When installing BIRT iHub, the administrator must choose to use the out‑of‑the‑box (OOTB) PostgreSQL database or an alternative data store, such as DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, or a pre-existing PostgreSQL instance to store Encyclopedia volume metadata. This chapter describes how to install a new instance of BIRT iHub, using an alternative data store.

For all database systems other than OOTB PostgreSQL, the database administrator must create the system and Encyclopedia volume schemas and an iHub application user before installing BIRT iHub. During the iHub installation, the administrator provides the iHub system name, plus the system and Encyclopedia volume schema owner, and iHub application user credentials. The iHub installation program creates the necessary database structures, then loads the metadata.