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DB2 Magazine E-Newsletter

January 22, 2004

DB2 Magazine Email Newsletter
Volume 5, Issue 1
www.db2mag.com

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IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Face Time With DB2 Experts:
* You conduct the interviews
2. Asked and Answered:
* User-managed vs. system-managed storage
* Sorting out contentious applications
3. Trivia Contest:
* New year, new challenge, same $100 prize
4. Skills and Certification News
5. Events of Interest:
* Best of Bonnie Baker
* Content compliance
* DB2 technical conference (Spain)
6. At the Bookstore:
* DB2 for Solaris - The Official Guide
7. Now Playing at the DB2 Developer Domain

1. FACE TIME WITH DB2 EXPERTS
How Big Is Big?
Ever wanted to try your hand at interviewing someone for an article? Now you can. Each month, DB2mag.com visitors will be invited to submit questions to a DB2 expert. Some experts will hail directly from IBM, some may provide a user or industry perspective, but all invite your questions. Next month, we'll publish the interview — based on selected reader queries — and introduce you to the next interview subject.

This month's interview target, Paul C. Zikopoulos, is co-author of several popular DB2 books, including DB2 Version 8: The Official Guide, DB2 — The Complete Reference, DB2 Fundamentals Certification for Dummies, DB2 for Dummies, and A DBA's Guide to Databases on Linux. The seven-year DB2 vet has published many articles in DB2 Magazine and is a DB2 Certified Advanced Technical Expert (DRDA and Cluster/EEE) and DB2 Certified Solutions Expert (Business Intelligence and Database Administration).

Paul invites questions about any DB2 for Linux, Unix, or Windows topic, including the upcoming DB2 enhancements (codenamed "Stinger") that make it easier to develop and deploy applications for the Microsoft .Net Framework.

Submit your question for Paul by Jan. 31.
http://www.db2mag.com/interview/

2. ASKED AND ANSWERED
Switching From User-Managed to System-Managed Storage
I inherited a reasonably large DB2 subsystem that exclusively uses user-defined/user-managed storage. As you know, once you start managing hundreds of DASD volumes manually, even with homegrown reports, the situation gets out of hand quickly. I want to lead the way to more efficient use of our DBA's time by moving on to SMS or STOGROUP-based storage definition. I know of some shops that define one STOGROUP for each volume and add an "overflow" volume every 10 volumes. My experience is that STOGROUPS are not very good at spreading data out. Do you use - or would you recommend using - STOGROUPs in conjunction with SMS by using the VOLUME('*') parameter in the STOGROUP definition and letting SMS do the actual placing?

Find out whether Robert Catterall recommends STOGROUPs and SMS.
http://www.db2mag.com/qanda/040120.shtml

Sorting Out Application Contention
We've been experiencing some problems where Nomad (a report writing tool) programs and a CICS online program are butting heads. They only go up against each other on one table. The other DBA and I are primarily doing application work - so it's hard to stay current on what to do with our DB2 system. Do you have any recommendations on how to approach this subject? I've been wondering about bringing in an expert to analyze whether there is something we should be doing differently. We have no programs bound with CURRENTDATA(NO) option.

Read Robert Catterall's explanation of what's probably behind the contention and how to solve it.
http://www.db2mag.com/qanda/040120-2.shtml

3. DB2 MAGAZINE TRIVIA CONTEST
The knowledge you glean from each issue of DB2 Magazine may now win you a $100 American Express Gift Cheque. While last year's contest tested reader knowledge of DB2 history, the 2004 contest draws its questions (and correct answers) straight from the text of recent issues of DB2 Magazine. So start flipping (or clicking, if you prefer) through the pages of the Quarter 4, 2003 issue to find the answer to this month's challenge: The city of San Francisco relies on what IBM technology to improve such tasks as coordinating emergency services and analyzing real property?
Answer correctly and register for the $100-prize drawing.
http://www.db2magazine.com/
Need a hint? Read the article "Getting a Boost From DB2"
http://www.db2mag.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=15300101
Congratulations to last month's winner, J. Hartman of Raleigh,N.C.

4. SKILLS AND CERTIFICATION NEWS
New DB2 Information Management Professional Certification Roadmaps
To help candidates prepare for professional certification, IBM created a series of certification roadmaps that point the way to the different certifications available for DB2 information management software products. The roadmaps provide a concise view of all available exams and roles and show the most efficient paths to achieving various levels of certification.
View the certification roadmaps.
http://www.ibm.com/software/data/education/cert/roadmaps.html

Certify Free at IDUG North America
Select DB2 information management certification testing will be available at no cost during IDUG North America, May 9-13 in Orlando, Fla. More than a dozen exams will be offered, including tests for DB2 Business Intelligence, DB2 Content Management, and DB2 UDB.
Find out more about this offer.
http://www.ibm.com/software/data/education/cert/specials.html

Discounts on IDUG North America Attendance Fees
If you are a certified DB2 professional or a DB2 certification candidate, you're eligible for discounts of $50 to $900 on your 2004 IDUG conference fees. Simply register online using the appropriate source code by April 9, 2004.
Read details of the discount offer.
http://www.ibm.com/software/data/education/cert/specials.html
Find out more about DB2 skills and certification courses, books, discounts, and strategies in DB2Mag.com's education section.
http://www.db2mag.com/education

5. EVENTS OF INTEREST
Bonnie Baker Live in Portland, Jan. 28
Popular speaker and DB2 Magazine Programmers Only columnist Bonnie Baker gives the DB2 crowd her best on Jan. 28 at CNF Transportation in Portland, OR. The half-day "Best of Bonnie Baker" seminar, sponsored by Compuware, covers a selection of Baker's most famous techniques for improving mainframe DB2-driven application performance. The free seminar is open to all IT professionals. Space is limited, so registration is required.
Get more details about this seminar.
http://www.compuware.com/events/forms/bonniebaker.asp

Content Compliance: A Closer Look at Meeting the Challenge, Feb. 4
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other new regulations have made compliance a corporate imperative. How do you develop an effective compliance program? How do you choose from the confusing array of technologies aimed at compliance? Presented by Transform Magazine, which recently named DB2 Content Manager its content compliance product of the year, this Web seminar explores the details of the most important content compliance challenges facing corporations today and the technologies for addressing them. The seminar takes place Feb. 4, 2004 at 11:00 AM (PT)/2:00 PM (ET).
Get seminar details.
http://webevents.broadcast.com/cmp/wcs/index.asp?event_id=11513
Transform Magazine's Products of the Year 2003
http://www.transformmag.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=17000164&pgno=4

IBM DB2 and IMS Information Management Technical Conference, March 1 - 5
The 2004 IBM DB2 and IMS Information Management Technical Conference, which takes place March 1 — 5 in Madrid, offers DB2 professionals a complete view of the Information Management software product portfolio. The five-day conference includes the latest information about DB2, IMS, business intelligence, content management, and information integration technologies.
See conference details.
http://www.ibm.com/services/learning/conf/europe/dm/index.html

Other Related Events
Visit DB2mag.com for an updated 2004 calendar of events.
http://www.db2mag.com/events

6. AT THE BOOKSTORE
DB2 for Solaris: The Official Guide
by Tom Bauch and Mark Wilding
DB2 for Solaris: The Official Guide offers guidance on the key decisions and challenges of installing, running, and optimizing DB2 on the Solaris platform. The book presents best practices, techniques, tips, guidelines, and rules of thumb on these topics:

Installing DB2 on Solaris

Working with disks, file systems, memory, and CPUs

Using DB2's graphical administration and monitoring tools

Optimizing database and operating system performance

Implementing clusters with Veritas Cluster Server and Sun Cluster

Managing client/server communications and TCP/IP networking

Leveraging lightweight OS semaphores, kernelized asynchronous I/O, SMP processor sets, intimate shared memory, and other advanced Solaris features

Using inter-partition parallelism with DB2 UDB Enterprise Server Edition's data partitioning feature.

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