IBM has bundled its replication technology into a single package: IBM InfoSphere Data Replication (IIDR). IIDR combines three components:
- SQL Replication (heritage DataPropagator- Relational)
- Easy to set up
- Staging tables
- InfoSphere Replication Server (IRS – heritage Q Replication)
- High volume, low latency
- Native Oracle and DB2 sources and targets
- WebSphere MQ transport layer
- InfoSphere Change Data Capture (ICDC – heritage DataMirror)
- Broadest set of heterogeneous sources and targets
- TCP/IP transport layer
There are a few of important take-aways.
- IBM substituted an implementation decision for a buying decision. For quite a while SQL Replication was bundled free with DB2 for LUW. ICDC and IRS were separately purchasable technologies with a lot of functional overlap. In 2010 my colleague, Kim May, delivered an IBM Information on Demand (IOD) presentation distinguishing between the three. Now you purchase the IIDR bundle and determine which technology is best suited for a particular use case. As with most IBM software on distributed platforms, the cost is based on Processor Value Units (PVUs).
- New feature/functionality will be built into IIDR rather than the former heritage ICDC and IRS packaging.
- There will be a convergence of the technologies over time. Many of the prospective changes are still IBM Confidential, but IBM is looking to consolidate components where it makes sense to do so. There is a long-term roadmap that I hope IBM be sharing shortly.
- Upgrading and migration paths are a work-in-progress. If you currently own ICDC or IRS and want to move up to IIDR, contact The Fillmore Group for pricing and implementation assistance.
