Unix Expo - IBM To Ship DataJoiner 09/20/95
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 SEP 20 (NB) -- IBM expects to ship
its new DataJoiner "multi-database server" on September 29, said
Jeffrey Jones, advisory programmer, Information Warehouse
Strategic Planning, in a briefing session for Newsbytes at Unix
Expo.

DataJoiner will allow users of Windows, OS/2, AIX, DOS, Solaris,
and HP-UX to access multivendor RDBMS (relational database
management systems) as well as legacy flatfile databases without
the need for individual gateways, Jones reported, speaking with
Newsbytes in the IBM suite.

The new server will eliminate the need for end users in large
organizations to learn multiple database systems, easing
database access and also lowering companies' training costs,
according to the IBM exec.

Aside from serving as a "common interface," DataJoiner will also
provide an "ideal access point" for data warehousing, he
maintained.

Information Builders was the first vendor to come out with a
product in the same general category, with its EDA/SQL, Jones
told Newsbytes. Oracle and Sybase also produce "server-ish"
products, he acknowledged. But Oracle's product "turns
everything into Oracle," and Sybase's uses "proprietary SQL
(structured query language)," he contended.

In addition, he asserted, no other product offers the
sophisticated "optimization" of DataJoiner, which considers
factors like the number of rows per database table, the relative
CPU (central processor unit) speed of each data source, relative
I/O (input/output) speed, and relative network bandwidth in
deciding which of the available data sources to use in actually
answering a query.

Also during the briefing session, Roger Johnson of L M Ericsson
Data AB, Stockholm, Sweden, told Newsbytes that, during beta
testing, DataJoiner spared users at Ericsson from needing to
deal with multiple interfaces for the company's VSAM, DB2,
Sybase, Oracle, and Informix databases. The RDBMS at Ericsson
run on Unix servers from IBM, Sun, and Hewlett-Packard, Johnson
added.

Jones pointed out that DataJoiner represents one facet of a
current move by IBM to provide multivendor services and support.
Some DataJoiner customers are not even users of servers,
workstations, and databases from IBM, Newsbytes was told.

In other interviews with Newsbytes at Unix Expo, Donna Van
Fleet, VP for AIX systems development, and Thomas G. Arthur,
brand manager for RISC system/6000 workstations, made reference
to similar multivendor strategies with regard to IBM's operating
system and server/workstation support, respectively.

DataJoiner currently supports the following databases: VSAM;
IMS; Oracle; Sybase; DB2 for MVS; DB2 for VM&VSE; DB2 Parallel
Edition; DB2 for HP-UX; DB2 for Solaris; DB2 for OS/2; and DB2
for OS/400.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19950920/Reader Contact: IBM, 914-765-1900;
Press Contacts: Margaret S. Bonilla, Brodeur & Partners for IBM,
617-622-2800; Marlena Villafane, Pam Preston or Rob Cronin,
Technology Solutions for IBM, 212-696-2000)


Unix Expo - Digital/Informix/KPMG In Data Deal 09/20/95
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 SEP 20 (NB) -- During a press
and analysts' event at Unix Expo called "Digital at Planet
Hollywood," officials of Digital Equipment Corp., Informix, and
KPMG Peat Marwick announced a data warehousing initiative
revolving around a new KPMG-operated data warehousing lab that
will be used to test users' applications for a newly announced
64-bit very large database from Informix running on Digital's
AlphaServer.

At the event in New York City, which was attended by Newsbytes,
Harry Copperman, VP and general manager, Systems Business Unit,
told attendees that the agreement with Informix and KPMG
represents one of a series of "partnerships and alliances" that
Digital plans to forge this year to carry forward a strategic
focus on areas that will include client-server, connectivity
software, services, and components.

"All in all, Digital expects a great year," Copperman remarked.
Digital, he noted, recently announced its first profitable year
in five years, and is now predicting six percent year-over-year
growth.

Copperman dubbed Digital a "leader" in industry directions that
include performance, clustering, and SMP (symmetrical
multiprocessing). With 95 percent of customers projected to
ultimately be operating both Unix and Windows NT, the company
will give weight to both environments, according to the Digital
VP.

"We have great technology together," maintained Steve Sommer,
senior VP of marketing for Informix. The new 64-bit Informix
Online Dynamic Server, which will initially be available on
AlphaServer running Digital Unix, features "very large memory
capabilities" that will provide "significant performance
increases" in applications such as data warehousing, decision
support systems (DSS), and OLTP (online transaction processing),
according to Sommer. Digital and Oracle announced a 64-bit
version of the Oracle database for AlphaServer last spring.

The new 64-bit database from Informix is slated to provide
capabilities for "I/O (input/output) efficiency and query
optimization" that include: multithreading; parallel data query;
database partitioning; asynchronous read-ahead, for index
scanning of I/O performance; hash joins, for non-indexed joins
of large tables; and row-level locking, for improved performance
of OLTP and hybrid OLTP/DSS applications.

KPMG's David Flaxman, another speaker, predicted that KPMG's new
data warehousing lab, to be established at KPMG's Enabling
Technology Facility in Radnor, Pennsylvania, will have a "large
number" of users.

"Informix and DEC will provide two of the most important
components," added Flaxman, who is a partner in KPMG Enabling
Technologies. In a related move, Digital, Informix, and KPMG
have also initiated a "three-way cross-training program" for
technical employees of the three companies, according to the
execs.

In an interview with Newsbytes during the event, Flaxman said
that, although the new test facility will serve users from
across industry segments, KPMG's interest in establishing the
center was initially sparked by the many KPMG customers in the
financial services market that are now moving into data
warehousing.

The center, he reported, will be based on KPMG's "Centributed
Model," which exploits parallelism in two ways. In a single
parallel database server, an individual SQL (structured query
language) query can be "de-composed" by the server and
dispatched for processing to multiple CPUs (central processing
units) for faster querying, according to Flaxman. Each CPU works
on a different part of the query, so that data is "effectively
partitioned across disks."

Parallelism also occurs in situations where the front-end query
router passes queries to an SMP server. In this case, data is
only partitioned across servers that share a high-speed private
LAN (local area network) segment, such as ATM (asynchronous
transfer mode) or FDDI (fiber distributed data interface).
Queries that are not "logically related" are routed to different
servers, meaning that they do not "compete for resources."

(Jacqueline Emigh/19950920/Reader Contacts: Digital Equipment
Corp., 508-493-5111; Informix, 415-926-6300; Press Contacts:
Andy Pool, Digital, 508-264-6729; Jennifer Leclerc, Beaupre &
Company for Digital, 603-436-6690; Holly Hunter, Cunningham
Communications for Informix, 408-764-0791; Bill Durling or
Patricia M. Williams, The Weber Group for KPMG Peat Marwick,
617-661-7900)


 ****Unix Expo - DEC Chief Urges Unix/NT Interoperability 09/20/95
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, U.S.A., 1995 SEP 20 (NB) -- With the
move of Unix to 64-bit computing, Unix vendors should come
together now to support interoperability across Unix
platforms, as well as with Microsoft's Windows NT, urged
Digital Equipment Corp.'s President, Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) and Chairman Robert B. Palmer, during a keynote speech
at Unix Expo in New York City.

"Unix (still) dominates (Windows) NT in mission-critical
applications," Palmer told the Unix Expo crowd. "But NT is
coming on fast."

The new 64-Bit Initiative, recently raised as an industry
standard, gives Unix vendors what could be their final
chance to meet the promises of cross-platform
interoperability and application portability that have now
existed for about 25 years, Palmer reported.

"Unix is about making useful tools," he noted. Unix
presently holds an edge with users in areas such as high
availability and support for very large databases,
according to the Digital chief, who aired videotaped
interviews with officials from MCI, EDS and Oracle to back
up this point.

But vendors must also recognize that mixed environments of
Unix and Windows NT are a reality today, and will continue
to exist in the future, he contended.

The 64-Bit Initiative, Palmer suggested, provides Unix
vendors with an opportunity to leverage the current
advantages of Unix, while eliminating some of the one-half
billion dollars currently spent each year on companies'
individual development of "different approaches to the same
things."

Digital's mix of Alpha- and Intel-based hardware supports
Windows NT, in addition to OpenVMS and Digital Unix,
previously known as DEC OSF (Open Software Foundation)/1.

Also at Unix Expo this week, Digital is demonstrating
Unix/Windows NT interoperability in a "special interest
booth" (booth number 476). In booth 534, The company is
showing products from Digital and third-party partners for
PD/Unix connectivity, Digital Unix, system and storage
management, and application development.

Also at the show in New York City, Digital, Informix and
KPMG Peat Marwick have announced a data warehousing
initiative. Digital has unveiled the Digital Authentication
Server, a system that uses Kerberos encryption, a master
server, and slave servers for network security. In
addition, Computer Associates has announced shipment of
CA-Unicenter for Digital Unix running on Alpha.

(Jacqueline Emigh/19950920/Reader and Press Contact:
Digital Equipment Corp. 508-493-5111; Press Contacts: Andy
Pool, 508-264-6729; Laura Desmarais, 603-436-6690; Dick
Calandrella, 508-496-8626; Bob Price, 508-493-4297)

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