Join the DB2 Twitter Q&A Tomorrow!

Join us for our next live Q&A session on Twitter tomorrow at 4pm BST.

This is your chance to put questions to our panel of DB2 experts.  Follow #DB2Geek on Twitter to see all of the questions and answers.  This is a great opportunity to gain technical DB2 advice from the experts.  If you can’t attend on the day, send your question in early, we will feature it in the live session and send your answer direct to you.

For a look at some of the top questions from our last session view the previous blog.

 

 

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Increasing Datacentre Security and Availability Whilst Reducing Complexity

Security continues to be a major concern for IT executives. The latest study from the UK Department for Business Innovation & Skills shows increases across the board in security breaches, systems or data corruption and the costs incurred:

• 78% of large organisations were attacked by an outsider in the last year (up from 73% a year ago)

• 39% of large organisations were hit by denial-of-service attacks in the last year (up from 30% a year ago)

• 20% of large organisations detected that outsiders had successfully penetrated their network in the last year (up from 15% a year ago)

• 14% of large organisations know that outsiders have stolen their intellectual property or confidential data in the last year (up from 12% a year ago)

• 93% of large organisations had a security breach last year

• £450-850k is the average cost to a large organisation of it’s worst security breach of the year.

• Two thirds of large organisations suffered from systems failure or data corruption during the year.

Read the full report - https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/191670/bis-13-p184-2013-information-security-breaches-survey-technical-report.pdf

There are many security products available in the market. However, choosing the safest possible server technology to begin with is the best place to start. Organisations running multiple distributed servers can now benefit from the unparalleled security and availability of IBM System z.

Enterprise Linux Server from IBM is based on the IBM System z server technology, widely recognised throughout the industry to be the most available and secure platform in the marketplace. IBM System z is the only commercial server to achieve Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level 5+ security classification. Customers running this hardware are given the confidence to run many different applications containing confidential data on a single mainframe. In fact, the zEC12 includes a new state-of-the-art, tamper resistant cryptographic co-processor called Crypto Express4S that provides privacy for transactions and sensitive data.

IBM’s Enterprise Linux Server utilises the legendary power and reliability of System z, which can boast 99.999% reliability.

With the legacy of System z server technology, ELS thrives under heavy workloads. ELS is designed to avoid or recover from failures for extremely high levels of business availability. The latest virtualisation software version allows for nondisruptive Live Guest Relocation, avoiding planned software and server outages.

Simplifying the datacentre
Many customers run both Oracle and DB2 for different applications. With ELS, the overall size of the server farm can be reduced and simplified by consolidating all databases onto one single ELS. For customers running Oracle databases, Enterprise Linux Server is an ideal option for consolidation because Oracle solutions can easily fit into the disaster recovery infrastructure that is already in place for System z.

A single physical server provides a truly centralised environment that is easier to manage and maintain. New virtual servers can be created and deployed in seconds, rather than the days or weeks necessary to order and configure a new physical x86 server.

Find out more about Enterprise Linux Server

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Taking control of workload peaks to reduce software licence costs

Because mainframe software licence costs are based on peak usage it is vital to understand when and where these peaks occur.

Using techniques to control capacity and manage your MSU usage can pay dividends in many ways. Controlling capacity allows you to specify a limit to the Rolling 4 hour average MSU usage an LPAR, or group of LPARs can demand. With the correct monitoring and definition it is possible to implement capacity control such that the performance of the machine is not impacted but the variable Workload Charging (vWLC) software costs are reduced. Continued reviews of the Defined Capacity limits should become an integral part of Capacity Management.

Effectively controlling capacity provides additional benefits:

Protection against large spikes in usage and therefore unforeseen large Monthly Licence Charge (MLC) software costs.

Machine upgrades can be controlled better to avoid the spiking immediately after the additional MIPS are installed.

Tuning activities that produce a reduction in CPU demand show real financial results

The majority of mainframe users also have significant potential for reducing resource consumption through tuning. This is especially true for those with older applications that haven’t been actively maintained for a while or who have lost some of their deep DB2 skills through retirement or redundancy.

By implementing key tuning procedures, ongoing software costs can be reduced and mainframe upgrades deferred. In addition, application performance will be enhanced and overall Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) reduced.

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It’s offical, DBAs are DEAD!

Dedicated, Energetic, Advanced, Dynamic

At our first ever live twitter debate we had a lively discussion on the ever changing role of the DBA.  Of course the DBA isn’t dead but he/she is definitely DEAD!

For those who were unable to attend the debate, our IBM friend Susan Visser has pulled some of the comments together – take a look.

Thanks to all who participated and we hope to have more people join us for the next DB2Debate on June 18 “Is the database a commodity?”

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Join the DB2 Geek on Facebook

We’re pleased to announce that our DB2 Geek now has a facebook page.  ‘Like’ the page for a quick and easy way to stay up to date with DB2 news.

Also look out for some special DB2 Geek compeitions for our facebook friends only!

Visit the DB2 Geek Facebook page

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First ever #DB2debate on Twitter – Is the DBA Dead?

Join us for our first live #DB2debate.  Following our successful Twitter Q&A session we have decided to run a live debate session.  Every other month we will be discussing hot DB2 and database topics.  In our first topic “Is the DBA Dead?” we will be discussing the role of the DBA in the age of Java and noSQL databases. 

We would love to hear your thoughts on the subject.  The debate will run live at 4pm BST on 23rd April.  Just log onto Twitter and use the hashtag #DB2debate when you post your question. 

Missed the DB2 Twitter Q&A session?  Find out more here.

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What can be done to halt the rise in cost and complexity in the datacentre?

Saving money on IT spend – it’s always on the agenda.  Every week dozens of emails flood inboxes around the world promising to help companies save money on their IT spend.  Which ones will work?  What’s the best way to save money? 

In a large datacentre the cost and complexity of managing real and even virtual servers can be a drain on budgets.   Organisations running hundreds of distributed servers all running at an average of 10-30% utilisation can find their hardware and software costs running out of control, not to mention the staff, power and cooling and general maintenance required to keep these servers running. 

IBM introduced the Enterprise Linux Server to specifically address these problems.  A single Enterprise Linux Server from IBM can greatly simplify the server, network and software infrastructure, as well as the operational tasks needed to run a large number of physical Linux servers.  

The Enterprise Linux Server is able to run hundreds of Linux images in a single, space-saving and highly energy-efficient footprint and can help to lower the overall acquisition costs by up to 60%, reduce energy costs by up to 80% and can help to reduce software costs by up to 90% compared to x86 alternatives.* 

Perhaps it’s time to keep a watch for information on Enterprise Linux Server dropping into your inbox – this could be the cost reduction solution you have been waiting for afterall! 

*Source IBM

Find out more about Enterprise Linux Server

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First Twitter DB2 Q&A Session – Top Questions!

Thanks to all our Twitter followers who joined us for our first DB2 Geek Q&A Session.  We had some great questions which got our Geeks thinking!  Below are a selection of our top questions and answers.  Our next Q&A session is scheduled for 21st May 4pm BST.  If you can’t attend on the day, send your question in early, we will feature it during the live session and send your answer direct to you.  Follow #db2geek on Twitter to see all of the questions and answers.

Q. Any idea if DB2 z/OS V11 will provide the same levels of CPU savings as V10?

A. It depends :-) DB2 10 had some great CPU savings for many customers, and will be a tough act to follow.  DB2 11 contains additional features to benefit query workloads, heavy INSERT, SAP, read of compressed tables and others.  It is still too early to tell what “typical” CPU savings will be but we would expect them to be somewhat less than DB2 10 for most but still better than the 5-10% *regression* typical of previous upgrades.

Q. Why would DB2 be obsessed with running run stats multiple times a day on a table, data only changes once a day AUTO_RUNSTATS = ON?

A. You can set a maintenance window for auto runstats as part of the profile, so if the data changes once a day limit the window.  However the UDI value used to kick off autostats shouldn’t change if table isn’t updated, so you shouldn’t see this behaviour

Q. Do you have any strategies for dealing with long running SQL statements?

A. 1st rule of long running SQL statements is to check the access path via Explain. Also ensure catalog stats are up to date.  Put the SQL through DB2 explain to see what access path is being used and db2advis to find potential  improvements.  Ensure no missing joins, and try to reduce number of qualifying rows as early as possible.

Follow us @db2geek

Posted in DB2, DB2 11, DB2 Geek | 1 Comment

Live Twitter Q&A with the DB2 Experts

We’re delighted to announce that we will be running live Q&A and debate sessions with our DB2 Geeks over the coming months.

The first Twitter Q&A session will be held at 4pm (GMT) on Tuesday 26th March so mark your diary now! The Q&A sessions will be an open forum for you to put your DB2 questions to our panel of experts. Ask us anything DB2, we’ll have our DB2 LUW and DB2 Mainframe specialists on hand to answer your questions in real time.

Just use the hashtag #DB2Geek when you post your question.

See you there!

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Reducing energy costs for a greener data centre

Most large organisations throughout the world have a corporate social responsibility (CSR) statement. A major part of the statement is often a commitment to lower the environmental impact of the IT systems that the organisation is running. This is a real and growing challenge. The traditional “add another server” answer is now becoming not only cost prohibitive but also socially unacceptable. Organisations are under pressure from government and the wider society to do their bit for the environment. How can a growing business reduce it’s environmental costs though? As data centres become ever larger it seems that server sprawl is taking over many large IT departments.

Data centres have doubled their energy use in the past five years with an 18% increase in data centre energy costs projected.* This is bad news not only from an environmental perspective but also from a financial perspective for the organisation itself.

Server consolidation is becoming a necessity for many organisations that need to manage their growing data centres and make good on the promises in their CSR statement.

The Enterprise Linux Server (ELS) is one option. Built on the traditionally reliable hardware of the IBM System Z platform it provides unparalleled reliability and security. The IBM Enterprise Linux Server is able to consolidate hundreds of distributed UNIX servers onto a single physical unit.

Consolidating multiple server workloads into a single ELS environment can dramatically improve Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) by cutting server room environmental costs and software licence fees as well as offering vastly improved workload management and productivity benefits.

Taking control of server sprawl and the growing costs of IT can have a dramatic effect on an organisations’ environmental impact. Energy costs can be reduced by up to 80%* with ELS. This is surely a compelling argument for infrastructure executives to consider when planning their next infrastructure review.

*Data from IBM

Find out more

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