The DB2 Symposium is returning to the US this March 28-30 in the NYC area. Based upon my very popular IDUG Ed Seminar "DB2 LUW Performance Analysis and Tuning Workshop", I am pleased to offer an enhanced version of this seminar as a 2 Day class via the DB2 Symposium.

In this two day class, you will receive over three dozen SQL Snapshot commands to help analyze YOUR database. Together, we will learn about what to measure, we will discover the problems and "opportunities for improvement" in your database, we will discuss solutions, and you will return to your office fully equipped to make measurable performance improvements.

This blog post contains the specific instructions that you should use to prepare for this workshop...

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In 2010, the "DB2 LUW Performance Analysis and Tuning Workshop" drew top attendance numbers in North America, Australia, and EMEA. In 2011, this IDUG Ed Seminar has been updated and is being offered again as session 1900. Click Here for Details.

In this full day class, you will receive over three dozen SQL Snapshot commands to help analyze YOUR database. Together, we will learn about what to measure, we will discover the problems and "opportunities for improvement" in your database, we will discuss solutions, and you will return to your office fully equipped to make measurable performance improvements.

This blog post contains the specific instructions that you should use to prepare for this workshop...

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Borrowing words from Texas Governor Perry, it is time for some "provocative language." I am an IBM DB2 GOLD Consultant and Information Management Champion. I've earned these merit badges over the years for my advocacy of DB2 and the DB2 community. But, I am not a puppet for IBM and I am concerned for the DB2 community regarding recent trends and events. The rant that follows is my opinion based on information, belief, and observations...

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Press Release: DBI Announces the Addition of BOLT System to the DBI Customer Family. DBI Products Deliver Increased DB2 Database Performance While Improving Overall Efficiency of System Administration and Applications. ... Jerry Robertson, CTO at BOLT System, comments, "The relationship with DBI has been exceptional. The products have not only delivered as promised, DBI has exceeded our overall expectations by providing outstanding support." Jerry adds, "Response times and quality of service are critical to our customers, and the DBI products help us meet and exceed our stringent service level agreements while minimizing our IT costs."

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My dad died June 10, 2011, around 1:45pm CDT. I learned of this via text message at the Minneapolis St. Paul airport. While this may not seem relevant to "DB2" at the moment, my dad made many contributions to our DB2 LUW community. This blog is a toast to my dad, your dad, and anyone out there who has a dad. I wrote and delivered this eulogy on June 16th in Harrisburg, PA. Several people asked for copies of the handouts, so, okay, I've shared (grin). Fathers are special people...

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What can over 103 hours of running teach you about DB2 performance? A lot! Here's Lesson #2 packed with more free advice. Read Lesson #1 first if you missed it.

Refresher: In December 2009, I weighed about 210LBs. My wife was nagging me about losing weight. My blood pressure was a bit high and so was my resting heart rate. Adding insult to injury, I stepped on our new Wii Balance Board and our Wii Fit Plus game verified I was overweight. You can argue (unsuccessfully) with your wife, but you can't argue with a game. There was only one thing I could do. I started running my butt off. By April 2010, I weighed 180LBs and ran in my first 10K race. In September 2010, I ran in the Philadelphia Half Marathon. By the end of 2010, I logged just over 500 miles for the year. Last month, April 2011, I ran in the Nashville Half Marathon. I've had a lot of time to think about how tuning "me" is like tuning DB2...

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What can over 102 hours of running teach you about DB2 performance? A lot! Read this story and the parts that follow and you can learn from my experiences even if you don't own a pair of running shoes!

In December 2009, I weighed about 210LBs. My wife was nagging me about losing weight. My blood pressure was a bit high and so was my resting heart rate. Adding insult to injury, I stepped on our new Wii Balance Board and our Wii Fit Plus game verified I was overweight. You can argue (unsuccessfully) with your wife, but you can't argue with a game. There was only one thing I could do. I started running my butt off. By April 2010, I weighed 180LBs and ran in my first 10K race. In September 2010, I ran in the Philadelphia Half Marathon. By the end of 2010, I logged just over 500 miles for the year. Last month, April 2011, I ran in the Nashville Half Marathon. I've had a lot of time to think about how tuning "me" is like tuning DB2...

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FARGO, N.D., May 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- FBS develops internet based software for real estate professionals and the performance of large DB2 databases is absolutely mission critical to the organization. Mr. Jaison Feed, Vice President of Information Technology for FBS states: "The DBI Brother-Panther for DB2 LUW product has opened our eyes by recommending over 150 important indexes to our database to improve performance. Additionally, it has helped highlight some structural deficiencies deep in our architecture that are now candidates for optimization." Read more...

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DBI's Brother-Panther® 5.1 for DB2® LUW brings new features that provide significant analysis capability that the IT industry has not seen before.

AUSTIN, Texas, April 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- DBI (Database-Brothers, Inc.), a software company providing professional grade database performance management tools, today announced the release of Brother-Panther® version 5.1. Already recognized by the DB2 IT community as a best of breed performance monitoring, tuning, and trending tool with its innovative SQL workload aggregate analysis and trend charts that track change events, this new version provides aggregate costs and details for database applications and users, includes CPU chargeback information, and recommendations for optimized solid state disk (SSD) configuration. Yet, all this is just the tip of the iceberg when the new Database and SQL workload comparison functionality is considered... (read more)

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AUSTIN, Texas, May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- DBI announced today that they assisted PartsSource, Inc., the world's leading provider of biomedical and imaging replacement parts and software solutions for clinical engineers, in the successful migration of a mission critical Oracle database to the IBM DB2 for LUW database. The conversion enables PartsSource to provide their customers with improved performance when ordering parts online, 24/7. Read more and learn about remarkable performance gains achieved...

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Check out www.DBISoftware.com/idugna11.php for live Twitter Search updates containing the #IDUG hash tag. If you prefer shorter URLs, you can also reference http://bit.ly/kW3MoM. Enjoy the IDUG DB2 Tech Conference!

Cheers,
Scott

What are you missing? WATCH THE REPLAY, learn from our top finalists, then vote! Polls close 7 APR 2011 at 3pm CDT. Remember, too, to register for your free virtual seat in our studio audience on 8 APR 2011 10am CDT when the winners will be announced.

Cheers,
Scott
DBI Software

PART 2. IMHO, there is simply no better forum than IDUG for learning about DB2. This year DBI is a GOLD Sponsor of the Anaheim Conference and we'll be showcasing our newest releases of the DBI Performance Tools for DB2 LUW. CLICK HERE for a FREE VIP PASS to the Expo Hall. I will be attending as many sessions and events as possible. CLICK HERE to view my personal marked up copy of the IDUG DB2 Tech Conference Grid.

In related news, remember to register for your free seat in our virtual studio audience on 8 April 2011 when The DB2Night Show™ will announce our DB2's GOT TALENT contest winners. The episode theme is " All about IDUG ". IDUG Volunteers will be sharing helpful information about education, networking, and free DB2 certification opportunities, and much much more. AND, if you missed the Early Bird Registration Discount, IDUG will be announcing a "DB2Night Show" discount during this show that will be valid for one week only - through 15 April 2011!

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I have attended EVERY North American IDUG Conference since the first in Chicago in 1988. IMHO, there is simply no better forum for learning about DB2. This year DBI is a GOLD Sponsor of the Anaheim Conference and we'll be showcasing our newest releases of the DBI Performance Tools for DB2 LUW. CLICK HERE for a FREE VIP PASS to the Expo Hall. I will be attending as many sessions and events as possible. CLICK HERE to view my personal marked up copy of the IDUG DB2 Tech Conference Grid.

In related news, remember to register for your free seat in our virtual studio audience on 8 April 2011 when The DB2Night Show™ will announce our DB2's GOT TALENT contest winners. The episode theme is " All about IDUG ". IDUG Volunteers will be sharing helpful information about education, networking, and free DB2 certification opportunities, and much much more. AND, if you missed the Early Bird Registration Discount, IDUG will be announcing a "DB2Night Show" discount during this show that will be valid for one week only - through 15 April 2011!

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What are you missing? Voter comments indicate that the DB2's GOT TALENT contest is an invaluable way to learn helpful DB2 tips and techniques. In just 6 days, over 600 DB2 Professionals have watched a replay of the final round and voted! WATCH THE REPLAY, LEARN from Thiru, and then VOTE for your favorite contestants. Polls close 7 April 2011 at 3pm Central.

Remember, too, to register for your free seat in our virtual studio audience on 8 April 2011 when The DB2Night Show™ will announce our contest winners. The episode theme is " All about IDUG ".

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"DATA". What a simple title. DB2's GOT TALENT Top Finalist Thiru caught our studio audience and judges by surprise when he unveiled the "db2cat" command and showed everyone how to find a goldmine of information. I find Thiru to be brilliant yet humble; it is a treat to learn from him. But, YOU, the DB2 Community, are the Final judges. WATCH THE REPLAY, LEARN from Thiru, and then VOTE for your favorite contestants. Polls close 7 April 2011 at 3pm Central.

Remember, too, to register for your free seat in our virtual studio audience on 8 April 2011 when The DB2Night Show™ will announce our contest winners. The episode theme is " All about IDUG ".

Cheers, Scott
DBI Software

Judge Susan Visser loves his accent, his way with the English language, and has suggested that he might become the next Scott Hayes (not sure how I feel about this). Nonetheless, "he" is Norberto - a Top 4 Finalist in DB2's GOT TALENT. In his 25 March Final Round presentation, Norberto offered his fellow DBAs a truckload (that's a lot! ) of tips. Some tips were DB2 LUW related, and others were just good advice. WATCH THE REPLAY, LEARN from Norberto, and then VOTE for your favorite contestants. Polls close 7 April 2011 at 3pm Central.

Remember, too, to register for your free seat in our virtual studio audience on 8 April 2011 when The DB2Night Show™ will announce our contest winners. The episode theme is " All about IDUG ".

Cheers, Scott
DBI Software

Momi is a Top 4 Finalist in DB2's GOT TALENT. If you've been following the contest, Momi has offered many valuable tips and techniques for both DB2 z/OS and LUW. In his 25 March Finals presentation, Momi shared best practices advice on DB2 backups and recovery. If there are any Boy Scouts out there, you know their motto is "Be Prepared". Get Prepared! WATCH THE REPLAY, LEARN from Momi, and then VOTE for your favorite contestants. Polls close 7 April 2011 at 3pm Central.

Remember, too, to register for your free seat in our virtual studio audience on 8 April 2011 when The DB2Night Show™ will announce our contest winners. The episode theme is " All about IDUG ".

Cheers, Scott
DBI Software

Jeyabarathi ("JB") is a polished IBM Professional and DB2's GOT TALENT Top 5 Finalist. Throughout this contest, JB has consistently delighted our judges and impressed our audiences with quality advice on topics such as "db2dart", using HADR to migrate data, and tuning multi-terabyte databases. During her 25 March presentation, JB elaborated further on I/O optimization with a deep dive on Concurrent I/O. WATCH THE REPLAY, LEARN from JB, and then VOTE for your favorite contestants. Polls close 7 April 2011 at 3pm Central.

Cheers, Scott
DBI Software

She was once an Oracle DBA. She fell in love with DB2 LUW. Like Green Eggs and Ham, she learned to like something new. In this case, SHE is Mary - a Top 5 Finalist on DB2's GOT TALENT. During her 25 March presentation, Mary shared with us her secrets for success and best practices for using the DB2 LUW LOAD Utility. WATCH THE REPLAY, LEARN from Mary, and then VOTE for your favorite contestants. Polls close 7 April 2011 at 3pm Central.

Cheers, Scott
DBI Software

The DB2's GOT TALENT Contest Finalists are delivering fantastic topics: "Using SQL to write SQL", "A Handmade ETL Solution", "Free Table Partitioning", "Searching for the Needle in a CLOB Haystack", "I/O Optimization for TB sized databases", "Fixing Runaway Jobs", and "Influencing the DB2 LUW Optimizer"! Read this blog post to see what your DB2 community peers are saying about the quality and variety of the education! When you're ready to partake of this incredible training opportunity, watch The DB2Night Show™ REPLAYS!

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Remarkably, I don't know if there has ever been a better way to learn about DB2! Have you been following the DB2's GOT TALENT Contest? Read this blog post to see what your DB2 community peers are saying about the quality and variety of the education! When you're ready to partake of this incredible training opportunity, watch The DB2Night Show™ REPLAYS!

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About a year ago I blogged Are you REALLY READY for Production?. I am following my own advice and very thankful! Perhaps, maybe, this is one of the most important blogs I've ever written! Let me tell you more...

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In 2010, the "DB2 LUW Performance Analysis and Tuning Workshop" drew top attendance numbers in North America, Australia, and EMEA. In 2011, this IDUG Ed Seminar has been updated and is being offered again as session Z04. Click Here for Details.

In this full day class, you will receive over three dozen SQL Snapshot commands to help analyze YOUR database. Together, we will learn about what to measure, we will discover the problems and "opportunities for improvement" in your database, we will discuss solutions, and you will return to your office fully equipped to make measurable performance improvements.

This blog post contains the specific instructions that you should use to prepare for this workshop...

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The DB2 Symposium is returning to the US this March 21-23 in Dallas, Texas. Based upon my very popular IDUG Ed Seminar "DB2 LUW Performance Analysis and Tuning Workshop", I am pleased to offer an enhanced version of this seminar as a 2 Day class via the DB2 Symposium.

In this two day class, you will receive over three dozen SQL Snapshot commands to help analyze YOUR database. Together, we will learn about what to measure, we will discover the problems and "opportunities for improvement" in your database, we will discuss solutions, and you will return to your office fully equipped to make measurable performance improvements.

This blog post contains the specific instructions that you should use to prepare for this workshop...

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On Christmas Day, while delayed at the Atlanta airport, I wrote a quick tutorial blog on using the vi (very intuitive) editor. In my haste to get on my delayed flight, I ran out of time to share some more important vi "how-to's" with you. So, here's "Part 2" which includes more vi techniques and tricks...

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I recently spoke with a customer that was rehosting a mainframe DB2/CICS/COBOL application to pSeries AIX. I did this in the mid-90's. When you find yourself in the UNIX or Linux world, you need to know how to use the VI editor. Since I'm now stranded in the ATL airport on Christmas day, this mini VI class is my "gift" to the DB2 LUW community.

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Are you attending IDUG EMEA in Vienna? I hope so! The hard working volunteers at IDUG asked me to repeat my extremely successful and popular Ed Seminar from North America 2010 - "DB2 LUW Performance Analysis and Tuning Workshop".

To obtain maximum value from this class, you should follow the preparation instructions from THIS EARLIER BLOG POST (Click Here).

If you are not attending IDUG EMEA in Vienna, try to upgrade your plans! This class is worth the trip! You will be receiving over thirty six (36) SQL Snapshot commands that will help you analyze and tune your DB2 LUW databases!

Finally, please don't plan on leaving early if you can avoid it. At IDUG North America, there were so many good questions and so much lively discussion that we actually ran long by a couple of hours. After class, we'll find the nearest pub and have a graduation ceremony to celebrate your success.

See you at IDUG,
Cheers,
Scott

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Are you attending IDUG AP in Sydney? I hope so! The hard working volunteers at IDUG asked me to repeat my extremely successful and popular Ed Seminar from North America 2010 - "DB2 LUW Performance Analysis and Tuning Workshop".

To obtain maximum value from this class, you should follow the preparation instructions from THIS EARLIER BLOG POST (Click Here).

If you are not attending IDUG AP Sydney, don't worry - you have another chance at IDUG EMEA in Vienna Austria! This class is worth the trip! You will be receiving over thirty six (36) SQL Snapshot commands that will help you analyze and tune your DB2 LUW databases!

Finally, please don't plan on leaving early if you can avoid it. At IDUG North America, there were so many good questions and so much lively discussion that we actually ran long by a couple of hours. After class, we'll find the nearest pub and have a graduation ceremony to celebrate your success.

See you at IDUG,
Cheers,
Scott

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What's all this fluffy cloud stuff about? Finally someone is explaining it in a way that makes sense to technical humans!

The DB2Night Show™ hosted special guest Mark Wilding, IBM STSM & DB2 Cloud Architect, in episode #26, and replays are available for your enjoyment and education!.

This Friday, 27 August 2010, Mark Wilding joins us again to offer "Part 2" of the technical details - a deeper dive into what this fluffy stuff is about, how it works, and tips and considerations for your success. Registration links are available on www.DB2NightShow.com

Amazingly, whether you realize it or not, your DB2 is already in the Cloud - along a journey of tiers that offer increasing cost savings. So, don't miss episodes #26 and #27!

The DB2Night Show™ is sponsored in part by IDUG, FREE DB2, and www.DBISoftware.com.

Cheers, your host,
Scott Hayes

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The DB2Night Show™ Episode #25 TELLS ALL

Seems like comparing a race car and a bicycle to me...

Did you miss today's episode of The DB2Night Show™? No worries. Replays are now available for your download and enjoyment! Just visit www.DB2NightShow.com and click the REPLAYS link at the top left. Also be sure to check out upcoming shows and register!

Cheers, your host, Scott Hayes

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During today's episode of The DB2Night Show™, we kicked off Season 2 with a special 90 minute show on "DB2 LUW Enablements for Oracle and Sybase". Our special IBM guests included Serge Rielau and Dwaine Snow - these guys did a great job bringing us up to date on DB2 9.7 FP2, FP3, and even a peek into the future. Did you miss this show? No worries! REPLAYS are available! Visit www.DB2NightShow.com

While you are there, check out and register for upcoming shows:

• 13 AUG 2010: Comparing DB2 LUW and Oracle Autonomics
• 20 AUG 2010: DB2 in the Cloud - Technical Details - Part 1
• 27 AUG 2010: DB2 in the Cloud - Technical Details - Part 2
• 10 SEP 2010: DB2 LUW Table Partitioning - The IMPORTANT Stuff
• 24 SEP 2010: DB2 LUW Recovery Best Practices and Tips
• 01 OCT 2010: DB2 LUW Security Tips, Best Practices, SQL, Scripts, and How-Tos

Attending The DB2Night Show Webinars is FREE and so are the REPLAYS! FREE is a good price that works for most budgets! Get Educated!

Speaking of DB2 Education, I hope to see you at IDUG in Sydney (AP), Vienna (EMEA), and Minneapolis MN (Regional) where I am giving technical sessions and Ed Seminars. Sign up!

Cheers, Scott

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A few weeks ago, I invited you to attend my new IDUG Education Seminar "Z06: DB2 for LUW Performance Analysis and Tuning Workshop". View the invitation and class preparation instructions. I'd like this Seminar to be the best attended Ed Seminar of the conference, and I've heard that Z06 is in the #2 position.

As we like to say in Texas, let me shoot you straight. I'm going to make you an unprecedented offer and guarantee. If you attend this Ed Seminar, and if, by the end of the class, you can't (in good faith) give the class a four or five star review, I'll buy a copy of Roger Sanders DB2 LUW certification book for you. Shoot, I might even give away a couple of copies as prizes.

A bit more...

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Dear DB2 LUW Professionals,

We need your help to improve DB2 LUW. We just ran Episode #16 of The DB2Night Show™ with special guest Adam Storm, Software Developer, DB2 Kernel Development, IBM Toronto Lab. We talked about Autonomic Memory and STMM updates. Watch the Replay. The studio audience asked a few good questions, but a vigorous email discussion ensued after the show.

Long story short, STMM is either "ON" for a parameter or "OFF". It has a VERY LONG LEASH to grow and shrink memory pools. There are some people in the DB2 LUW community that have experienced performance degradation or problems with STMM (about 20 percent in our audience survey), and a number of professionals would be more interested in using STMM if it were possible to give STMM "a short leash" - that is, for each memory pool under STMM's control, be able to specify a minimum and maximum value range. By specifying a range, one could keep STMM from making a pool too small or excessively large.

Adam told us that ranges had been considered, but were dismissed in favor of ON/OFF (I guess that was easier to implement). He also told us that range limits for STMM could be implemented if there was enough interest within the DB2 LUW community in favor of range specification capability.

Here's where you can help. We've made it really easy. Just click this MAILTO:ibmdb2stmm.developers@dbisoftware.com?subject=I support STMM Min Max Value Ranges link, add some text to the body of your message (optional), then click your SEND button.

Read just a bit more...

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Did you miss today's episode of The DB2Night Show™? We had a very special guest on the show - Adam Storm, Software Developer, DB2 Kernel Development, IBM Toronto Lab. Adam gave our virtual studio audience a great presentation on recent updates to DB2 LUW Autonomic Memory and the Self Tuning Memory Manager (STMM). His slide deck was insightful, information packed, and very informative.

Check out replays of this and prior episodes at http://www.DBISoftware.com/blog/db2nightshow.php.

While we're at it, I should bring your attention to these upcoming episodes:

• 30 April 2010, "DB2 LUW Performance Updates and Best Practices" with the one, the only, the infamous Berni Schiefer, IBM Toronto
• 7 May 2010, "Top 10 DB2 LUW Mistakes that people make" with special guest Klaas Brant, IBM DB2 GOLD Consultant, Owner KBCE, The Netherlands (Klaas' Dutch is excellent, and so is his English).

Find details and registration links at: www.DB2NightShow.com

And, one last thing for today - did you see the freely available SQL Snapshot command that analyzes memory for a database located here?

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Did you miss The DB2Night Show™ Episode #15 on "DB2 9.7 Online Table Moves" with special guest Ergin Babani from the IBM Toronto Lab? Make sure you check out the recorded replay. This show also set a new record for lively and excellent questions from the virtual studio audience - so be sure to listen through to the end to gain extra insights!

With this particular episode, we've also broken precedent and made Ergin's slide deck available as a PDF. He provided excellent examples of how to use DB2 ADMIN_TABLE_MOVE during his talk. You'll find the PDF link on the show replay page.

Have you registered for IDUG North America in Tampa Florida yet? There are still a few good seats left in my full day seminar Z06: DB2 for LUW Performance Analysis and Tuning Workshop. Attendees will receive over three dozen amazingly helpful SQL Snapshot commands (see a sample and learn more) ...

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Dear DB2 LUW Professional,

I invite and encourage you to attend my Education Seminar, Z06: DB2 for LUW Performance Analysis and Tuning Workshop, at IDUG NA 2010 in Tampa Florida. Without exception, I've never before put so much effort into preparing a full day seminar. In this class, you will receive over three dozen SQL Snapshot commands to help analyze YOUR database. Together, we will learn about what to measure, we will discover the problems and "opportunities for improvement" in your database, we will discuss solutions, and you will return to your office fully equipped to make measurable performance improvements.

In terms of preparation for this class, here's what you will want to do to optimally prepare:

1. Make copy tables of SYSIBMADM snapshot views and some catalog tables (CREATE LIKE)
2. INSERT INTO copy table SELECT * FROM original table or view
3. EXPORT TO IXF file SELECT * FROM copy tables
4. Binary transfer the IXF files to a laptop running DB2 LUW (Express-C (free DB2) will suffice)
5. IMPORT FROM IXF file REPLACE_CREATE INTO local copy of tables on laptop

All of the SQL commands provided to you during the class will reference the schema name IDUGCONF. The rest of this blog post contains the specific commands that you can use to prepare for the class. When you return back to your office with electronic copies of the SQL Snapshots, all you will need to do is change IDUGCONF to SYSIBMADM and you'll be ready to analyze your databases locally!

This should be a $5,000 course. IDUG is making Ed Seminars available "for a song" relatively speaking - only $425 with a conference badge or just $475 for the seminar alone. Click the IDUG logo above to register now! Early registration ends 26 March 2010.

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OH WOW! Right now I am slapping myself on my back so hard that it hurts! In an earlier blog post on I/O Optimization and Solid State Disk (SSD), I referenced a recent IBM DM Magazine article and discussed an improved weighting formula for determining which tablespaces would benefit most from SSD storage. WELL, I just created a masterpiece SQL Snapshot command that implements best practices weighting factor calculations for SSD! This SQL Snapshot command is amazing...

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DB2 LUW Database Professionals: If you can only get budget to attend ONE class this DECADE, I strongly encourage you to do whatever it takes to get yourself enrolled in my NEW Ed Seminar DB2 for LUW Performance Analysis and Tuning Workshop being given at IDUG in Tampa, Florida, on 10 May 2010.

For this lab, you should bring with you copies of SYSIBMADM Snapshot Catalog Views (detailed instructions and scripts will be provided separately). In this lab, you will receive dozens and dozens and dozens of SQL Snapshot commands (on CDROM) to analyze your database's performance data, you will learn what the numbers and metrics mean, and you will graduate fully equipped to conquer amazing performance tuning miracles for your organization...

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IBM is generating a lot of buzz with DB2 pureScale, and there is plenty of press to read on Database and Hardware wars. The DB2Night Show™ Episode #4 featured special guests from the IBM Toronto Lab who gave us an outstanding introduction to DB2 pureScale - catch the WMV replay if you missed it. On the heels of DB2 9.7 Oracle enablement, DB2 pureScale is an exciting response to Oracle RAC. But is pureScale right for your organization, or should you be considering Xkoto GRIDSCALE instead? First and foremost, IBM DB2 PureScale is NOT a Disaster Recovery solution, but Xkoto GRIDSCALE is. How else are these technologies different?

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IBM Data Management Magazine Q1 2010 arrived today and I was excited to find an article on Unleashing the value of Solid State Drives. Of course, I was thrilled to see DBI's new ad as well (grin). The article puts forth several good ideas about I/O tuning and begs for greater details. Whether you have SSD or not, the principle ideas of the article still apply to "faster storage" versus "slower storage". Let's take a deeper look...

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In the wake of recent claims by Larry E, I'm joining Craig Mullins and re-cycling a former blog post with updates...

29 Jan, 2010 - Redrock Shores, CA. In late breaking news today, Orickle announced preliminary plans for the next version of its world dominating database 13G. Version 13G will include new features such as DB3 LUW Enablement and nano compression. A senior Orickle executive who requested anonymity said "We skipped 12 because 13 is a lucky number, and 'G' now stands for Global domination. We lost some serious market share to DB3 9.7 but we believe we can win global database dominance back with our superior marketing, sales, and negotiation tactics." Continued...

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Recently a customer wrote me and asked if there was a way to run a query that would report on any pending (deferred) DB CFG or DBM CFG changes. More specifically, he wanted to create an alert in DBI's Brother-Hawk™ that would alert him if any changes would occur upon the next database restart. With V9+ SQL Snapshots, this is easy...

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This blog post is for developers, testers, and QA professionals. If you are a production/operations DBA, it is okay if you'd like to read it too so that you can be aware of the proposed suggestions and best practices. I think we can all agree that discovering performance problems in production is NOT ideal, so let's see what can be done to arrest issues before they become detrimental, damaging, or costly to your organization. We'll begin by busting some myths and unwise practices...

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Very few DB2 LUW performance blog posts have delivered so many emails to my Inbox as the prior posting on VOLATILE tables. One of our blog readers brought some very important information to my attention that I feel an obligation to share...

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Do you have a table that has statistical mood swings? Sometimes the table has a few rows, and sometimes it has many? Or would you like to strongly encourage the DB2 optimizer to use available indexes? VOLATILE isn't a nice description for a person, but you can assign this label to a moody table and often get excellent results. More...

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Watch The DB2Night Show™ Episode #10 on 8 January 2010 at 10am CST! Our topic is "DEAR IBM..." and DB2 LUW users from around the globe have sent their comments and questions into our show! Our guests include senior IBM executives Sal Vella, Tim Vincent, and Drew Bradstock!

You can obtain your free seats to our virtual studio audience and find replays of previous episodes at http://www.DB2NightShow.com

The mission of The DB2Night Show is to Educate, Inform, and Entertain. In just a few months, we've had hundreds of DB2 professionals in our virtual studio audience and show replays have been watched thousands of times. If you haven't joined us yet, please be our guest! And if you've become one of our many loyal "groupie" followers, thanks for watching!

Cheers,
Scott Hayes

The IBM IOD Conference will be buzzing with news on DB2 for LUW 9.8 pureScale - amongst many other breakthrough announcements. But if you are not able to attend IOD this year, or if you are but want to be amongst "the first to know" the details, don't miss episode #4 of The DB2Night Show™ - Special guests Matt Huras and Aamer Sachedina from the IBM Toronto Lab will take us on a deep dive into this new release of DB2 LUW that offers breakthrough scalability without limits. Join us on 22 October 2009 at 9am CENTRAL/10am EASTERN for this in-depth first look at IBM's latest performance miracle. Claim Your Front Row Seat HERE. More...

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We heard it hear first - live from IDUG Europe in Rome Italy! In the wake of Orickle's 13G announcement, clearly IBM has its boxing gloves on!

DB2 LUW pureScale is somewhat akin to DB2 z/OS sysplex data sharing - multiple "member" hosts share storage and are interconnected by a high speed switch, although, in DB2 LUW's case, the switch is facilitated by innovative software running on a robust Power series server. The architecture and scalability is ideal for organization's having extremely high OLTP transaction processing requirements. More...

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IDUG is a great conference for learning from other users, consultants, and top shelf IBM people. It is also a great place to meet with vendors to discover the latest products and services that are available. DBI and our Italian partner Expertise4IT look forward to meeting you in the exhibit hall.

And just in case you would like to invite some of your associates or executives who are unable to attend the full conference, just click THIS LINK and print your FREE pass!

Also, have you signed up yet for my Ed Seminar "300 Fast Fabulous DB2 Performance Facts"? The SQL Snapshots I'll be sharing with attendees are worth the price of the class alone!

Cheers, Scott