Automatic management of range interval tables

Abstract

Range interval tables can save disk space. If for instance, you wish to keep just a week’s worth of transactions, in order to save disk space perhaps, then it is quite straightforward to use a range interval fragmented table, and whenever you wish you can almost instantly purge any unwanted data by using the DROP or DETACH clause in the ALTER FRAGMENT statement. In any release prior to v12.10 this would have to done manually, as it were (albeit via a cron job perhaps), but now it can be managed entirely by the instance with the ‘rolling window’ functionality, as described in this article.

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Automatic management of range interval tables2020-08-18T15:25:45+01:00

Little known IDS commands: onclean

Abstract

In this series of articles we are exploring some of the lesser known, but still useful, commands hidden away in your Informix bin directory. The article explores the onclean utility. It’s often necessary to run more than one database instance on a single server. While this is a useful feature and quite easy to do with IDS, when things go wrong, it’s not always straightforward to tie each oninit binary back to a particular instance, and killing the wrong binary or shared memory segment can be disastrous. Since IDS 11, the onclean utility has been bundled with the server; this useful little program can help take some of the pain out of cleaning up an instance that has not shut down properly, killing only the relevant server processes, and dropping any attached shared memory segments.

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Little known IDS commands: onclean2024-06-14T11:04:45+01:00

Is the cloud the right place for IBM Informix?

“We saw an increase in computed throughput of 42%” Read how the free version, Innovator-C edition and Workgroup edition compare in a cloud environment when being stress tested by TPC-C benchmark. “The total daily cost was less than the price of 2 cups of coffee”

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Is the cloud the right place for IBM Informix?, 2020-08-18T15:36:03+01:00

Making Microsoft SQL Linked Server and Informix work

Abstract

Microsoft SQL Server is a popular choice for consolidation of report data from multiple database products, as its Linked Server feature – which is included in the base product unlike Informix Enterprise Gateway Manager – makes it possible to access tables in heterogeneous databases within T-SQL via OLE DB. However, there are some settings required to make this work seamlessly, which are described in this article as they are not that obvious.

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Making Microsoft SQL Linked Server and Informix work2020-08-14T12:41:16+01:00

AGS: Release 10 New Features Explained

Abstract

Server Studio™ & Sentinel™ — the premiere suite of integrated system management tools for IBM Informix® data servers — has been updated! The new AGS Release 10 of this industry-leading multi-platform graphical development and management environment provides DBAs and developers with an even richer collection of easy-to-use, proven tools to manage complexities of the Informix data servers’ infrastructure — from initial design and development, all the way through to production deployment and successful operational service. This article will visually explain the features, benefits and usage of AGS Release 10.

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AGS: Release 10 New Features Explained2020-08-18T15:35:31+01:00

How to use IDS on a journaling file system

Abstract

Most modern Linux distributions install a journaling file system, i.e., a file system that keeps track of changes, by default. While providing excellent recovery for standard file types on the disk, such journaling can be significantly detrimental for a database server. Raw devices are becoming obsolete on many distributions, as DIRECT_IO can give comparable performance. Choosing the right file filesystem and appropriate features is an important decision for a database server administrator, getting this right from the start can prevent headaches further down the line. Read on to learn more about a journaling file system:

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How to use IDS on a journaling file system2020-08-18T15:36:39+01:00

Locked tables: how to avoid them

Abstract

You may experience problems with some applications such as Sage Line 500 running on Informix Dynamic Server with High Availability Data Replication (HDR). When running period end or maintenance programs that recreate tables after purging some of the contents, the table may not immediately be available afterwards, creating locked tables and causing the program to crash. This article provides a work-around.

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Locked tables: how to avoid them2020-08-18T15:37:10+01:00

An Introduction to the IBM License Metric Tool (ILMT)

Abstract

ILMT is an ever increasingly more important piece of software with the growth in usage of virtualized technology. This article provides a brief overview of what ILMT is, why it may be relevant and some considerations with deployment.

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An Introduction to the IBM License Metric Tool (ILMT)2020-08-18T15:42:57+01:00

How to unload to a flat file without dbaccess

Abstract

The ‘unload’ command is not part of SQL, it is functionality built into dbaccess, other command line utilities and some GUI tools. This article shows how to extract data to a flat file directly from SQL in your application code (for instance), but only in version 11.50.xC6 or later.

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How to unload to a flat file without dbaccess2020-08-18T15:43:25+01:00

How to calculate the size of databases

Abstract

The ability to view the size of all your databases can be of great value. However, there is no command currently provided with IBM Informix Dynamic Server that shows the total size of each of your databases in an instance. If you want to know which databases are using the most space, but do not have a GUI or need an automated script, this article provides an SQL statement that will enable you to view the size of any database you wish to measure .

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How to calculate the size of databases2020-08-18T15:44:36+01:00
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