Chapter 3. DB2 client deployment 93
To read more about db2cli.ini and keyword option, use the DB2 Information
Center:
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/db2luw/v9r5/topic/com.ibm.db2.luw.apdv
.cli.doc/doc/c0007882.html
3.1.5 Compatibility
You also have to consider compatibility issues in the deployment planning.

Multiple instance compatibility

If the application must coexist with other applications that use DB2, you might
face compatibility problems. You must decide if all the DB2 dependent
applications can use the same client, or if multiple clients are required.
DB2 does support multiple instances of clients on the same machine. These
instances might be of different versions or multiple instances of the same
version. However, the compatibility considerations should be extended beyond
DB2. An example is the use of distributed transactions, where the application is
dependent on an external transaction manager. This transaction manager might
not be able to handle more than one DB2 instances, which is the case with
Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MSDTC).

Client /Server compatibility

DB2 clients are backwards compatible, which means that you are not bound to
have the same version level of DB2 on the client side as on the server side.
Refer to Table1-3 on page 12 for a matrix that shows the compatibility between
different client and server versions.
If any of your clients differ in version from the server, or if any of your clients are
running on a different platform than the server, you will require at least one IBM
Data Server Client for each version/platform that differs from the server. The
reason is that a given client requires some bound packages on the server. These
packages are created though the bind files that only come with the IBM Data
Server Client. The packages are automatically bound the first time you connect
through the IBM Data Server Client. The only scenario where you do not require
the IBM Data Server Client is when all the clients are the exact same version as
the server and they are running on the same operating system
Note: The initialization file is NOT a part of the configuration profile. You have
to handle them separately.