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> As an advocate for the DB2 team I often hear people ask, “Why would you use DB2 when MySQL is free and Open Source?”. The truth is that countless companies us

by chime 16y ago

> As an advocate for the DB2 team I often hear people ask, “Why would you use DB2 when MySQL is free and Open Source?”. The truth is that countless companies use DB2 because they know it ends up being cheaper in terms of both time and cost, when compared to Open Source database solutions. It's as if PostgreSQL doesn't even exist. DB2 vs MySQL is comparing an aircraft carrier to a kayak. MySQL isn't the only open-source DB out there and it is nowhere close to the best option in most enterprise cases.

jasonlotito 16y ago
He isn't comparing DB2 to MySQL. He's comparing DB2 to open source databases. The question he hear's often is about MySQL. I really think he's just using MySQL in the example question rather than saying using the more cumbersome "Why would you use DB2 when [insert a random open source database solution here] is free and Open Source?"
- davidw 16y ago
  Ok, but just because they're both open source doesn't mean they're the same in terms of speed, capabilities, support infrastructure, etc...
  - jasonlotito 16y ago
    Correct. Doesn't negate what I said, or what was quoted.
- chime 16y ago
  > I really think he's just using MySQL in the example That's the problem I'm pointing out. He is using MySQL to show how much better DB2 is. MySQL is a very poor representative of open-source databases for enterprise use. Most of the good things he said about DB2, apply to PostgreSQL but not MySQL. Yes you can have data-compression on the fly in PostgreSQL. Yes you get over a decade of proven security and reliability. Yes you get utmost performance if you take the time to learn. Yes you get native XML. Businesses of all sizes should look into open-source databases but not base their decision solely on whether MySQL has that feature or not. MySQL is a small subset of what's out there.
  - rbranson 16y ago
    ... and if time is money you can also pay a consulting company a few hundred bucks to assess your hardware config and crank out a postgresql.conf that will run great. It's likely you'd have to do the same thing for DB2. An enterprise RDBMS is a huge decision, a platform a business is built on. At this point in time, chaining a business I'm part of to an expensive commercial database product which offers no substantive benefits and is subject to the whims of product VPs doesn't seem like the best business decision.
  - jasonlotito 16y ago
    Your taking my quote out of context. He could have used "Why would you use DB2 when PostgreSQL is free and Open Source?" and it wouldn't have changed his follow up statement one bit. Edit: I'm not suggesting his follow up answer would still be right. I'm just saying, your asking questions that aren't really helpful.

by chime 16y ago

jasonlotito 16y ago

He isn't comparing DB2 to MySQL. He's comparing DB2 to open source databases. The question he hear's often is about MySQL. I really think he's just using MySQL in the example question rather than saying using the more cumbersome "Why would you use DB2 when [insert a random open source database solution here] is free and Open Source?"

davidw 16y ago
Ok, but just because they're both open source doesn't mean they're the same in terms of speed, capabilities, support infrastructure, etc...
- jasonlotito 16y ago
  Correct. Doesn't negate what I said, or what was quoted.
chime 16y ago
> I really think he's just using MySQL in the example That's the problem I'm pointing out. He is using MySQL to show how much better DB2 is. MySQL is a very poor representative of open-source databases for enterprise use. Most of the good things he said about DB2, apply to PostgreSQL but not MySQL. Yes you can have data-compression on the fly in PostgreSQL. Yes you get over a decade of proven security and reliability. Yes you get utmost performance if you take the time to learn. Yes you get native XML. Businesses of all sizes should look into open-source databases but not base their decision solely on whether MySQL has that feature or not. MySQL is a small subset of what's out there.
- rbranson 16y ago
  ... and if time is money you can also pay a consulting company a few hundred bucks to assess your hardware config and crank out a postgresql.conf that will run great. It's likely you'd have to do the same thing for DB2. An enterprise RDBMS is a huge decision, a platform a business is built on. At this point in time, chaining a business I'm part of to an expensive commercial database product which offers no substantive benefits and is subject to the whims of product VPs doesn't seem like the best business decision.
- jasonlotito 16y ago
  Your taking my quote out of context. He could have used "Why would you use DB2 when PostgreSQL is free and Open Source?" and it wouldn't have changed his follow up statement one bit. Edit: I'm not suggesting his follow up answer would still be right. I'm just saying, your asking questions that aren't really helpful.