Nov
30
2010 Posted by Carol Davis-Mann

DB2 9.7 is easier to handle for backup and recovery

Over the last few weeks we have been bringing you reports on our DB2 Vs Oracle Database complexity study.  The next database administration task is Backup and Recovery, and we found DB2 was a breeze compared to Oracle Database. 

With DB2 9.7 there is minimal configuration required in order for the backup and restore steps to be completed.  In contrast we saw that in Oracle Database there is a significant amount of configuration required. 

Oracle Database has to rely on recovering it’s archive redo log files once the database has been restored as the process is not automated within the restore command.  Similarly Oracle Database required the DBA to manually specify a point-in-time for the recovery otherwise the restore will simply work through the archive redo log files and the database will be back to it’s present state.  With DB2 the logs are restored along with the backup image so all that is required is a single additional step to roll forward to the desired recovery point. 

DB2 backup provides automated configuration for table spaces, backup devices and parallel I/O capabilities.  In contrast Oracle Database backups are complicated in that they require an increased level of manual tuning to specify the number of parallel threads and backup devices.

The complexity metric for DB2 is nearly 83% less complex than for Oracle Database.  The complexity metric for Oracle Database would be further increased if the RMAN catalog recovery procedure was used.  However, for the type of recovery we analysed the RMAN method is not required.

DB2 Vs Oracle complexity analysis

“Our projections show that the Oracle Database backup and recovery task could take over 80 minutes of DBA interaction time to complete. In contrast, the same backup and recovery task for DB2 would take a little over 10 minutes of DBA interaction time.” Iqbal Goralwalla, Head of DB2 Midrange, Triton Consulting. “This is a significant difference giving not only time savings but also reduced skill requirements and a reduced risk of errors.” 

The white paper with a breakdown for each task can be downloaded here – https://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/iwm/web/signup.do?lang=en_US&source=sw-infomgt&S_PKG=analyst-db2_oracle_triton

Complexity analysis is a new approach to evaluating and communicating the usability of software and is based on established research as described in this document https://www-01.ibm.com/software/ucd/Resources/ComplexityAnalysisDGarticle.pdf.

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