IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

Version 8.9.1
May 2012

IBM i2 iBase is an investigative database. It provides capabilities to configure a data store, capture
data, and perform analysis all in a controlled environment. It integrates fully with IBM i2 Analyst's
Notebook.
iBase 8.9.1 can be installed on its own or as part of IBM i2 Analyst's Workstation 8.9.1.
Important:

IBM i2 Intelligence Analysis software at version 8.9 is not compatible with earlier
versions of i2 software. Upgrading directly is not supported. To install IBM i2 software
at version 8.9, you must first uninstall all of your existing i2 software, then install the
new versions. The program or programs covered by these release notes are
designated for deployment.

Contents
Release Contents

Whats New in This Release?

System Requirements

Multicultural Support

Hardware Specification

11

Utilities

12

Documentation and Examples

12

Installation

13

Enhancements and Bug Fixes

18

Known Limitations

22

Contacting IBM Support

29

Notices
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION PROVIDES THIS PUBLICATION "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND,
EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF NON-INFRINGEMENT,
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Some states do not allow disclaimer of express or implied warranties in
certain transactions, therefore, this statement may not apply to you.
This information contains examples of data and reports used in daily business operations. To illustrate them as completely as possible, the
examples include the names of individuals, companies, brands, and products. All of these names are fictitious and any similarity to the names and
addresses used by an actual business enterprise is entirely coincidental

Copyright IBM Corporation 1991, 2012

Release Contents
The following table summarizes the iBase releases:
Version

Release date

IBM i2 iBase 8.9.1

May 2012

iBase 8.5.11

September 2011

iBase 8.5.9

August 2011

iBase 8.5.7

July 2011

iBase 8.5.1

October 2010

iBase 8.1.1

May 2010

iBase 8.0.5 (Japanese Only)

January 2010

iBase 8.0.3

December 2009

iBase 8.0.1

December 2009

The following additional chargeable components are compatible and available for use
with IBM i2 iBase 8.9:
Program feature

Description

IBM i2 iBase Designer

Use iBase to design and administer iBase databases

and security files.

IBM i2 iBase Database

Replication

Use SQL Server merge replication to enable

distributed use of iBase.

IBM i2 iBase Geographic

Information Systems Interfaces

Interfaces to GIS products (excluding Google Earth,

which is provided by a plug-in to Analysts Notebook).

IBM i2 iBase Plate Analysis

Manage and analyze ALPR (Automatic License Plate

Recognition) data stored in an iBase database.

IBM i2 iBase Geographic Information System Interfaces comprises interfaces to the

following GIS products:
GIS product

Supported versions

ArcView 3

3.2.3

ArcGIS

9.0, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 10

blue 8 world

2.4

blue 8 xd

1.2.9 build 12

MapInfo Professional

7.8, 8.0, 8.5, 9.5, 10, 10.5, 11

MapPoint 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011

European and US Editions

Note:

The interface for blue 8 xd is supplied by Northgate Information Solutions.

Note:iBase includes the optional Coordinate Extensions feature which was developed
using GEOTRANS v2.4, a product of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and
U.S. Army Engineering Research and Development Center. Use of GEOTRANS in
connection with iBase does not indicate endorsement or approval of the product by the
Secretary of Defense or the National Geospatial Intelligence agency.

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

Whats New in This Release?

New features in IBM i2 iBase 8.9
IBM i2 iBase 8.9 includes changes that support the integration of the product into the IBM
technology stack. It provides guaranteed compatibility with other IBM i2 products that
have the same version number.
At version 8.9, IBM i2 products no longer support or require authorization mechanisms
such as dongles or software license management (SLM). When you purchase or upgrade
to version 8.9 of an IBM i2 product, you must upgrade your other i2 products to version
8.9 at the same time.
Chart Item Extractor (11327)
The chart item extractor capability allows chart item data to be extracted from Analysts
Notebook charts and stored as entities and links in iBase.
Note: The chart item extractor capability is not available for use with iBase 5 databases
opened in iBase 8.9.
Default Link Strength (11614)
You can now set a default link strength for the current session using the Session Defaults
dialog when creating new links, for example when importing or creating multiple links
from one entity.
Customized Synonym lists (11325)
You can now set up your own synonym lists for Search 360. For more information, refer
to the iBase Designer online help.
Global shortcut keys (11681)
There is now an Activate global shortcut keys option available on the Options dialog
which allows you to choose whether to use and potentially customize the use of global
shortcut keys. By default this is turned on.
Function

Shortcut

Search 360

Ctrl+Shift+S

Session Defaults

Ctrl+Shift+D

Full-text Search

Ctrl+Shift+F

Expand

Ctrl+Shift+X

New Query

Ctrl+Shift+Q

New Browse Definition

Ctrl+Shift+B

New Scored Match

Ctrl+Shift+M

combine Sets

Ctrl+Shift+O

Analyze Sets

Ctrl+Shift+Z

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

Local shortcut keys (11680)

Local shortcut keys are now available for setting link direction, link strength, and editing
functions such as new, edit, copy, delete, save, and close:
Link Direction

Shortcut

None

Ctrl+n

Right

Ctrl+r

Left

Ctrl+l

Both

Ctrl+b

Link Strength

Shortcut

Confirmed

Ctrl+o

Unconfirmed

Ctrl+u

Tentative

Ctrl+l

Edit function

Shortcut

Edit

Ctrl+e

New

Ctrl+w

Copy

Ctrl+y

Delete

Ctrl+d

Save

Ctrl+s

Split Text Action for Importer in iBase (12030)

When transforming source data, there is a new action available called Split Text. This
allows you to divide the content of a column into two parts. For example, a Full Name
field "Andrew Smith" could be split into two fields: Name1 "Andrew" and Name2 "Smith".
You can choose your own Split Character and choose whether you want the left or right
side of the split.
GIS Interfaces supports new versions
The following versions of GIS products are now supported in addition to those previously
supported:
ArcGIS 10
MapInfo Professional 10, 10.5, and 11
MapPoint 2011
For more information refer to the online help.

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

Cyber IP DNS Resolution

Cyber IP DNS Resolution is an addition to iBase that allows cyber data to be enhanced
and analyzed together with other intelligence in a single database; presenting you with a
complete view of data pertaining to an investigation.
Cyber IP DNS Resolution collates a number of semi-automated features that resolve an
IP address to Domain Name Systems hostname (and vice versa), geo-locates the point
of origin, and checks against a blacklist to indicate the IP addresss potential validity.
These features can be used on individual records or multiple records that are the
contents of a set or query.
A Cyber template is also available as part of Cyber IP DNS Resolution, which assists in
the creation of an iBase database, and a dedicated Cyber icon list.
New features in iBase 8.5
The main highlights for iBase 8.5:
Entity icons redrawn to match Analysts Notebook
A new icon list created that reflects the icons available in the Analysts Notebooks
Standard template.
New or legacy icon preference configurable.
Search 360 can be performed via the iBase task pane within Analysts Notebook.
Search 360 indexing configurable.
Microsoft MapPoint support extended to include Microsoft MapPoint 2010.
SQL Server support extended to SQL Server 2008 R2.
iBase 8.5 superseded iBase 5, iBase 8.0 and iBase 8.1 as the next major version. At this
release all major version numbers for the existing i2 product set family were rationalized
to version 8.
Notes for existing iBase users
The upgrade process from iBase is described in detail in the Upgrading to IBM i2 iBase 8
or IBM i2 Analyst's Workstation 8 white paper. This document explains when and how to
back up and restore data; how to upgrade iBase client software; and how to upgrade
iBase databases. Ensure that you read the white paper before embarking on any upgrade
from iBase 5 or earlier.
In order to take advantage of all the new features of iBase 8, your databases must be
hosted on SQL Server 2005 or 2008. If your databases are currently hosted on SQL
Server 2000, the Upgrading IBM i2 iBase databases to SQL Server 2005 or 2008 white
paper (also included on the iBase 8.9 product media) explains how to perform an
upgrade safely.

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

Compatible companion products

You may have purchased one or more iBase companion products or have installed iBase
8.9 as part of Analyst's Workstation 8.9. The following versions of companion products
also work with iBase 8.9: IBM i2 Analyst's Notebook 8.9, IBM i2 iBase IntelliShare 8.9,
and IBM i2 Text Chart 8.9.

System Requirements
System Requirements for iBase Clients
At release, these are the supported operating systems for iBase 8.9 clients:
Desktop operating systems
Windows 7 Professional/Ultimate x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit)
Windows Vista Business/Enterprise/Ultimate x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit) SP1 or later
Windows XP Professional x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit) SP3 or later

Server operating systems offering thin client environments

Windows Server 2008 x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit) with Terminal Services enabled
Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 (64-bit) with Terminal Services enabled
Windows Server 2003 Standard/Enterprise x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit) SP2 or later
with Terminal Services enabled
Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard/Enterprise x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64 bit) SP2 or later
with Terminal Services enabled
Note: All server operating systems are also supported with Citrix MetaFrame
Presentation/Xen App Server 4.0 or later 1 .
Note: Wireless networking and Wide Area Networks (WANs) are not suitable for use
with iBase because all client machines require a continuous network connection
to the iBase database.
iBase requires Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 SP1 or higher to be present on the
installation system. A compatible version of Microsoft .NET Framework is included with
the product.
The documentation provided with iBase is available in PDF format. In order to display this
documentation, a PDF viewer must be present on the installation system.
iBase interoperates with applications in the following versions of Microsoft Office: Office
2003 (all editions), Office 2007 (all editions), and Office 2010 (all editions).
Note: See Known Limitations for information about working with 64-bit machines.

There have been display issues reported on some Citrix environments. Please refer to the Known
Limitations section for further details.

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

iBase can work with documents created by the following versions of Microsoft Office:
Office XP (all editions), Office 2003 (all editions), Office 2007 (all editions) and Office
2010 (all editions).
Note: If you wish to use Office 2007 and Office 2010 format documents, you must use
Office 2007 and Office 2010. You cannot use these newer formats if you only
have the Office 2007 or 2010 Compatibility pack installed for Office 2003.
iBase 8 can import from a number of databases including Microsoft Access 97, Microsoft
Access 2000, 2003, 2007, 2010 and SQL Server using OLE DB. The availability of other
databases depends on the OLE DB providers loaded on the computer.
Additional requirements for use with SQL Server
You may want to install the Microsoft SQL 2005 Backward Compatibility Components
(SQL-DMO) on any client that is to be used to configure the connection to the server,
either using iBase Designer or the iBase Database Configuration utility. This allows the
iBase configuration tools to find and list available servers.
Additional requirements for Cyber IP DNS Resolution
To ensure maximum benefit is delivered by Cyber IP DNS Resolution, suitable external
data sources should be used for information relating to geo-location and spam
blacklisting.
Geo-location in order to geo-locate IP address data, this plug-in requires a GeoIP
database. If this feature is required it is your responsibility to approach MaxMind for
this service and to comply with MaxMinds Terms and Conditions. IBM does not
provide any data on MaxMinds behalf; however, it does support connection to the
following MaxMind datasets:
-

MaxMind GeoIP City

MaxMind GeoLite City

Only the standard binary formats of these datasets are supported.

Spam Blacklisting External ANSI or Unicode format text files can be used in
conjunction with the spam blacklisting feature. Instructions for creating and
configuring an external data source are detailed in the online help provided.
Microsoft Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) Mitigation APIs are also required on XP
and Server 2003. They are not installed by default and are utilized to support Unicode
host/domain names.

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

System Requirements for iBase Servers

The overall success of iBase is dependent on using a suitable server machine to run the
SQL Server instance. The volume of data, the number of clients, and the type of analysis
work will combine to determine the specification of the server machine. For example,
iBase 8 systems that use Search 360, Alerting, and Audit History will make greater
demands on your server.
Operating systems
The supported operating systems for server-side iBase are:
Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 (64-bit)
Windows Server 2008 x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit)
Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard/Enterprise SP1 or later
Note: Wireless networking and Wide Area Networks (WANs) are not suitable for use
with iBase because all client machines require a continuous network connection
to the iBase database.
SQL Server versions
The supported SQL Server versions/editions for iBase servers are:
SQL Server 2008 R2

Standard Edition
Enterprise Edition
Datacenter Edition

SQL Server 2008

Standard Edition
Enterprise Edition
Workgroup Edition
Express Edition

SQL Server 2005

Standard Edition SP2 or later

Enterprise Edition SP2 or later
Workgroup Edition SP2 or later
Express Edition SP2 or later

iBase does not support case-sensitive SQL Servers.

The SQL Server language version must match the operating system regional setting if it
is available, or be English if the setting is not available. The default SQL Server collation
sequence for the operating system must be used.
Using firewalls on a server machine
If you want to access an iBase database on a remote machine, any firewall on the remote
machine must be configured to allow SQL Server access.

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption

Microsoft SQL Server uses Net-Libraries for the communications between clients and
server, one of which handles Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption. The security of data
exchanged between SQL Server-based iBase clients and the server can be increased by
enabling SSL encryption. Enabling SSL will increase the work performed by the SQL NetLibraries resulting in slightly slower performance of the iBase applications.
iBase Database Replication
iBase Database Replication is only supported with servers on Windows Server 2003 or
later, with Standard/Enterprise editions of SQL Server 2005, 2008.
Note: The publishers and subscribers in a replicated iBase system must all use the
same version of SQL Server you cannot use a combination of SQL Server
versions in the same replicated iBase system.
Windows Terminal Services, optionally with Citrix Presentation Server, is needed
if you want to administer all replicated databases from the publisher site. It also
provides users with network access to alternative replicated databases in the
event of local server failure.
Additional requirements for Search 360
To enable full Search 360 functionality you may need to install an IFilter for each
document type you want to search. See the Administration Center for further details.
To allow Search 360 indexes to be built for Microsoft Office documents as well as PDF
documents, you need to install the appropriate IFilters on your server. See the
Administration Center for details.
Additional requirements for Full-Text Search
Search 360 is the recommended replacement for Full-Text Search. However, if you want
to use Full-Text Search, you must install the Full Text Search components.
To allow Full-Text Search indexes to be built for Microsoft Office documents as well as
PDF documents, you need to install the appropriate IFilters on your server. See the
Administration Center for details.

Multicultural Support
iBase is developed in US English. IBM supports this product in the English language on
the following regional versions of the supported operating systems:
Language Group/Language

Language Collection

Support Status

Western Europe and USA

Basic

Supported

Central Europe

Basic

Supported

Baltic

Basic

Supported

Cyrillic

Basic

Supported

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

Turkic

Basic

Supported

Arabic

Complex Script

Supported

Japanese

East Asian

Supported

Korean

East Asian

Supported

Traditional Chinese

East Asian

Supported

Simplified Chinese

East Asian

Supported

Thai

Complex Script

Unsupported

Vietnamese

Complex Script

Unsupported

Greek

Basic

Unsupported

Hebrew

Complex Script

Unsupported

Indic

Complex Script

Unsupported

Georgian

Complex Script

Unsupported

Armenian

Complex Script

Unsupported

Dhivehi

Complex Script

Unsupported

Galician

Complex Script

Unsupported

Gujararti

Complex Script

Unsupported

Kannada

Complex Script

Unsupported

Krygyz

Complex Script

Unsupported

Mongolian (Cyrillic)

Complex Script

Unsupported

Punjabi

Complex Script

Unsupported

Syriac

Complex Script

Unsupported

Telagu

Complex Script

Unsupported

Note: You cannot open a non-Unicode iBase database that has been created in a
different language group from your own.
If using a regional version of iBase, you must ensure that the Windows account that is
used to run the Scheduler service is set up to run using the correct locale information.
Exceptions in some of the tools are listed below.
iBase Database Replication
iBase Database Replication is only supported in English versions of the supported
operating systems.
IBM i2 iBase Geographic Information System Interfaces
iBase GIS Interfaces is only supported on Western Europe and USA, and Japanese
regional versions of the supported operating systems.

10

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

iBase Plate Analysis

iBase Plate Analysis is only supported on Western Europe and USA regional versions of
the supported operating systems.
Cyber IP DNS Resolution
In order for Cyber IP DNS Resolution to work, geo-coding data must be stored in a
location that does not include Unicode characters in the path name.
Virtual machine environments
iBase is supported in virtual machine environments running on any of the operating
systems listed above. The following virtual machine environments have been tested:
Citrix XenServer
VMWare Workstation 6 or later
VMWare ESX Server 3 or later
Microsoft Hyper-V

Hardware Specification
At release, these are the minimum desktop hardware requirements for iBase 8.9:
Minimum requirements
1.4 GHz processor computer
512 MB RAM
500 MB free disk space for installation, plus space to store chart data (this does not
include disk space required for prerequisites)
XGA capable graphics card (1024 x 768 high color [16-bit]) and color monitor
Mouse or trackball
CD-ROM drive or network access (for installation)
For better performance and for running a combination of i2 products, a higher
specification is recommended:
Recommended requirements
At least 2 GHz processor computer
At least 2 GB RAM
At least 1 GB free disk space for installation plus space to store chart data (this does not
include disk space required for prerequisites). Total disk space requirements depend on
number of i2 products to be installed.
SXGA capable graphics card (1280 x1024 high color [16-bit]) and color monitor
Mouse or trackball
CD-ROM drive or network access (for installation)
When considering your system requirements, you also should take the following into
IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

11

account:
If you are planning to install iBase GIS Interfaces, you should check the system
requirements for any GIS applications you use as these may exceed the requirements
given. Check with the GIS manufacturer for details of their own system requirements.
For large databases, the performance will depend on the amount of memory on each
client using the database, and not just on the file server hosting the database file.
The underlying operating system may affect your hardware requirements. For
example, Windows XP and Vista consume more resources for the core operating
system than Windows 2000, so it may be necessary to increase the amount of RAM
for these platforms.
The client computer will require an internet connection to perform the Cyber IP DNS
resolution.

Utilities
iBase 8 utilities are accessible from the Windows Start menu in the program group IBM
i2 iBase 8 > Tools. For information on using these utilities, see the Administration
Center.

Documentation and Examples

The iBase documentation is updated for this release and, with the exception of the
Administration Center, is automatically installed with the product.
Information for administrators
Information specifically for administrators of iBase and Analysts Workstation is provided
in the Administration Center. To install this documentation, select the Custom installation
option. An Administration Center shortcut will be added to the Start menu. Alternatively,
you can also run the Administration Center by double-clicking on
AdministrationCenter.chm in the Administration Center folder.
Note: The Administration Center must be run on a local drive you cannot view its
contents over the network.
Packaging and Deployment Guide
The Packaging and Deployment Guide is supplied in PDF format.
White papers
The following white papers are provided with the product:
Upgrading to IBM i2 iBase 8 or IBM i2 Analyst's Workstation 8
Upgrading IBM i2 iBase databases to SQL Server 2005 or 2008

12

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

Information for users

The following manuals are supplied in PDF format for iBase 8:
IBM i2 iBase 8 Quick Start Guide
IBM i2 iBase Plate Analysis Quick Start Guide
Example material
The following example databases are installed with the product:
iBase User Guide Database
This can be installed opened from the IBM i2 iBase 8 > Documentation program
group on the Windows Start menu.
iBase Designer Guide Database
This can be installed opened from the IBM i2 iBase 8 > Tools program group on the
Windows Start menu.

Installation
Before installing iBase 8, check that your system meets all the requirements described in
System Requirements for iBase Clients on page 4.
Before installing iBase
Windows Terminal Services
If you are installing using Terminal Services then you must install using the Add or
Remove Programs facility of Control Panel. To complete the installation, users must log
off from Terminal Services and then log on again.
If you are deploying on Citrix, you must refer to the Packaging and Deployment Guide for
information on how to publish the application and end user profile information.
iBase GIS Interfaces
iBase GIS Interfaces is installed with iBase 8.9.

With the exception of blue 8 xd, you should install the mapping application before
installing iBase. For example, if you install the MapPoint interface before installing the
MapPoint application, you will see the warning "Component not correctly registered"
after completing the installation of the interface.

For blue 8 world, you must install the interface while logged on as the user who will
run the interface - this user needs to be a local administrator.

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

13

Installing iBase
Note: Administrator privileges are required in order to install iBase 8.9.
To install iBase:
1. Close all applications that you might have open.
2. Extract the product files from your downloaded distribution or insert the product CD
into your computer's optical drive.
3. Browse to the top level of the folder structure, and run Setup.exe.
4. Follow the prompts. You will be asked for the setup type:
Typical

Installs iBase along with its documentation.

Complete

Installs:
iBase and iBase Designer
all tools apart from the iBase Index Service Configuration tool
and iBase Database Replication
all the documentation, including the Administration Center

Custom

Allows you to select which parts of iBase you require.

Note: Install the Administration Center on machines used by
system and database administrators, as you may need to refer
to it in order to set up and configure your installation.

5. Follow the prompts to complete the installation.

Note: If you installed the Coordinate Extensions option, then the following message may
be displayed when you first start iBase: An application plug-in failed to
load: i2 iBase Bulk Coordinate Converter. This indicates that a required
environment variable has not yet been applied. To resolve this problem, either log
off from Windows, or restart the computer.
Alternative installation options
Advanced options for installing this product are described in the Packaging and
Deployment Guide. This explains how to perform automated and silent installs and use
the advanced features provided by the Windows Installer (MSI). It includes details on
customizing installed files, third-party software installed, and language-specific files.
Configuring an installation of iBase
Information on setting up your installation is available in the Administration Center. This
covers features such as iBase Scheduler, Search 360 Index Configuration, alerting
configuration, auditing setup, and the configuration of bulk import and XML import.
Note: If you use the Reason for Action facility, you should update your command
groups. In iBase Designer, select Tools > Database Setup > Update
Command Groups.

14

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

All databases should be opened and closed in iBase Designer 8.9 prior to use in iBase
8.9.
Additional configuration information for iBase GIS Interfaces
If you used iBase GIS Interfaces 2 with MapInfo, ArcView 3 or ArcGIS, your mapping
configuration files will be copied to the new Mapping folder when you install iBase GIS
Interfaces 8.9.
Once you have installed the interfaces:
You may need to modify the configuration file which specifies the background maps and
other mapping session features.
You must initialize each iBase repository for use with mapping and set up a mapping
configuration for the items that you want to map.
1. To initialize, open the database in iBase (not in iBase Designer) and select Tools >
Initialize Database for Mapping. This will make the necessary additional entries to
the database to store the mapping configuration information.
You must have the iBase database role Database Administrator to perform this
operation. The user SYSADMIN in each default security file has this role.
2. To configure an interface, select Format > Mapping Configurations > New.
You may need to modify the configuration file that specifies the background maps and
other mapping session features. This varies between mapping applications.
iBase GIS Interfaces installs a default mapping application configuration file as one of
i2_default.apr, i2_default.mxd, or i2_default.wor, and then copies it to
i2.apr, i2.mxd, or i2.wor. If you need to make any changes then make them to, for
example, i2.apr and not to i2_default.apr.
The configuration files used by the application are stored in these folders:
Windows version

Path

Windows XP

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\

Application Data\i2\i2 iBase 8\<language>\
Mapping\

Windows Vista or
Later

C:\ProgramData\i2\i2 iBase 8\<language>\Mapping\

Note:

If required, users can save i2.mxd with a different name in the same location
and, providing it is open, can also send data to this copy of the file.

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

15

blue 8 xd
Once you have installed iBase GIS Interfaces, you need to install the blue 8 xd mapping
application, if you have not already done so, and then arrange for a consultant from either
Northgate Information Solutions or i2 to copy the blue 8 xd interface component to the
correct folder for access by iBase GIS Interfaces.
ArcGIS
Existing users upgrading to ArcGIS 10 will need to update the version 9 configuration files
(using either i2_default_10.mxd or i2_meters_10.mxd as a template) with any
changes that they made to the configuration files used with earlier releases of iBase GIS
Interfaces and then save the configuration file as i2.mxd.
Note:

The default configuration file, i2_default_10.mxd, is configured to use

unknown units which will handle data in any units. The configuration file
i2_meters_10.mxd is configured to use meters to handle data.

ArcView 3
The default project file i2_default.apr expects the standard sample data to be
located at a standard ESRI data location and uses an environment variable to locate it.
You do not normally need to take any action if the example map files have been loaded at
the standard location from the CD. If they are located elsewhere, use the information in
the i2 iBase GIS Interfaces Guide to revise the i2.apr file.
MapInfo
To allow MapInfo users who log on as ordinary users rather than as Administrators to plot
data, you must give them write access to the file i2.wor in the following folders:
Windows version

Path

Windows XP

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application

Data\i2\i2 iBase 8\<language>\Mapping\MapInfo

Windows Vista or
Later

C:\ProgramData\i2\i2 iBase
8\<language>\Mapping\MapInfo

The default workspace file, i2_default.wor, expects the data to be in degrees. The
product also includes i2_meters.wor. You will need to copy this to i2.wor to make
use of it with data in meters.
You must start MapInfo once for each user of the PC before using iBase GIS Interfaces.
This is because MapInfo only initializes user-specific information such as the custom
symbols location the first time a user uses the product.
If you do not follow these steps and then use the iBase GIS Interfaces, you will see an
error that the application is not responding. MapInfo will then initialize and future
operation of the iBase GIS Interfaces will work normally.

16

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

Additional configuration information for iBase Plate Analysis

Information on setting up your installation is available in the Plate Analysis online help.
See the topic called: About Configuring Plate Analysis.
If you are using Plate Analysis with iBase Database Replication then you need to
complete these additional steps:
1. Configure Plate Analysis at the Publisher as described in the iBase 8 Plate Analysis
online help.
2. At each Subscriber, configure Plate Analysis: on the Configure page of the Plate
Analysis Task Manager, click the Optimize button.
Additional configuration information for Cyber IP DNS Resolution
For Cyber IP DNS Resolution you need to perform the following configuration:
The IP/DNS resolution is performed by DNS; therefore DNS (UDP) must be
enabled/allowed on all machines that perform lookups, including the DNS server. The
DNS server will also require port 53 (DNS) to be open.
You should ensure that both geocoding data and spam blacklisting information is
available for use.
Ensure that you have an entity type that has the following field properties:
Field

Field Type

Description

IP Address

Text Field

The Internet Protocol address identifies a web

address using a numeric code. Both IPv4 and IPv6
IP addresses are supported.
The IP Address field must be at least 39
characters in length.

Hostname

Text Field

The domain name of the web address.

The Hostname field must be at least 255
characters in length.

Latitude

Real
Number

Stores the registered geographic latitude for the IP

address.

Longitude

Real
Number

Stores the registered geographic longitude for the

IP address.

Country

Text field

The country in which the IP Address is registered.

The Country field must be at least 50 characters in
length.

Spam Blacklisted

Yes/No

This indicates whether the IP address has been

identified as a sender of bulk unsolicited
messages.

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

17

Enhancements and Bug Fixes

Enhancements and bug fixes for iBase 8.9
Chart Item Extractor (11661)
The chart item extractor capability allows chart item data to be extracted from Analysts
Notebook charts and stored as entities and links in iBase.
Default Link Strength (11679)
You can now set a default link strength for the current session using the Session Defaults
dialog when creating new links, for example when importing or creating multiple links
from one entity.
Customized Synonym lists (11952)
You can now set up your own synonym lists for Search 360. For more information, refer
to the iBase Designer online help.
Global shortcut keys
There is now an Activate global shortcut keys option available on the Options dialog
which allows you to choose whether to use and potentially customize the use of global
shortcut keys. By default this is turned on.
Local shortcut keys (11683, 11685)
Local shortcut keys are now available for setting link direction, link strength, and editing
functions such as new, edit, copy, delete, save, and close:
Split Text Action for Importer in iBase (12030)
When transforming source data, there is a new action available called Split Text. This
allows you to divide the content of a column into two parts. For example, a Full Name
field "Andrew Smith" could be split into two fields: Name1 "Andrew" and Name2 "Smith".
You can choose your own Split Character and choose whether you want the left or right
side of the split.
GIS Interfaces supports new versions
The following versions of GIS products are now supported in addition to those previously
supported: ArcGIS 10, MapInfo Professional 10, 10.5, and 11, and MapPoint 2011
Cyber IP DNS Resolution
Cyber IP DNS Resolution is an addition to iBase that allows cyber data to be enhanced
and analyzed together with other intelligence in a single database; presenting you with a
complete view of data pertaining to an investigation.

18

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

Cyber IP DNS Resolution collates a number of semi-automated features that resolve an

IP address to Domain Name Systems hostname (and vice versa), geo-locates the point
of origin, and checks against a blacklist to indicate the IP addresss potential validity.
These features can be used on individual records or multiple records that are the
contents of a set or query.
A Cyber database template is also available as part of Cyber IP DNS Resolution, which
assists in the creation of an iBase database, and a dedicated Cyber icon list.
Enhancements and bug fixes for iBase 8.5
New Entity Icon Support
The new Entity icons that were originally introduced with Analysts Notebook 8.5 are now
fully supported within iBase. This includes an option to revert to legacy mode if required.
Analysts Notebook Standard Icon List
A new Icon list has been created that reflects the standard icon set used by Analysts
Notebook. This can be selected, along with other icon lists using the Tools > Options
dialog within iBase User.
Analysts Notebook Search 360 support
Search 360 searches can now be performed for connected iBase repositories using the
Analysts Notebook plug-in. This allows items to be located using Search 360 compatible
data sources, and added directly to the chart surface.
Analysts Notebook image support
Setting images to be saved in the same way as Analyst's Notebook pictures allows
images that are associated with iBase entities to be exported into Analyst's Notebook and
have the Picture and Frame options enabled.
Microsoft MapPoint 2010 Support
Microsoft MapPoint support has been extended to include Microsoft MapPoint 2010.
Configurable Search 360 indexing
It is now possible to exclude entity types, link types or individual fields from the Search
360 index. This allows a partial index to be created in situations where a full Search 360
index is not viable.

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

19

Bulk importing of links with Security Classification Codes (SCC)

On importing link records using Bulk Import, if that record contains an SCC code then the
database is now correctly updated with the SCC values.
To fully resolve this issue please open and then close the database in iBase Designer
8.9.
Bulk import improvements
The bulk import mechanism has been improved to ensure that records are updated
correctly when the Do not update existing field values with blank values option has
been selected.
Export of query results with Security Classification Codes (SCC)
Items that should be filtered by Security Classification Codes, applied through Extended
Access Control, are no longer included when exporting the results of a query containing
denied records.
Import of multiple hyperlinks no longer results in duplication
An import that updates a record containing a multiple hyperlink field, no longer results in
duplication in the hyperlink values.
Saving code list values
The number of possible code list values has been increased.
Font rendering on the toolbar on some Far Eastern language operating systems
when using Windows 7 (x64)
Users no longer experience issues rendering toolbars within iBase.
General Search 360 Changes
The following optimizations have been added for Search 360:
Invalid characters within words no longer lead to duplicate tokens
The Search 360 Indexer now distinguishes between Unicode and non-Unicode
databases to aid performance
Alerting
There is now an option to remove records individually from an alert specification
Exporting
Users are no longer prompted twice for source query parameters when exporting records
that require a parameterized query

20

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

XML Bulk and Batch Import improvements

The XML bulk import process has been improved to support:
Data that contains multiple records with the same ID
Files that have a link type that allows both the same and different end entity types
Importing hyperlink fields
Batch imports that are run using the Scheduler now use the maximum number of errors
threshold that is set in the import specification.
Unicode conversion tool
The Unicode conversion tool has been modified to improve the conversion of SQL
databases. In particular:
The speed at which the Unicode conversion is carried out has been improved
The conversion of custom indexes containing spaces in their names is now supported
The database will be checked after upgrade to ensure that the conversion has been
successful
If an error occurs whilst automatically rebuilding the Full Text Index, the Unicode
conversion tool will inform the User that the index requires re-building and will
continue the conversion process
SQL Server Upgrade
The upgrade routine that runs when migrating your database to a later version of SQL
Server has been improved to notify if:
The audit log database has not been restored
The database compatibility level has been changed
The logged on user does not have dbo rights to the database
Any alerting will be automatically suspended while the upgrade is in progress, and FullText Search indexes will dynamically upgrade.
Extended Tooltip display
When creating entity types within iBase Designer, The description of a field will be
displayed to end users as a Tooltip. To facilitate Designers attempts to promote data
integrity, field level Tooltips are now displayed for longer within iBase User.
Co-ordinate support using the Analysts Notebook plug-in
Support for conversion between different co-ordinate formats has been improved to allow
co-ordinates to be translated between different co-ordinate systems using the Analysts
Notebook plug-in. This matches behavior already present in both iBase and iBase
Designer.

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

21

Known Limitations
User permissions to run the Search 360 Indexer
In order to run the Search 360 Indexer, you should ideally be an Administrator as you
need permission to run the CmdExec subsystem. If you are not an administrator, you
should use a proxy account that references a user (via a credential) with suitable
permissions. The proxy can then be specified in the "Run As" field of the "Configure
Database" dialog. But in order to be able to specify the proxy within the "Configure
Database" dialog, the you need to be granted access to this Proxy for "SQL Login" (this
can be setup within the "Principals" tab of the Proxy dialog in SQL Management Studio)
as well as the following database roles:
"SQLAgentOperatorRole" database role on the msdb database.
Search 360
To prevent errors during indexing, a configurable limit has been added to the system that
prevents documents over a certain size from being indexed for Search 360. The current
default value for this limit is 100MB.
To increase the performance of search results a configurable limit has been added to the
system that prevents documents over a certain size from returning excerpts as part of
Search 360 results, if the search term is found within the document; the details will be
present as part of the search results, but the document will need to be opened to view the
matched information. The current default value for this limit is 0.5MB.
There are some limitations on how Search 360 performs in non-English language
regions.
Western European Script Exact and spelled-like matching produces successful
results. Sounds-like matching returns less useful results, however, the degree of
matching should be evaluated by the end user to determine if these results are
usable.
Central and Eastern European Script - Exact and spelled-like matching produces
successful results. Sounds-like matching is unsupported in these language groups.
Arabic Script Exact matching produces successful results. Spelled-like matching
returns less useful results, however, the degree of matching should be evaluated by
the end user to determine if these results are usable. Sounds-like matching is
unsupported for this language.
East Asian Scripts Exact matching produces mixed results. The indexing process
employed by Search 360 is heavily reliant on word boundaries (e.g. a space); as
these scripts do not reflect the same word boundaries as those used in western
scripting, for example, it is at this point the exact matching gives weak or no results.
Exact matching will work however in whole character sequences e.g. the equivalent to
English sentences.
Full text search
After an iBase repository has been converted to Unicode, iBase users may see the
following error message when they try to rebuild the Full Text Search index:

22

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

File 'sysft_i2Catalog' cannot be reused until after

the next BACKUP LOG operation.
To solve this problem run a SQL Server Transaction log back up. After performing the
backup, the Full Text Search index should rebuild.
Indexing unrecognized document types
If a document submitted for indexing is of a type that the indexer does not recognize the
index will be completed but the unrecognized document will be skipped.
Office 2010 64-bit compatibility issues (11736)
If you are using Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft recommends that you use 32-bit Office
on 64-bit machines for compatibility reasons with other products. If you install 64-bit
Office 2010, you will not be able to:
import from Microsoft Excel workbooks or Access 2007-10 databases
report to Microsoft Access 2007-10 database
You will be able to:
export to Microsoft Excel workbooks
report to Microsoft Word 2007-10 documents
On a 64-bit machine without Microsoft Office 2007 or 2010 installed you can install the
32-bit Access Database engine which will enable you to import from Excel 2007-10
workbooks and import/report with Access 2007-10 databases. You may find this useful
for importing on servers.
Note: You cannot install the 32-bit engine if 64-bit Office is installed.
In addition, if you create a report with output to a Microsoft Access (.accdb) database and
you have Create OLE pictures turned on, an error will occur. The report will be created
but there will be no Image_OLE column in the report. Ensure that you turn off and disable
Create OLE pictures.
Citrix dialog captions (11665)
When running iBase on Citrix, some dialog captions appear with white boxes or spurious
characters between the characters in the title. If you are using tabbed mode in iBase, only
the first character is displayed in the tab title.
To fix this, set the following registry setting to 1:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\i2\iBase\8\SystemSettings\CitrixCap
tion
Note: The captions will not appear in bold as for other dialogs but will not include the
spurious characters.

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

23

Focus when running iBase on Citrix in Seamless Mode (11218)

When running iBase on Citrix in Seamless Mode, message boxes displayed by some
dialogs upset the focus so iBase cannot regain focus properly and does not respond to
mouse clicks or the keyboard within dialogs until you click on the main title bar.
To fix this, set the following registry setting to 1
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\i2\iBase\8\SystemSettings\CitrixMes
sageBox
iBase will respond to a mouse click within the dialog after the message box is closed.
Note: This should only be used with Citrix in Seamless mode, in other environments setting this
registry entry may result in iBase losing focus when the message box is closed and another
application will come to the front.
Chart Item Extractor unavailable when using an iBase 5 database (11974)
The Chart Item Extractor is not available with iBase 5 databases that are opened in iBase
8.9,
Custom Icon support
Custom icons are now only supported if they are placed in the Custom images location:
CSIDL_MYDOCUMENTS\i2\i2 Shared\Custom Images\
Where:
CSIDL_MYDOCUMENTS is the file system directory used to physically store a user's
common repository of documents. A typical path is C:\Documents and
Settings\username\My Documents.
For more information about CSIDL values, see http://msdn.microsoft.com/enus/library/bb762494(v=VS.85).aspx
To add a custom icon you should:
1. Copy your image file to the Custom images folder, adding copies to both:
CSIDL_MYDOCUMENTS\i2\i2 Shared\Custom Images\Screen\Icons
CSIDL_MYDOCUMENTS\i2\i2 Shared\Custom Images\Printer\Icons
2. Update the configuration file in use with a new line that includes the icon name a
tab-separator and the file name.
For example:
Title

filename

Please refer to the iBase Designer help for further information.

24

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

Hyperlink support
Hyperlinks can no longer be used within Discriminators and Labels
Alerting
When performing large imports alerting jobs should be disabled to improve performance.
This includes large automated imports including: import specifications, batch import
specifications, bulk imports, and use of iBase Scheduler. Alerting jobs should be stopped
before the import starts, and started again once the import has completed.
Alerting should also be disabled when backing up your database.
You can control the scheduling of alerting jobs in the Alerting Configuration dialog (in
iBase Designer). More advanced scheduling options are available in SQL Server
Management Studio. You can also manually disable alerting jobs in the Alerting
Configuration dialog by clicking Schedule and turning off the Enable check box.
Warning: Do not click Suspend Alerting, as this will remove your alerting jobs.
Moving an iBase 5 repository requires that you upgrade it
If you move an iBase 5 repository, you will need to open it in iBase 8 Designer in order to
associate the security file with the repository file. This action will require you to upgrade
the repository.
Dialog Performance with large numbers of Sets and Queries
If your repository has several hundred Sets and Queries, the following dialogs may
experience delays in opening:

Export Wizard
Report Wizard
Batch Edit
Batch Delete
Export to Excel

Browse
Field Calculator
Assign Icons
Duplicate Checker

SQL Server Express

There is no default facility in SQL Server Express edition to manage the scheduling of
alerting or Search 360. If you would like to use alerting or Search 360 please contact your
support representative for more information.
Unicode support
In the Report Wizard, the Standard Report format does not support Unicode characters.
As a workaround, you should select the Rich Text Format option.
Bulk Import with blank records
The Bulk Import will not import data from files that contain blank rows. To import the data
present in these files, delete the blank rows before resubmitting the file.

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

25

Excel import issues

Excel determines the data types using a sample of the first 8 rows of the excel
spreadsheet. This behavior is by design for the Microsoft Excel ISAM driver. The first 8
rows determine the data type of the column. In situations where this sampling is
insufficient, the data may be imported incorrectly. As a workaround, files can be
converted to a CSV file before being imported.
PDF documents cannot be indexed by iBase in the presence of Adobe Reader X.
Due to a limitation with Microsoft Desktop Search, the Adobe PDF IFilter shell extension
is not currently included with the latest major version of Adobe Reader. iBase Search
360 uses this IFilter to extract the contents of PDF documents that are stored in the
database so that they can be searched. So in the presence of Adobe Reader X, PDF
documents will not be searchable in iBase.
Do not upgrade to Adobe Reader X on the machine that is used to index your iBase
database as this will result in any existing Adobe PDF IFilters being uninstalled. If you
have already installed Adobe Reader X on that machine, contact your supplier for
advice.
Cyber IP DNS Resolution limitations
Automatically updating records
The Cyber IP DNS Resolution Configuration Auto-Update options allow you to set the
type of information that will be added to records when entering information about cyber
entities. This currently only updates records that have been entered manually using iBase
or Analysts Notebook. Records that have been imported, sent from Text Chart, or
entered using iBase IntelliShare should be updated using the Cyber IP DNS Resolution
Bulk Update.
Blacklisting
When using Cyber DNS Resolution, depending on the size of your blacklist, there may be
a delay when first using the spam lookup function.
GeoLite City
Cyber IP DNS Resolution only supports the MaxMind GeoIP City dataset directly. If you
would like to use the MaxMind GeoLite City dataset, you will need to rename
GeoLiteCity.dat to GeoIPCity.dat in the place you manage your MaxMind data.
Plate Analysis limitations
Case Control
Plate Analysis cannot be used with case-enabled iBase databases.
SQL Server Databases
Plate Analysis will only work with SQL Server databases.
26

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

All GIS applications

Density Grid and Spatial Query tools
Both the Density Grid and Spatial Query tools are sensitive to the current map units, i.e. if
the data is sent to the map in decimal degrees but the map is in meters then both of
these tools will fail.
Plotting data from multiple databases
When plotting to the same mapping application, you may get unexpected results in the
following situations:

When you plot data from different databases and then use iBase menu commands
such as Show, Add to Set, Add to Chart, Expand, and Add to Data Miner:
-

For Show and Add to Set the wrong database may be presented and
consequently no data displayed or saved in a set.

For Add to Chart and Expand, only data from one database can be displayed
on the chart.

For machines that have both iBase 4 and iBase 8 installed, if a database from
each is open then the menu selections always default to the database that was
opened last.

When you plot data from databases with the same name:
-

When the databases have the same structures but different data, incorrect
information will be retrieved for records mapped from a database that is not
currently open. Alternatively, the user may be informed that the record has been
deleted from the database.

When the databases have different structures and data, the user will see a
permissions error message if an entity or link type with the same three letter
identifier does not exist in the open database. If the three-letter record identifier
does exist then a record for the incorrect entity or link type may be displayed or,
if there is no record with that record number, the user may be informed that the
record has been deleted.

Running a query to find all entities or links in the vicinity of an entity or link on
the map may return records on an unrelated area of the map.

Deleting an entity or link via the Show dialog will delete it from the currently
open database, which may not be the same database from which it was
mapped.

To prevent this unexpected behavior only map from iBase databases with
unique names.

ArcGIS Interface Blank menu

Following an upgrade from iBase 5, users of the iBase ArcGIS Interfaces may find a
blank menu that is labeled iBase 5. The options that were available under this menu are
now found within the file menu, and the menu can be removed by updating the i2.mxd
file.

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

27

blue 8 world
blue 8 world does not support the Select on Map command.
blue 8 xd
blue 8 xd does not support the Select on Map command where the user has made
multiple selections.
MapInfo
The main toolbar must be set up as a floating toolbar.
MapPoint
MapPoint 2009
MapPoint 2009 restricts the range of symbols and colors available. For example,
regardless of the symbol you select in the configuration file, all symbol are plotted as
pins. Red, green and blue are plotted as expected, black is plotted as blue, and all other
colors are plotted as red.
All versions of MapPoint

MapPoint has European and US Editions; if you have both installed, data will be sent
to the most recently opened version.

When sending data to MapPoint the Adding Labels dialog indicates that you can
press the Esc key to cancel the process. The Esc key does not cancel the process.

Word 2007 and 2010 displaying RTF reports

When an RTF report is displayed or printed using Word 2007 or 2010, some large fields
may appear to be truncated. This data can be displayed correctly in Word 2003.
If a printed version of the report is required, we recommend printing the report directly or
selecting the HTML option for exporting the report.
Microsoft known limitations
i2 files cannot be indexed and searched by the Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server
2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 search mechanism
The files created by IBM i2 Intelligence Analysis products cannot currently be indexed
and searched by the Windows search mechanism.
Some entries in the summary information are not visible on Windows. The 'Description'
and 'Origin' sections are not visible through Explorer.

28

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

Contacting IBM Support

IBM Support provides assistance with product defects, answers FAQs, and helps users
resolve problems with the product.
Before you begin
After trying to find your answer or solution by using other self-help options such as
technotes, you can contact IBM Support. Before contacting IBM Support, your company
or organization must have an active IBM software subscription and support contract, and
you must be authorized to submit problems to IBM. For information about the types of
available support, see the Support portfolio topic in the "Software Support Handbook".
Procedure
To contact IBM Support about a problem:
1. Define the problem, gather background information, and determine the severity of
the problem. For more information, see the Getting IBM Support topic in the
Software Support Handbook.
2. Gather diagnostic information.
3. Submit the problem to IBM Support in one of the following ways:
-

Online through the IBM Support Portal: You can open, update, and view all of
your service requests from the Service Request portlet on the Service Request
page.

By phone: For the phone number to call in your region, see the Directory of
worldwide contacts web page.

Results
If the problem that you submit is for a software defect or for missing or inaccurate
documentation, IBM Support creates an Authorized Program Analysis Report (APAR).
The APAR describes the problem in detail. Whenever possible, IBM Support provides a
workaround that you can implement until the APAR is resolved and a fix is delivered. IBM
publishes resolved APARs on the IBM Support website daily, so that other users who
experience the same problem can benefit from the same resolution.

IBM i2 iBase Release Notes

29