DB2 - the most active

DB2 is currently the world's fastest and most powerful database system. IBM claims that the number of structured data stored in DB2 is greater than in any other mechanism.

According to the 2005 survey of Winter Corporation, the largest OLTP (On-Line Transaction Processing) databases are in DB2. The "prize" for the volume is given to Land Registry (23.1 TB) and the record for the number of lines belongs to UPS (89.6 billion) and both run on DB2.

DB2 also achieves processing speed per minute (TPC-C benchmark) 3.2 million transactions per minute. The closest competitor to the TPC standard is Oracle can only be implemented with half of DB2.

However, in database debates, people often refer to Oracle and SQL Server, sometimes adding Sybase or Informix, but not many people mention DB2.

DB2 has 3 main versions: DB2 for z / OS (Mainframe), DB2 for iSeries (AS400) and DB2 for LUW (Linux, UNIX and Windows). About 90% of the source code for the versions is the same and the remaining 10% is reserved for platform optimization. Technically, this is good news because the database system can work with whatever platform the customer is using. However, IBM seems to "forget" to promote these things. Some people claim that they are too pleased to have a strong database and wait for people to explore for themselves. Therefore, DB2 is called a "secret database".

Back in 1997, Janet Perna, director of IBM's data management department, said they were watching Microsoft closely and wouldn't let IBM be defeated in terms of cost. Currently, Microsoft's SQL Server 2005 is available for free and in the future, a DB2 version will also be available at "affordable" or completely free.