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Informix Dynamic Server (IDS), Version 11.50

Information roadmap for administrators, developers, and end users

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Product overview
Planning
Designing
Upgrading and Migrating
Installing
Configuring
Administering
Replication
Developing
Security
Tuning
Monitoring
Community
Troubleshooting and Support
Training and Education
News and Events
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Product overview

These documents provide a high-level introduction to Informix Dynamic Server (IDS).

IDS Information Center: Product Overview (Information Center topic)
These topics contain information about IDS v11.50 and related IBM Informix products, specifically new features, release information, and getting started.
Informix Dynamic Server product information (Web page)
This product page provides technical resources for IDS, such as information about the product editions, downloadable files, product documentation, and support resources.
The DeveloperWorks Informix page (Web site)
This Web page provides a number of Informix-related resources including top stories, product downloads, and learning resources.
Introducing Informix Dynamic Server (Web page)
This Web page provides information about free trials, featured webcasts and whitepapers, as well as other related links that are useful to anyone new to IDS version 11.


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Planning

Consider the following information when planning to use Informix Dynamic Server.

IBM Informix Database Design and Implementation Guide, Version 11.50 (Information Center topic)
This publication provides information to help you design, implement, and manage your Informix databases. It includes data models that illustrate different approaches to database design and shows you how to use SQL to implement and manage your databases.
Informix Platform Availability (Web page)
This Web page provides Informix platform availability in a downloadable spreadsheet which is updated monthly.
Demonstration: Informix Dynamic Server HDR (Demonstration)
This demonstration shows how IDS High Availability Data Replication (HDR) ensures database application availability in the event of either planned downtime or unplanned outages.
Demonstration: Using IBM Informix Dynamic Server on Microsoft Windows (Demonstration)
The demonstration is a six-part series that illustrates how to install, configure, and use IDS on Microsoft Windows.
Powering SOA with IBM Data Servers (IBM Redbooks)
This publication describes how service-oriented architecture (SOA) can help businesses respond more quickly and cost-effectively to the changing market conditions by promoting reuse and interconnection of existing IT assets rather than time-consuming and costly reinvention.
Informix Dynamic Server 11: Advanced Functionality for Modern Business (IBM Redbooks)
This publication provides an overview of IDS 11. IDS is designed to help businesses leverage their existing information assets as they move into an on demand business environment. Requirements here call for a flexible data server that can accommodate growth, in applications, data volume, and numbers of users. And it offers the capability to minimize downtime and to provide the high availability required today.


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Designing

These documents provide information on designing your Informix databases.

IBM Informix Database Design and Implementation Guide, Version 11.50 (Information Center topic)
This publication provides information to help you design, implement, and manage your Informix databases. It includes data models that illustrate different approaches to database design and shows you how to use SQL to implement and manage your databases.
IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Reference, Version 11.50 (Information Center topic)
These topics include information about the system catalog tables, data types, and environment variables that IBM Informix products use.
IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Syntax, Version 11.50 (Information Center topic)
These topics describe the syntax of SQL and of the Stored Procedure Language (SPL) for Version 11 of IDS and Version 8.5 of IBM Informix Extended Parallel Server.


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Upgrading and Migrating

These documents assist you in planning to upgrade or migrate to Informix Dynamic Server.

Overview of upgrading or migrating IDS (Technote)
This overview describes what is involved in upgrading or migrating to the latest release of IBM Informix Dynamic Server (IDS). It also lists some resources that you can use to assist you. Careful planning will ensure minimal impact on your business.
Informix upgrade portal (Technote)
This document helps you navigate through the available information and resources related to upgrading and migrating to IDS 11.50. Read this information before consulting the migration topics in the IDS Information Center or in the PDF version of the Migration Guide. (The PDF version contains the same content as the information center topics.)
Migrating IDS database systems (Information Center topic)
These topics describe the procedures for upgrading to IDS 11.50 and how to revert to the database server that you upgraded from. They also describe how to move data manually between databases, servers, and computers. This is your primary resource when performing an upgrade.
IBM Informix Migration Guide (Manual, PDF)
This PDF contains the same topics found in the Migrating IDS database systems section of the IDS v11.50 Information Center.


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Installing

These documents will help you install Informix Dynamic Server and related IBM Informix products.

Installing IDS v11.50 (Information center topic)
These topics describe how to install IDS on various operating systems.
IBM Informix DataBlade Module Installation and Registration Guide, v11.50 (Information Center topic)
This publication describes how to install DataBlade modules and how to use BladeManager to manage them in Informix databases.
Installing and Connecting to Clients (Information Center topic)
These topics describe how client-side applications, that are written in programming languages other than SQL or SPL, can connect with and make calls to IDS databases. The supported client application programming interfaces and drivers include JDBC, ODBC, OLE DB, Object Interface for C++, HTTP proxy server, various Web servers, PHP, Ruby, and .NET Provider.
IBM Passport Advantage (Web page)
Use this password-secured Web site to download and install new releases or upgrades of products when they become available.


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Configuring

These documents provide guidance for configuring IDS and provide assistance for common configuration problems.

Configuring IDS (Information Center topic)
These topics contains reference information about the configuration parameters and disk structures.
Configure WebSphere Application Server Community Edition with IDS (DeveloperWorks article)
Do you need a stable, easy to install and use application server for developing and testing J2EE applications with a robust, highly reliable, administration-free database with outstanding performance? The solution is WebSphere Application Server Community Edition with IDS. Follow the steps in this article to configure this environment.
Embedding Informix Dynamic Server: An Introduction (IBM Redbook)
This book discusses embedding IDS into applications and software. The technological architecture is introduced, and several of the functions and features that support IDS as a robust and powerful embeddable DBMS are described. Many of these features are unique in the industry today, enabling clients to create a business advantage.


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Administering

Informix Dynamic Server administrators will find these documents useful for performing administrative tasks.

IBM Informix Dynamic Server Administrator's Guide, Version 11.50 (Information Center topic)
These topics describe concepts and procedures for configuring, administering, and using IDS.
IBM Informix Dynamic Server Administrator's Reference, v11.50 (Information Center topic)
This publication contains reference material for IDS. It describes configuration parameters, the system-monitoring interface (SMI) tables in the sysmaster database, the syntax of database server utilities, logical-log records, disk structures, event alarms, and unnumbered error messages.
Administration Tools (Information Center topic)
You can use a browser-based tool, the OpenAdmin Tool (OAT), to administer multiple database server instances from single location. Use the IBM Data Studio to collaborate throughout the data-driven application development lifecycle.
Schema Manager plug-in for OpenAdmin Tool (OAT) (Information Center topic)
These topics describe how to view database objects and table objects by using the Schema Manager plug-in for OAT.
Data Compression with IDS (Web page)
This product page provides technical resources, such as product documentation, downloadable files, and support resources for data compression with IDS.
Data Archiving with Informix Dynamic Server Table-Level Restore (DeveloperWorks article)
This article discusses the common options for archiving your IDS data, and illustrates techniques to retrieve your data from a backup to store the data in an independent format. Archiving preserves the data against future changes in your environment.
IBM Informix Backup and Restore Guide (Information Center topic)
This guide contains information on backing up and restoring data, and describes how to use the ON-Bar and ontape utilities.
Customizing the IDS for Your Environment (IBM Redbook)
This book provides an overview of some of the capabilities of IDS v11.50 that enable it to be easily customized for your particular environment. The focus of this book is on the areas of ease of administration and application development. The book describes and demonstrates these capabilities with examples and provides a model to help you customize IDS.


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Replication

Informix Dynamic Server administrators will find these documents useful for performing replication tasks.

Informix Dynamic Server 11: Extending Availability and Replication (IBM Redbook)
This book provides an overview of the high availability and enterprise replication features of the IDS v 11.50, which can simplify and automate enterprise database deployment. IDS v11.50 virtually eliminates downtime and automates many of the tasks associated with deploying mission-critical enterprise systems. The high availability capability can reduce or eliminate costly downtime. IDS v11.50 includes two new replication technologies, Remote Standalone Secondary (RSS) and Shared Disk Secondary (SDS).
High Availability
Enterprise Replication Plug-in for OAT (Information Center topic)
These topics describe how to set up, administer, and manage data replication throughout your enterprise using the Enterprise Replication plug-in for the OpenAdmin Tool (OAT). OAT provides a graphical interface for IDS administration and performance analysis.
Demonstration: High Availability (Demonstration)
This demonstration presents high availability solutions for IDS.
Enterprise Replication
Enterprise Replication Plug-in for OAT (Information Center topic)
These topics describe how to set up, administer, and manage data replication throughout your enterprise using the Enterprise Replication plug-in for the OpenAdmin Tool (OAT). OAT provides a graphical interface for IDS administration and performance analysis.
Configure Informix Dynamic Server with InfoSphere Change Data Capture for Heterogeneous Replication (Web page)
IDS provides support for heterogeneous data replication using InfoSphere Change Data Capture. Heterogeneous replication enables the sharing of transactional data across a variety of servers and databases and with external clients. This article shows you how to configure InfoSphere Change Data Capture on an IDS server.


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Developing

Use these resources to find information to help you develop Informix Dynamic Server applications and extensibility features.

Developing Applications (Information Center topic)
These topics describe how to create information management applications and applets to access IDS databases in programming languages other than SQL or SPL, and how to create information management applications that are internationalized.
Developing Extensions to IDS (Information Center topic)
These topics describe how to create applications that use the extensibility features of object-relational databases of IDS. They provide information about application programming interfaces for creating and registering user-defined data types, routines, and DataBlade modules.
IBM Informix Guide to SQL: Syntax, Version 11.50 (Information Center topic)
These topics describe the syntax of SQL and of the Stored Procedure Language (SPL) for Version 11 of IDS and Version 8.5 of IBM Informix Extended Parallel Server.
Write Better Distributed Queries for Informix Data Servers (DeveloperWorks article)
This article shows you how to optimize your queries for the best possible performance when accessing multiple Informix servers. You will learn to read the optimizer's Explain output and understand how Informix processes distributed queries. You will also learn to recognize inefficiencies in a query execution plan and write queries that avoid these pitfalls.
Tutorial: Using Data Studio Developer with Informix Dynamic Server (Web page)
This tutorial guides you through setting up Data Studio Developer to work with IDS. You will learn how to expose database operations as Web services, to work with basic database objects, SQL statements, and stored procedures, and get an introduction to pureQuery, an innovative approach to building high-quality, better-performing Java database applications. This tutorial also describes the IBM Data Studio offering.
Rapid Windows application development with IBM Informix Dynamic Server and IBM Database Add-ins for Visual Studio 2005 (DeveloperWorks article)
This article discusses the IBM Database Add-ins for Visual Studio 2005 to allow rapid Windows application development, database schema development, and debugging. Support for IDS was added to this product, allowing IDS application developers to use Visual Studio functions.


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Security

Use this information to help keep your data secure.

Security Methods (Information Center topic)
These topics describe methods for keeping your data secure by preventing unauthorized viewing and altering of data or database objects. This topic also documents the secure-auditing facility of the database server.
IBM Data Server Security Blueprint (Web page)
This is an easy to use, one-page guide that greatly simplifies security planning for IDS data servers.
Enhance IDS Security with the PAM Framework and JDBC (DeveloperWorks article)
As existing authentication mechanisms evolve and newer authentication mechanisms come into existence, system-entry services (such as login, ftp, and rlogin) need to be continually customized to incorporate these changes. The Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM) Framework is the ideal solution for integrating login services with advanced authentication technologies (including RSA, DCE, and Kerberos) without changing any of the login services. Thus, it preserves the existing environments.


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Tuning

These documents provide guidance for tuning Informix Dynamic Server systems for optimal performance.

IBM Informix Dynamic Server Performance Guide, Version 11.50 (Information Center topic)
These topics provide information about how to configure and operate IDS to improve overall system throughput and to improve the performance of SQL queries. The topics include information on performance tuning issues and methods that are relevant to daily database server administration and query execution.
IBM Informix Dynamic Server Administrator's Guide, Version 11.50 (Information Center topic)
These topics describe concepts and procedures for configuring, administering, and using IDS.
Write Better Distributed Queries for Informix Data Servers (DeveloperWorks article)
This article shows you how to optimize your queries for the best possible performance when accessing multiple Informix servers. You will learn to read the optimizer's Explain output and understand how Informix processes distributed queries. You will also learn to recognize inefficiencies in a query execution plan and write queries that avoid these pitfalls.
OpenAdmin Tool (OAT) for IDS (Information Center topic)
Use the browser-based OpenAdmin Tool (OAT) to analyze query performance and optimize SQL statements.


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Monitoring

These documents provide information on how to monitor Informix Dynamic Server.

Monitoring IDS (Information Center topic)
These topics contain information about the sysmaster database and the system-monitoring interface (SMI) tables. The SMI tables provide information about the state of the database server. You query these tables to identify processing bottlenecks, determine resource usage, track session or database server activity, and so on.
Automatic Monitoring and Corrective Actions (Information Center topic)
These topics provide information about how to use the Administration API, the Scheduler, information stored in the sysadmin database, and Query Drill-Down functionality to manage automatic maintenance, monitoring, and administrative tasks. These components of IDS simplify the collection of information and maintenance of the server in complex systems.
OpenAdmin Tool (OAT) for IDS (Information Center topic)
Use the browser-based OpenAdmin Tool (OAT) to analyze query performance and optimize SQL statements.
onstat Utility Commands (Information Center topic)
This topic contains links to the onstat commands and is sorted by functional category. Each category represents a different IDS feature for which onstat commands are useful for providing troubleshooting and performance enhancement information.


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Community

These links provide access to community sites, forums, blogs, and so forth for Informix.

Informix Community (Information Center topic)
These topics links to many Informix community sites, including the International Informix Users Group (IIUG), and the Informix Dynamic Server Exchange, Forums and Wikis, and Blogs.
The DeveloperWorks Informix page (Web site)
This Web page provides a number of Informix-related resources including top stories, product downloads, and learning resources.
Informix Webcasts (Web page)
The IBM Informix Lab hosts a series of chats on a wide range of Informix topics. This site lists upcoming live chats that you can attend. Previous chats are recorded so that you can replay them at a convenient time.
Informix Podcasts (Web page/MP3)
This site has podcasts about IBM Informix products.
Informix on Facebook (Web page)
Become a fan of IBM Informix on Facebook and see news, announcements, and event photos.
Informix on Twitter (Web page)
Follow IBM Informix on Twitter. 140 characters at a time!
Informix Dynamic Server Exchange (Web page)
The Informix Dynamic Server Exchange enables members of the developerWorks community to exchange code examples. This Web page makes it easy to quickly share examples or find ones that others have posted.


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Troubleshooting and Support

The resources in this section provide tips and techniques to help you identify and solve common problems.

Troubleshooting and support (Information Center topic)
These topics provide tools and references for resolving problems with your IBM software, including instructions for searching knowledge bases, downloading fixes, and getting support.
Where Do I Find ... ? (Web page)
This page provides a handy table to locate Informix technical support resources.
IBM Support Assistant (ISA) (Web page)
This free tool from IBM can help you locate technical documents, fixes, and discover the latest and most useful support resources available. If you experience a problem with IBM software, or you need to learn more about how to configure your application, or you wish to enhance your skills, you can use ISA to discover the resources that IBM support teams have provided for you.
IBM Software Support Toolbar (Web page)
This Web site provides a toolbar that contains the most sought after brand-specific pages. The custom entries from each brand truly make this toolbar valuable for your support toolbox.
The Software Support Handbook (Web page)
This handbook provides guidelines and reference materials that you might need when you interact with IBM service and support.
IBM Workplace for Customer Support (Premium) (Web site)
This Web site is a personalized, customizable Web portal where all of the content is filtered and tailored to each customer user and the user's products. You must be a registered IBM Software Premium Support customer to use this site.
Business Partner Q&A (Web site)
This Web site provides a customizable search portal for product support. You must register and sign in to use this site. Registration is free.


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Training and Education

The resources in this section provide information about training related to Informix Dynamic Server, and other education .

Education (Information Center topic)
IBM offers a comprehensive portfolio of technical training and education services designed for individuals, companies, and public organizations to acquire, maintain, and optimize their IT skills. This topic links to many of the education, training, and certification sites.
Informix training (Web page)
This Web page provides Informix training resources. Browse the course catalog and learn about certification programs. E-learning courses are online courses that are offered as instructor-led and self-paced.
Informix Training Paths (Web page)
Use the Informix training paths to help you map your path to skills development efficiently and effectively. Following these paths can help you attain the skills needed to productively work in your environment while minimizing your training time.
IBM Education Assistant (IEA) (Web page)
The IBM Education Assistant (IEA) is a collection of multimedia educational modules designed to help you gain a better understanding of IBM software products and use them more effectively to meet your business requirements.
IBM Redbooks for Informix (Web site)
Search this Web site for access to all of the Informix IBM Redbooks. IBM Redbooks typically provide positioning and value guidance, installation and implementation experiences, typical solution scenarios, and step-by-step "how-to" guidelines. They often include sample code and other support materials that are also available as downloads from this site. IBM Redbooks publications are developed and published by the IBM International Technical Support Organization (ITSO), which works with IBM Divisions and Business Partners in the process of developing IBM Redbooks.
System Administrator Certification for IDS (Web page)
Learn how to become a certified IDS v11.50 system administrator.
System Administration Certification exam 918 for IBM Informix Dynamic Server 11 Prep Series (Web page)
This Web page describes the IBM Certified System Administrator exam for IDS 11 (Exam 918). By taking this exam you can demonstrate knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to configure, install, monitor, and troubleshoot Informix Dynamic Server 11. Significant experience as an IDS 11 system or database administrator is required.


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News and Events

Use this link to access information about news and upcoming events for Informix:

IBM Product News (Web page)
Read about new products and features, Beta programs, success stories, and more at this Web page for IBM software product news.


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Send feedback

Use these links to send comments to IBM about the product and documentation.

Send documentation feedback (Form)
We welcome your feedback about any of the books, online help, wizards, or information center topics for Information Management products. Your comments are sent to the authors to help improve IBM product information.
Send product feedback (Survey)
We want to improve IBM software for you! Take the Consumability Survey.


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