A satellite is any DB2 server that is both a member of a group and synchronizes with a satellite control server to maintain its database definition and data.
Along with DB2, the satellite will run the business application that your end users require. The hardware on which DB2 and your application run can be any laptop or desktop computer on which any of the supported operating systems is running. Depending on how you decide to install DB2, the end user need not be aware that DB2 is installed on the satellite.
| Note: | Currently, only servers running DB2 Satellite Edition can be used as satellites. |
There are two types of satellites in the satellite environment: test satellites and production satellites. You use test satellites to test the group batches that set up and maintain the database definition that supports the end-user application. When the group batches are fully tested, and produce satisfactory results, you promote them for use by the production satellites of the group.
Typically, you assign test satellites to your development environment. That is, the test satellites will not manage any active data that is required for business operations.
You assign production satellites to the users that you support. Unlike test satellites, production satellites are not used for testing purposes. Instead, these satellites execute the tested group batches that have been put into production, which results in them having a stable database definition to support the end-user application. Because production satellites have a stable database definition, they manage the active data that is required for business operations.
If you determine that the database definition on the production satellites is no longer adequate to support the requirements of your users, you modify the database definition on the test satellites to address the problem that is being reported. When you are satisfied with the results of the modification in your development environment, you make the modification available to the production satellites.
When you create a satellite, it is, by default, a production satellite. You must decide which satellites that you want to use as test satellites. This allows you to exercise full control over testing. For information about how to define a satellite as a test satellite, refer to the online help that is available from the Satellite Administration Center.
| Note: | Because test satellites are not used to maintain active data, you should not change them to production satellites during the lifetime of the application. |
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