Informix SE 64 bit ?
A shop running an in-house app on Informix SE on ancient AIX 4.2 asked whether a 64-bit SE exists, or at least one handling .dat files beyond 2GB, and how compatible it would be when moving to new AIX hardware. Replies said no 64-bit SE is expected, but SE 7.24/7.25/7.26 (built on C-ISAM 7.26) already supports files larger than 2GB. Others suggested porting to IDS 11.50, which is largely forward-compatible (mainly db@server naming plus a recompile with current CSDK), and noted the C-ISAM DataBlade for apps that must keep using the C-ISAM library. The poster ruled out IDS because the app reads C-ISAM files directly; no final outcome is recorded.
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Hi, My company uses an in-house-developped application that uses Informix Standard Engine as its database. Its runs on old and unsupported IBM hardware with an old and unsupported version of AIX (4.2 I think). I have to make a proposal on how to move this (of course business critical) application to the 21th century. My first proposal was a complete rewrite. Management didn't like it. The current plan is to buy a new server, set up AIX 6 (or 5.3) and port the application with as minimal changes as possible. One problem that is going to bite us soon is that several tables grow steadily and the .dat files are nearing the 2 gigabytes level. I tried to find information on the ibm website but it is such a maze ! Anyway, I have two questions : - is there a 64 bit version of Informix SE (or at least a version that support "big" dat files (bigger than 2 gigs) - if such a beast exists, what is the compatibility level with the 32 bit version ? Full compatibility ? Do we need to link our app with new libraries ? Do we need to modify our app ? Thanks to all who can help.
Pale Frenier wrote: > Hi, > > My company uses an in-house-developped application that uses Informix > Standard Engine as its database. Its runs on old and unsupported IBM > hardware with an old and unsupported version of AIX (4.2 I think). > > I have to make a proposal on how to move this (of course business > critical) application to the 21th century. My first proposal was a > complete rewrite. Management didn't like it. > > The current plan is to buy a new server, set up AIX 6 (or 5.3) and port > the application with as minimal changes as possible. > > One problem that is going to bite us soon is that several tables grow > steadily and the .dat files are nearing the 2 gigabytes level. > > I tried to find information on the ibm website but it is such a maze ! > > Anyway, I have two questions : > - is there a 64 bit version of Informix SE (or at least a version that > support "big" dat files (bigger than 2 gigs) I think 2GB support isn't a problem any more. > - if such a beast exists, what is the compatibility level with the 32 > bit version ? Full compatibility ? Do we need to link our app with new > libraries ? Do we need to modify our app ? Pfft ... not a situation I'd like to be in. What is the application written in? -- Cheers, Obnoxio The Clown http://obotheclown.blogspot.com -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by OpenProtect(http://www.openprotect.com), and is believed to be clean.
A 64 bit SE engine? In theory, IBM could release it, but I don't think they will or have. Also I don't know if SE is still on PPA so it sounds like you're way out of license. You may want to consider the following... 1) Check out the IIUG's version of IDS. While its not 'free' for production, you can install it on a machine and migrate your data to it. 2) Your application may need a new csdk library so if you download the latest CSDK and recompile, you should be able to point to the new engine and regression test your application. 3) If this works, then you just need to buy IDS express and you should be ok. I'm sure one of the reseller wonks in the UK can give you pricing and help you out. HTH -G > Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:53:07 +0200 > From: Pale.Frenier@ecuries-augias.fr.invalid > Subject: Informix SE 64 bit ? > To: informix-list@iiug.org > > Hi, > > My company uses an in-house-developped application that uses Informix > Standard Engine as its database. Its runs on old and unsupported IBM > hardware with an old and unsupported version of AIX (4.2 I think). > > I have to make a proposal on how to move this (of course business > critical) application to the 21th century. My first proposal was a > complete rewrite. Management didn't like it. > > The current plan is to buy a new server, set up AIX 6 (or 5.3) and port > the application with as minimal changes as possible. > > One problem that is going to bite us soon is that several tables grow > steadily and the .dat files are nearing the 2 gigabytes level. > > I tried to find information on the ibm website but it is such a maze ! > > Anyway, I have two questions : > - is there a 64 bit version of Informix SE (or at least a version that > support "big" dat files (bigger than 2 gigs) > - if such a beast exists, what is the compatibility level with the 32 > bit version ? Full compatibility ? Do we need to link our app with new > libraries ? Do we need to modify our app ? > > Thanks to all who can help. > _______________________________________________ > Informix-list mailing list > Informix-list@iiug.org > http://www.iiug.org/mailman/listinfo/informix-list _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail® is up to 70% faster. Now good news travels really fast. http://windowslive.com/online/hotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_70faster_032009
Hello Pale,, se V7.26 is based on cisam 7.26 which allows files bigger then 2 GB Superboer. On 30 mrt, 18:53, Pale Frenier <Pale.Fren...@ecuries- augias.fr.invalid> wrote: > Hi, > > My company uses an in-house-developped application that uses Informix > Standard Engine as its database. Its runs on old and unsupported IBM > hardware with an old and unsupported version of AIX (4.2 I think). > > I have to make a proposal on how to move this (of course business > critical) application to the 21th century. My first proposal was a > complete rewrite. Management didn't like it. > > The current plan is to buy a new server, set up AIX 6 (or 5.3) and port > the application with as minimal changes as possible. > > One problem that is going to bite us soon is that several tables grow > steadily and the .dat files are nearing the 2 gigabytes level. > > I tried to find information on the ibm website but it is such a maze ! > > Anyway, I have two questions : > - is there a 64 bit version of Informix SE (or at least a version that > support "big" dat files (bigger than 2 gigs) > - if such a beast exists, what is the compatibility level with the 32 > bit version ? Full compatibility ? Do we need to link our app with new > libraries ? Do we need to modify our app ? > > Thanks to all who can help.
I'm not sure about a 24bit version of SE, but SE v7.24 or 7.25 (I forget) and later support data files larger than 2GB. Also, you should be able to port the database and applications to IDS (Informix Dynamic Server) v11.50 with few if any changes to either. SE databases and any applications that access them are fully forward compatible with IDS. You may need to recompile your applications and modify a few references - databases are referenced as <databasename>@<servername> in IDS rather than as //<servername>/<databasename>, but IB that's the only change. There are many advantages to that port. Art S. Kagel Oninit (www.oninit.com) IIUG Board of Directors (art@iiug.org) Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that my own opinions are my own opinions and do not reflect on my employer, Oninit, the IIUG, nor any other organization with which I am associated either explicitly or implicitly. Neither do those opinions reflect those of other individuals affiliated with any entity with which I am affiliated nor those of the entities themselves. On Mon, Mar 30, 2009 at 12:53 PM, Pale Frenier <Pale.Frenier@ecuries-augias.fr.invalid> wrote: > Hi, > > My company uses an in-house-developped application that uses Informix > Standard Engine as its database. Its runs on old and unsupported IBM > hardware with an old and unsupported version of AIX (4.2 I think). > > I have to make a proposal on how to move this (of course business > critical) application to the 21th century. My first proposal was a > complete rewrite. Management didn't like it. > > The current plan is to buy a new server, set up AIX 6 (or 5.3) and port > the application with as minimal changes as possible. > > One problem that is going to bite us soon is that several tables grow > steadily and the .dat files are nearing the 2 gigabytes level. > > I tried to find information on the ibm website but it is such a maze ! > > Anyway, I have two questions : > - is there a 64 bit version of Informix SE (or at least a version that > support "big" dat files (bigger than 2 gigs) > - if such a beast exists, what is the compatibility level with the 32 > bit version ? Full compatibility ? Do we need to link our app with new > libraries ? Do we need to modify our app ? > > Thanks to all who can help. > _______________________________________________ > Informix-list mailing list > Informix-list@iiug.org > http://www.iiug.org/mailman/listinfo/informix-list >
Hi, Art Kagel wrote: > I'm not sure about a 24bit version of SE, but SE v7.24 or 7.25 (I > forget) and later support data files larger than 2GB. Interesting, I'll look into this. > Also, you should be able to port the database and applications to IDS > (Informix Dynamic Server) v11.50 with few if any changes to either. SE > databases and any applications that access them are fully forward > compatible with IDS. You may need to recompile your applications and > modify a few references - databases are referenced as > <databasename>@<servername> in IDS rather than as > //<servername>/<databasename>, but IB that's the only change. There are > many advantages to that port. IDS is not an option, I'm afraid, data MUST be in CISAM files. You see, this application was originally written by a Level 36 Guru in the dark arts of pointless optimisation : there is C program linked with the libCisam library that reads from a few tables and spits out a few html pages with statistics. Using CISAM to bypass Informix allows to save several microseconds on this 10 minutes long nightly cron job. :-) Regards,
Also look into the CISAM datablade for IDS. It allows CISAM library applications to access IDS tables and IDS applications to access legacy CISAM files! Art S. Kagel Oninit (www.oninit.com) IIUG Board of Directors (art@iiug.org) Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that my own opinions are my own opinions and do not reflect on my employer, Oninit, the IIUG, nor any other organization with which I am associated either explicitly or implicitly. Neither do those opinions reflect those of other individuals affiliated with any entity with which I am affiliated nor those of the entities themselves. On Wed, Apr 1, 2009 at 9:21 AM, Pale Frenier <Pale.Frenier@ecuries-augias.fr.invalid> wrote: > Hi, > > Art Kagel wrote: > > I'm not sure about a 24bit version of SE, but SE v7.24 or 7.25 (I > > forget) and later support data files larger than 2GB. > > Interesting, I'll look into this. > > > Also, you should be able to port the database and applications to IDS > > (Informix Dynamic Server) v11.50 with few if any changes to either. SE > > databases and any applications that access them are fully forward > > compatible with IDS. You may need to recompile your applications and > > modify a few references - databases are referenced as > > <databasename>@<servername> in IDS rather than as > > //<servername>/<databasename>, but IB that's the only change. There are > > many advantages to that port. > > IDS is not an option, I'm afraid, data MUST be in CISAM files. > > You see, this application was originally written by a Level 36 Guru in > the dark arts of pointless optimisation : there is C program linked > with the libCisam library that reads from a few tables and spits out a > few html pages with statistics. Using CISAM to bypass Informix allows to > save several microseconds on this 10 minutes long nightly cron job. :-) > > Regards, > _______________________________________________ > Informix-list mailing list > Informix-list@iiug.org > http://www.iiug.org/mailman/listinfo/informix-list >
On Mar 30, 11:57 am, Obnoxio The Clown <obno...@serendipita.com> wrote: > Pale Frenier wrote: > > Hi, > > > My company uses an in-house-developped application that uses Informix > > Standard Engine as its database. Its runs on old and unsupported IBM > > hardware with an old and unsupported version of AIX (4.2 I think). > > > I have to make a proposal on how to move this (of course business > > critical) application to the 21th century. My first proposal was a > > complete rewrite. Management didn't like it. > > > The current plan is to buy a new server, set up AIX 6 (or 5.3) and port > > the application with as minimal changes as possible. > > > One problem that is going to bite us soon is that several tables grow > > steadily and the .dat files are nearing the 2 gigabytes level. > > > I tried to find information on the ibm website but it is such a maze ! > > > Anyway, I have two questions : > > - is there a 64 bit version of Informix SE (or at least a version that > > support "big" dat files (bigger than 2 gigs) > > I think 2GB support isn't a problem any more. > > > - if such a beast exists, what is the compatibility level with the 32 > > bit version ? Full compatibility ? Do we need to link our app with new > > libraries ? Do we need to modify our app ? > > Pfft ... not a situation I'd like to be in. What is the application > written in? > Doesn't matter really. If its 4GL or C/C++, you're going to have to recompile and relink the application. If its Java, well, a quick recompile isn't much of a problem since you're hitting it via jdbc. If its anything else? your guess is as good as mine. -G