IIUG Insider (Issue #159) – September 2013

Highlights: Jerry Keesee, Director, IBM Informix, invites you to Information on Demand 2013

Welcome to the International Informix Users Group (IIUG) Insider! Designed for IIUG members and Informix user group leaders, this publication contains timely and relevant information for the IBM Informix community.

Contents:

 


Editorial Back to top

The new Informix 12.1 xC2 release is packed with new great features. The most exciting is the support of JSON and BSON data types. Informix now successfully integrates unstructured and structured data together in a single database.

In November the IIUG board of directors will attend the IBM Information On Demand conference in Las Vegas. We and all the Informix fans that will join us can be proud of the fact that Informix is still the best database in the market. The binoculars in “Discover the new face of Informix” should now be used to spot the other databases that were left far behind.

Gary Ben-Israel
IIUG Insider Editor


Highlights Back to top

Jerry Keesee, Director, IBM Informix, invites you to Information on Demand 2013

Dear Informix Patron,

Information on Demand Global Conference 2013 is almost here! The IBM leadership team and key engineers for the Informix product portfolio look forward to the opportunity to share what we believe will be both an educational and enjoyable experience for everyone.

As always, we strive to have our technical education sessions exceed your expectations. This year we offer 20 in-depth technical sessions, 4 hands-on-labs, and 1 drop-in lab dedicated exclusively to Informix software. Please join us to hear from Informix experts as well as our valued partners and clients who will share valuable insight, experience, and best practices for leveraging Informix technologies to enhance business processes and meet big data challenges. We’re confident you’ll see why there is so much excitement and momentum with IBM Informix 12, our newest, simply powerful release of Informix!

I hope Business Partners will also take this opportunity to attend the Informix Business Partner meeting held on Saturday, Nov. 2 from 8:30AM – 4:30PM. We will cover important topics such as Informix roadmap and futures, editions and pricing, projects out of IBM Research, our cloud offering, an exciting new NoSQL feature and much more! Learn more and register here for the BP event. Similarly, Informix clients are invited to participate with our Customer Advisory Council on the same date and time. Learn more and register for the CAC event here. Following the BP and CAC meetings, we will enjoy a networking dinner at Smith & Wollensky Steakhouse. Please RSVP here.

Please consider this my personal invitation to attend this year’s conference. We value the vision, knowledge, and expertise you offer us as we continue to move Informix into the future.

I look forward to seeing all of you at the conference. If you have not already done so, please register now!

Regards,

Jerry Keesee


Conference corner Back to top

IIUG 2014 Conference Venue

JW Marriott Hotel Miami
1109 Brickell Avenue
Miami, Florida 33131 USA

The JW Marriott Hotel Miami has received numerous recognitions including, Best Design Award by Marriott International, Overall Guest Satisfaction Award, Connoisseur’s Choice by Resorts & Great Hotels, and the Wine Spectator Award 2007-2010. Being selected One of the World’s Best Business Hotels by Travel & Leisure Magazine is one of the most recent accolades. The JW Marriott Hotel Miami offers a one-of-a-kind experience that allows you to enjoy the comforts of home during your stay. This award-winning downtown Miami hotel blends the features of a premier conference and meeting facility with timeless elegance, thoughtful amenities and award-winning service. Elegantly furnished guest rooms and suites offer the finest details, including marble tubs, high-speed Internet and flat-screen televisions. Dining options range from the wine inspired Mediterranean cuisine of The Trapiche Room, to the casual fare at La Terraza Cafe and Bar. Relaxation is as close as the luxurious spa and the unique stainless steel pool.

Hotel Pictures

Registration

The 2014 IIUG conference and hotel registration will be available sometime in October 2013. Please note this hotel is a very nice hotel having won numerous awards and also a smaller hotel than we have used in the past with just under 300 total hotel rooms available so we STRONGLY recommend you to register for the conference early and book your hotel room as we will NOT have an overflow hotel available and other area hotels are about $50+ more per night plus you could incur parking and/or taxi costs.

Call for Presentations

Call for Presentations will be starting sometime in late September/Early October 2013. Please be thinking of a topic as the time will creep up on you very quickly. Please check back here or in the IIUG Insider for more information.


Developer corner Back to top

Informix Chat with the Lab

Topic: Using Security Best Practices with Informix
Date: Tuesday October 31th, 8:30 AM Pacific, 10:30 AM Central, 11:30 AM Eastern, 4:30 PM London, 5:30 PM Paris
Time: 10:30 am – 12:00 pm (Central Time)
Presented by: Jerry Keesee – Director, IBM Informix Database Development (IBM)
Mark Jamison – Premium Support Analyst (IBM)

In the ever expanding concerns of Data Privacy, IBM and Informix stand ready to help keep your customer’s data private and secure. In this presentation we will discuss some of the best practices to implement the security necessary to meet PCI, HIPAA and the regulatory requirements.

Register for this event here.

For questions about this event, contact the host at mckeithe@us.ibm.com.

New in developerWorks

Informix Dynamic Server data compression and storage optimization
Starting with IBM Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) Version 11.50.xC4, you can compress data and optimize storage in IDS databases. The advantages of data compression and storage optimization include significant storage savings, reduced I/O activity, and faster backup and restore. IDS provides full online support for enabling storage optimization and compressing existing table data, while applications continue to use the table. This article provides an overview of IDS data compression and storage optimization functionality and shows you how to perform both tasks.

26 Sep 2013

For more information go to developerWorks – Informix.


Informix corner Back to top

Shaspa, Tatung show smart home platform at Ifa: Powered by IBM Informix

Shaspa and Tatung have shown a new smart home platform at IFA in Berlin. Powered by the IBM Informix software, the jointly developed platform will allow consumers to manage and interact with the home.s functions such as energy, security and entertainment systems, using voice recognition, mobile applications and physical gestures. Read the complete PR here.

IBM Informix case study : Ranhill Powertron Improves plant availability and production with IBM and Chronos software For power producers like Ranhill Powertron, the largest primary independent power producer in Sabah, Malaysia, maintaining high availability of its production equipment is critical to meeting regional energy needs. Read the case study to know more about how Ranhill Powertron improved its plant availability and production with IBM and Chronos software.

 

IBM Informix 12.1 Launch Event in Colombia: October 17th 2013

Join IBM and Nexsys on October 17th, 2013 for the launch event of IBM Informix 12.1 in Bogotá (Colombia).

Agenda will include the following topics:

  • IBM Informix Roadmap
  • IBM Informix 12.1 : Simply Powerful
  • Informix Warehouse Accelerator
  • Migration to Informix
  • All you need to know about Informix License and Renewals

Details of the event:

  • When: Thursday, October 17th @ 7:00 AM TO 1:00 PM
  • Duration: All morning. 1/2 day Event.
  • Where: Hotel Holiday Inn – Salón/Room: Cerete – Address: Avenida Calle 26, Bogotá, Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
  • Contact Phone: +57 1 800 9520052

Register here.


Support corner Back to top

How to restore critical administrative files with onbar utility?

It is already known to us that onbar backs up some critical administrative files during storage space backup. These critical files are as follows:

  • The onconfig file
  • UNIX: The sqlhosts file
  • The ON-Bar emergency boot file: ixbar.servernum
  • The server boot file: oncfg_servername.servernum

There may be a situation when you need to restore one of these files, for example: replace disks, restore to a second computer system (imported restore) etc. However, previously there was no easy way to restore these files from onbar backup. You need to depend on the Informix Technical Support to perform this operation.

Starting with Inofrmix vesion 12.10.xC2, you can restore the critical files that you backed up with onbar utility. Onbar cold restore has an option now to restore these files or you can only restore these file without perform the storate space restore.

Use ‘onbar -r -cf yes’ to restore critical file during cold restore. Alternatively, you can use ‘onbar -r -cf only’ to extract critical files while Informix server is offline.

– Sanjit Chakraborty


Calendar of events Back to top

October – 2013
Date Event Location Contact
3-4 2013 Informix Technical Roadshow Phoenix, Arizona Carlton Doe
9 IBM Informix Warehouse Accelerator Proof of Technology Chicago, Illinois Rob Beal
15 IBM Informix HA Proof of Technology IBM TEC, New York City Carlton Doe
17 12.1 Informix Event Bogota, Colombia
November – 2013
Date Event Location Contact
3-7 IBM Information on Demand 2013 Las Vegas, Nevada
5 IBM Informix Infobahn Dallas, Texas Anita McKeithen
12 IBM Informix Infobahn Chicago, Illinois Anita McKeithen
April – 2013
Date Event Location Contact
27 2014 IIUG Informix Conference Miami, Florida Cindy Lichtenauer

 


Informix resources Back to top

IBM Informix home page

http://www.informix.com or directly at: http://www-01.ibm.com/software/data/informix/

Informix blogs and wikis

I am trying something new on this section. I will first mention the blogs and wikis that have been updated during the last month. Blogs and wikis that have not been updated for over 6 months will be removed.

Blogs and Wikis that have been updated during the last month

More Blogs and Wikis

Forums, groups, videos, and magazines

There is now an Informix group on LinkedIn. The group is called “Informix Supporter”, so anyone loving Informix can join, from current IBM employees, former Informix employees, to users. It will also be a good occasion to get in touch with others or long-time-no-seen friends. If you fancy showing the Informix logo on your profile, join.


Useful links Back to top

/quicklinks.html


Closing and credits Back to top

The International Informix Users Group (IIUG) is an organization designed to enhance communications between its worldwide user community and IBM. The IIUG’s membership database now exceeds 25,000 entries and enjoys the support and commitment of IBM’s Data Management division. Key programs include local user groups and special interest groups, which we promote and assist from launch through growth.

Sources: IIUG Board of Directors
IBM Corp.
Editors: Gary Ben-Israel
Rhonda Hackenburg

For comments, please send an email to gary@iiug.org.