IBM Db2 11.5 Editions and licensing
Four editions - two license models
In May 2020, IBM will add a fourth edition to its Db2 database fleet. The new Db2 Base Edition takes over the role of the Db2 Standard Edition in the segment for small and medium-sized applications. For this purpose, the Db2 Standard Edition was transferred to the upper middle class with a price adjustment according to its performance range.
The Db2 Community Edition offers a free entry into the world of Db2. All editions have the full range of functions of the Db2 database system. The differentiation of the editions is based on a few parameters, such as memory, CPU cores or database size. High-end in the Db2 portfolio remains the Db2 Advanced Edition as unlimited version.
In the context of the regrouping, the licensing has been greatly simplified. In productive use, the Virtual Processor Core licensing is the uniform licensing model for Db2 Base, Db2 Standard and Db2 Advanced Edition. For development and test environments IBM offers the Db2 Standard and the Db2 Advanced Edition also according to the Authorized User Model.
This article briefly introduces the new editions, explains the licensing and provides background information with references to IBM sources.