IBM Db2 for Linux, UNIX and Windows is IBM’s relational database for distributed platforms. Release 12.1 is sold in several editions that share one code base; according to IBM, “the technical differences among editions are resource limitations and advanced features or tool sets”, so an application written for one edition can move to another.[1] The paid editions are licensed by Virtual Processor Core (VPC) for production and non-production environments, with an Authorized User metric offered for non-production only. Older Db2 editions based on the Processor Value Unit remain available for existing entitlements.[1][2]
IBM describes its edition tables as informational and refers readers to the license agreement of each offering for entitlements, rights and obligations.[2] Earlier Db2 licensing is described in the archived IBM Db2 licensing white paper.
Editions
Db2 12.1 editions
| Edition | Type | Capacity limit per physical or virtual server | Main restrictions | Metrics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community | Free | 4 cores, 8 GB memory | Non-production only; community support | None |
| Starter | Paid | 4 cores, 16 GB memory | No HADR, native encryption and audit, federation, point-in-time recovery, pureScale or partitioning | VPC |
| Standard | Paid | 16 cores, 128 GB memory | No pureScale or database partitioning | VPC; AU (non-production) |
| Advanced | Paid | None | None | VPC; AU (non-production) |
| Warehouse | Paid | None | No pureScale or HADR; analytics | VPC |
Source: IBM’s edition comparison table.[2] Starter Edition is available only for Db2 12.1 through Mod Pack 3, and is sold as a perpetual license, a subscription for Cloud Pak for Data, or a monthly license with premium support included.[1] The Standard, Advanced and Starter editions and Db2 Warehouse are also available as cartridges for IBM Cloud Pak for Data; see IBM Cloud Pak licensing.[1]
With Db2 12.1, pureScale and the Database Partitioning Feature were restricted for Standard Edition; customers who used them with Db2 11.5 keep those rights in 12.1 (rule).[1]
Db2 AI editions
With Db2 12.1.4 IBM introduced the Db2 AI editions: AI Community, AI Standard and AI Advanced. They bundle the Db2 Genius Hub console, which replaces the Db2 Intelligence Center and adds agentic AI features for maintenance, anomaly detection and incident response. The engine and Genius Hub are installed separately but enabled by the same AI edition license.[1] In AI Community Edition, the premium Genius Hub features can be tried for three months, after which the console continues with its Intelligence Center-equivalent features.[2] The non-AI Community, Standard, Starter and Advanced licenses remain available for 12.1.3 and earlier mod packs, and customers not yet ready to upgrade can buy an AI edition license to use Genius Hub with Db2 11.5 and later instances.[1]
IBM’s pricing page lists the paid AI editions with VPC for production and non-production and Authorized User for non-production, sold standalone as perpetual or monthly licenses and as Cloud Pak for Data cartridges on perpetual or subscription terms. Its resource limits are 4 cores and 16 GB for AI Community, 16 cores and 128 GB for AI Standard, and unlimited for AI Advanced.[3] The documentation gives a lower memory limit of 8 GB for the Community editions and also describes AI Community Edition as “limited to a license of one CPU”; the three IBM statements differ and the license agreement decides.[1]
Relationship to earlier editions
IBM maps the 12.1 editions to their predecessors. Community replaces Express-C and Developer Community Edition; Standard replaces Advanced Workgroup Server, Workgroup Server and Direct Standard editions; Advanced replaces Advanced Enterprise Server, Enterprise Server, Developer and Direct Advanced editions. Starter has no earlier equivalent.[1]
The replacement is not complete. All metrics of Db2 Advanced Enterprise Server Edition except PVU, and all metrics of Db2 Enterprise Server Edition except PVU and Authorized User Single Install, were replaced by Db2 Advanced Edition. Both older editions remain available in Db2 12.1 and 11.5 on those remaining metrics (rule), so their capacity is counted with the PVU tables.[1]
Metrics
IBM states that “the VPC metric can be used for both production and non-production environments” and “the AU metric can only be used for non-production environments” (rule).[2] The definition of each metric is in the license document of the edition; IBM’s common definitions are summarized in IBM Passport Advantage licensing.
Counting
Db2’s VPC guidance follows the same principle as IBM sub-capacity licensing: license the virtual cores available to Db2, capped at the physical cores of the host.
- Virtual server. The VPCs to license equal the virtual cores of the VM or cloud server. IBM names four ways to find them: ILMT, the
db2pd -osinfocommand (the OnlineCPU value),db2diag, and the ENV_GET_SYSTEM_RESOURCES table function (CPU_ONLINE).[5] - Physical server. The VPCs equal the physical cores. Where hyper-threading is on, IBM gives the formula OnlineCPU / HMTDegree; a two-socket, eight-core server with hyper-threading at degree 2 reports 32 CPUs but needs 16 VPCs. Virtual machines always report an HMTDegree of 1 (rule).[4]
- Hosts with several VMs. The customer may license either the physical cores or the sum of virtual cores, “whichever results in the lesser number”. In IBM’s example, five VMs reporting 64 virtual cores on a 16-core server require 16 VPCs (rule).[4]
Where Db2 is covered by IBM’s sub-capacity terms, the eligibility and ILMT reporting requirements described in IBM sub-capacity licensing and ILMT also apply.[6]
Standby instances
Some Db2 licenses give instances running in warm standby a fixed consumption instead of a core count. ILMT reports these with the VPC Warm Standby metric at 1 VPC per endpoint, or PVU Warm Standby at 100 PVUs for PVU editions, and the fixed value is added to the product’s sub-capacity total. IBM’s example is Db2 Enterprise Server Edition with 1,200 PVUs of sub-capacity use and 300 PVUs from standby instances, 1,500 PVUs in total (rule).[10] Whether a given standby configuration qualifies depends on the edition’s license.
High availability tooling
The copy of IBM Tivoli System Automation for Multiplatforms integrated with the Db2 installer may be used with Db2 HADR only when the customer holds a license for Db2 Advanced Enterprise Server, Advanced, Standard, Base or Enterprise Server Edition, or Db2 Connect Enterprise Edition (rule).[8]
Virtualization and containers
Db2 editions can be deployed on Red Hat OpenShift, native Kubernetes and managed platforms such as EKS, ROSA, AKS and ARO.[1] With the Db2 Operator V2, license use is reported through annotations on the Db2 instance. Without a production license key, the operator labels OLTP instances as Community Edition with a FREE metric and Db2 Warehouse as a trial. When a production key is mounted, the customer must add annotations that match the edition purchased, such as the product ID for AI Standard or Standard Edition VPC Option; IBM warns that incorrect annotations “can result in compliance issues or incorrect usage reporting” (rule).[7]
Cloud / BYOL
For third-party cloud environments, IBM states that the number of Db2 VPCs “is the same as the number of virtual CPUs (vCPU) that are available to Db2 in the cloud environment” (rule).[6] Amazon RDS for Db2 supports Standard and Advanced editions either with an existing Db2 license brought to RDS or with a pay-as-you-go license bought through AWS Marketplace; license use can be tracked in AWS License Manager.[9][3]
Out of scope
- Db2 for z/OS and its mainframe metrics.
- The Db2 on IBM Cloud and Db2 Warehouse SaaS services, which are billed per hour of compute and storage.
- Db2 Connect client and gateway licensing.
- Part numbers and prices, which IBM does not publish in the cited edition pages.