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.

If you are interested in Db2 Managed Services on the Cloud this is a great session to attend to get the very latest information. This session will review some of the recent updates to our Db2 managed services and in particular it will dive deeper into our upcoming managed Db2 cloud services on Azure. It will go over features, but also review the technical architecture behind a new SaaS deployment model which allows you to get the benefits of a managed service while hosting the infrastructure in your own cloud account.

The intent of this presentation is to allow DBAs with either Db2 z/OS or Db2 LUW skills apply thier knowledge to the other Db2 platform. There is a lot of commonality between these versions of Db2, however there are some huge differences.  Deployment models, differences in functionality and how each is structured will be explained in detail.

Thinking about your availability and recovery strategy shouldn't give you sleepless nights.  When issues do come up, you want to make sure you have the tools needed to solve problems and ensure you get the most out of your investment in Db2.  This presentation will give you some context and insight into the top questions we see from our customers the most in the areas of backup, restore, crash recovery, locking, logging, transaction management and high availability and disaster recovery.  The questions and answers discussed here could save you when an unexpected outage arises and/or better prepare you to avoid an outage in the future.

Large language models (LLMs) have revolutionized AI by enabling a new category of applications called language apps. Enterprises have widely started using these apps for various purposes such as chatbots, document summarization, question–answering, and information retrieval. This has sparked renewed interest in AI in recent years. A crucial aspect of language apps is the generation of vector embeddings using language models. This process converts unstructured content, like PDFs, into AI–readable representations. These embeddings are used for vector similarity search, which offers more precise semantic search compared to traditional methods. However, vectors have high dimensionality, so they need cost–effective and secure storage, as well as efficient search methods. Db2 is introducing its first phase of vector support, which includes in–database vector storage, vector similarity search, and various vector operations. In this presentation, the Speaker will discuss Db2’s upcoming vector support features and how they can be utilized to develop modern LLM applications with Db2.

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. 

Db2 HADR is a widely deployed Highly–Available configuration, providing excellent reliability and capacity, with Reads–on–Standby and multiple auxillaries. This session takes a look at the performance of HADR solutions, including

how to successfully configure and monitor HADR operation 
best practices and troubleshooting
Configuring and using virtual IP
examining performance data from AWS HADR pairs for different sync modes 

The Db2 family of products including Db2, Db2 Warehouse, and BigSQL provide a number of important features for diagnosing and solving your SQL problems. Through a series of practical examples, this session will bring you up speed on the latest capabilities available for SQL diagnostics and show you how you can leverage them to solve query problems in your own environment. You will learn how to identify your most expensive SQL statements using the package cache table functions, and how to use Db2's "time spent" metrics to analyze where your problem queries are spending their time. You will also learn some new tips for monitoring sort memory metrics and query memory consumption in order to tune your analytic workloads. Finally you will learn how to use the runtime explain capabilities in conjunction with the activity event monitor to capture actual query plan cardinalities as well the per object metrics.

This hands–on lab introduces participants to a new AI–powered console designed to simplify and enhance Db2 database management. Through guided exercises, participants will learn how to use the console's features to monitor database performance, troubleshoot common issues, and apply optimization recommendations.
Key tasks will include setting up and customizing dashboards, diagnosing performance bottlenecks using real–time monitoring tools, and leveraging AI–driven recommendations for query tuning and resource management. Participants will also explore natural language interactions for querying data and step–by–step troubleshooting.
This lab is designed for database administrators and IT professionals who want practical experience using an intelligent, streamlined tool for managing Db2 environments. By the end of the session, attendees will have a better understanding of how to integrate these capabilities into their day–to–day workflows to improve efficiency and system reliability.

IBM Db2 offers a wide range of AI features, both built–in and external tools, for creating AI systems and solutions. These include over 200 built–in AI stored procedures and tools that work seamlessly with open–source AI ecosystems. In this workshop, participants will explore Db2’s AI support and use a selection of these features to implement practical AI models. The workshop consists of two parts. In the first module, participants will learn how to develop a supervised AI model using Db2’s built–in AI stored procedures. The entire model development and usage will be done using SQL within the database. In the second module, participants will learn how to create a Python model using popular Python packages outside of the database, and then deploy that model back into a Db2 database. By the end of the workshop, participants will have gained fundamental skills and hands–on experience in utilizing these AI capabilities. They will be able to apply these skills to their future AI projects. This workshop is designed to be beginner–friendly and does not require participants to have extensive knowledge in AI. Basic SQL skills and some Python programming skills are sufficient for attending and benefiting from this workshop.

The Db2 community constantly welcomes new database administrators or application developers that access Db2. One of the reasons – Db2 is known as a robust and reliable database management system and a perfect match for private and public cloud environments.
However, sometimes you might face database related issues. The session will cover the first steps in the process of problem determination and problem source identification (PD/PSI). The session gives hands–on examples and practical examples for the strategy and process to encircle and find the problem by asking the right questions and will share best practices for the first occurrence data capture (FODC) tools available for the DBA.