IIUG Insider (Issue #74) August 2006 Other Issues

Highlights: IDUG/IIUG Europe Conference Vienna October 2-6, 2006, Vnext Survey Results

Welcome to the International Informix Users Group (IIUG) Insider! Designed for IIUG members and Informix user group leaders, this publication contains timely and relevant information for the IBM Informix community.

Contents:

• Editorial
• Highlights
  • IDUG/IIUG Europe Conference Vienna, October 2-6, 2006
  • Vnext Survey Results
• Conference corner
  • IDUG/IIUG NA Conference San Jose May 6-10, 2007
  • IBM Information On Demand 2006: October 15-20 2006, Anaheim, CA.
  • Informix User Forum 2006
• Education
  • SEIUG and IBM Sponsor 4GL-to-EGL Workshop in Atlanta, September 27th
  • Bay Area - Informix Tech Fair - Free!
  • Informix Chat with the Lab - Upgrading to IDS version 10
  • IBM Training
• Developer corner
  • New on developerWorks
  • developerWorks blogs
  • Using Websphere connection pooling in a database without transactions
  • V10 DBspace changes
• IBM News
  • Informix Product Lifecycle
• IIUG Gold Sponsors
  • Princeton Softech Introduction as IIUG Gold Sponsor
  • Oninit Signs Up as Gold Sponsor of the International Informix Users Group
• Calendar of events
• Useful links
• Closing and credits

I am often asked why I send our IT employees to Informix conferences. My IT department's budget for education is not large. Adding the air fare and hotel to the conference price, one conference attendee carries a lot of weight. But I send at least one of my IT team every year because I know it is worth it. No where else will they be exposed to such a range of topics. Let us look at one example. You can attend a course on Java, but a course is limited to a single viewing. At the Vienna conference you can broaden your knowledge by looking at it from the pure Java point of view, and also the JDBC driver, JSP, Java in the server and the web datablade points of view. You can learn about migrating your 4GL programs and tuning your applications. Even unrelated topics, like new features in IDS 10, can tell you about a feature that can help you in your application programming. There is no course that can compete with that.

But education is not the whole story. Where else can you meet people like Jonathan Leffler, John Miller and Guy Bowerman who are actually developing the product, or users like Darryl Priest, Sergio Ferreira and Hal Maner who are facing the same challenges you are. Where else can you meet your colleagues from all over Europe and establish new relationships and partnerships.

Try it -- you will not regret it.

When you are at the conference look for the IIUG board members. We are there for you. If you have a question, a request or a wish, come to us -- we will do our best. It is important for us to meet you and feel the pulse of the Informix user community.

See you in Vienna!

Gary Ben-Israel
IIUG Insider Editor
IIUG Board of Directors
gary@iiug.org

Registration is Now Open!

Register for IDUG 2006 Europe by 14 September 2006 for an early registration savings of 226 EUR! Click here for a discount coupon.

The conference is only a month away. Register today and attend this extraordinary educational event.

I will not say much -- I will let the sessions speak for themselves. Following is the list of our 34 technical sessions.

We would like to thank everyone who filled out our recent survey on the top features you would like to see in the future releases of Informix. There were 254 responses, and of that 114 were by DBAs, the rest were various other IT related jobs.

There were definitely a few surprises in the results. There were 32 features that had been collected over the last couple of years that were used in the survey. One feature was collected the day before the survey, and it caused some discussion on the Informix-forum as to whether it was relevant to Informix or not. That was the request to give Informix native support for XML. As the survey shows, this ranked number 10 in importance to the Informix community! The number one item was to add an automatic update statistics to the engine. Rumor has it that this is already being worked on, but I'm sure at the Information On Demand (IOD) conference we will hear more about the features included in the next version.

In addition to ranking the top 10 requests of the features already identified, we also got a huge response in the write in section to list more features wanted. The updated feature request list (vNext Requests) can be found on http://www.iiug.org on the left side. Select the drop down labeled "IIUG.org Hot Spots". If you would like to request an additional feature to be added to the list, send an email to us at webcontent@iiug.org.

David Fraser / Kate Tomchik

Note from your North American IIUG CPC

We are excited to announce that the 2007 North American IDUG/IIUG Conference will be held in Silicon Valley California (San Jose) May 6-10, 2007.

Tampa in May of this year was a huge success, and we are looking forward to an even better event next year -- even more great technical content, Educational Seminars, Sigs, UFO's and special events related to the history of Informix!!

See the Call for Presentations below and please consider sharing your knowledge and expertise with other Informix Users!!

Special note on the Call for Presentations:

Sessions have been changed from 70 to 60 minutes this year.

We are looking for and encouraging people to submit presentations on the following, based on your responses to our Conference Survey:

• Informix on Linux
• Informix in Heterogenous environments

Share Your Knowledge -- Strengthen the Informix User Community

The International Informix User Group (IIUG) and the International DB2 Users Group (IDUG®) are currently accepting abstracts for both presentations and educational seminars at IDUG/IIUG 2007 - North America, May 6-10 in San Jose, California, the birthplace of Informix. This is YOUR opportunity to share your Informix or DB2 experience and expertise with an audience of your peers.

FREE Registration and Industry Recognition!

If your abstract is selected to be presented at the conference, you will receive one complimentary conference registration to IDUG/IIUG 2007 - North America.

Presentation Requirements

• Single session (60 minutes) or Double session (120 minutes)
• Detailed sessions focused on implementation, migrating to a new release, or maximizing performance from any member of the Informix or DB2 product family
• Abstract deadline: September 1, 2006
• Submit a presentation

Educational Seminar Requirements

• Half-day seminars (3 hours) or Full-Day seminars (6 hours)
• Conducted by prominent technical experts
• Provide advanced training in Informix and DB2-related topics
• Abstract deadline: September 1, 2006

• Submit an educational seminar RFP

Register now for the premier information management event for business and IT professionals. IBM's new five-day event combines the following conferences into one: IBM DB2® Information Management Technical Conference; IBM Content Management Technical Conference; Business Intelligence Customer Solutions Summit; IMS Technical Conference; Master Data Management Conference; and Information Integration Live! By combining individual conferences into one global event, you gain access and exposure to the full breadth of IBM Information Management technologies and experts.

More IBM technical and business solutions content will be in one place than ever before! Select from over 800 sessions: a 2 1/2 day business leadership track with 180 sessions and a 5 day technical track with 650 sessions.

Get To Front of the Line--And Receive Your Conference Discount

Enrollment for educational sessions, hands on labs, meet the experts sessions and all other programs at the IBM Information On Demand 2006 conference opened on August 15. You'll get the first choice of classes if you are among those registered to attend the conference when enrollment begins.

Registration at Information On Demand 2006 includes admission to all 800+ educational sessions and programs, to the huge EXPO Solution Center, to the conference receptions and entertainment, to the conference party at Disney's California Adventure theme park, and for all conference meals. Information On Demand 2006 will take place in Anaheim, California, 15-20 October 2006. Visit IBM Information On Demand Registration.

A Two-Day User Group Technical Conference December 8-9, 2006 Washington DC, USA

The Washington Area Informix User Group (WAIUG) and the Southeast Informix Users Group (SEIUG), based in Atlanta, GA, are teaming up to present Informix and DB2 User Forum 2006, the premiere Informix and DB2 regional user group technical conference in the eastern U.S.

The Informix User Forum, previously sponsored biennially by WAIUG, has long had a reputation for excellence in both value and technical content. Now, the two groups have joined forces to evolve the Forum into an annual two-day conference. This year's event will be held December 8-9 in Washington DC.

Forum 2006 promises to provide even more technical content, plus opportunities to network with fellow users and have access to information on the latest vendor offerings. This, combined with a registration fee of US$ 120.00 (pre-register for $80) for the entire conference, makes the value of this event hard to beat.

Call For Presentations

We are currently accepting presentation abstracts for the Forum on Informix and DB2 related topics in any of the areas listed below.

Subjects related to all current DB2, Informix and Informix-heritage products are welcome, as well as products that operate in those environments such as other IBM products, plus third party, Open Source and cross-platform products.

Presenters will receive a complimentary all-conference pass.

The Forum will be organized into three general subject areas or tracks that will run concurrently.

The Application Development track will cover such topics as application development tools and methodologies, application and database architecture, and maximizing application and SQL performance as well as aspects of Informix that provide a distinct edge in application development and processing such as emerging technologies like XML and Web services, operation in cross-platform and heterogeneous environments, and support for Open Source and third-party tools.

The Database Engines and Administration track will feature sessions on topics including database and data warehouse design and administration, performance tuning, backup and restore, and security.

The DB2 track will feature sessions on topics including database and data warehouse design and administration, performance tuning, backup and restore, and security.

Tracks will feature extended session lengths of 70 minutes, which conference goers have said they prefer.

Visit the Forum 2006 Web site to find more details about the conference and an on-line application for submitting your presentation abstract:

http://www.iiug.org/waiug/present/Forum2006/Forum2006.html

The on-line application for submitting presentations can also be directly accessed here:

http://www.iiug.org/seiug/forum2006/cfp2006form.html

The deadline for submitting presentation abstracts is September 15, 2006.

Please email Warren Donovan (warren.j.donovan@saic.com) or Bob Carts (robert.m.carts@saic.com ) if you are interested in presenting and would like more information.

There are also a limited number of vendor sponsorship opportunities available. Please contact Lester Knutsen or Walt Hultgren for more information.

Whether you're interested in speaking or simply attending, we think you'll find that the Informix User Forum 2006 will continue the tradition of providing extremely high quality and dense technical content at very low cost. Visit the Forum site for more information.

We hope to see you in Washington DC, December 8-9!

Southeast Informix Users Group and IBM are teaming up to offer a free one day Application Development workshop on Wednesday, September 27, 2006, in Atlanta.

This workshop will demonstrate how, without writing any Java or HTML, an Informix 4GL (i4GL) developer can re-use existing business logic in Web applications. Without any knowledge of the underlying technologies of Web Services, an i4GL developer can expose business logic as a Web Service.

All this can be accomplished by migrating the business logic to Enterprise Generation Language (EGL) and using the features of EGL to develop the Web applications and services.

IBM will also provide a preview of work of being done to migrate 4GL applications to an EGL based GUI application. This workshop's target audience is application developers and will offer hands on tutorials.

Topics will include:

• High level overview of the EGL language
• Migrate a sample 4GL application to EGL
• Develop Web applications using migrated business logic
• Expose migrated business logic as a Web Service
• GUI direction

The workshop will be held at the IBM Technical Exploration Center in Atlanta in a computer lab setting. This information packed event will start promptly at 8:00 AM and run until 5:00 PM. Lunch will be provided.

Location:

Technical Exploration Center - Atlanta
4111 Northside Parkway
Atlanta, Georgia 30327
404-238-3000

Registration:

This event is free, but registration is required as space is limited.

To register, visit the SEIUG Web site and complete the on-line registration form at:

http://www.iiug.org/seiug/news/workshop_20060927.html

Hope to see you there!

If you're based in the California Bay Area mark your calendars for September 14th - the Bay Area Informix Tech Fair is going ahead in San Jose. This is an opportunity to spend a day learning about Informix topics from Advanced Support and Development engineers and meet other Informix users in the area. If you'd like to attend or have questions please RSVP.

Topics:

• IDS 10.00 Features
• Application Development
• High Availability Data Replication (HDR)
• SQL Optimizer
• Much more...

IBM Informix Advanced Support & Development Speakers:

Ajay Gupta, Guy Bowerman, Joaquim Zuzarte, Santosh Sajip, Suma Vinod, Vijay Lolabattu

Technology Demos

Come and see demos integrating several application technologies.

Free Consulting

Having a problem or question about Informix? Talk to an engineer and get free advice about your specific issue. Time is limited.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006 11 AM Eastern

Our next Chat will revisit an earlier presentation on the topic of migration. We will discuss how to prepare for the migration using the pre-migration checklist, walk through a migration scenario and discuss when you can revert from a migration. Our speakers will be Jerry Keesee, Director of the Informix Lab and Carlton Doe in Technical Sales.

RSVP for this call at: http://www.ibm.com/informix/webcasts.

Replays of prior versions are also available at this website.

Linda Spina
IBM Information Management Sales - Americas

Updated: L2935 Migrating from IBM Informix Dynamic Server 7.x to 9.x *3.0 Days, * $1,875 Oct. 3 in Dallas, Texas

This course was recently updated. Get the information you need to upgrade from IBM Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) version 7.x to version 9.4. Learn the steps recommended for migrating to the new version and how to revert back to the previous version in case problems under the new version are encountered. Also, learn several of the new features of IBM IDS Version 9.4

http://www.iiug.org/url/IBM_Course_L2935.html

IBM Training eCatalog - Your Fast Path to What's New this Summer

Summer may be out, but IBM Training is always in session. That's why we just announced 58 new courses and 20 updated courses in this Summer's catalog. Get your skills in shape for summer with one simple click that opens the door to the training information you have been seeking. It has everything you need for your technical training needs.

http://www.iiug.org/url/IBM_eCatalog.html

Announcing a New Flexible Savings Option With The IBM Education Pack - online account

Building on the enormous popularity of the prepaid discount IBM Education - online account savings program, IBM Training has introduced a new "precision payment" plan in the US to make it even more attractive to you. The traditional IBM Education Pack - online account is available in packages starting at $2,500, with a discount ranging from 5-10 percent. Under the new plan, you can purchase the IBM Education Pack - online account in $100 increments beginning at a minimum of $1,000 and, based on the amount purchase, and take advantage of the 5-10 percent discount on IBM training.

http://www.iiug.org/url/IBM_Education_Pack.html

Please visit our site for new and updated content:

http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/db2/zones/informix/

Perform point-in-time table-level restore in Informix Dynamic Server
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/db2/library/techarticle/dm-0608kim/
This article describes how to perform point-in-time table-level restores that extract tables or portions of tables from archives and logical logs. Table-level restore is a new feature for IBM Informix Dynamic Server Version 10.0. This feature is useful where portions of a database, a table, a portion of a table, or a set of tables need to be recovered and also useful in situations where tables need to be moved across server versions or platforms.

Oracle to Informix Dynamic Server porting guide
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/db2/library/long/dm-0608marino/
Explore the differences between Oracle and IDS functionality, syntax, and much more. This in-depth guide covers the essentials for preparing to port your applications from Oracle to Informix. In addition to DDL, DML, and overall SQL syntax, you'll learn the differences between Oracle and Informix with regards to the use of large objects, user defined types, user defined routines, and table table partitioning. The author explains what needs to be changed to make an application running on an Oracle database run on an Informix database, and gives alternatives.

The Informix zone at http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/db2/zones/informix/ is a great source for technical articles. In addition to that you can enjoy Guy Bowerman's blog Informix Application Development at:

http://www-03.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/

Guy Bowerman is a senior software engineer in IBM's Resolution Team, providing advanced technical support, product development, training and bug fixing for Informix products. Guy has worked for Informix Software since 1994 in the UK and US. This blog covers Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) application development, occasionally digressing into IDS on Windows and Linux, security and other random topics.

The following note posted August 2, 2006 is a fine example:

The rise of Informix

The Q2 numbers are in and Informix Dynamic Server experienced another large increase in revenue to build on the growth of Q1. As usual the details are not released publicly but I am officially allowed to say, and I quote.. IDS license revenue grew by double digits in the first half of 2006

Java 2 EE Connection Pooling

In Java 2 Enterprise Edition it is normal to access the databases using the connection pooling mechanism included on the application server.

The connection pooling mechanism is used following the steps:

• Define a datasource: This is made on the administrative console of the application server.
• In the java program ask JNDI (the J2EE directory service) to make a connection:

String JNDI = "java:comp/env/jdbc/testeDBRef";
Context ctx = new InitialContext();
DataSource ds = (DataSource) ctx.lookup(JNDI);
Connection conn = ds.getConnection();
ctx.close();

• In the deployment descriptor refer to the resource used (called in the program)
• Associate the resource mentioned on the deployment descriptor to the JNDI name of the datasource (configured on the application server).

This works very well. You simply don't have to worry about managing the amount of connections used in the program, you may leave that task to the application server. With connection pooling you can also reuse the connections that are not needed by creating and destroying connections to the database.

Informix Database without transactions

An Informix database can be created without transaction support. This feature is not normal on a day to day basis, but sometimes there is a customer where this situation happens. When you need to access to a transactionless database with web sphere you get an SQL exception with the following message: No Transaction Isolation on non-logging db'sDSRA0010E: SQL State = IX000, Error Code = -79.746 .

Solution : Inform relational resource adapter to not use transactions

You can, of course, change your database to use transactions, but for my customers that was not an option. In this case you need to create your own data store helper class with some specific functionality to enable the access to such database.

A data store helper is a class used to provide some of your specific behavior to the relational resource adapter (the connection mechanism to databases in web sphere). This class must implement the interface DataStoreHelper. Web sphere comes with helper classes for each database engine (for informix it comes with InformixDataStoreHelper).

To fix the problem we need to define a new DataStoreHelper that extends the behavior of the Informix helper class and rewrite the getIsolationLevel() method to return 0, that means TRANSACTION_NONE.

Then you just need to install it in the classes directory of the application server and use it when defining the data source.

Cookbook

• Create the helper class
• Compile the helper class
• Install the helper classes directory
• Create your data source but tell it that you use InformixDataStoreHelperNonLoggingMode class
• Deploy and execute the application

Create the Helper class

Go to your favorite editor and paste the following code:

import java.sql.SQLException;
import java.util.Properties;
import com.ibm.websphere.rsadapter.InformixDataStoreHelper;
/**
* Helper class for trying to use Informix database engine without
* transactions.
*/
public class InformixDataStoreHelperNonLoggingMode
   extends InformixDataStoreHelper {
  public InformixDataStoreHelperNonLoggingMode(Properties props)
  {
  super(props);
  }
/**
* Rewrite the getIsolation level in order to just return
* TRANSACTION_NONE (0)
*
* @param aIntent - Whatever
* @return The isolation level
*/
public int getIsolationLevel(
  com.ibm.websphere.appprofile.accessintent.AccessIntent aIntent)
  throws javax.resource.ResourceException
  {
  return 0;
  }
}

Use your new helper class

When creating your data source you need to fill the box as shown in the following image:

Tblspace tblspace

A table or index tblspace (partition) is the space occupied by the table or detached index fragment within a dbspace. The tblspace tblspace is a special system table that tracks the tables within a dbspace. Every dbspace has its own tblspace tblspace that tracks the table and index partitions within its own dbspace. Within the tblspace tblspace, one page is allocated for each partition tracked. On the page there are pointers to each of the extents in the partition. There is only enough space on the page for about 220 pointers on a 2kb page or 440 pointers on a 4kb page, limiting the number of extents allowed within a partition.

There is only one tblspace tblspace per dbspace. However, as with any table it can have multiple extents.

The default first and next extent sizes for the rootdbs are 250 pages and 50 pages respectively.

The default first and next extent sizes for any other dbspace are 50 pages and 50 pages.

Display the tblspace tblspace extent sizes using oncheck -pe or using a sysmaster query:

select * from sysmaster:sysextents where tabname='TBLSpace'

Potential Problem: Cannot drop chunk

A chunk cannot be dropped if the chunk contains any extents, including the tblspace tblspace extents. When the tblspace tblspace has multiple extents it may prevent dropping a chunk, such as in the following situation:

• Customer adds a chunk temporarily to a dbspace to create a large table in the dbspace.
• During processing the tblspace tblspace extends into the newly added chunk.
• The customer drops the large table and now wants to drop the chunk.

To solve such a problem, the following solutions are available:

• Drop dbspace. This causes the customer to have to unload the entire dbspace and drop all tables in the dbspace, then drop and recreate the dbspace. This means downtime.
• Dial-in to drop chunk. Another possible solution is to have Advanced Support dial in and drop the chunk. They would also have to clean up the tblspace tblspace. This caused down time and is risky (usually avoided).

Specify Tblspace Tblspace Extent Sizes

Tblspace tblspace extent sizes can now be specified. This feature can be used to reduce the additional extents being allocated to the tblspace tblspaces, minimising the risk of tblspace tblspace extents being allocated in chunks other than the first chunk. Once a dbspace has been created, the tblspace tblspace first and next extent sizes cannot be altered.

This feature will NOT prevent the reversion of any dbspaces. It will now be possible to revert back to a version prior to this feature, and now have extents for a tblspace tblspace that are not a default value or a doubling of that. The next extent sizes will be adjusted accordingly on the reversion process.

First/Next Extent Sizes - Root dbspace

Root dbspace tblspace tblspace extent sizes specified at instance creation

• TBLTBLFIRST: This onconfig parameter is used to specify the size of the first extent of the tblspace tblspace for the root dbspace.
• TBLTBLNEXT : This onconfig parameter is used to specify the next extent size of the tblspace tblspace for the root dbspace. If these parameters are not present, the default sizes are used. Sizes are in kilobytes and must be a multiple of the page size.

First/Next Extent Sizes - non root

Non-Root dbspace tblspace tblspace extent sizes specified at dbspace creation

When creating a new dbspace with onspaces can now specify the first and next extent sizes for the tblspace tblspace

-ef <first extent size>
-en <next extent size>

If these options are not used the default sizes are used sizes are in kilobytes and must be a multiple of the page size

Example:

onspaces -c -d dbs1 -p /cooked/chunk1 -o 0 -s 10000 -ef 100 -en 100

Renaming Dbspaces

Dbspaces can now be renamed. The rename dbspace operation only changes the dbspace name, it does not reorganize data. Can be performed by informix user or user with DBA priviliges.

Note: The feature was first introduced in IDS 9.40.UC3 with additional limitations:

• Cannot rename blobspaces, sbspaces, temporary or external spaces.
• Cannot rename dbspaces that are referred to by the following configuration parameters:
• DBSPACETEMP, CDR_DBSPACE SBSPACENAME, SBSPACETEMP, SYSSBSPACENEAME, CDR_QHDR_DBSPACE, CDR_QDATA_SBSPACE
• Cannot rename dbspaces if you are using High-Availability Data Replication or if Enterprise Replication is active.

After renaming any space (except extspaces or temporary spaces), perform a level-0 archive of the renamed space and the root dbspace. This will ensure that you can restore the spaces to a state including or following the rename dbspace operation. It is also necessary prior to performing any other type of archive.

A rename done on a HDR primary will propagate to the secondary.

The rename dbspace command updates the dbspace name in all places where that name is stored. This includes reserved pages on disk, system catalogs, the ONCONFIG configuration file and in-memory data structures.

Note: If you rename a dbspace, you must rewrite and recompile any stored procedure code that references the old dbspace name. For example, if you have a stored procedure that contains the ALTER FRAGMENT keywords and a reference to the dbspace name, you must rewrite and recompile that stored procedure.

If you rename dbspaces that are specified in the DATASKIP configuration parameter, you must manually update the DATASKIP configuration parameter after renaming the dbspace.

Informix Product Lifecycle Website merged with the IBM Software Support Lifecycle Website

Please note that as part of IBM's continuing effort to simplify their customer's web experience, IBM has merged the specific Informix Product Lifecycle information located at:

http://www-306.ibm.com/software/data/informix/support/plc/

with the IBM Software Support Lifecycle located at:

http://www-306.ibm.com/software/info/supportlifecycle/list/i.html

There are no updates to the Informix Product Lifecycle site after June 30, 2006.

The IBM Software Support Lifecycle site does not have as many columns of information as did the Informix Product Lifecycle site. However additional columns are planned to be added to the IBM Software Support Lifecycle site later this year.

"Princeton Softech's Optim^tm helps companies align application data management with their business objectives to improve performance, mitigate risks and control costs. Optim provides important advantages to Informix clients. First, Optim is the only enterprise data management solution with archiving capabilities for Informix that scale across applications, improving performance, while reducing infrastructure costs. Second, Optim's test data management and masking capabilities streamline testing processes, while protecting confidential data in the development and testing environments. Optim's Informix-focused advantages, coupled with our Gold Sponsorship with IIUG, will allow Princeton Softech to forge deep relationships with Informix clients."

"We are very pleased to have Princeton Softech as a Gold member of the IIUG, as they provide a very valuable solution for our users to more effectively manage their data growth. Princeton Softech is the only company that has committed to the Informix database by providing both an archive and test data management solution for our market, and we look forward to their contributions to our organization," states Stuart Litel, President International Informix User Group.

Additional information on Princeton Softech can be found at http://www.princetonsoftech.com or you can contact Jim Mazzeo, Director Business Development at Princeton Softech at 978-692-5263 or by email at jmazzeo@princetonsoftech.com.

Oninit, one of the UK's leading Informix and Unix consultancies, announced it is to become a Gold Sponsor of the International Informix User Group (IIUG). The company focuses on the delivery of high-end transactional systems in the media, telecommunications and banking sectors, based on the Datablade technology.

John Baker, Sales Director, Oninit, said "We are delighted to support the IIUG, through their gold sponsorship program. Our team are passionate about Informix and we firmly believe that it is the most reliable database management system available. In working closely with the IIUG, we will have the opportunity to extend our relationship with the Informix community and generate greater demand for this product."

Paul Watson, CEO, Oninit, who is also a Board Member of IIUG, added "Many organizations rely upon Informix at the core of their mission critical applications. Our vision is to build long lasting relationships with our customers by working together to optimize the reliability and performance of these systems to deliver real business benefits"

Oninit provides comprehensive training, development, support and database administration services to more than 100 companies in the UK, USA and Europe.

Informix Data Server Uptime Survey

As part of its ongoing commitment to Informix users, Oninit is conducting a market survey to investigate the real-life reliability and performance of Informix, within the IIUG community. This survey is co-sponsored by OpenPSL, specialist IT distributors and part of the International Bell Microproducts Corporation.

This is the first time that such a survey has been carried out and it is expected that the results will clearly demonstrate why Informix must be the database of choice for all organizations running mission critical applications.

The survey will investigate the real-time performance of three key aspects of database functionality - hardware efficiency, reliability and scalability.

To share your experiences and, by doing so, be entered into a drawing to win an all-expenses paid trip to the forthcoming IDUG conference in Vienna (2nd to 6th October 2006), visit http://www.oninit.com/survey.

Informix - The Mission Critical Database

Duncan Crabbe, General Manager, OpenPSL said "We are thrilled to be supporting Oninit with this initiative and we see the survey as key to raising general awareness of Informix as the database of choice. We believe that the results of this survey will provide compelling evidence that Informix is, undoubtedly, one of the most reliable and stable databases available on the market today."

In response to your input, we have created a page on the IIUG web site containing all the links we used to include. Please find it at: http://www.iiug.org/quicklinks.html

The International Informix Users Group (IIUG) is an organization designed to enhance communications between its worldwide user community and IBM. IIUG's membership database now exceeds 25,000 entries and enjoys the support and commitment of IBM's Data Management division. Key programs include local user groups and special interest groups, which we promote and assist from launch through growth.

For comments, please send an email to gary@iiug.org.