Implementing Siebel Business Applications on DB2 UDB for z/OS > Preparing for Implementation on the DB2 Host >

About System Connectivity Architecture

Siebel Business Applications communicate with DB2 for z/OS through IBM DB2 Connect middleware. For a list of the supported versions of DB2 Connect, see Siebel System Requirements and Supported Platforms on Oracle Technology Network.

The four editions of DB2 Connect are:

• DB2 Connect Enterprise Edition (EE). Supports database connectivity for users running Siebel Web Client when communicating with the Siebel Server. This edition is installed on a midtier server, such as a Siebel Server machine.
• DB2 Connect Application Server Edition (ASE). Provides the functionality of DB2 Connect Enterprise Edition but is licensed and priced differently.
• DB2 Connect Unlimited Edition (UE). Provides the functionality of DB2 Connect Enterprise Edition but is priced differently.
• DB2 Connect Personal Edition (PE). Supports database connectivity for an individual user running Siebel Developer Web Client on a workstation. This edition is installed on a user's local workstation.

DB2 Connect EE, ASE, or UE can reside either on the same machine as the Siebel Server or on common connection gateway machines. (Do not confuse the concept of a gateway machine with the Siebel Gateway Name Server.) DB2 Connect EE, ASE or UE broker the connections to DB2 for multiple database clients. See Table 5 for DB2 Connect configurations.

NOTE:  If you deploy DB2 Connect EE, ASE or UE with Siebel Developer Web Client, you must also install a DB2 Connect run-time component on your Siebel Developer Web Client machine. The DB2 Runtime must be installed on the Siebel Server if it does not coexist with DB2 Connect.

Siebel Servers and Siebel Developer Web Clients communicate with DB2 Connect through TCP/IP. (DB2 Connect also supports communication through SNA, but SNA currently does not support connection pooling. For this reason, it is recommended that you use TCP/IP.) For instructions on installing TCP/IP, refer to the vendor documentation on the IBM Web site.