Access Oracle, MySQL, SQL Server, and other databases from your IBM i queries.

Where is your business data? Is it all in IBM i DB2, or do you have data in MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, or Oracle databases? Do you need to consolidate this data across DB2 partitions? Does your current reporting and data access solution consolidate and provide instant access to this remote data?

There are many ways to access the data on other platforms and other partitions. Client Access, FTP, JDBC, ODBC, and several other independent solutions can help you consolidate and access this data. However, making all of the data available to your end-users so they can easily build queries and reports without having to learn database-specific SQL for each server can be your biggest challenge.

SEQUEL Is the Answer

Not only can SEQUEL access DB2 databases, along with most JDBC type-4 databases, but SEQUEL 10 can convert SEQUEL SQL to either standard SQL or database-specific SQL—automatically. Now, it's easy to create SEQUEL views for both remote databases (such as SQL Server, Oracle, and MySQL) and the local System i database, using SEQUEL's easy-to-use syntax and powerful functions, such as CVTDATE and ACCUM.

You just specify the new SYNTAX parameter with any SEQUEL command to convert your SEQUEL SQL at run time for faster execution:

• For local System i access, SEQUEL converts the SEQUEL SQL to standard SQL.
• For remote server access (such as SQL Server or MySQL), SEQUEL converts the SEQUEL SQL to SQL that is specific for the server.

In addition, SEQUEL 10 can query local System i data faster. When you specify the new *LOCALSYS value, SEQUEL uses a faster query engine (SQE) to access the database on the local System i server. For easier view creation, SEQUEL SQL statements can use unqualified filenames. Behind the scenes, the *LOCALSYS value helps translate SEQUEL SQL to standard SQL by using the job's library list.

This gives you unprecedented data analysis functions for DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, ORACLE, MySQL, or any other database with a suitable SQL CLI or JDBC Type-4 driver. SEQUEL's easy-to-use interface makes its powerful data analysis capabilities—like drill-down data analysis, reporting, and executive dashboards—available for cross-platform use. You can even drill down from data results on one platform to data results on another. SEQUEL provides three types of access: the ViewPoint graphical interface, a 5250 command line, or a Web browser with the SEQUEL Web Interface (see Figure 1). You can use any of these interfaces to easily access local or remote databases through common database connections.

Figure 1: SEQUEL allows you to define remote connections. (Click images to enlarge.)

A Dashboard for Multiple Databases

Using a SEQUEL dashboard, you can display several views that contain data from multiple sources. Behind the scenes, SEQUEL can consolidate, summarize, or even cleanse data and provide a single, centralized view of several different database results. SEQUEL makes it easy to set up connections to other databases. Just select the database type, the IP address, and the user to sign on to the database (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: SEQUEL makes it easy to connect to other databases.

Once the connection is configured, any SEQUEL user can point to the defined database. Or users can set up their defaults so they always access the selected database. With SEQUEL, users can simply build a view and choose the files they want to use, without worrying about where they're located.

SEQUEL Provides IBM i-Centric Data Access

As our customers know, SEQUEL helps you modernize the presentation of your System i data. But what you might not realize is that SEQUEL also provides an IBM i-centric solution for accessing other databases. What are you waiting for? Try SEQUEL free for 30 days. You won't be disappointed.

Floyd Del Muro is Sr. Consultant-Data Access Technologies for SEQUEL Software. He can be reached at 847.273.1046 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..