Where is my DB2 Control Center?

Recently I was reading the DB2 for Linux, Unix, Windows version 9.7 (DB2 for LUW 9.7) product overview when I noticed a section on deprecated features. What caught my eye was the title, "Control Center tools and DB2 administration server (DAS)." This section says that, starting with DB2 for LUW version 9.7, the Control Center tools and DAS have been deprecated and might be removed in future releases. Also noted is the availability of a new suite of GUI tools for managing DB2 for LUW.

These features have been dropped:
• Activity Monitor
• Command Editor
• Configuration Assistant
• Control Center and associated wizards and advisors
• Control Center plug-in extensions
• DB2 administration server (DAS)
• Event Analyzer
• Health Center
• Indoubt Transaction Monitor
• Journal
• License Center
• Memory Visualizer
• Query Patroller Center
• Replication Center
• Satellite Administration Center
• Task Center

The replacement for Control Center is a suite of products that IBM wants customers to purchase under the brand Optim. The link provided at the bottom of the product overview page takes you to a section that describes these products.

Another option is IBM Data Studio. This no-charge offering provides a basic set of tools for database development and administration. IBM Data Studio is packaged as either a stand-alone install or with a development IDE. The difference is the stand-alone does not include SQLJ, Data Web Services or XML development.

From a DB2 object management perspective, IBM Data Studio is limited. When I tried it, I could create a table space, but I couldn't manage it. And I couldn't stop, start, alter, unload, load or run utilities like imagecopy and reorg -- I could do all of these things with Control Center. However, for development you still have the ability to create a table and edit the contents of the table.

So what do you think of this change in IBM’s direction? Please register your opinion in Comments.