User limit: None
Redistributable: Yes, separate agreement
URL: www.ibm.com/db2/express (http://www.ibm.com/db2/express)
In January IBM announced the availability of DB2 Universal Database Express-C, community edition database at no charge. Big Blue's rationale for the move is to increase its commitment to the DB2 community. DB2 Express-C offers the same core DB2 data server in a smaller package designed for use in software development, deployment, redistribution and embedding within applications. A new public DB2 Express-C forum has also started free support. DB2 Express-C will run on Windows and Linux for 32 or 64-bit architectures, unlike the other 32-bit only free databases. Linux vendor Novell has announced it will bundle DB2 Express-C with its operating system. IBM is touting a "seamless" upgrade path from DB2 Express-C to the full-on enterprise DB2 Universal Database editions which support larger servers and clusters. The future "Viper" version of DB2 Express-C will include what IBM claims to be the industry's first hybrid data server for managing both relational and XML data.