Data Management Middleware Brick

Data management middleware functionality helps programs, including application programs and database management systems (DBMS), read from and write to remote databases or files.

The most widespread forms of middleware today are the remote database access and remote file access middleware bundled into a DBMS or a network operating system, respectively. These support traditional two-tier client/server architectures and can also be used for more sophisticated multi-tier applications. All modern relational DBMSs include a networking capability so that the DBMS engine can optionally be called from a client application located elsewhere.

• ODBC/JDBC drivers are supplied by multiple vendors.
• IBM DB2 Connect, Oracle Net Services, Microsoft DTS, ODBC/JDBC, OLEDB were listed as Tactical and Strategic to leverage NIH's investment in products that are a proven fit for NIH's known future needs. Leveraging baseline products in the future will minimize the operations, maintenance, support and training costs of new products.
• Neon Shadow Direct 32-Bit ODBC Driver has been designated Containment.
• Tactical and strategic products were selected to leverage NIH's investment in products that are a proven fit for NIH's known future needs. Leveraging baseline products in the future will minimize the operations, maintenance, support and training costs of new products.
• Some baseline products have been designated retirement and containment. These products are either not as widely or successfully deployed at NIH, or they do not provide as much functionality, value, or Total Cost of Ownership as the selected tactical and strategic products.
• Informatica is considered tactical and strategic because of its leadership in the ETL market and its current use at NIH.
• Oracle Warehouse Builder is considered tactical because of its current use at NIH and alignment with Oracle’s broader suite of middleware products.
• Oracle Materialized Views are considered tactical and strategic for data replication between Oracle databases.
• Oracle Net Services, OLE DB, ODBC, and JDBC should not generally be used directly to access databases owned by other systems as a primary integration mechanism. This creates a tight coupling between the structure of the source database and the consumer application. If real-time access to data owned by another system from the application layer an application is required, it is recommended that the data source be wrapped in service and invoked through a defined interface. It is recognized that database access technologies these technologies are used as the underlying connectivity for the other, higher level solutions in this brick.