| Long in the Tooth Query/400 Gets a Replacement |
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| Analysis - Commentary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Written by Robert Gast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sunday, 14 October 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A thoroughbred Web-based newcomer, IBM DB2 Web Query for System i has a hipper feel and gives reports a fresh look. Like those of an aged race horse, the glory days have passed for IBM Query for iSeries (aka Query/400). Why has the sun set on Query/400? Organizations simply need more-powerful reporting capabilities to underpin profitability. Data mining and business intelligence practices are levers to improved decision-making processes, and query/report-writing tools with greater analytical capabilities are enormous fulcrums. Organizations that have used the progenitors of the modern-day System i have amassed lots of (for gosh sakes, don't use the word "legacy") data that can be mined for business intelligence purposes.Now, emphasis is also being placed on application modernization and Web accessibility. Ease-of-use and broad user familiarity with GUIs and browsers are the drivers behind app modernization. Some argue that users are actually more productive with these types of interfaces because Web-based panels can automatically populate fields in instances where actions are repetitive. To be sure, green-screen applications and tools are still widely used. They have a purposeful industrial feel that many organizations are unwilling to discard. Likewise, many people are comfortable with Query/400 and believe they can generate a report on anything. If you're a Query/400 shop and want to continue doing things the way you've always done them, your lucky horseshoe is definitely working because the old tool is supported within the framework of the new one. For those who are ready to saddle up, IBM has made it easy to migrate existing queries from Query/400 to IBM DB2 Web Query for System i. An automated facility allows you to select the existing query or queries you wish to translate and produces the new Web Query report, which can be run as-is or embellished. Tradition aside, there are lots of good reasons to embrace IBM DB2 Web Query for System i. For starters, IBM's new native System i query tool offering has morphed into a Web 2.0-esque file and report generator that has its roots in asynchronous JavaScript and XML. AJAX lets Web pages act like conventional application panels that support multiple input fields simultaneously. Furthermore, it's easy to implement and easy to maintain and has practically no footprint. In retrospect, "morph" may actually be the wrong word since IBM DB2 Web Query for System i gets its DNA from Information Builders, whereas Query/400 is an evolved version of Query/38. It's worth noting that if you are already using WebFocus from Information Builders, a product that has been on the market for nine years, all you really need is an adapter for Query/400. The latest query optimization technology in DB2 for i5/OS—referred to as SQL Query Engine, or SQE—is also built into this tool. SQE was first delivered in V5R2, and it features object-oriented design. SQE speeds queries because the optimizer now resides below the machine interface. And it uses enhanced algorithms to improve responsiveness. It also delivers better performance on long-running queries and retains road maps for ease of use. An On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) feature offers better granularity and drill-down capabilities, and APIs are available to powerful OLAP and data mining solutions like ESSBASE/400 and Clementine. One big advantage with DB2 Web Query for System i is that it has a parameterized reporting feature that could substantially reduce the backlog of requested yet undefined reports because the number of reports that have to be maintained individually is greatly lessened. The ability to manage from multiple sources had been addressed with new adaptors that facilitate cross-system data federalization. Incorporating data from multiple disparate data sources into a single report makes homogeneity one less thing for chronic complainers to complain about. Over two hundred adapters are available to connect to other databases. The adaptors needed to pull data from separate System i logical partitions are already included in the base product. Once you are ready to create your new report, the new WYSIWYG Power Painter component helps you do it with ease. If you prefer the simplicity of wizards, alternatively, you can use the new Report and Graph Assistant components. Aside from report output being accessible in HTML dashboards or scorecards through a common browser, it can also be flowed directly into PDFs and Excel spreadsheets. Reports can be better tailored to your organizational needs though advanced reporting functions that include matrix reporting, color coding, ranking, drill-down, and font customization. Finally, a new Active Reports feature facilitates reporting without having to be connected to the server. BI could also stand for "big investment" but not in this case. Existing Query/400 customers can upgrade to DB2 Web Query for free, with only annual maintenance fees due. One stipulation is that you have to be current on i5/OS maintenance. (For that matter, another is that you must be running i5/OS V5R4.) New licenses range from $1,600 to almost $50,000, depending on the machine it is licensed to and how many users you have. Lots of additional information, including a Redbook entitled Getting Started with DB2 Web Query for System i, can be obtained by visiting the IBM DB2 Web Query for System i Web site. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 28 November 2007 ) |
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Discuss (10 posts)
| Ralph Daugherty |
Long in the Tooth Query/400 Gets a Replacement
Nov 08 2007 15:20:00 I saw Web Query demo given by IBM to Jacksonville 400 users group. The emphasis in the demo was on no cost replacement to current Query/400 users as far as licensing went. AFAIR there was a couple of development seats included and as much access as current Query/400 users have (I don't have any idea what current licensing is for that). <p> My impression at time of demo was that server was built in by Information Builders (the FOCUS people who adapted their product for IBM), and I didn't ask at the time, but I asked another Rochester IBM'er in another demo who mentioned a new server specifically about the Web Query server and he said it's a new lightweight server (web/JSP/etc.) for the i5 which can be used instead of Websphere. The impression I got from demo was beta level for products, including the server. <p> There is additional capability with the Web Query product and additional development and power user seats can be purchased, but only if you want to develop additional capabilities not found in Query/400. AFAIR this was exceptionally well done in that Query/400 queries continues to work as well as being used by Web Query. <p> I have commented somewhere on the powerful interface it has. It appears to be a Java interface based on my research, although IBM is quick to trot out the AJAX buzzword as anyone not using the buzzword will be overhyped by others not as shy (not that Java can't use AJAX calls as well but I mean Javascript AJAX). It looked to me like the main component using AJAX was a query screen builder app. <p> I don't have any idea about install though, I just saw the demo. <p> Bottom line, this is a well positioned product that improves access, enhances current capability without destroying it, and provided as alternative at same cost. Can't see anything to complain about except for difficulties installing and getting working, which probably fall under beta caveat, unless it's officially released now. <p> rd
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#115884 |
| J.Droke |
Long in the Tooth Query/400 Gets a Replacement
Nov 07 2007 11:20:00 I would suggest that the reason they use a different application server is that they are using the query technology developed by Information Builders (specifically their Web Focus product) so they had no choice since this technology is tightly bundled to the application server.
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#115883 |
| gabl@cpis.es |
Long in the Tooth Query/400 Gets a Replacement
Oct 18 2007 09:01:00 I really can't understand how IBM can send this product to customers without be sure of the installation process, really complex, after two days I'm unable even to know if it is installed, sure I will need seat down and take a entire week. <BR>
Please if anybody have succesfull installed it, write here the steps. <p>Other problem is the size for all the install and ptf needed, really a problem in small 515 or 520 models. <BR> Also I don't understand why it uses a different java based http application server and not the IBM websphere. |
#115882 |
| lujate |
Long in the Tooth Query/400 Gets a Replacement
Oct 15 2007 18:02:00 "Question from Jtaylor: Can DB2 Web Query be used in batch mode? <p>Drmack says: DB2 Query offers similar batch reporting capabilities to Query/400...you can output the data to a DB2 file or spoolfile with the interactive usage, the output options are much more robust or, with the add-on "Report Caster" feature you can run the queries in batch on a scheduled basis and dump the result into e-mail with all kinds of output options" <p>from: <a href="http://www.isociety.org/Chat20070815.html">http://www.isociety.org/Chat20070815.html</a>
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#115881 |
| Guest.Visitor |
Long in the Tooth Query/400 Gets a Replacement
Oct 15 2007 15:31:00 Great inforation. It's worse than I thought it was. Sounds like the price could get pretty steep. And another thing, who wants to have to deal with two vendors for a solution like this. I just wonder if IBM will force users to move to it in a future release. If so, a lot of users will be shopping around for another solution.
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#115880 |
| langstonngs |
Long in the Tooth Query/400 Gets a Replacement
Oct 15 2007 15:13:00 There is a lot more to this than initially meets the eye. Please go to www.ngsi.com/company/db2webquery.html for more information about this product. <p>You can also learn alot about the installation process by reading this blog: <a href="http://projectdream.org/wordpress/2007/10/15/installing-5733-qu2-aka-db2-web-query-for-system-i-v1r1m0/">http://projectdream.org/wordpress/2007/10/15/installing-5733-qu2-aka-db2-web-query-for-system-i-v1r1m0/</a>
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#115879 |
| Guest.Visitor |
Long in the Tooth Query/400 Gets a Replacement
Oct 15 2007 11:05:00 It sounds like a good product, but it won't be entirely free. Unlike the current Query/400, the unlimited licensing is not included with the base install of web query. As stated in the FAQ from IBM web site: <p>"This upgrade provides entitlement of DB2 Web Query for System i <BR>
in the same processor group as the entitlement to IBM Query for iSeries which is being upgraded. It includes an entitlement to the base product and the base quantity of users. Additional users and options are available for a charge." <p>One other thought. The reason Query/400 is long in the tooth is because IBM never bothered to develop it. I've been using it for over a decade and there have been very few changes. I realize that IBM probably wanted to move on to SQL, but imagine what RPG would be like if it had been neglected like Query/400. |
#115878 |
| T.Grove |
Long in the Tooth Query/400 Gets a Replacement
Oct 15 2007 10:53:00 Is this a free product for the System/i? <BR>
How/where can we get it? <BR> Definitely second idaschne's question about batch generation. |
#115877 |
| idaschner@pfgc.com |
Long in the Tooth Query/400 Gets a Replacement
Oct 15 2007 10:30:00 Does this query tool allow for a batch process to kick off the query? Many of these reporting tools do not have API's or ways of doing this. There are many benefits but this limitation becomes a real problem.
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#115876 |
| MC Press Web Site Staff |
Long in the Tooth Query/400 Gets a Replacement
Nov 08 2007 15:21:00 This is a discussion about <B>Long in the Tooth Query/400 Gets a Replacement</b>.<p align='center'><a href=http://www.mcpressonline.com/mc?1@232.1KNKfHX1eQT.17@.6b50a77c>Click here for the article</a>.</p>
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#115875 |
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