BMC, Quest Tackle DB2

Users of IBMs DB2 software can turn to tools from BMC Software Inc. and Quest Software Inc. to manage the enterprise DBMS.

BMC, as part of its Project Golden Gate initiative to enable data management in a heterogeneous environment, has added support for IBMs DB2 Universal Database in its SmartDBA performance, administration and recovery tools. Working in the same vein, Quest is shipping Quest Central for DB2 3, which is management software for DB2 that features deep diagnostic capabilities for IBMs database partitioning technology and support for heterogeneous environments.

Both database management products were rolled out at the annual International DB2 Users Group Americas conference in Las Vegas last week.

BMCs tools include SmartDBA Performance Management for DB2 UDB 2.5, which provides event management, diagnostics, visualization, administration, space management and tuning of DB2 UDB environments. The software integrates common alerts that let database administrators more easily monitor, tune and manage space within DB2 databases, said officials at Houston-based BMC.

Also included is SQL-BackTrack for DB2 UDB 3, which allows DB2 users to perform database backup and recovery through the SmartDBA Web console. The console also allows users to manage Oracle Corp. and Microsoft Corp. SQL Server databases from one common spot.

SmartDBA Performance Management for UDB 2.5 is slated to be available next month. SQL-BackTrack for DB2 3 is due in July with support for DB2 UDB Versions 7.2 and 8.1.

Meanwhile, Quest Central for DB2 3 also supports heterogeneous environments. A new compare-and-synchronize feature allows DBAs to compare databases and identify differences to ensure that all changes are in place before deploying applications into production. The product also features DB2 alerts and diagnosis at a summarized database level as well as at the level of detailed partition.

Fast Communication Manager in Quest Central for DB2 3 allows DBAs to quickly identify hot spots in multipartition databases. This lets them identify performance problems at the summary level and drill down into the partition to get enough detail to solve a given problem, according to Quest officials, in Irvine, Calif.

Quest Central for DB2 3 supports DB2 7.1, DB2 7.2 and DB2 UDB Enterprise Server Edition 8.1. Pricing starts at $1,500 for the Developer Edition and $10,000 for the Professional Edition.