|  |     CA-DB-VAX sounds suspiciously like what used to be IDMS/SQL, then
    Enterprise:DB. If it is indeed the old Cullinet product, then No, it
    will not support clusters, and it has a tiny, tiny market penetration.
    Can it do SMP? I don't know. Is it really relational? Yes.
    
    Trying to find a reference could be very interesting.
    
    ---- Michael Booth
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|  |     CA-DB/VAX is in fact the old Cullinet relational VAX-based database.
    It has been know as Stellar, IDMS/D, IDMS/SQL, and Enterprise:DB.
    CA acquired Cullinet in September, hence its latest name change.
    As for your questions:
    
	1  is it a real relational database management system ?
           (or is it perhaps IDMS/R for the VAX environment)
    
           This database is purely relational.  It has nothing in common
           with IDMS/R.  It only speaks SQL.
    
	2  does it support clusters and smp (high availability and seamless 
	   growth is required)
    
           It supports clusters the way Sybase supports clusters.  ie, the
           database engine runs on one node in the cluster, although
           applications can run on any node in the cluster.  You will 
           definitely encounter a bottleneck on the one server node if
           you load it up with enough users.  Each user requires a separate
           process on the server node.  CA-DB/VAX does support SMP. 
           They've had very good benchmark results on SMP machines.
    
	3  what are the pro's and con's of CA-DB-VAX ?
    
        Pros:
           It's a solid DBMS.  The journal and recovery systems are good.
           It's a fast performer (until you hit the bottleneck).  It's
           got GREAT tools.  They have a fabulous forms/report painter
           and a code generator (COBOL, FORTRAN, BASIC, or C), and a
           built-in dictionary.  -- No doubt, the company selected 
           CA-DB/VAX for its tools.
        Cons:
           It runs out of steam when you add too many users.  600 users
           might cause some problems.  The 8 GB should be okay, though.
           There aren't many users out there.  CA-DB/VAX holds
           approximately 0.2% of the market.  You'll probably have trouble
           locating a good reference running OLTP applications.
           
	4  does it follow the standards (ANSI SQL etc)
    
           Absolutely (well at least as good as everyone else).  
           SQL DML is ANSI/ISO standard, with a few helpful extensions.
           SQL DDL is as standard as anyone's.
    
	5  are there any references ?
           Not many.  Contact your local CA office.
    
    Regards,
       
    Anne Thomas
    ex-Cullinoid and Enterprise:DB guru
                                       
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