IDUG NA 2025

This 3.5-day foundational course introduces the essentials of Db2 12.1 for relational DBAs, covering architecture, installation, configuration, and basic database management. It then builds on these core essentials with topics such as data movement, backup and recovery, and routine maintenance to ensure performance and integrity.  Designed for new and transitioning DBAs, the course emphasizes hands-on learning with minimal prerequisites beyond basic SQL and database knowledge.

Note: There is no certification for the foundational course, but students can take a proctored quiz after the class to obtain the badge.

IBM provides us number of solution to achieve multisite HA/DR for PureScale clusters. Those include technologies like HADR Replication for PureScale Clusters, Geographically Dispersed PureScale Clusters, GPFS replication for PureScale Clusters, Q Replication for PureScale Clusters.
 In the presentation we will describe alternative approach, where replication across 2 sites is provided by Storage Array Layer, which allows us to achieve additional benefits like consistency groups going beyond single GPFS filesystem used by the PureScale, optimized network utilization where Storage Array replication happens on SAN Fiber, additional HA layer where filesystem can be cross mounted across sites which gives additional redundancy layer for storage availability.
  
 We implement solution by deploying Synchronic Storage Replication across 2 sites, where SAN fabric provides us NSD multi path connections from each side. This way on each side we have collection of NSD disks that are local to given side, and also connection to remote NSD disks from DR side. On both sites we install standalone PureScale clusters, independent from each, therefore failure of any of those clusters does not impact other side counterpart. Having 2 clusters we designate one as primary by creating PureScale managed GPFS on top of Storage Array Layer, and on top of that create Database with its' associated paths. Next we use gpfssync capabilities to export primary GPFS filesystem , and next mount the same on DR site. This allows us to mimic primary cluster on DR site, and next attach those synchronized mount points to TSAMP cluster on secondary site. Later on, we just move application connection to DR site, which can handle further ongoing workloads.
  
 Proposed solution is active–passive deployment, when at any given time only one cluster has connection to synchronized storage array. We achieve this by protections on each layer (NSD disks active on one site only, GPFS mounts online on one site only, database cataloging on one site only). This is crucial to ensure only one side has active writes to the cluster, so that we prevent any corruption of the data. In the presentation we provide procedures to setup such deployment, along with failover procedures where we move storage attachment from primary to secondary, and reverse. We also provide testing results where we verify solution, by forcing failover and more failure scenarios while processing application workload.

In these days of heightened security, it is likely that you will be asked about Db2’s audit facility, db2audit. This tool has the ability to collect a number of types of security information and this presentation will show how to configure and use db2audit. dbaudit can collect massive amounts of data but there are ways to limit the data and those techniques will be shown in the presentation.

Db2 (LUW) Proctored Exams are FREE at IDUG NA 2025!
Please book your exam time by sending an email to badges@idug.org and provide the following information: 

• First & Last Name: 
• Email Address: 
• Exam Choice: 
• Day & Time Choice: 

Exam choices include: 

• Db2 11.5 Foundations Exam 
• Db2 11.5 Administration Exam 
• Db2 11.5 Advanced Database Resilience Exam 
• Db2 11.5 Advanced Database Design & Application Development Exam - Db2 11.5 Advanced Tuning & Debugging Exam
• Db2 12.1 Foundations Exam * NEW * 
• Db2 12.1 Administration Exam * NEW * 

IMPORTANT NOTES: No walk-ins. You must book in advance and you will receive  a confirmation once you are officially booked. This is a Bring Your Own Device  exam. Photo ID will be required at exam time. 

Trying to figure out the ins and outs of Db2 Log Space Management?  Spent too much time trying to figure out what settings are best for your environment?  With the introduction of Advanced Log Space Management the time has come to unleash it's potential.  Fully supported, the journey has begun in making log space management more autonomic.  This presentation will introduce you to some of the concepts and principles behind it all.  We will do a deep dive into the technology and transformation behind making log space management more hands off, which in the end will make life simple for you and your organization.

There are many sessions about the EXPLAIN facility in Db2 LUW, but they all lack the concise statements to find the right SQL queries, set everything up, do the EXPLAIN and draw the right conclusions by examples and working statements to copy–and–paste.
This is a back–to–basics session, enhanced with experiences from real situations and best practices.
The material was used for internal training of colleagues.

Relational databases serve as the primary data source for enterprise AI projects. Traditionally, when an AI project requires data from a relational database, engineers duplicate the data onto a separate system for model development and inference. However, this duplication process presents various challenges, including network latency, complex data governance, and the need for multiple APIs. These challenges often impede the successful implementation of AI models in production for many enterprise projects. To address these obstacles, IBM Db2 offers in–database AI capabilities and external tools. With Db2, ML practitioners can create and deploy AI models directly within their databases, significantly simplifying the complexities of AI pipelines. By leveraging in–db AI features, enterprises can safeguard sensitive data, expedite inferencing processes, and seamlessly integrate AI models with downstream business applications. In this talk, I will present the AI capabilities and tools provided by Db2. I will showcase how these capabilities can be effectively utilized in upcoming AI projects, demonstrating their potential to transform enterprise AI implementations.

Prior to Db2 12.1, with Db2 audit enabled for the database using the db2audit facility, an unsustainably large amount of audit data is generated which has an impact on the general database performance, I/O, and space. This is especially true for the “execute” category of Db2 auditing. Almost all the data is generated by the SAP application and the SAP database connect user. Unfortunately, the db2audit facility provides very little in terms of application context that comes from the SAP system such as SAP logon user, reports, and so on.
On the other hand, there are SAP–level auditing functions and auditing within the SAP system which can provide application–related details.
However, auditing on SAP application level has its limits: You cannot audit statements that execute directly against the database and that come from outside the local ABAP stack.With Db2 12.1, the Db2 audit facility has been enhanced to overcome the above–mentioned limitation. Generally, the database data should only be accessed in a trusted way from the SAP application through the SAP database connect user, and all other connections to the database should be audited.
As of Db2 12.1, you can exclude auditing for connections originating from the local SAP application by the SAP connect user. This reduces the amount of audit data generated by the Db2 audit facility to something more manageable.

Db2 (LUW) Proctored Exams are FREE at IDUG NA 2025!
Please book your exam time by sending an email to badges@idug.org and provide the following information: 

• First & Last Name: 
• Email Address: 
• Exam Choice: 
• Day & Time Choice: 

Exam choices include: 

• Db2 11.5 Foundations Exam 
• Db2 11.5 Administration Exam 
• Db2 11.5 Advanced Database Resilience Exam 
• Db2 11.5 Advanced Database Design & Application Development Exam - Db2 11.5 Advanced Tuning & Debugging Exam
• Db2 12.1 Foundations Exam * NEW * 
• Db2 12.1 Administration Exam * NEW * 

IMPORTANT NOTES: No walk-ins. You must book in advance and you will receive  a confirmation once you are officially booked. This is a Bring Your Own Device  exam. Photo ID will be required at exam time. 

Join the product management leadership to get an update on the Db2 business and the overall investment strategy we have in place for Db2 as we now deliver our first big new version in 5 years with Db2 12.1

Db2 (LUW) Proctored Exams are FREE at IDUG NA 2025!
Please book your exam time by sending an email to badges@idug.org and provide the following information: 

• First & Last Name: 
• Email Address: 
• Exam Choice: 
• Day & Time Choice: 

Exam choices include: 

• Db2 11.5 Foundations Exam 
• Db2 11.5 Administration Exam 
• Db2 11.5 Advanced Database Resilience Exam 
• Db2 11.5 Advanced Database Design & Application Development Exam - Db2 11.5 Advanced Tuning & Debugging Exam
• Db2 12.1 Foundations Exam * NEW * 
• Db2 12.1 Administration Exam * NEW * 

IMPORTANT NOTES: No walk-ins. You must book in advance and you will receive  a confirmation once you are officially booked. This is a Bring Your Own Device  exam. Photo ID will be required at exam time. 

This session is meant to be a HADR beginners session (101. back to basics, however you want to call it). Showing what HADR is, how it works in general and how you get it started. Additionally I'll explain the most common configuration parameters, their purpose and possible trip wires on the way to a running HA cluster.
This session will NOT cover any cluster autmation like TSA or Pacemaker.

Accurate catalog statistics are the lifeblood of the Db2 query optimizer. Db2 has had automatics statistics support since version 8.2 and real–time statistics were introduced in version 9.5. Automatic statistics collection is enabled by default for new databases and is the recommend best practice. So if you are still hesitant to use them, attend this session to gain a deeper understanding of how they work and why you can trust them to simplify your DB administration and improve overall query performance. In addition to providing details on the automatic statistics architecture, this presentation will provide details on ways to monitor and control automatic statistics collection so that it works well for any type of Db2 system.