This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Ruby Buzz by Leon Katsnelson. Original Post: IBM announces new DB2 Express-C subscription option Feed Title: DB2 on Rails Feed URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/DB2OnRails Feed Description: Agile development for enterprises large and small Latest Ruby Buzz Posts Latest Ruby Buzz Posts by Leon Katsnelson Latest Posts From DB2 on Rails

The quickest way to get started with Ruby on Rails and DB2 is to get Starter Toolkit for DB2 on Rails. One of the key components of the Starter Toolkit is DB2 Express-C. DB2 Express-C is a full function database server that is free. It is free to use for development. It is also free for use in production once your application is ready and, it can even be redistributed with your application absolutely free.

Today, IBM is announcing availability of optional subscription and support for the DB2 Express-C product. This announcement is a response to the customers’ and business partners need for technical support and product updates. A few important points about this new offering. Customers world wide now have an ability to purchase DB2 Express-C 12-month License and Subscription and will recieve:

• 24*7 support, regular updates and upgrade protection
• ability to replicate data between DB2 servers, and
• high availability clustering and disaster recovery feature called HADR

The cost of this subscription is US$2995 per server per year. Introduction of this subscription does not change the fact that DB2 Express-C is optimized for systems with a maximum of 2 processors and 4GB of memory.

Does it mean that DB2 Express-C will no longer be available for free? Not at all. DB2 Express-C continues to be available free of charge just as it has been since January of 2006. The new 12-month subscription is optional and is designed for customers that need the piece of mind provided by the IBM support, need to replicate data between multiple servers or want to ensure continuous availability of data to their applications. At US$ 2995 per server per year this represents excellent value for customers.IBM also offers flexible OEM options that allow business partners to incorporate DB2 Express-C in to their solutions at significant discounts. To learn about DB2 Express-C and the new optional subscription visit DB2 Express-C home on the web at http://ibm.com/db2/Express.