IBM today announced new Linux database clusters to help businesses of any size implement a low cost, high performance data center based on IBM DB2 Universal Database for Linux and the IBM eServer 325 systems that IBM also introduced this week.
The new IBM DB2 Integrated Cluster Environment (DB2 ICE) scales 125 times higher than the competition -- offering the power, availability and capacity of as many as 1,000 server nodes, dwarfing the eight-node-maximum clusters offered by other vendors. A business running a 1,000-node cluster can manage 16 exabytes of information -- eight times more information than the world produced in 1999.
The simplicity of the technology enables growing businesses to slash the time it takes to deploy clusters to keep pace with, and stay ahead of, their growth. For example, customers can deploy nodes at a rate of four-an-hour, and fully implement a 40-node configuration in less than two days.
Clusters are a series of connected servers, network switches and storage systems that spread tasks across server nodes. To meet the computing demand of a growing business, clusters can increase the availability and power of an IT environment -- affordably generating supercomputer-like performance. For clusters to successfully scale high, databases need to expand in tandem with the addition of new nodes, yet not rely on just one source of memory in case of bottlenecks or failures.
So that customers and Business Partners can plan and deploy a cluster that best meets their needs, IBM is making DB2 ICE available for testing and experimentation at its Solution Partnership Centers, Linux Integration Centers and Technology Exploration Centers. IBM is also offering a free toolkit for customers looking to migrate to DB2 ICE from other databases.
In addition, IBM is today extending its leadership in Linux database clustering technology, after being the first to deliver a Linux database cluster and delivering a world record performance for database clusters on Linux in 2001. A DB2-configured system toppled an HP system running Oracle RAC and Unix from the top cluster performance spot, delivering more than two times better overall performance at half the price. [1] This is the first database benchmark on 64-bit AMD processors, and the first database benchmark in a 64-bit Linux environment.
According to the Transaction Processing Performance Council's TPC-H benchmark, DB2 Universal Database, eight IBM eServer 325 systems, with AMD 64-bit Opteron processors running the SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 operating system, delivered 12216 QphH@100GB at a cost of USD $70 per QphH@100 GB. This puts DB2 in the number-one TPC-H position for 100GB databases.
With the new DB2 ICE offering, IBM is also announcing today that DB2 for Linux is the first commercial database generally available for the 64-bit AMD Opteron platform, such as those used in the new IBM eServer 325. DB2 ICE on AMD Opteron processors provides customers with native access to DB2's 64-bit database environment, while providing compatibility with existing 32-bit applications.
Designed to generate a fast return on investment and lower the total cost of computing, DB2 ICE provides businesses with the essential building blocks for highly-available and scalable Linux database clustering, including:
- DB2 Universal Database and DB2 Express
- IBM eServer 325 and eServer xSeries x335, x345, x445, BladeCenter or Linux Cluster 1350 eServers, with choice of Intel 32 bit or AMD 64 bit processors
- SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 or RedHat Advanced Server 2.1 operating system
- Voltaire InfiniBand Database Kit for clustering, high-speed networking and storage connectivity
- Tivoli System Automation for Linux
- Certified support for SAP solutions such as SAP R/3, mySAP CRM and mySAP Business Intelligence
Businesses can complete their DB2 ICE solution stack with IBM WebSphere Application Server, Tivoli system management software and IBM FastT Storage hardware to build a complete data center running on Linux. Tivoli System Automation for Linux ensures high availability of DB2 on Linux, allowing the DB2 application to remain highly available across the cluster.
DB2 ICE is available immediately with pricing that starts at $8,700 (US) for a two-node system including DB2 Express, two xSeries x335 eServers, and SuSE Linux or RedHat Linux. DB2 ICE customers can also take advantage of IBM Services for configuration, installation and IT maintenance. IBM Global Financing is available.