IBM DB2 9.7 Advanced Administration Cookbook

The authors emphasise, even if perhaps unintentionally, that using db2 entails a lot of typing of commands. That is one thing that struck me immediately about this text. Sure, there are sections with screen captures of the GUI that IBM provides as a more user friendly front end to running a db2 database. But more importantly, the complexity and specialised nature of many of the tasks done in the text are not fronted by a GUI. You invoke at the command line of the operating system the 'db2' program with an attendant and typically long list of options. In many ways, this reminds me of when I was a systems administrator of a cluster of IBM RS6000 workstations, that ran AIX, IBM's version of unix. AIX also had this feature of long command line commands. But AIX came with SMIT, a very nice and powerful GUI for the sysadmin, that let you far more easily run commands. Behind the scenes, SMIT generated the text of the commands, showed it to you in a window and ran it. In an analogous way, the db2 command really seems like it needs its corresponding GUI to be fully fleshed out.As for the text's contents, they do warrant a pre-existing sophisticated understanding of SQL and relational database theory. IBM's db2 comes with useful features like an optimiser that tries to improve the performance of complex queries. The book also makes you pay attention (well, it tries at least) to mundane but key issues like doing a tape backup. Using Tivoli Storage Manager. This particular topic has a bunch of grubby details in the examples. But that is the reality of most backups. You should also look carefully at the incremental backups. These are inherently far faster to perform.Along the lines of backup, but extrapolating to the extreme case of disaster recovery, IBM has made HADR (High Availability Disaster Recovery). Used for a critical database failure or disaster. You need extra hardware, in the form of a standby server, which is preferably at a different location. That is the point, isn't it? HADR then does the backup of your primary database. If your data center is vital enough, take a serious look at this section of the text.

The IBM DB2 9.7 Advanced Administration Cookbook was a pleasant surprise to review. The book is in more of a step by step format than a book of recipes.The book begins where it should at initial DB2 installation and creating an instance. It then proceeds on to creating databases tablespaces, bufferpools, and database objects.I was most impressed by the Backup and Recovery, Monitoring, and Tuning and Optimization chapters. The Backup and Recovery chapter is short but it covers all forms of online and offline backups and different recovery options. Monitoring covers system, snapshot, and event monitoring as well as using the memory visualizer and health monitor. DB2 Tuning and Optimization gives examples of O/S monitoring, using explain, and how indexes, reorgs, and runstats can help performance.The cookbook also discusses DB2 tools such as db2dart, db2look, db2move, db2pd, reorgchk, list tablespaces and others. It mentions db2top but does not demonstrate it.There is a chapter on DB2 PureScale but I'm not experienced with that product.The cookbook could contain more common problems/issues and troubleshooting but an entire book could be written just on that topic. All in all the IBM DB2 9.7 Advanced Administration Cookbook provides a well rounded approach to a new or novice DB2 DBA. Even an experienced DBA would learn a few things. It does not deep drive into everything but it goes far enough and provides good examples to perform the main DB2 DBA tasks. The IBM DB2 document ion and redbooks will provide the fine details.

Though IBM has the info center and other publications for DB2 , It is difficult to find the information we need and we jump from a page to another until we find the proper info .This book closes this gap and you find the information needed in a very short time.From my point of view it is targeted to all audience from beginners to the expert .Still relevant even for DB2 V10 with the exeption of the new functionalaties.The only thing I miss in the book is the WINDOWS specific environment .

This is First V9.7 DB2 udb book with detailed info. Book covers all the topics and new fetures for 'DB2 9.7 Advanced Database Administrator including V9.8 db2 pureScale and V9.7 DPF,MDC, Security new features .I read Chapter12 from packtpub about Monitoring .Really good with practical examples .This book will help every DB2 UDB DBA for daily Job duties. I would highly recommend this book to fellow DBAs and developers.Cheers ..Srilu

Excellent book, probably the best on this topic.The explanations and code snippets are outstanding.Very recommended for who want to learn DB2 in a different way.

This is a great book with quick reference and simple straight forward answers. This book is highly recommended to all DB2 DBA admins.

bon livre a lire mais il faut avoir du temps à y consacrer en vacances ou tranquillement chez soi pour une culture de db2

Leider ist das Buch gefüllt mit sinnlosen Kommandoausgaben die das Wesentliche verstecken.Die Tiefe der Hinweise rechtfertigt i.d.R. nicht das Advanced im Titel. Schade!(Das Advanced Application Developer Cookbook gefällt mir deutlich besser.)