Meeting Agenda – Sept 11, 2019
8:30- 9:00
Registration – Coffee, juice and rolls
9:00 - 9:15
Welcome & WDUG Officer Elections
DB2 for z/OS
9:15 - 10:30
Managing and Monitoring Db2 for z/OS DDF Workload
Robert Catterall, IBM
At a great many Db2 for z/OS sites, applications that utilize the distributed
data facility (DDF) comprise the fastest-growing segment of the overall Db2
workload, and such applications are increasingly found to be the very largest
workload component - bigger than CICS-Db2, bigger than IMS-Db2, bigger than
batch-Db2. These trends make it ever more important to "do DDF right." How can a
Db2 DDF workload be effectively managed? How can DDF activity be monitored and
tuned? What does DDF application architecture have to do with efficiency? These
and other pertinent questions will be answered in this session.
10:30 - 10:45
Break
10:45 - 12:00
Explaining Often-Misunderstood Db2 for z/OS Concepts and Facilities
Robert Catterall, IBM
Some aspects of Db2 for z/OS technology are plain as day; others, less so.
Questions I get from Db2 users worldwide have highlighted for me things that a
lot of folks - even very experienced Db2 people - get wrong. In this session,
I'll try to bring clarity to often misunderstood areas of Db2 for z/OS
technology, including SQL statement zIIP eligibility, table space partitioning,
high-performance database access threads, page-fixed buffer pools, Db2-managed
archiving, hard and soft data set open and close, thread reuse, and in-memory
database objects.
12:00 - 1:15
Lunch and Learn for z/OS attendees with Neal Lozins of SoftBase
Sign up to learn about SoftBase and their product offerings and enjoy lunch - provided by SoftBase! You must sign up by 9/7/19 to participate.
Neal will demo some of SoftBase's support products like the following:
- Db2 Mask
- Db2 Subset
- Db2 Edit
- Db2 Slice
- Db2 SQL Debug
- Db2 Catalog Guide
1:15 – 2:30
The Most Important Stuff You Should Know About Db2 12 for z/OS
Robert Catterall, IBM
Db2 12 for z/OS is packed with new features and functions, and the scope of that new functionality expands several times per year with the delivery of successive function levels - Db2 12 continuous delivery in action. It's easy to talk all day about Db2 12, and I do that on a regular basis. For this session, I've boiled down what I personally consider to be the most important Db2 12-related information into a 75-minute presentation. Z hardware and z/OS exploitation, performance enhancements, package bind possibilities, utility goodies, SQL capabilities, smarter data sharing, and more. This is my take on the best of the best of the Db2 12 story.
2:30-2:45
Break
2:45 - 4:00
z/OS Db2 Batch System Design for High Performance
Neal Lozins, SoftBase
Building Db2 for z/OS batch systems can be challenging. Mission critical high performing Db2 for z/OS batch systems bring the challenge to a whole new level. Learn the difference between an I/O bound and a CPU bound application. Learn how to turn an I/O bound Db2 for z/OS application into one that is CPU bound and why that is a good thing. Learn the concepts of parallel processing and additional performance considerations
DB2 for LUW
9:15-10:30
Pavel Sustr
Pavel is a Senior Software Engineer with IBM Db2 LUW kernel development. Always thrilled to work on hard-to-crack puzzles. Expertise in Db2 LUW kernel architecture, configuration and administration, advanced problem determination, memory architecture, memory leak troubleshooting, and the assembly language. Hands-on development and management experience with buffer pool management, storage, prefetching, page cleaning, transaction logging, recovery, monitoring, and problem determination. As a member of the Db2 team, Pavel spent years in Db2 L2/L3 advanced support (over 1,500 resolved cases), then transitioned to Db2 LUW kernel development where he became Senior Software Engineer and later Development Manager for multiple core Db2 kernel components. In his past life Pavel was an application developer mostly using C++, SQL, .NET, Oracle, MS-SQL, and Informix on Windows, Linux, Solaris, and HP-UX.
Pavel Sustr - My Favourite Db2 Problem Determination Tricks
As a member of the Db2 LUW development and support team, Pavel uses Db2 problem determination techniques on a daily basis. Whether it is problems reported by test teams, related to his newly written code (rarely happens ;-), or tough customer reports from the field, there are techniques that can lead to a problem resolution more quickly. This session presents some less known or in some cases undocumented tricks and hidden gems that might help the user troubleshoot Db2 issues and even build their reputation as a serious Db2 hacker/insider.
Objectives:
- Present less known problem determination techniques
- Understand the diagnostic data returned by the techniques
- Discuss the best use cases for the individual techniques
- Master shortcuts leading to problem resolution
- Get an insider view of problem determination techniques used by the IBM Db2 team
10:30 - 10:45
Break
10:45 - 12:00
Pavel Sustr - Table Space Odyssey
Db2 storage de-mystified. DMS, SMS, Automatic Storage table space internals. Default table space types across different Db2 editions and versions. Best practices. Container structure, naming conventions, internal architecture. Buffer pool considerations. Storage paths, auto-extend mechanisms, automatic striping. Parallelism vs. performance discussions. Common high watermark issues, reclaimable (object-relative) vs. non-reclaimable (pool-relative). Explanation on current deprecation statements, upgrade paths and considerations. Common tooling and tricks to deep dive into the storage components (db2dart, db2pd, and others).
Objectives
- Understand the current table space types
- Learn about the best usage practices
- Clarify the current deprecation statements
- Reveal the internal design of Db2 storage
- Get an insider view of advanced problem determination techniques
12:00 - 1:15
Lunch - On your own
1:15 - 2:30
Ember Crooks
Ember is a Db2 Lead DBA and Delivery Manager at XTIVIA. She is responsible for the design, build, and management of a wide range of Db2 databases for multiple clients. Ember has 18+ years of experience with Db2 on Linux, Unix, and Windows platforms. She is the founder and principal author of the popular datageek.blog technical blog where she educates herself and others through example and case study. Ember is an IBM Gold Consultant and IBM Champion in Information Management.
Ember Crooks - Using Jupyter Notebook for Db2 Administration:
The Basics of Jupyter Notebook and using it with Db2.
There are so many new technologies in the data world. How can a Db2 DBA keep up with them? We can use some of them to our own advantage. Jupyter Notebook is a tool at the heart of data science. Come to this session to learn how you can use Jupyter Notebook in your day-to-day Db2 DBA tasks, for team documentation, and providing details on DB2 or SQL performance in formats that non-DBAs find convincing and compelling.
Learn how to use Jupyter Notebook to write your own Db2 Snapshot!
The concepts presented are largely cross platform, but the speaker's experience focuses on LUW, and a Db2 LUW database is used for all examples.
2:30-2:45
Break
2:45–4:00
Ember Crooks - Health Checks: How to Evaluate the Health of a Db2 Database using Jupyter Notebook
Every database can be improved upon. Sometimes a second set of eyes finds problems that we don't see when we work with a database every day. What should you check when evaluating the health of your database or a co-worker's database? How do you get all of the information you need? Join Ember to see what she looks at when doing a health check and why.
