Use of the DRDA protocol requires assuming extra responsibilities that are usually not required in a non-distributed environment.
Because the communications between database managers can be in different time zones or countries, some allowance must be made for scheduling and communication problems (particularly when different languages are involved).
The operation of applications may be similar, but the different platforms will require modifications. These modifications may require that as system administrator you become familiar with the terminology used on non-DB2 Server for VSE database managers. In situations such as adding users, assigning resources, ascertaining the authorization schemes available, and performing diagnosis, the different terminology of the different database managers can lead to misunderstandings. Similarly, because communications software is involved, you may have to become familiar with communication terminology that may not be required in a non-distributed environment.
Applications that run in a DRDA environment also require attention. In some instances, they may have to be recoded to compensate for system-to-system processing differences. As an example, consider the differences between collating sequences on different database managers. Quite apart from the differences between the ASCII and EBCDIC collating sequences, differences can occur between EBCDIC collating sequences on two different database managers: the same character can appear in a different sequence because of the way in which a system processes information. If an application is not recoded to correct for this variability, the results generated by that application can be misleading.