IDUG NA 2025

Modern hybrid cloud infrastructures are becoming too complex for humans to manage efficiently and effectively. Shortage of experienced Db2 for z/OS professionals is further exacerbating the situation. This warrants a need for embracing AI and automation to augment human intervention to ensure the highest achievable availability and performance for Db2® for z/OS® systems. IBM Db2® AI for z/OS® ("Db2ZAI") provides three key features. 1. SQL Optimization – This empowers the optimizer in your Db2 for z/OS engine to determine the best–performing query access paths with performance validation based on your workload characteristics 2. System Assessment – This detects Db2 system performance exceptions and provides recommended actions for tuning which are based on your environment. 3. Distributed Connection Control (DCC) – This provides protection for Db2 for z/OS from unintentional disruptions and intrusions that can originate from remote applications This Hands–on Lab covers these main features provided by Db2ZAI.

Have you ever tried to use an LLM? How exactly can they be used in a business environment? And how can Db2 help with the accuracy of what an LLM produces?
This lab will take you through the various components that are used to create a system that generates a RAG (Retrieval–Augmented Generation) for an LLM to use to answer a question. You will get a chance to experiment with a system that provides a environment where you can try out different prompts and settings to see how an LLM will respond to your question. 
You will also get to see how Db2 fits into this picture and what vector calculations (and Vector databases) do when generating a RAG prompt.
 
 

IBM Db2 Query Monitor for z/OS, V3.4 offers current and historical views of query activity throughout Db2 subsystems. It gives you the ability to efficiently customize and tune your SQL workload and Db2 objects to validate the effectiveness of your Db2 subsystems and improve overall performance. It also offers you extensive choices so you can determine what monitoring information you will gather, and when.
DB2 Query Monitor for z/OS enables you to identify problem SQL activity and applications, allowing you to focus your efforts on improvement. DB2 Query Monitor enables you to do the following:  – Proactively manage DB2 resources  – React quickly and effectively to supply and demand–related DB2 problems (such as those resulting from inefficient SQL or inadequate object structures)  – Identify SQL requests that prevent critical requests from completing on schedule
Db2 Query Monitor comes with two interfaces, ISPF and a Web Client.  This hands on lab will take the user through the Web Client interface.   From your web browser, you can review query activity in Db2 Query Monitor, the SQL/CA, Db2 Commands, view alerts, and configure actions and responses. 

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.

See how IBM SQL Data Insights combines unsupervised deep learning with traditional SQL queries to allow you to run similarity, dis–similarity, cluster, analogy, and commonality queries on your Db2 z/OS data. You can easily uncover the hidden relationships across tables and views in your Db2 data, quickly gain actionable insights for solving your business problems as they arise, and confidently arrive at better business decisions. We will explore tables containing mutual funds financial data, home insurance underwriting data, and food nutrition data. You will experience how AI SQL queries can be applied to industry specific domains to find similarities, segment customers, and find outliers among relational data.
Make sure to bring your own device, and pre–create an IBM ID!

Bring your own device to this workshop, where you will have a chance to perform a hands–on lab to experience the latest deliverables towards Db2 user transformation. 

Db2 administrator personas can execute some of their daily tasks in a more intuitive way via Db2 Administration Foundation and its integration with Db2 Tuning Services, Query Workload Tuner and IDAA Administration services. Last but not least, administrators can also benefit from Db2 DevOps experience (DBaaS) to “shift–left” database operations to application developers under their rules and administrative directives.
Db2 application developer personas can develop / test and deploy application changes that also require database change in a speed that business demand. Using Db2 Developer Extension in IDE will simplify coding of SQL including native stored procedure code. Using Db2 DevOps Experience services (DBaaS), developers can, on demand, self–service database operations under the rules previously established by the Db2 administrators.