One of the last press releases the Informix Corporation released before closing up shop and selling out to IBM was the long-awaited announcement of a Java-based GUI tool for querying and managing databases. Historically, GUI tools have always been an Informix product weak spot, which originated from the command-line-based UNIX tradition.
Several years ago, the earlier tools such as onmonitor were phased out and replaced by a GUI-based toolset called IECC (Informix Enterprise Control Center). For many Informix users, IECC marked the first time that they were able to manage their databases graphically. This tool had many usability problems. For instance, it required daemon processors running on each machine to be monitored because if the daemon died or had problems communicating with the software, IECC would fail.
Problems aside, IECC was a good first step towards graphic database management. The current ISA (Informix System Administrator) offering is an Internet-based tool that performs many of the same functions. ISA's major drawback is that it requires Web server software on the Informix database machine. Users are forced to set up a server on each of their database machines, which raises security concerns for many of them.
This new tool is called Server Studio JE. It is a third-party tool developed by a company called AJS Ltd. This Solution covers the installation and set up of the tool and provides a brief overview of its use.
How do I acquire, install, and set up Server Studio JE for Informix?
The process involves four steps:
- Install the proper Java runtime engine
- Acquire the Server Studio JE software
- Install Server Studio JE
- Set up the user profiles
