My Journey with GBase

By Wang Dejun

About a decade ago, while maintaining a DB2 DPF database for a China Unicom branch's business analysis system in East China, I thought DB2 DPF was the king of OLAP databases, and the undisputed best choice for massive data workloads. Then in 2015, the client suddenly announced they would stop using DB2 DPF and migrate to GBase 8a. I became curious and wondered: Can GBase really deliver?

At that time, General Data Technology (GBase) had limited promotional efforts, and I didn't see any training or certification programs. Plus, my company had other plans, so I went on to learn MySQL and other products. Later, one day I saw a client post on social media about their GBase 8s training and certificate. I noticed that GBase 8s was very similar to Informix, and that GBase actually offered training and certification programs. I thought to myself, when I get a chance, I must earn a GBase certificate too.

As luck would have it, at the end of 2021, our marketing department informed me about a GBase 8a training and certification program. I signed up without hesitation. After half a month of learning, I gained a lot and finally resolved my years-long doubt. Overall, I found GBase 8a to be very impressive, especially in areas like cluster high availability, which I felt was better than DB2 DPF. Moreover, GBase 8a, like MySQL, is easy to get started with and very convenient to operate.

In mid-2022, I finally found a GBase 8s training and immediately enrolled. With my Informix background, I passed it smoothly. Now I can fully apply my skills in our client's GBase 8s projects—I'm really looking forward to it.

This training has concluded successfully. I'd like to thank Mr. Shen and Mr. Hao from GBase, as well as all the instructors. I hope GBase will soon develop intermediate and advanced training programs—we're ready to explore more of the unknown world of GBase.