Re: Migrating IMS to Oracle

IMS is a hierarchical database, not relational. It is also quite old technology. I doubt Oracle will have any conversion tools for that. I started my career working with IMS DB/DC in the late 70's. You will really need to design a new database from scratch and then convert and import data. I did several conversions from IMS to Oracle in the late 80's. You will have all the traditional challenges of going from a non-relational database with repeating fields, etc.

What's the front-end? I assume that will need to be rewritten as well. The most common front-end for IMS was COBOL programs running under IMS/DC or CICS. If you have access to DB2, I know IBM had tools to convert from IMS to DB2. And I believe Oracle has tools to convert from DB2 to Oracle. So that's a potential option. But with any conversion tools, you will have to compromise with a good database design.

Marc Perkowitz
Senior Consultant
TWJ Consulting, LLP

847-256-8866 x15
www.twjconsulting.com

• Original Message ----- To: "Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L" <ORACLE-L_at_fatcity.com> Sent: Thursday, August 16, 2001 8:48 AM

> I may be starting a project in the near future to
> migrate an IMS database to 8.1.? on Windows 2000. I
> would like to know if Oracle provides a tool to do
> this? Data profiling, mapping, etc.? I could not find
> anything for IMS on OTN or the Oracle site. I know
> there are some non-Oracle tools to do this.
>
> Any suggestions would be helpful.
>
> Thanks,
> Ken Janusz, CPIM
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Author: Marc Perkowitz
  INET: mperkowitz_at_twjconsulting.com

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