IBM Releases Public Beta of IDS 'Cheetah'

The beta program for the update for IBM's Informix database server (IDS), code-named "Cheetah," was opened to the public on Wednesday. Coming with the release are new features, enhanced support for hierarchical data, and improved query capabilities.

To make Informix more attractive to small and medium sized businesses, IBM also plans to offer a package deal with a IBM xSeries 3105 server and Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Service. Pricing on the package would be announced at a later date.

"Information has become a strategic asset for companies, IDS allows companies to truly leverage information," IBM data servers vice president Arvind Krishna said in a statement.

Cheetah will be the first new release in two years, and will offer enhancements across the board. Application development for IDS would become simpler, and extended support for applications collaboration and Service Oriented Architecture will be provided.

Also planned to make it into the final version is enhanced support for hierarchial data structures, more flexible text searches, and better support for querying across multiple instances of IDS.

IBM acquired Informix in 2001. While the company has not pushed users to its own DB2 database system, some users of IDS claim that the company has done little to build a larger user base of the technology.