A DB2 federated database system enables users and applications to refer to multiple database management systems or databases within a single SQL statement. You can, for example, perform a UNION between a DB2 table and an Oracle view. A DB2 federated system includes a DB2 instance and database, and one or more data sources. Each data source consists of a non-DB2 DBMS and data.
In DB2 Relational Connect, different wrappers are provided to allow your DB2 server to access different data sources. Wrappers are available for Oracle, Sybase, and MS SQL Server.
Before setting up Relational Connect, you must do two things:
You must set up each data source you want to use for Relational Connect.
To set up Relational Connect for Oracle data sources, enter the Oracle client installation directory. For example, if your Oracle client is installed in the /Oracle directory, enter /Oracle in the field. The DB2 Setup wizard will install a wrapper for the data source and set up Relational Connect to access it.
You can set up Relational Connect for data sources later by using the DB2 Setup wizard or the Command Line Processor (CLP). For more information on using DB2 Relational Connect to access non-DB2 data sources see the Federated Systems Guide.