Data, database, and database management systems - Essay Example

DATA, DATABASE, AND DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS Data, database, and database management systems Before installing any DB2 product, there are system requirements that have to be met. The most important requirement among these requirements is that the DB database server must be compatible with the operating system of choice. Hardware requirements are similarly, as vital as the operating system requirements and the other software requirements. IBM DB2 Express-C is an edition of the IBM database server that has been released as a community edition.

It is a no-charge edition. It is meant for small businesses and companies that have many branches. Developers as well as business partners to these companies can also use it to meet their client’s demands. The installation file for DB2 Express-C can be downloaded from the IBM website at no charge. It is free for everyone; so long as you register on their site. The registration process is very short and does not take a long. All that is required is the name of the subscriber, the address, and the email address to keep in touch with the company on their products and support information.

This is a convenient way for the company can keep in touch with everyone who uses their database software. It is also a good way to ensure user data can be received from the registered users. The setup process is quick and the database is also easy to use too. It has capabilities that are self-managing. There is optional annual subscription for users who may need technical support from the company and any additional functionality for the software. For instance, the extra functionality that comes with the yearly subscription is the high availability data replication and clustering.

DB2 Express-C server can run on any computer system irrespective of the number of processors or the amount of memory available. However, it requires 2 core processors minimum and a 2GB memory for the best performance. The operating systems it runs on are quite a handful. It is able to run on 32bit or 64 bit Linux, Windows, Solaris, and the 64 bit Intel processors on Mac OS X.The installation process is easy with clear guidelines from the dialog windows as well as in the IBM DB Express book. Any difficulty that may be experienced in installation is covered in the book.

That said, when installation is complete, it is time to create a database; along with its tables, and all the fields that the tables will hold. A database name must be provided along with the number of the tables that the database is to consist of. After all the tables are created in the database with their attributes; their names, the primary keys and all that, It is time to load the database with data. This has to be done with a lot of care and strictness. The fields must be loaded with the data that are in line with the data types specified in the table attribute for the fields.

If this is missed, data integrity will be compromised. So far I can say that this is an excellent product because any issues can be taken care of by a 24-hour customer support. There are fix packs too as well as upgrade protection. Business partners and ISVs are allowed to distribute this software at absolutely no charge once they register with IBM. This database server software enables them to be able to include a free database in their solutions without a problem.