Progress Adds DB2/400 Support to .NET Data Integration Tool

December 14, 2010 Alex Woodie

Organizations can now connect DB2/400 databases to .NET applications using a new data provider from Progress Software. Last month, the company unveiled a new release of DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET, its managed code data provider designed to make it easy for developers to connect data sources to .NET applications. With version 3.5, Progress added support for DB2/400, among other data sources.

Anybody who’s developing new Windows applications should be aware of the benefits of managed code. By developing in the .NET Framework’s managed code environment, developers can be assured that their Common Language Runtime (CLR) code will see fewer compatibility issues and greater performance than code that runs outside of the Microsoft Entity Framework, which, by definition, is unmanaged.

The DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET product from Progress Software (specifically, its DataDirect subsidiary) keeps developers from ranging into the unmanaged hinterlands to feed their .NET applications with data from non-Windows (and even some Windows-based) sources. The data provider eliminates the need for client-side libraries to be installed on the source database, which results in higher performance and scalability (through lower CPU, memory, and network utilization), tighter security, and fewer compatibility issues.

In early November, Progress announced DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET version 3.5, which added support for the Oracle database, SAP‘s Sybase, and IBM‘s DB2/400 (officially DB2 for IBM i) when using versions 4.0 and 1.0 of the ADO.NET Entity Framework.

“With the release of ADO.NET 3.5, Progress remains the only software company that not only delivers 100 percent managed code ADO.NET providers to Oracle, Sybase, and DB2, but now allows developers and architects who need to connect Entity Framework to have a superior option for better overall performance and increased usability,” states Progress vice president of engineering Rob Steward in a press release.

Other new features in version 3.5 include: better support for Windows Communication Foundation (WC/F), rich internet applications (RIA), and Silverlight EF (Entity Framework) deployments; enhancements to connection pooling for greater performance; and support for Microsoft’s Visual Studio 2010, the .NET 4.0 runtime, and version 5.0 of the Enterprise Library, including pluggable support for the Data Access Application Block (DAAB) Logging Application Block (LAB), the company says.

Bedford, Massachusetts-based Progress supports DB2/400 with several other members of its Data Direct suite, including the Data Integration Suite, a two-part suite that includes a graphical data mapping tool and XML-driven data integration execution engine; Connect and Connect64 for ODBC, its collection of ODBC drivers; and Connect for JDBC, its collection of JDBC drivers.

Progress also supports 5250 access via Shadow z/Services Distributed, which was designed for mainframe applications but is often used with COBOL-based applications running on IBM i. The DataDirect data providers are also sold as part of the Sonic ESB, the enterprise service bus offering developed by Sonic Software, a unit of Progress.

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Do the Math When Looking at IBM i Hosting for Cost Savings

COVID-19 has accelerated certain business trends that were already gaining strength prior to the start of the pandemic. E-commerce, telehealth, and video conferencing are some of the most obvious examples. One example that may not be as obvious to the general public but has a profound impact on business is the shift in strategy of IBM i infrastructure from traditional, on-premises environments to some form of remote configuration. These remote configurations and all of their variations are broadly referred to in the community as IBM i hosting.

“Hosting” in this context can mean different things to different people, and in general, hosting refers to one of two scenarios. In the first scenario, hosting can refer to a client owned machine that is housed in a co-location facility (commonly called a co-lo for short) where the data center provides traditional system administrator services, relieving the client of administrative and operational responsibilities. In the second scenario, hosting can refer to an MSP owned machine in which partition resources are provided to the client in an on-demand capacity. This scenario allows the client to completely outsource all aspects of Power Systems hardware and the IBM i operating system and database.

The scenario that is best for each business depends on a number of factors and is largely up for debate. In most cases, pursuing hosting purely as a cost saving strategy is a dead end. Furthermore, when you consider all of the costs associated with maintaining and IBM i environment, it is typically not a cost-effective option for the small to midsize market. The most cost-effective approach for these organizations is often a combination of a client owned and maintained system (either on-prem or in a co-lo) with cloud backup and disaster-recovery-as-a-service. Only in some cases of larger enterprise companies can a hosting strategy start to become a potentially cost-effective option.

However, cost savings is just one part of the story. As IBM i expertise becomes scarce and IT resources run tight, the only option for some firms may be to pursue hosting in some capacity. Whatever the driving force for pursing hosting may be, the key point is that it is not just simply an option for running your workload in a different location. There are many details to consider and it is to the best interest of the client to work with an experienced MSP in weighing the benefits and drawbacks of each option. As COVID-19 rolls on, time will tell if IBM i hosting strategies will follow the other strong business trends of the pandemic.

When we say do the math in the title above, it literally means that you need to do the math for your particular scenario. It is not about us doing the math for you, making a case for either staying on premises or for moving to the cloud. There is not one answer, but just different levels of cost to be reckoned which yield different answers. Most IBM i shops have fairly static workloads, at least measured against the larger mix of stuff on the public clouds of the world. How do you measure the value of controlling your own IT fate? That will only be fully recognized at the moment when it is sorely missed the most.

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