Author: JT Smith
International University, a leading public research university, has
selected IBM’s DB2 database software running on Linux to power its High
Performance Database Research Center. The university selected DB2 based on
its reliability, scalability and superior performance capabilities.
IBM’s DB2 database running on Linux and an IBM SP Supercomputer powers
applications for the university’s cutting-edge TerraFly technology, one the
largest publicly accessible databases on the Web. TerraFly, located at
www.terrafly.com, enables users to see an overhead view of virtually any
location in the United States based on images collected by the U.S.
Geological Survey and other sources.
For example, house-hunters can scan prospective neighborhoods, “see” homes
in their selling prices, and click on a particular residence to retrieve a
sales brochure. Travelers can fly over a resort area, zoom-in on an
appealing vacation hideaway or hotel, then click on the image to access the
establishment’s online reservation system.
“We chose DB2 running on Linux based on its stability, scalability and
performance,” said Dr. Napthali Rishe, director of FIU’s High Performance
Database Research Center. “There’s almost no end to DB2’s advantages, which
include high efficiency, fast querying and search speed, and the ability to
store very large amounts of data.”
Today, TerraFly supports users who want to view and manipulate images for
the United States and the university’s goal is to make mapping data
available for the entire world within five years.
The university anticipates that TerraFly, powered by IBM technology, will
manage more than 20 terabytes of data–making it one of the largest
databases supporting Web-based applications. The university estimates that
it will generate up to $1 billion in annual revenue by marketing this
technology.
According to IDC, Linux will remain the fastest growing server operating
system through 2005, with a new license revenue shipment compound annual
growth rate of 23.6% percent to 2005.
IBM’s DB2 database software provides customers with the broadest Linux
support in the industry, from the handheld to the mainframe – to clusters
of mainframes. Florida International University joins a growing roster of
IBM customers who are deploying DB2 on the Linux platform including:
- AIRS – relies on DB2 running on Linux to power SearchStation, an
online recruitment search tool. As a result of standardizing on DB2
and Linux, the company has provided users with faster and more
accurate searches, cutting search times by 50 percent. - Clarity Incentive Systems – uses DB2 running on Linux to manage all of
its financial data, including accounts, credit card transactions and
customer activity. The company chose DB2 running on Linux based on
its price and performance leadership over competitive offerings. - Structural Bioinformatics – DB2 running on Linux drives its drug
discovery data management system that identifies and stores
three-dimensional protein structures. As a result of standardizing
with DB2 running on Linux, the company has reduced the cost of
calculations from twenty-eight dollars to one dollar and generated a
75 percent increase in computing capacity.
About IBM’s Data Management Business
The combined integrated strength of IBM’s data management products, based
on its flagship database DB2, powers the industry’s most demanding
solutions. IBM is the only data management software vendor to provide
customers with integrated solutions for database management, tools, content
management and business intelligence.
DB2 is the industry’s first multimedia, Web-ready relational database
management system, strong enough to meet the demands of large corporations
and flexible enough to serve medium-sized and small e-businesses. There
are more than 60 million DB2 users from some 450,000 companies worldwide
relying on IBM data management technology. For more information please
visit www.software.ibm.com/data.
*Indicates trademark or registered trademark of International Business
Machines Corporation.
