Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Amazon Aurora vs IBM Db2 Database comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Amazon Aurora
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM Db2 Database
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
72
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of Amazon Aurora is 3.7%, down from 4.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM Db2 Database is 7.3%, up from 6.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Julius Mboya - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers features for day-to-day management of large-scale databases
There should be constant changes, which can be challenging to keep up with annually. The UAE evolves rapidly, and after just a two-month break, you might find that things have shifted around. It would be helpful to have a more structured way of introducing these changes. I like how Microsoft does it with Patch, where you know to expect updates regularly. If AWS implemented something similar, the update pattern would be more predictable. The only database issue we encountered was when we were using a read replica for both read and write operations. This sometimes caused the database to be slow, likely because the read queries weren’t optimized. However, the issue was resolved once we split the read and write operations into separate replicas, and everything has been smooth since then.
SimonHiggins - PeerSpot reviewer
Very scalable with high availability and excellent technical support
The good thing is that there are improvements coming with later function levels for the z/OS Db2. I'd like it if, with the operating system that we've got, z/OS, on the mainframe, it would allow us to refresh the hardware to run Linux dockers on the mainframe. This means this might give us opportunities for different ways of coming into the Db2 environment in the future. We just want a bit more integration with Linux. That said, we are already seeing Linux more readily available on the mainframe environment. Not only have we got the premium operating systems on OS. We can run LPARs on the same mainframe footprint that is also supporting Linux. This is what has improved and made the mainframe environment more competitive. We're also looking at AI for Db2 as well, and machine learning for the future. We know that AI has come out, that we're going to get that, and we're going to evaluate that product next year for Db2. That said, I haven't got any real complaints about Db2 on the mainframe. For the most part, a lot of the problems we have nowadays are to do with communication between the various teams that you would class as stakeholders.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The solution’s scalability is good since we don’t need to take a maintenance window during unpredictable workloads. I like the solution’s behind-the-scenes happenings. It is a great feature."
"The provision of custom read and write endpoints eliminates the need for managing a separate proxy load balancer."
"The most valuable feature of Amazon Aurora is SQL standardization, it doesn't have its own syntax which is good. It has a lot of hands-off self-management type of activities, such as log rolling and auto-scaling."
"The most valuable feature is that the maintainability is offloaded to the service provider. I don't have to maintain a database or do any administrative tasks, which comes in handy."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to do multiple-read and single-write. These are the kinds of features that we were interested in, and Aurora takes care of that natively."
"We had better control over the parameters that we could tweak in terms of intermediate storage and better indexing capabilities."
"Aurora's compatibility with MySQL or PostgreSQL benefited our database management. The migration from on-premise MySQL to Aurora was similar, so we didn't need to change our source code."
"Amazon Aurora stands out for its ease of use in a managed environment, inbuilt security, continuous backups, numerous read replicas, multi-region automated replication, and seamless integration with other AWS services."
"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten."
"The structure is straightforward, consisting of the test file and the logical and physical files. You have one physical file and many logical files related to it."
"The initial setup was easy."
"Your iOS, your throughputs, your performance cycles, you cannot touch it with Microsoft or with Oracle scalability-wise. That is far and away the most scalable systems and the highest performing systems of the set of them."
"It has a good feature called pureScale, which is just for scalability. It is a perfect solution for environments where scalability is going to be an issue."
"Its functionality and availability are valuable. Its availability is great. It is available 99.99% of the time."
"The stability of IBM Db2 Database is stable. We have not faced any downtime in one year. Our work is mostly during business hours and during that time, we haven't faced any downtime."
"IBM DB2 pureScale Feature is valuable."
 

Cons

"The product's distributed query process for MySQL needs improvement."
"While Amazon Aurora meets your current scaling and storage needs, there is room for improvement in cryptography and scalability compared to other databases."
"There is improvement needed to have more developer focus. Additionally, it would be helpful to have a stand-alone solution outside of Amazon. Amazon has a tendency to favor developing web-based clients, which may not always provide the fastest or most responsive solution as desired."
"It would have been helpful if they had provided some benchmarking numbers."
"I would like to see performance insights on the database based on the queries. Currently, we use SolarWinds as the monitoring tool. I would like to leverage SolarWinds’ performance insights in AWS services. SolarWinds gives larger insights when we run performance issues."
"I would like to see more AI-related features in future releases."
"It is a bit costly. The features are quite good, and I wouldn't say it requires any technical improvements. But from a cost perspective, some clients wouldn't go for Aurora because of that."
"The pricing could improve. It should be reduced."
"I would say that the tool has to be made more cloud-friendly and should have agreements with AWS, Microsoft, or Google to run things on hyperscalers."
"The problem with this environment is that any software that you install is very costly because there are no free tools for this environment."
"The licensing fees can be reduced."
"In terms of improvements, IBM Db2 can improve its interface and its functionality. Also, the embedded functions should be much richer than the current ones - the functions which are embedded in the engine itself."
"​Not very solid compared to its competitors' products.​"
"Some of the internal rearrangement in the administration is not as straightforward as it is in competing products."
"The management of Db2 should be simplified because there are not too many specialists in this area, and the learning curve of Db2 specialists is very long. After the courses, probably it takes one and a half or two years to get to the point when you are using the product properly in the production systems. So, the complexity is very high, and the most important thing is to simplify the management of the product, including self-maintenance. They should simplify the installation, management, and monitoring to simplify the product. It takes too long for a person to be a specialist in this product."
"The backup solution lacks flexibility."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive solution."
"There is no need to buy a license for the product. We can pay as per the use case."
"The price could be lower compared to its competitors."
"I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"The tool’s pricing depends on the instance type. For cost optimization purposes, we use the result instance category."
"It is quite expensive."
"Licensing fees are on a yearly basis."
"I rate the product pricing a nine out of ten."
"The solution's pricing is fine."
"I rate the price of the IBM Db2 Database an eight out of ten."
"We don't see what the specific price of the DB2 license is because we pay for the backup license as a package."
"We did not buy it. It came with our hardware without any complimentary maintenance. If I compare Db2 Database with Oracle Database, its price is lower than Oracle Database."
"The solution costs less than other products."
"Clients are required to purchase a license."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Relational Databases Tools solutions are best for your needs.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
27%
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
5%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Educational Organization
59%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
4%
Manufacturing Company
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Amazon Aurora?
Aurora's compatibility with MySQL or PostgreSQL benefited our database management. The migration from on-premise MySQL to Aurora was similar, so we didn't need to change our source code.
What needs improvement with Amazon Aurora?
There should be constant changes, which can be challenging to keep up with annually. The UAE evolves rapidly, and after just a two-month break, you might find that things have shifted around. It wo...
What do you like most about IBM Db2 Database?
Db2 database scalability and performance capabilities match our database needs. It covers pretty much everything a database administrator or engineer might need.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Db2 Database?
IBM Db2 is an expensive solution. While I am not heavily involved with pricing, additional companies provide capabilities or products like those from BMC, which many installations might also purchase.
What needs improvement with IBM Db2 Database?
The usage of Db2 could be simplified, as it is quite complex and requires substantial knowledge of Db2 and zOS. Modern features are being implemented, but further simplification and the inclusion o...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
DB2
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Dow Jones, Arizona State University, Verizon, Capital One, United Nations, Nielsen, Autodesk, Fanduel
Knorr-Bremse, Mizuho Bank Ltd., Australian Government Department of Defence, SCHWENK Zement, Friedhelm Loh Group, YAZAKI Europe Limited, Ekornes ASA, Baldor Electric, VSN Systemen BV, Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC, PLANSEE Group, TE Connectivity, Hansgrohe SE, Openmatics, University of Toronto
Find out what your peers are saying about Amazon Aurora vs. IBM Db2 Database and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.