Canonical: https://molo17.com/from-precisely-connect-to-gluesync/ Markdown mirror: https://molo17.com/from-precisely-connect-to-gluesync/index.md Title: Precisely Connect CDC Alternative | Switch to Gluesync Description: For Precisely Connect CDC customers and partners: how Gluesync compares on IBM i capture, connectors, operations, and pricing model. CDC only, not an HA suite. [← Part of Migrate to Gluesync](/migrate-to-gluesync/) FOR PRECISELY CONNECT CUSTOMERS AND PARTNERS # From Precisely Connect CDC to Gluesync Running CDC inside a broad integration suite adds cost and moving parts. Gluesync does one job: change data capture. Keep the journals, the tables and the HA suite you already run, and move the CDC layer to an agent that reads IBM i journals from off the box, one web Control Plane, 71+ connectors from Db2 for i to Kafka, Snowflake and MongoDB, and a per-core subscription that is not tied to hosts or LPARs. [Start free trial](/get-gluesync/) [Talk with MOLO17](/contacts/) Gluesync replaces the CDC layer only. Assure MIMIX, QuickEDD and iTERA HA stay exactly where they are. WHAT CHANGES WHEN YOU SWITCH 1. 01**No Change Selector, no Listener, no subsystem on the IBM i** 2. 02**71+ connectors managed from one browser console** 3. 03**One per-core subscription instead of per-host keys** 4. 04**Parallel run next to Connect CDC, cutover by entity group** WHO THIS IS FOR ## Teams running Connect CDC, and the partners who support them. - **Connect CDC customers** Teams that replicate Db2 for IBM i, Oracle, SQL Server or Db2 LUW into other databases, Kafka or Snowflake, and want broader targets, a lighter IBM i footprint and a simpler commercial model. - **Precisely partners and IBM i resellers** Integrators who keep offering Assure HA products and need a modern change data capture product to sell next to them. If you know Connect CDC as MIMIX Share or Double-Take Share, the components are the same: Director for modelling, MonCon and Console for control, a Listener and kernel on every host, and a Change Selector on every source. Gluesync replaces all of them with Core Hub and agents. WHY TEAMS SWITCH ## Five things Connect CDC customers ask MOLO17 to fix. - **Footprint on the IBM i.** Connect CDC runs a Change Selector per journal and a Listener on every IBM i source, in their own subsystem, and installing them takes a systems programmer, a security administrator, a DBA and a network administrator. Gluesync runs nothing on the IBM i. - **Windows-bound modelling.** The Enterprise Data Movement Model lives in Director, a Windows GUI, with MonCon and Console as separate tools. Gluesync puts design, deployment, monitoring and licensing in one web console. - **Targets stop at relational, Kafka and Snowflake.** No MongoDB, Couchbase, BigQuery, Redshift, S3, Parquet or Pub/Sub. Gluesync covers all of them, with 71+ connectors. - **Licenses tied to hosts and environments.** Keys per operating system and per source or target role, one omnilicense file in every kernel directory, and a new key when a Power upgrade or LPAR change moves the Listener. Gluesync is one per-core subscription, verified locally, valid wherever you deploy it. - **No visibility on cost.** Connect is quoted through sales and grows with hosts, platforms and targets. Gluesync is sized per use case and scales linearly with the cores you allocate. HOW GLUESYNC DOES IT ## One Core Hub, agents next to your systems, nothing running on the IBM i. A Gluesync deployment has three parts: **Core Hub**, which holds configuration, transforms records in flight and serves the web Control Plane and REST API; **agents**, one per technology, deployed close to the system they talk to; and **pipelines**, which tie a source agent, a target agent and the entities you replicate together with their mapping rules. - **IBM i capture from off the box.** The IBM i agent calls `QjoRetrieveJournalEntries` on the `QSYS/QJOURNAL` service program through the IBM Toolbox for Java, reading by receiver and sequence number. It never locks or scans the physical files and forwards committed changes only. - **Resilient by design.** Captured changes land in ArenaCache, a disk-backed cache next to the agent, so a Core Hub restart or a short network outage never forces a resynchronization. CDC checkpoints are persisted in Core Hub, not in a local file. - **One console for everything.** Pipeline design, agent deployment through Conductor, monitoring, alerting, licensing and user management live in the Control Plane, in any browser, with a mobile layout. Everything the UI does is also available through the REST API, the Python and Node.js SDKs and the Core Hub MCP server. - **Runs where you run.** Container images for Docker, Podman, Docker Compose and Kubernetes on Linux or Windows Server; fully on premises, in AWS, Azure or GCP, hybrid or air-gapped. Read the [IBM i journal data capture architecture ↗](https://docs.molo17.com/gluesync/latest/agents/ibm-i-series-journal-data-capture-architecture.html) and [What is Gluesync ↗](https://docs.molo17.com/gluesync/latest/introduction/what-is-gluesync.html). CAPABILITY COMPARISON ## Precisely Connect CDC and Gluesync, side by side What each platform captures, where it delivers, and how you operate it day to day. | Capability | Precisely Connect CDC | Gluesync | | --- | --- | --- | | IBM i change capture | Change Selector process on the IBM i, one per journal, running with the Listener in the CONNECTCDC (formerly MXSHARE) subsystem. Journals set to IMAGES(\*BOTH). | Agent off the IBM i calling the native journal APIs (`QjoRetrieveJournalEntries`, `RJNE0200` format) via JT400. No Gluesync job on the system. Journals set to IMAGES(\*BOTH). Db2 for i 7.1 and later. | | Capture on other sources | Log based on IBM i, Db2 for z/OS and Oracle; trigger and procedure based on other database servers. | Native mechanism per agent: Oracle LogMiner or XStream, SQL Server Change Tracking or transaction log, PostgreSQL WAL, MySQL and MariaDB binlog, Db2 LUW `db2ReadLog`, Informix change stream, SAP HANA shadow tables, MongoDB change streams, Couchbase DCP, DynamoDB Streams, Cosmos DB change feed. Trigger agents for Oracle, Db2 LUW and Sybase ASE where log access is not an option. | | Sources | Db2 for i, Db2 for z/OS, Db2 LUW, IMS, VSAM, Oracle and Oracle RAC, SQL Server, Sybase. | 39+ source databases across IBM i, Db2 LUW, Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, Informix, SAP HANA, Sybase ASE, YugabyteDB, MongoDB, Couchbase, ScyllaDB, DynamoDB and Cosmos DB. No mainframe (z/OS) sources. | | Targets | Oracle, SQL Server, Azure SQL, Db2 (i, LUW, z/OS), PostgreSQL, MySQL, Teradata, Informix, Sybase, Apache Kafka (self-managed, MSK, Confluent Cloud), Snowflake through a staging area. | Every source platform above as a target, plus Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, ClickHouse, Vertica, SingleStore, CockroachDB, Cassandra, Redis, RavenDB, GridGain, Kafka, Google Pub/Sub, Solace PubSub+, AWS S3 and S3-compatible, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Data Lake Gen2 and the Universal File Store agent (Parquet, JSON, CSV over FTP, FTPS, SFTP, WebDAV, SMB and NFS). 71+ connectors in total. | | Topologies | One-way, two-way, consolidated, distributed and cascade distributions. | One-way pipelines, fan-in and fan-out across pipelines, chains, and bidirectional sync as two pipelines with recursion protection. | | Initial load | Copy replication started from MonCon. | Snapshot tasks with up to 8 parallel writers, logical partitioning for parallel reads, bulk mode through staging tables and native loaders, truncate or selective deletion ahead of snapshot, re-runnable per entity. | | Transformations | Column expressions and predefined functions in Director; mappings stored in the Enterprise Data Movement Model. | Field mapping and filtering in the Control Plane, built-in field functions, user-defined functions in Java or Kotlin with snapshot and CDC awareness, denormalization of relational rows into nested documents, custom document keys, technical columns (transaction id, timestamp, user, operation). | | Design and control interface | Director (Windows GUI) for the model; MonCon (Windows or UNIX GUI) and Console (command line) for monitoring and control. | Web Control Plane in any browser, including mobile; REST API for CI/CD; Python and Node.js SDKs; Bootstrapper YAML and Automator for bulk creation and configuration backup; Core Hub MCP server with 125 tools for AI clients. | | Monitoring and alerting | Status and logs through MonCon and Console; audit trail of data access and change history. | Prometheus `/metrics` endpoint, official Grafana dashboard (throughput, snapshot progress, stalled entities, reader freshness, JVM), smart alerts with sensitivity and cooldown, notifications hub over SMTP and CloudEvents webhooks, 90-day query audit. | | Scheduling and automation | Scheduled start and stop of replication requests. | Chronos scheduler for pipelines, snapshots, queries and Validator runs; event-driven chains and webhooks; platform events. | | Data validation | No dedicated validation tool. | Validator compares a source entity with its target, lists missing and differing rows and schema drift, and reconciles from the Control Plane, the API or on a Chronos schedule. | | Security | Kerberos authentication, SSL/TLS encryption, Kafka schema registry, audit trail. | TLS on Control Plane and agent traffic, optional AES-256 node-to-node encryption, OIDC single sign-on (Entra ID, Keycloak, Auth0 and others), role-based access control, PII discovery and masking, configuration export and import. | | Query and AI surfaces | Not part of the product. | Query Studio SQL workbench, Query Forge federated JDBC gateway, AI Studio with customer-managed LLM providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Azure OpenAI, Ollama) and Enterprise brain. | | Deployment | Native installs on IBM i, Windows, Linux and UNIX hosts; Java kernel and Listener on every participating host. | Containers on Docker, Podman, Compose or Kubernetes; Linux and Windows Server; on premises, cloud, hybrid or air-gapped. Over-the-air updates from the Control Plane. | **The short version:** keep Connect CDC for z/OS, IMS and VSAM. For everything IBM i and distributed, Gluesync gives you more targets, capture that never runs on the IBM i, and design, operations and validation in one console. Full list in [supported integrations ↗](https://docs.molo17.com/gluesync/latest/introduction/supported-integrations.html). PRICING MODEL ## Two ways to pay for change data capture Connect CDC counts hosts, platforms and roles. Gluesync counts cores. The difference shows up every time you add a target, move an LPAR or renew. PRECISELY CONNECT CDC ### Per host, per environment **Price list:** None. Quoted through Precisely sales. **Unit:** Entitlements per operating system (Windows, UNIX, Linux, z/OS, AS/400), counted separately for source and target roles, in the OmniLicense file. **Cost drivers:** Number of hosts and platforms, source and target roles, and source capacity for mainframe estates. **License binding:** Key tied to the environment running the Listener and kernel. A server, LPAR or system change, including a Power upgrade, can require a new key. **Key delivery:** No self-service keys: raise a case in the Customer or Partner portal. The file goes in every kernel directory. **On expiry:** Replication continues; Director and MonCon lock until a new key is applied. **Trial:** Through sales. GLUESYNC ### Per core, one subscription **Price list:** Quoted per use case. MOLO17 sales replies within one business day. **Unit:** Per-core subscription sized around the use case and scaling linearly with it. **Term:** Enterprise licenses of one or three years. NFR licenses for partners and demos. **License binding:** A signed JWT `.dat` file with type, enabled features, product and expiry. Core Hub verifies it locally: no license server, no phone-home, works air-gapped. **Key delivery:** Upload from the Control Plane licensing tab or ship it with the deployment. Renewals arrive from MOLO17 before expiry. **On expiry:** Control Plane stays open; pipelines pause until a valid file is applied. The UI warns ahead of time. **Trial:** 30 days, full product, on your own infrastructure. **Support and lifecycle:** Enterprise portal with SLA (P1 response within 4 hours). One year of fixes and two years of support per release line; upgrades included in the subscription. Gluesync [licensing ↗](https://docs.molo17.com/gluesync/latest/introduction/licensing-and-license-management.html) and [enterprise support ↗](https://docs.molo17.com/gluesync/latest/introduction/enterprise-support.html) in detail. For a quote, [book a call](/book-a-demo/) or write to [sales@molo17.com](mailto:sales@molo17.com). A STAGED MIGRATION ## From an Enterprise Data Movement Model to running Gluesync pipelines Both products read the same IBM i journals, so the migration is a parallel run, not a cutover weekend. MOLO17 delivers it or enables your team. 01 ### Inventory the model List hosts, servers, journals, tables, distributions, column expressions and schedules in Director. Flag logical files and views: Gluesync captures physical files and treats logical files as snapshot only. 02 ### Rebuild in Gluesync Deploy Core Hub and the agents, run DDS discovery on the IBM i, and create pipelines from the Control Plane wizard or in bulk with Bootstrapper YAML through Automator. Port expressions to field functions or user-defined functions. [Bootstrapper docs ↗](https://docs.molo17.com/gluesync/latest/gs-modules/bootstrapper.html) 03 ### Run in parallel and validate Snapshot into a staging target, start CDC next to the existing Connect CDC request, and compare with Validator until source and target match under production load. [Validator docs ↗](https://docs.molo17.com/gluesync/latest/gs-modules/validator.html) 04 ### Cut over by entity group Repoint consumers to the Gluesync-fed target one group at a time, keep the journal receivers both products need, then stop the Change Selector when the last request is retired. [Professional Services →](/solutions/professional-services/) Need the migration delivered for you? [Explore MOLO17 Professional Services →](/solutions/professional-services/) FOR PRECISELY PARTNERS ## Add a CDC product to your IBM i portfolio without dropping HA. Precisely partners sell and support Assure high-availability products for IBM i customers, and get asked for change data capture to Kafka, Snowflake, MongoDB or a cloud database in the same conversation. Gluesync sits next to the HA product, not against it. - NFR licenses for demo, lab and internal use, with the same Control Plane as production - Deal registration and a partners portal with technical enablement material - Trial kits your customers install on their own infrastructure in an afternoon - Professional Services from MOLO17 to co-deliver the first projects [Become a partner →](/become-a-partner/) [Register a deal →](/partner-deal-registration/) [Partner program →](/partners/) FAQ ## Precisely Connect to Gluesync questions Does Gluesync replace Precisely Assure MIMIX, QuickEDD or iTERA HA? No. Gluesync is a change data capture and data movement platform, not an IBM i high-availability suite. It does not perform role swaps, switchovers or failover. Keep your HA product; Gluesync reads the same journals to feed databases, warehouses, lakes and event streams. What does Gluesync install on the IBM i? Nothing that runs. The Gluesync IBM i agent works off the IBM i and calls the native journal APIs (QjoRetrieveJournalEntries on the QSYS/QJOURNAL service program) through the IBM Toolbox for Java. There is no Gluesync job or subsystem on the system, only a small GLUESYNC library for service objects. Physical files must be journaled with IMAGES(\*BOTH), the same setting Connect CDC uses. Can Gluesync run alongside Precisely Connect CDC during a migration? Yes. Both products read the IBM i journal without touching the tables, so a Gluesync pipeline runs in parallel with an existing Connect CDC distribution while you validate the target. Cut over one entity group at a time, then stop the Change Selector when the last request is retired. Does Gluesync support mainframe sources such as Db2 for z/OS, IMS or VSAM? No. Gluesync covers IBM i (Db2 for i) and distributed platforms. If your Connect CDC estate includes z/OS sources, keep Connect for those flows and move the IBM i and distributed portion to Gluesync. Which targets can Gluesync deliver IBM i changes to? Relational databases (PostgreSQL, Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, MariaDB, Db2 LUW, SAP HANA, YugabyteDB, CockroachDB and more), NoSQL stores (MongoDB, Couchbase, Cassandra, ScyllaDB, DynamoDB, Azure Cosmos DB, Redis, Aerospike, RavenDB, GridGain), warehouses (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift, ClickHouse, Vertica, SingleStore), object storage and files (S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Data Lake Gen2, Parquet, JSON and CSV over FTP, SFTP, SMB and NFS) and streams (Apache Kafka, Google Pub/Sub, Solace PubSub+). How is Gluesync priced? Gluesync is a per-core subscription sized around each use case, with license terms of one or three years. The license is a signed file verified locally by Core Hub, with no license server and no phone-home, so the same file works in an air-gapped rack. A 30-day full-featured trial runs on your own infrastructure. MOLO17 sales answers quote requests within one business day. Can Gluesync replicate in both directions? Yes. Bidirectional synchronization is configured as two pipelines, one per direction, with recursion protection so changes written by Gluesync are not captured again. On IBM i the agent discards journal entries written under its own connection user. Is there a converter for the Connect CDC Enterprise Data Movement Model? Gluesync pipelines are rebuilt from the Control Plane wizard or created in bulk with Bootstrapper YAML through Automator. MOLO17 Professional Services scripts the bulk creation from an export of your model, and a staged parallel run validates each entity before cutover. Precisely, Connect, MIMIX, Assure, QuickEDD and iTERA are trademarks of Precisely Software Incorporated. MOLO17 is not affiliated with Precisely. PLAN YOUR EVALUATION ## Run Gluesync next to Connect CDC and compare. Start a 30-day trial on your infrastructure, or talk with MOLO17 about scope, licensing and a parallel run. [Start free trial](/get-gluesync/) [Talk with MOLO17](/contacts/)