Highlights: Elections for the IIUG Bord of Directors will be announced soon
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:
2.1 Elections for the IIUG Board of Directors will be announced soon
3.1 IBM Informix – From GSKit to OpenSSL
3.2 IBM Informix Containers and Modernization
4) IIUG Survey Results: Informix versions
6.1 Informix Duty Manager – Losing Sleep Over a Support Case?
Table of Contents
1) Editorial
We are happy to see more Informix activity from IBM and HCL. The world is adjusting to Web meetings and webinars. So follow our website, our emails and the Insider and participate
We are looking for a successful fourth quarter and a great 2021.
The IIUG is preparing for Board elections.
Stay tuned.
Gary Ben-Israel
IIUG Insider Editor
IIUG Board of Directors
2) Highlights
2.1 Elections for the IIUG Board of Directors will be announced soon
We are preparing for the 2021 IIUG Board of Directors election. This is your opportunity to become part of this group of Informix enthusiasts working closely with IBM to define the future of Informix and share Informix updates with our community. Please watch your email and visit the IIUG website for announcements and details.
Stay tuned.
3) Informix Webinars
Save the date for these upcoming IBM Webinars. Watch your email for your invitation to register for this event. You don’t want to miss these.
Point your browser to: ibm.webex.com Enter the session ID and click Join. Enter the password and click OK. You have two ways to join the conference:
1) directly from the browser, or
2) through the Webex browser plugin. In both cases, you must enter your name, email address and the session password one more time.
If you click Join by Browser, you are immediately connected to the session and can choose how to get the audio (computer, dial in, they call you).
If you click Join Now, you may be prompted to load the Webex browser plugin if you haven’t used it before. Follow the installation instructions. After it’s installed, you’ll be connected to the session and can choose how to get the audio (computer, dial in, they call you).
3.1 IBM Informix – From GSKit to OpenSSL
Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2020
Time: 9:00 am, Central Daylight Time (Chicago, GMT-05:00)
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Presenters: Carlton Doe
3.2 IBM Informix Containers and Modernization
Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Time: 9:00 am, Central Standard Time (Chicago, GMT-06:00)
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Presenters: Carlton Doe
4) IIUG Survey Results: Informix versions
As you all know, IIUG recently conducted a survey about the state of Informix and IIUG. The IIUG Board will be sharing the results of this survey over the next months.
This time, we’d like to share the information about Informix versions being used.
The survey respondents where Informix end users (68%), business partners (25%) and Informix developers (IBM and HCL people) (7%). When looking into versions being used, we only considered the answers from end users. Each respondent could select all the version they are working with. The results are shown in the graph – the percentage of users having a particular version in place (e.g. 66% of users said they are using 12.10, among others).
Even though 11.70 EOL is here, we see that 11.70 and older versions are very much alive. 12.10 is going strong. Also, there are more users of 11.70 than of 14.10.
Ognjen Orel
5) RFE Corner
IBM has created a new RFE – Request For Enhancements website.
https://ibm-data-and-ai.ideas.aha.io/?project=INFX
Please visit this site to vote for your favorite enhancements and place new requests.
As you can see, it is a new RFE site. It is friendly and has a nice look and feel.
Recent
extended ESQL/C login structure for solving password length problem
Votes: 4
Created September 16, 2020
Status: Needs review
Popular (Over 50 votes)
Backup from RSS or HDR Secondaries using ontape, onunload, onbar, dbexport
In HDR environments, being able to backup or export databases from and HDR, HDR read-only, or an RSS secondary server is critical. Programs like ontape, onunload, dbexport, and onbar generate locks on tables during backups and data-exports. This creates problems while applications and users using Informix try to use the system during backups in 24 x 7 x 365 production environments. Being able to backup or export data on secondary systems is critical for compliance and backup integrity.
Votes: 103
Created: December 24, 2018
Status: Future consideration
Obtain the query plan of a running query
Many times a DBA is called to check upon a slow process. Most of the times those processes are running a slow query.
Sometimes it’s hard to know if the query is using the best query plan or not. A DBA can reproduce the query, but it it was prepared without values or if the statistics were changed after it started there is no guarantee that the query plan seen by the DBA is the same as the running query.
We have “onstat -g pqs” which sometimes can give us a clue, but it’s mostly cryptic and undocumented. If a user has X-Windows he can try xtree, but it’s a bit strange for todays standards.
We also have SQLTRACE, but if it was not set when the query was launched it will not capture the info (and besides, due to the circular nature of the buffer it may not be there at the time we need it).
A simple pseudo-table in sysmaster could probably implement this with ease.
It could also be extended to support the “last” query plan making it easy to get the query plan in any tool
Votes: 86
Created: December 24, 2018
Status: Future consideration
Informix should be able to change owner on tables and any other objects
If user=informix creates all database and all tables, then programmer creates table but user=informix cannot change it. Only drop it.
Votes: 74
Created: December 24, 2018
Status: Future consideration
Backup Individual database, not entire instance
Need a mechanism, similar to ontape, to backup a live database (as opposed to entire instance), without locking it.
Votes: 71
Created: December 24, 2018
Status: Future consideration
Gary Ben-Israel
6) Informix Corner
6.1 Informix Duty Manager – Losing Sleep Over a Support Case?
Duty Manager (DM), a resource available to all our clients 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
From time to time our clients want to discuss their open case with a Support Manager. If you have concerns regarding the way your case is being worked or want to escalate your case, engaging the Duty Manager is the fastest and most direct way to get the assistance you need.
In the U.S., to contact the DM, call 800-IBM-SERV (800-426-7378) and request to speak to the Informix Duty Manager. Be sure to let the representative know your case number, the phone number where you may be reached and a brief description of why you are calling. The representative will document the information you provide and notify the DM to return your call. You should expect to receive a return call from the DM as quickly as possible.
If you are located outside of the U.S., the telephone number you should dial might be different than the one used in the U.S. To determine which number you should use, go to www.ibm.com/planetwide and locate the number for Software Technical Support.
Our entire team wants to make sure you have an informative and productive support experience throughout the case resolution process. We want you to receive a fast and accurate resolution to your questions and problems. The DM is always available, ready to assist, and just a phone call away.
7) IBM Informix Forum Corner
Join and visit the IBM Informix community forum at http://www.iiug.org/community
Recent posts
IBM links to InformixHQ documentation are broken
Gary Ben-Israel
8) Informix Resources
IIUG website
www.iiug.org
IBM Informix community
http://www.iiug.org/community
8.1 Informix Blogs and Wikis
Blogs and Wikis that have been updated during the last month
-
Ben Thompson’s blog at: https://informixdba.wordpress.com/
More Blogs and Wikis
-
Art Kagel http://informix-myview.blogspot.co.il/
-
Andrés Repossi https://andreserepossi.wixsite.com/hablemosinformix (In Spanish)
-
IBM Informix community https://community.ibm.com/community/user/hybriddatamanagement/communities/community-home/recent-community-blogs?communitykey=cf5a1f39-c21f-4bc4-9ec2-7ca108f0a365&tab=recentcommunityblogsdashboard
8.2 Technical articles
https://www.oninitgroup.com/technical-articles/
https://www.oninitgroup.com/faq-items/cloud-backups-with-informix-14-10/
8.3 Social Media
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/25049
Twitter : https://twitter.com/iiug
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/IIUG.Informix
8.4 Forums, Groups, Videos, and Magazines
-
The IIUG old forums at http://old.iiug.org/forums/ids/index.cgi/page/2
-
Informix Marketing channel on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/informixmarketing?feature=results_main
Closing and Credits
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 Information 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.
Editor: Gary Ben-Israel
For comments, please send an email to gary@iiug.org