Have questions? Start here to find answers to commonly asked
questions related to the IBM® DB2® AMI on Amazon Web Services (AWS)..
Notes:
Note: Several of the statements in this document deal with the future
direction of IBM products. IBM plans are subject to change.
Please refer to the base
IBM and AWS FAQ
for general questions related to use of IBM products on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). This FAQ supplements the base FAQ with DB2 specific information.
DB2 can be used to power a variety of solutions including Web, Web 2.0, SOA,
transactional, data warehousing, ERP, CRM, and other business and operational database
applications.
What application development languages and APIs does DB2 support?
You can develop applications for DB2 using C/C++, Cobol, Java, .NET languages, PHP, Perl, Python, Ruby on Rails, etc. DB2 supports all of the major development interfaces including SQL-based APIs such as ODBC, OLE DB, JDBC, SQLJ, ADO.NET, Microsoft LINQ, CLI, Ruby on Rails Active Record, PHP PDO, Python etc. DB2 also supports access to data via industry standard web services that both RESTful and SOAP/XML based.
Which editions of DB2 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows are available?
Several DB2 editions are available including:
DB2 Express-C is a ‘freeware’ edition of DB2 that is easy-to-use, includes self-managing capabilities, and can be included with applications and solutions that require an embedded database. Optional subscription and support is available for a low fee.
DB2 Express Edition is an entry-level, low-cost edition of DB2 data server for the small and medium business market, and exploits up to 4GB of memory.
DB2 Workgroup Server Edition is the data server of choice for deployment in a departmental, workgroup, or medium-sized business environment, and exploits up to 16GB of memory.
DB2 Enterprise Server Edition is designed to meet the data server needs of mid- to large-size businesses and is the ideal data server for the most demanding workloads. It can be deployed on servers of any size, from one processor to hundreds of processors, and comes with a variety of advanced data management features.
Yes, DB2 is fully enabled for deployment as a cloud database. Because of the versatility of the DB2 interfaces and platform support, standard DB2 product can be deployed in the cloud in exactly the same way as it is deployed on-premises. We provide additional aids for cloud deployments to assist our customers to achieve faster time to value.
What are the benefits of running DB2 in a cloud environment?
Cloud computing provides a pay-as-you-go model, enabling users to avoid up-front
capital expenditures for infrastructure and software licenses, and allow them to pay
for only the resources they need. Clouds environments also allow for dynamic scaling
(and down-scaling) of capacity as needed. DB2 is ideally suited for cloud environments, and all of the powerful capabilities that are available for on-premise use are also available on the cloud. Furthermore, with native XML and industry standard web service interfaces, DB2 enables delivery of data-as-a-service (DAAS).
What kind of cloud environments can DB2 be deployed in?
DB2 can be deployed in both private and public cloud environments. Customers building their own private clouds can utilize several DB2 supported virtualization technologies. As for public clouds, DB2 can be run on Amazon Web Services. In addition to Amazon, IBM has partnered with providers like Rightscale, Morph,Corent, xkoto, and others to deliver value-added DB2 solutions in the cloud. In future IBM may support additional cloud platforms for DB2.
What is Amazon Web Services (AWS)?
AWS delivers a set of integrated services that form a computing platform “in the cloud”. Visit aws.amazon.com to learn more about AWS.
Can DB2 be run on Amazon’s cloud environment?
Yes, DB2 can be deployed on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and leverage other AWS
services like the Elastic Block Storage (EBS).
What deployment models are available for DB2 on Amazon EC2?
You can deploy DB2 on Amazon EC2 using one of the two options:
Create your own DB2-based AMIs by utilizing DB2 licenses that you own.
Utilize the pre-built DB2 AMIs generated by IBM. (The hourly usage charges for the IBM generated AMIs include DB2 software licensing costs).
Can I create my own DB2 based AMIs for use on Amazon EC2?
Yes, in addition to being able to use the DB2 AMIs generated by IBM, you may create
your own DB2-based AMIs for EC2. If you create your own DB2-based AMIs, you are
responsible for ensuring you own licenses for the software (such as DB2 and the
operating system) running on the AMI. If you do not currently own a DB2 license, you
can download DB2 Express-C for
free, and use it to create an AMI.
Are any resources available to help me create my own DB2 AMIs?
Yes, IBM provides sample scripts to help automate the creation of DB2 based AMIs. A
brief screencast demonstrating the use of these scripts, and the code for the scripts
is available on ChannelDB2.
Does IBM provide any DB2 AMIs for use on Amazon EC2?
Yes, IBM has partnered with AWS to make available pre-bundled DB2 AMIs for development and production use which have DB2 and the Linux operating system pre-installed.
Can I run DB2 on a Windows AMI?
Yes, however IBM does not provide any Windows based AMIs at this time. You may create your own Windows AMIs with DB2.
Which DB2 editions can be used on Amazon EC2?
Any DB2 edition can be used on Amazon EC2 if you create your own AMI with a DB2 license that you own. However, if you want to utilize IBM generated AMIs, the edition of DB2 installed in the AMI depends on the type of AMI.
What are the different types of pre-bundled AMIs available for DB2?
IBM and AWS offer two types of pre-built DB2 AMIs depending on intended usage:
Development-use DB2 AMIs for getting started with DB2 on Amazon EC2 and production-ready (paid) DB2 AMIs for deploying DB2 solutions on Amazon EC2
What can the DB2 development-use AMIs provided by IBM be used for?
The development-use DB2 AMIs are intended for exploring and getting started with DB2 on Amazon EC2. They can be used for demonstration, evaluation, no-charge training, testing, and development, and are subject to terms in the IBM Development AMI usage license.
What edition of DB2 do the development-use DB2 AMIs include?
The development-use DB2 AMIs include DB2 Express-C, the no-charge edition of DB2.
Can the pre-built development-use DB2 AMIs be used for production workloads?
No, although DB2 Express-C can be used for more than just development purposes, the DB2 Express-C based development-use DB2 AMIs and the operating system in those AMIs is licensed for non-production usage. If however you want to use DB2 Express-C for production usage on Amazon EC2, you are free to download DB2 Express-C and create your own AMI. Or consider using a pre-bundled production-ready DB2 AMI provided by AWS and IBM.
How much does it cost to utilize the development-use DB2 AMIs provided by IBM?
Since DB2 Express-C is a no-charge edition of DB2, there no license fees for DB2
Express-C. You only pay fees charged for the use of Amazon AWS infrastructure, which
can be as little as US $0.10 per hour. AWS pricing is dependant on the size of your EC2 instance and can be estimated using the AWS Simple Monthly Calculator.
Can the DB2 development-use AMIs be run on any EC2 instance size?
Yes, the DB2 Express-C based development-use AMIs can be run on any sized EC2 instance,
with any amount of virtual cores and memory, however DB2 Express-C cannot utilize more
than 2 processor cores and 2GB of memory. The processor and memory resources not
utilized by DB2 on an EC2 instance can be utilized by other applications running on
that EC2 instance.
Are there any restrictions on the database size or numbers of users for the DB2 Express-C development-use AMIs provided by IBM?
Unlike some of the other free/Express database offerings, IBM does not impose any
database size, user or connection based limitations for DB2 Express-C. This edition of DB2 does not time-out and can be used without any DB2 license costs for an unlimited period of time.
Which operating system do the development-use DB2 AMIs utilize?
The development-use DB2 AMIs are built using SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 10
SP2.
Are 64-bit DB2 development-use AMIs available?
Yes, the development-use AMIs provided by IBM are available in both 32-bit and 64-bit
flavors.
Are pre-bundled DB2 AMIs available for production use?
Yes production-ready AMIs for DB2 are available through AWS as ‘paid’ AMIs.
What editions and versions of DB2 are included in the production-ready AMIs?
The 32-bit production-ready AMIs include DB2 Express, and
the 64-bit production-ready AMIs include DB2 Workgroup.
Can I use DB2 Enterprise edition on Amazon EC2?
Yes, you may create your own AMI using your DB2 Enterprise license and run it on EC2. A 90-day trial edition of DB2 Enterprise can be downloaded from IBM.
How are the production-ready DB2 AMIs priced?
The DB2 Express and DB2 Workgroup AMIs available from AWS have an hourly pay-as-you-use
pricing that depends on the instance size you run the AMIs on. You may also incur charges for additional AWS services you utilize such as EBS for data storage.
Which operating system do the production-ready AMIs for DB2 utilize?
The production-ready AMIs are built using SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 10 SP2.
Which operating system do the production-ready AMIs for DB2 utilize?
The production-ready AMIs are built using SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 10 SP2.
What support is available for DB2 production-ready AMIs?
At this point you can seek community assistance at the IBM DB2 newsgroup and AWS forums. There are plans for optional premium support to be available for the production-ready AMIs later in the year.
