Database Connectivity and Networking Issues

Hi, I am posting this on behalf of a friend of mine - Manoj - who is a Masters student in CS at the Univ of Pennsylvania. He is in California for the summer and is working on a project entitled 'Database Connectivity Issues' and is comparing the various connectivity solutions provided by different database vendors as well as some middleware vendors. e.g. Open Client, Open Server, Gateways etc from Sybase Sql.Net, Multiprotocol interchange, SQL.Connect etc from Oracle Informix-Net, Informix-Star etc from Informix Ingres-Net, Ingres-Star etc from Ingres SQL Bridge, Gateways etc from Microsoft and also from some of the middleware vendors like Techgnosis - SequeLink, SequeLink Protocol Interchange PeerLogic - PIPES platform IBI - EDA/SQL I am assisting him in obtaining information. We have obtained most of the literature that describes the products, but are looking for information of a more critical nature - shortcomings of certain products or solutions and comparisons between similar product offerings. The criteria for comparison are - Flexibility and openness of client interface e.g. DB-Lib from Sybase - Ability to interface and access data from other vendors' database using gateways etc. Issues relating to protocol conversions and limitations regarding which operations are feasible and which ones are not are also addressed here. - Configuration / Naming / Adminstrative tools. Their availability, ease of use and effectiveness - Security - Performance - Diagnostic tools - Industry standards implementation. Which vendors are supporting which industry standards and whether there will be any projected winners from this drive to standardization. The DCE initiative from OSF is also being addressed here. We would also welcome any other criteria for comparisons or any relevant comments. Please email the replies to my account directly (that is if you dont want to reply to the newsgroup) since I donot want to clutter up the net with things others may not be interested in. We appreciate you taking the time and are looking forward to your replies and comments, John dialog@well.sf.ca.us