Hoping it will persuade Oracle database users to migrate over to DB2, IBM will add range partitioning to the next version of the product, code-named Viper, expected to go into widespread beta in August or September.

The addition of the new technology, already contained in archrival Oracle"s flagship product, increases the performance of high-end, data-intensive applications. It also makes it easier for developers to create exploitive applications for Viper and for larger IT shops to more adroitly manage their environment.

"Range partitioning is about performance, but it is also eases the design for massively parallel applications and helps streamline administration. If we want to continue to move Oracle users to DB2 this is a good thing for us to have," said Janet Perna, general manager of IBM"s Software Data Management Group.

IBM officials feel that range partitioning when used in combination with Viper"s Multi-Dimensional Clustering (MDC) capabilities will allow corporate users to retrieve information from complex queries faster because it allows them to locate data significantly faster.

"What we think that will be unique [in Viper] is coupling range partitioning with MDC, which results in better querying. This allows us to put together different sets of data that are commonly accessed together, so in turn the overall performance is much better," said Bernard Spang, director of marketing for IBM"s Information Management Software Group.

Typically, larger shops require complex querying capabilities for mixed workloads being handled by single or multiple servers involving transactions and data warehouse applications. It also assists those companies trying to do business analytics in real time as well as optimizing their business processes.

"If companies are going to do analytics in real time they need a database platform that can ingest information at transaction speeds so they can analyze the information and then carry out complex queries against that data," Perna said.

Range partitioning maps data to partitions based on ranges of partition key values that users can establish for each partition. It is the most common type of partitioning and is used with dates. For instance, users often prefer to partition their sales data into monthly partitions. 

Besides range partitioning, IBM will be adding other features and capabilities to Viper as it goes through its beta cycle, according to Perna. Those will include a number of autonomic or self healing, self-managing capabilities and beefed-up security. She declined to say specifically what those capabilities would be.