Warehouse Accelerator (IWA) technology uses compression and a columnar approach to storing and accessing data in-memory, as opposed to row-based, like most database engines. This approach enables Informix to provide virtually unlimited data warehouse growth while providing data response times that are hundreds of times faster than conventional systems. The Informix Ultimate Warehouse Edition can be used in combination with other advanced Informix technologies like H/A clustering, Informix Flexible Grid, Spatial analysis, and advanced access control to build a robust, scalable data store that can answer your most demanding and difficult business questions. The Informix Growth Warehouse Edition is focused toward small to midsize businesses and has scalability and functionality limitations.

Regardless of edition, Informix comes with the full implementation of the Dynamic Scalable Architecture (DSA) with its unmatched performance, reliability, ease of use, and availability. In some cases, particularly with the free editions, there are restrictions on the breadth and depth of features and functionality available. With some of the Informix for-purchase editions, there are similar, though not as dramatic, restrictions. Pricing for these editions varies based on functionality and scalability differentiation.

Below is a brief comparison of the four editions and their feature sets.

Free editions

Informix free editions can be downloaded and used for development, test, and with the Informix Innovator-C Edition end-user production workloads without a license fee. These editions can only be used by end-user organizations. They cannot be re-distributed without signing a re-distribution contract. Support is community-based, though an optional for-charge service and support package is available for Informix Innovator-C edition. This Elite Software Support package gives customers who want technical support for their deployments full support and product updates for the term of the package. For more information about this package, see this IBM Elite Support for IBM Informix Innovator-C Edition. Community support is available through discussion forums hosted by the International Informix User Group (IIUG), as well as the IBM developerWorks Informix developer and user forum. Since the intent of the Informix Developer Edition is for system development and test only, it cannot be used in a production environment and there is no optional support package.

• IBM Informix Developer Edition — For application development and testing, this edition packs the full suite of Informix functionality into a very attractive price point: no charge. The Developer Edition includes all the functionality available in the Informix Ultimate edition, but does contain scalability constraints, including processing, memory, and storage limitations. It is available on a wide range of operating systems in 32- and 64-bit versions where appropriate. You can upgrade from the Developer Edition directly to any other edition simply by installing the new database binaries.
• IBM Informix Innovator-C Edition — For customers looking for a robust and powerful database environment that can support small production workloads, this edition provides the most widely used data processing functionality, including limited ER and high-availability clustering. Available on all supported platforms, this edition is limited to one socket with no more than four cores and a total of 2 GB of RAM operating from the same install.

For-purchase editions

• IBM Informix Choice Edition for Windows and Mac OS X — Available on Apple OS X (client and server editions) and Microsoft Windows operating systems only, the Informix Choice Edition for Windows and Mac OS X is perfect for small to mid-size companies or departmental servers in an enterprise deployment. This edition can be deployed on up to eight cores over a maximum of two sockets and 8 GB of RAM operating from the same install. Informix Choice Edition can be licensed by Authorized User Single Install or Limited Use Socket (LU Socket) metrics. LU Socket enables licensing by physical processor socket. You may purchase licenses for up to two physical sockets and use up to eight processor cores. Informix Choice Edition for Windows and Mac OS X gives additional database functionality, including a two-root node ER or grid cluster. From a licensing perspective, since ER/grid nodes are stand-alone, each ER/grid node must be fully licensed. Informix Choice Edition for Windows and Mac OS X supports one H/A cluster secondary node. The secondary node can either be an HDR or RS secondary type. As long as the secondary node is only functioning as a backup secondary, it can be deployed without charge. However, if you use the secondary node for SQL operations (read or write), the secondary node must be fully licensed.
• IBM Informix Growth Edition — Available on all supported operating systems, this edition is perfect for mid-size companies or departmental servers in an enterprise deployment. This edition can be deployed on up to 16 cores over a maximum of four sockets and 16 GB of RAM operating from the same install. Informix Growth Edition can be licensed by Authorized User Single Install, PVU, LU Socket, and Floating User Single Session Single Install metrics. LU Socket enables licensing by physical processor socket. LU Socket licensing is limited to physical servers with no more than four physical processor sockets. You may purchase licenses for up to four physical sockets and use up to 16 processor cores. You are not allowed to create a physical or logical partition of up to four processor sockets on a larger server and purchase a LU socket license. Informix Growth Edition provides additional database functionality, including unlimited ER/grid cluster nodes of any type to send or receive data updates within the cluster. From a licensing perspective, since ER/grid nodes are stand-alone, each ER/grid node must be fully licensed. Informix Growth Edition supports up to two H/A cluster secondary nodes of any type. As long as the secondary node(s) are only functioning as backup secondary, they can be deployed without charge. However, if you use any secondary node for SQL operations (read or write), the secondary node must be fully licensed.
• IBM Informix Ultimate Edition — This edition includes all Informix features and functionality (except those listed as optional add-ons) with unlimited scalability required for the highest OLTP and warehousing performance, and full functionality. Available on all supported platforms, this edition can be licensed by PVU, Floating User Single Session Single Install, or Authorized User Single Install metrics. With this edition, full H/A cluster and ER/grid functionality is available, including unlimited ER/grid nodes and all H/A cluster secondary instance types. From a licensing perspective, since ER/grid nodes are stand-alone, each must be fully licensed, but H/A secondary nodes can be deployed without charge if they are only functioning as backup secondary. If you use any secondary node for SQL operations (read or write), the secondary node must be fully licensed. Since almost all features and functionality are included with this edition, there are only a few optional add-ons. They include the Geodetic and Excalibur DataBlade®, and the Storage Optimization Feature released with Informix V11.5 xC4. The Storage Optimization Feature provides data compression to help reduce data storage and backup/recovery costs, and administration, as well as improved performance.
• IBM Informix Growth Warehouse Edition with IWA — Includes entitlements to Informix Growth Edition and Informix Warehouse Accelerator (IWA). This edition represents the ultimate in data warehouse performance, geared to small to midsize businesses or partner-led solutions. This edition is available on 64-bit versions of AIX, Solaris, HP-UX, and Linux. The IWA component is only available on 64-bit Intel-based Linux. This edition can only be licensed using the PVU metric, but has CPU and RAM license restrictions. Informix Growth Warehouse Edition has the same Informix Growth Edition restrictions: a maximum of 16 cores and 16 GB of RAM for the Informix component. The IWA component of Informix Growth Warehouse Edition is limited to no more than 16 cores and 48 GB of RAM, meaning that the warehouse can hold about 250 GB of raw data before IWA compression. The compression component for Informix-based data is not included in this edition. The Informix Growth Warehouse Edition does not include clustering or other advanced features available in the Informix Ultimate Warehouse Edition, nor any of the other database functionality not permitted in the Informix Growth Edition, such as parallelism, which would have an effect on loading the Accelerator component.
• IBM Informix Ultimate Warehouse Edition with IWA — This edition includes entitlements to Informix Ultimate Edition, Informix Warehouse Accelerator (IWA), and the Storage Optimization Feature. This edition represents the ultimate in data warehouse performance and scalability. It is available on 64-bit versions of AIX, Solaris, HP-UX, and Linux. The IWA component is only available on 64-bit Intel-based Linux. This edition can only be licensed using the PVU metric. With this edition, full H/A cluster and ER/grid functionality is available, including unlimited ER/grid nodes and all H/A cluster secondary instance types. From a licensing perspective, since ER/grid nodes are stand-alone, each ER/grid node must be fully licensed, but H/A secondary nodes can be deployed without charge if they are only functioning as backup secondary. If you use any secondary node for SQL operations (read or write), the secondary node must be fully licensed. Since almost all features and functionality are included with this edition, there are only a few optional add-ons — specifically, the Geodetic and Excalibur DataBlade.

Purchased editions of Informix can be licensed through one of several pricing metrics, depending on your needs. A brief description of each metric is listed below. In 2010, IBM introduced a definition called an Install to make sub-capacity licensing conditions, such as logical or physical partitioning of a physical server or virtual machine images, easier to understand and purchase. IBM defines an Install as an installed copy of a product (in this case, Informix) on a physical server (or partition thereof) or in a virtual machine image. For example, if a physical server is segmented into partitions, whether logical (LPARs) or physical, each partition containing Informix is considered a separate IBM Informix Install for licensing purposes and restrictions. The concept of an Install applies to the licensing limits specified for all Informix editions.

NOTE: The descriptions are only a summary of the licensing definitions. They are not intended to be full and legally binding. For a full and complete description, refer to the Informix licensing agreement.

• Processor Value Unit (PVU) (processor-based pricing) — Calculated using the number of processor cores in the physical server multiplied by the corresponding value units based on processor architecture. This is an unlimited user or connection license and is usually the optimal choice when the user or session load cannot be controlled or counted.
• Authorized User Single Install (AUSI) — A single named user or specific individual accessing one installation of Informix on each physical or virtual server. That authorized user can establish multiple connections to an Informix instance on the server. Each connection is for the exclusive use of that one authorized user from a single client device.
• Floating User Single Session Single Install (FUSSSI) — A single logical connection by a user from a client device to an Informix instance on a physical or logical server. Each connection requires a license, regardless if it comes from one client device with multiple users or a single user establishing multiple connections within one or multiple applications. The number of FUSSSI sessions is always counted from the client device, not at the Informix level, regardless of whether the connection occurs direct to the Informix instance or indirectly such as through application servers, connection multiplexers/concentrators, persistent connectivity layers, or any other technology inserted between the actual end user and the Informix instance.
• Limited Use Socket (LU Socket) — Available only on Informix Growth Edition, this allows for licensing on a physical socket potentially containing multiple cores. A LU Socket license is required for each active processor socket. This licensing metric can only be used on a physical server with no more than four physical sockets. You may purchase licenses for up to four physical sockets and use up to 16 cores.

Not all pricing models are available for all Informix for-purchase editions.

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Comparison table

Confused about which edition is right for you or your customers? The following table is designed to make it easier to determine the unique characteristics of each Informix edition. If a specific feature you're looking for is not listed in the table, you can assume for the most part that it exists in all Informix editions. Again, this is only a general description of the features and license parameters. For exact definitions, refer to the published license agreements available.

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Conclusion

Quoting a commonly used phrase: "Your needs may vary." Regardless of your data processing requirements though, IBM Informix has the right blend of technological features and feature options to give your business a cost-effective, robust, and scalable foundation on which to build. And since "Informix just works," you can rest assured that Informix has the flexibility to grow with you to scale out or extend the power of your Informix database.

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Notice

The information in this article is presented on a best-effort basis from the author's personal knowledge and not intended to be an official communication from IBM. Neither the author nor IBM is liable for any incorrect information in this article.

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Table of contents

• Introduction
• Comparison table
• Conclusion
• Notice
• Resources
• About the author
• Comments

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