I want to thank everyone who helped make the inaugural Mid-Atlantic Db2 for z/OS Users Group virtual meeting such a great success:

• my colleague, Kim May, for pulling the meeting together and for filling a void of timely technical content for this topic and this region
• our presenters for crafting and delivering a comprehensive new way of considering IBM System z
  • Andrew Austin, Red Hat
  • Clark Hale, Red Hat
  • Elton (the Wizard) de Sousa, IBM

The recording of the meeting is here: https://youtu.be/Am279HW1DDY

Individual presentations are as follows:

Db2 VUG – OpenShift Introduction – Austin + Hale

Db2 VUG – OpenShift on IBM z – de Sousa

Db2 VUG – Mainframe Modernization Field Notes – Fillmore

Please share this content with your colleagues.

Announcing the new Mid-Atlantic Db2 for z/OS Users Group!

With COVID-19 forcing Regional Users Groups (RUGs) to transition from in-person to virtual meetings, and with the support of the International Db2 Users Group and hearing about their regional affiliates’ success with virtual meetings, Frank and I decided to give a new virtual group a try.  We look forward to supporting the Db2 community with technical content that enables our System Z colleagues to remain active and valued contributors to the use of technology within their organizations.

Please join us for our first meeting! Register here.

September 17, 2020, from 10:00am-2:00pm EDT, will be the first virtual meeting of the System Z-focused Mid-Atlantic Db2 Users Group. The new group hopes to bring interesting, educational, and current technical presenters and sessions to mainframe users located in the Mid-Atlantic region. With a virtual format the meeting location, venue, commute time and lunch selection challenges disappear, so everyone from everywhere is welcome!

For this first meeting we will have three technical presentations and one brief interactive, bring-your-own-ideas session. The three technical sessions all focus on IBM’s efforts to use tools and technologies to support mainframe modernization. No, this is not another session on a magic code converter; these are proven tools and technologies available today that speed deployments and leverage the mainframe’s powerful resources to drive better and faster data access and new application development.

Presentations will be delivered by IBM’s Elton de Souza, Clark Hale and Andrew Austin of Red Hat, and Frank Fillmore of The Fillmore Group. The agenda, abstracts and speaker bio’s are below.

Agenda: Thursday, September 17, 2020

10:00 – 10:10 Welcome and Introductions
10:10 – 11:15 Containers, Cloud Paks, OpenShift – What Mainframers Should Know
11:15 – 11:20 Break
11:20 – 11:35 The New Replication Monitoring Tool Interactive Session – BYOI (Bring Your Own Ideas)
11:35 – 12:40 Red Hat OpenShift on System Z
12:40 – 12:45 Break
12:45 – 01:50 Mainframe Modernization – Field Notes
01:50 – 02:00 Q&A and Wrap Up

Sessions
Containers, Cloud Paks, OpenShift – What Mainframers Should Know, Elton de Souza, IBM
In this presentation IBM Chief Architect and Wizard Elton de Souza will cover the value proposition of OpenShift on IBM Z from a technical and business standpoint. Elton will also cover integration points between OpenShift and zOS services and data sources.

Red Hat OpenShift, Clark Hale & Andrew Austin, Red Hat
Red Hat OpenShift is the industry’s most secure and comprehensive enterprise-grade container platform. This presentation will explain what OpenShift is, what value it can provide to your organization, and a brief demo of its operation. Special focus will be given to the System Z release of OpenShift.

Mainframe Modernization – Field Notes, Frank Fillmore, The Fillmore Group
Frank recently served as the System Z specialist for a mainframe modernization project led by a team from Red Hat. The goal was to develop a modernization template to be shared with other mainframe customers to accelerate the effort by incorporating the best tools and technologies available today. The customer struggles with a familiar list of challenges: legacy applications developed over decades, data in VSAM and Db2, and incomplete data, the result of a recent merger. Several approach and solution options were explored. Join Frank while he discusses how IBM’s acquisition of Red Hat is transforming how mainframe modernization is being approached – and realized.

Speaker Bio’s

Elton de Souza, IBM
Elton de Souza is the Chief Architect for Cloud Native Client Success focusing on IBM Z and LinuxONE. Since OpenShift GA’d on IBM Z in Feb 2020, Elton has helped several clients across various sectors and geographies implement RHOCP on IBM Z and LinuxONE. He’s spent almost his entire career on IBM Z starting from the Java compiler for Linux and zOS to working on Open Source Solutions (MongoDB, node.js, Spark, Docker, Kubernetes, etc.) to IBM Cloud Private and now Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Z.

Clark Hale, Red Hat
Clark Hale is a Senior Consulting Architect at Red Hat. With a focus on OpenShift and “cloud native” technologies, he specializes in assisting companies adopt modern technology and development practices. Before joining Red Hat, he was a multi-language developer (COBOL, C, Java) at Lowes Companies and an OpenSource Advocate at SUN Microsystems.

Andrew Austin, Red Hat
Andrew Austin is a Senior Architect with Red Hat Consulting’s Cloud Infrastructure Practice. His focus is on delivering solutions based on Red Hat OpenShift on the IBM Z platform as well as distributed systems.

Frank Fillmore, The Fillmore Group
Frank is founder and president of The Fillmore Group, an IBM Business Partner specializing in IBM database solution sales and services. Frank is an IBM System Z Gold Consultant and IBM Champion, as well as an IBM authorized instructor and frequent presenter at users group meetings and conferences. Frank leads a team of expert consultants delivering IBM solution implementation and enablement support services.

IBM is hosting the September meeting of the Baltimore/Washington Db2 Users Group to be held at the BWI Hilton on Wednesday, September 11th.  IBM’s Kenishia Sapp and Anthony Ciabattoni will be presenting on Db2 for z/OS topics (see agenda below) and *drum roll!* IBM Replication Product Offering Manager Davendra Paltoo will be presenting on IBM’s recent replication enhancements and new offerings.

With the recent Gartner report validating IBM’s market position in their “magic quadrant” with IBM’s offerings supporting a broad range of replication sources and targets (including Postgres and Kafka), and the increased focus on making data accurate and available for analytics, it’s important to understand what IBM is delivering to customers today.

If you are in the Baltimore/Washington area I hope you will join us for the meeting and the opportunity to talk replication with Davendra.

The full agenda is below.  Registration is required – please register on the Baltimore/Washington Db2 Users Group website HERE.

Date:  Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Time:  9:00am – 3:30pm (registration open at 8:30am)

Location:  BWI Hilton, 1739 W Nursery Road, Linthicum Heights, MD  21090

Agenda:

9:00am – 10:15am   APIs: A Pathway to the Modern Enterprise, Kenishia Sapp, IBM NA z API Swat Team

As Enterprises begin their modernization journeys, REST and the API economy are integral elements of their roadmaps. There are many ways to achieve the goal of REST API enablement for the mainframe, and it can be hard to distinguish the benefits and unique value points among them. Kenishia Callaway will illustrate how solutions such as z/OS Connect, API Connect and others can be used to modernize while retaining the well-developed systems that differentiate company value.

10:30am – 11:45am  Db2 for z/OS Native RESTful Experience, Anthony Ciabattoni, IBM Db2 zOS Development SWAT Team

IBM Db2 for z/OS is still the undisputed leader for storing and maintaining mission critical data. It remains the “gold standard” for system availability, scalability, security and cost effectiveness. A majority of Fortune 500 companies, including the world’s top banks, retailers and insurance providers trust Db2 for z/OS for storing their data. In addition, Db2 for z/OS continues to invest in industry leading easy to access, efficient and cost effective data access capabilities while maintain our mainframe heritage.This session will show how Db2 REST services allow modern applications to access and consume Db2 data and to reuse existing SQL statements and stored procedures. We will present how they are easily deployed, managed and also promote the rapid/agile development and deployment of new applications that are mobile friendly.

12:45pm – 2:00pm  Db2 12 experiences from the field, recipe for successful migrations, FTB’s & Insert Algorithm 2, Anthony Ciabattoni

Migrating to Db2 12 and exploiting and taking advantage of new features and functions needs to be planned, prepared and executed to maintain availability and achieve organizational success. This session will go through the recipe of a successful Db2 migration, what can be completed prior to the migration window and what steps actual customers have made to achieve a successful migration. In addition, Fast Traversal Blocks and Insert Algorithm 2 are two of the most popular new features in Db2 12. During the session these two features will be described in detail along with the appropriate use cases for both technologies. Lastly, real life customer behavior, experiences and implementation successes will be discussed. If you are an organization that is in the process of migrating to Db2 12 or are planning for a Db2 12 migration before Db2 11 End of Service this is a must attend session.

2:15pm – 3:30pm Delivering a Real-time Experience for Dynamic Digital Businesses, Davendra Paltoo, Replication Offering Manager

Learn how organizations use IBM Data Replication to deliver near real time data across the enterprise from Db2 and most other major databases. IBM Data Replication key capabilities and plans will also be covered.

The Fillmore Group has had the pleasure of working with Steve Cricchi for the past several years.  Steve is a database administrator and technical problem solver who has done some amazing work with the IBM Db2 Analytics Accelerator.  In December he delivered a presentation on his successful efforts with the IDAA to the Baltimore/Washington Db2 Users Group, and an article he wrote about his experiences was recently published on the IDUG blog.

Anyone who has considered an IDAA acquisition understands that this tool is not inexpensive, so there’s an urgency to ensure it delivers value once it’s purchased and installed.  It also requires – like many technical challenges – a certain degree of creativity.  Steve’s done a terrific job delivering and his article explains how.  Please take a moment to read it!

Meet “the Crusher” – or How We Learned to Love Query Acceleration

 

 

 

Thank you to the IBM Technical Team, Kay Groski and Warren Heising, for coordinating this terrific agenda and group of excellent speakers for the Mid-Atlantic Spring Db2 LUW Users Group Meeting!

The is no cost to attend (again thanks Kay and Warren).

Registration is required.  Register here.

Date:                            Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Time:                            9:00am – 2:30pm
Location:                      IBM Bethesda, Room 02-2A304, 6710 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD  20817

Agenda:
09:00-10:30    SESSION 1:  Futures (vNext coming soon!) presented by Jon Lind
10:30-10:45     BREAK
10:45-12:00     SESSION 2: IBM Streams presented by Roger Rea
12:00-12:45     Networking Lunch
12:45-2:00       SESSION 3:  Demystifying the Db2 Logger presented by Dale McInnis
2:00-2:15         BREAK
2:15-2:30         IDUG Overview

The Baltimore/Washington Db2 Users Group will be holding our annual education session on Wednesday, March 20, 2019, at the BWI Hilton.  Please note the date is the third Wednesday in March, not the second, when meetings are typically held, as several members will be attending SHARE.

As a very special 2019 offer, the group will have two session tracks and two terrific presenters.  You are invited to sign up for one of the two tracks.  The cost per attendee is $100 and includes session materials and a sit down lunch with the entire group. 

Date: Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Time: 9:00am – 4:00pm (Registration and continental breakfast at 8:30am)

Location: BWI Hilton, 1739 W Nursery Rd, Linthicum Heights, MD 21090

Register: HERE

For DBA’s IBM’s Robert Catterall will present, and for developers, Tony Andrews from Themis.  Abstracts for their day-long sessions are below.  

Track 1:

Db2 Database Administration Db2 for z/OS DBA’s: News You Can Use This day-long session for DBAs delivers updates on four topics pertinent to database administration. Each unique segment will provide up-to-date information on:

1. Leveraging large z/OS LPAR memory resources for improved Db2 application performance.
2. Key metrics for Db2 subsystem and application performance monitoring and tuning.
3. DDF application architecture and workload management.
4. Modern Db2 for z/OS physical database design.

Presenter: Robert Catterall

Robert Catterall is an IBM Senior Consulting Db2 for z/OS specialist. He started his IT career with IBM in 1982, and worked throughout the 1990s as a member of the Company’s Db2 for z/OS National Technical Support team. From 2000 to 2007, Robert worked as a database technology strategist for CheckFree (now part of Fiserv). After working for three years as an independent Db2 consultant, he rejoined IBM in 2010.

Robert is a past President of the International Db2 Users Group (IDUG), and a member of IDUG’s Speakers Hall of Fame. He presents frequently at conferences and user group meetings, and blogs about Db2 for z/OS at http://robertsdb2blog.blogspot.com/.

Track 2:

Db2 Developers New Application Features for Db2 12

Are you still coding and designing SQL from the 90’s? The last several releases of Db2 have brought quality new features that can be used to improve both functionality and performance for today’s complex applications. This event will help catch you up!

Morning Segment: • Global Variables: Creation, Usage, Rules, V12 Enhancements • Transparent Archiving: Automatic Archiving of Data, Data Retrieval Options, Global Variables for Archiving • Sequence Objects: Creation, Usage, Sequence vs Identity • Advanced Groupings: Group By / Having Review , Grouping Sets, Rollup, Cube • OLAP Ranking Functions Upgrades: o Rank, Dense_Rank, Row_Number Review o Ranking Moving Sums and Avgs o Rows Between o Range Between o Partition By • SQL Set Operations: Union/Union All Review, Intersect/Intersect All, Except/Except All, Union Select Into

Afternoon Session: • SQL Merge: Overview, V12 Enhancements • SQL : Select From Update, Select From Insert • SQL Piece-Wise Delete: V12 Enhancement • SQL Pagination: V12 enhancement • SQL QUERYNO: Review • SQL Procedural Language: Piece Wise Delete, Autonomous Processing, SQL PL support for Triggers • Performance Enhancements: o New Stage 1 Predicates o V10, V11 New Performance Review o V12 Performance Enhancements o Sparse Indexing o V12 Runtime Adaptive Indexing o V12 Fast Traverse Indexing

Presenter: Tony Andrews

Tony Andrews has more than 25 years’ experience in the development of relational database applications. Most of this time, he has provided development and consulting services to Fortune 500 companies and government agencies. Tony has written literally thousands of queries and programs during his development years, and has also served as a database analyst. For the last 10 years, Tony has been splitting his time between performance and tuning consulting engagements along with training. His main focus is to teach today’s developers the ways of RDBMS application design, development and SQL programming — always with a special emphasis on improving performance.

He is a current IBM Champion, and regular speaker at many regional user groups, IDUG NA, and IDUG EMEA. He is also the author of a book for developers titled ‘DB2 SQL Tuning Tips for z/OS Developers’. *the Baltimore/Washington Db2 Users Group is a non-profit organization funding a portion of this meeting. If registration levels exceed our funds the per attendee cost will need to be raised to offset expenses.

December User Group Meetings

Coming up in December are two (yes 2, TWO!!) Db2 Users Group events in the Baltimore-Washington-NoVA area:  first, the Mid-Atlantic Db2 LUW group is scheduled to meet December 6th in Bethesda.  This meeting is sponsored by IBM, there is no fee to attend, and features two sessions on Data Server Manager with DSM Offering Manager Peter Kohlmann, and a session on the future of Db2 by Dr. Jon Lind, the Db2 Product Offering Manager.  This meeting is being held in conjunction with Washington Area Informix Users Group, and we are looking forward to sharing lunch and networking with their session attendees.  Registration is required; register HERE.

Details on the Mid-Atlantic Db2 sessions and the registration link (registration is required) are below; information on the Washington Informix sessions is HERE.

The following week, the Baltimore/Washington Db2 Users Group will host our quarterly meeting Wednesday, December 12th at the BWI Hilton.  The day’s sessions include presentations by IBM’s Master Inventor Terry Purcell, along with 3 (yes, 3!) user presentations, from Steve Cricchi, and NFCU’s Joe Huang and Joe Watson.  Details on the sessions and agenda are below, and attached.  Registration is required; register HERE.

If you are in the area, please join us.  And if you are going to join us, bring a friend!

Mid-Atlantic Db2 User Group Meeting
Sponsored by IBM

Date:                 December 6, 2018
Time:                10:00am – 3:00pm (registration opens at 9:30am)
Location:           IBM, 6710 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, Maryland 20817
Cost:                 There is no cost but attendees must pre-register HERE

Agenda:

9:30am – 10:00am  Registration and Continental Breakfast
10:00am – 11:15am  Data Server Manager, Part 1. Peter Kohlmann, presenter
11:15am – 11:30am  Break
11:30am – 12:45pm  Data Server Manager, Part 2. Peter Kohlmann, presenter
12:45pm – 1:45pm  Lunch, sponsored by IBM
1:45pm – 3:00pm  What’s New in Db2?   Jon Lind, presenter

Session Abstracts
Data Server Manager, Part 1
Learn about the latest trends, directions and updates to the full line of Data Management Consoles for the Db2 family of offerings from ground to cloud. Where are we today, what is our vision and how are we getting there.

Data Server Manager, Part 2
Go on a deep dive of how to monitor the overall performance of your Db2 family database. Learn how to dive deeply into the three levels of statement monitoring and choose which to use for your specific challenge. And learn how to use Db2 Workloads to surgically decompose your database performance by application and by user to see exactly who is doing what.

What’s New in Db2?
In this session attendees will gain an understanding of IBM’s Db2 product roadmap.  IBM’s current strategy and plans for Db2 include increased functionality and support for a variety of deployment options – on premise, cloud, and several “mix and match” offerings.

Presented by IBM Db2 Product Offering Manager Dr. Jon Lind, you will gain an understanding of IBM’s plans for the future of Db2.  Whether your organization has been running Db2 for LUW for years or weeks, or if you are just beginning to consider Db2, this session will provide an excellent summary of what’s available today and what IBM’s investment in Db2 will deliver in the future.

Presenters

Peter Kohlmann
Peter Kohlmann has been a member of the IBM database and Analytics development and product management teams since Version 2 of Db2 for Linux, UNIX and Windows. He is currently an IBM Offering Manager with a focus on tools for database and data services and IBM Data Server Manager used for the Db2 family. He was one of the original developers and designers of the Db2 Control Center and also created the Technology Explorer for IBM Db2 open source project. As the Db2 Release Manager he oversaw the delivery of Db2 for LUW 10.1 and 10.5 and he also directed the new technology adoption program for Db2 pureScale Version 9.8.

Jon Lind
Jon Lind is the Db2 for Linux, UNIX and Windows Product Manager, supporting one of the largest software products at IBM.  Dr. Lind’s responsibilities include managing, positioning, marketing, and deploying Db2.  He works with customers, internal product teams and key partners to drive product enhancements as well as the IBM marketing, sales and channel teams to determine the various routes to market for successful product launch and go-to-market campaigns.

Prior to this role he held various technical positions in the IBM Toronto Lab and IBM Beaverton Lab, from technical development, project management, technical support, to management. With his solid technical background and broad experience in many areas of enterprise software business, Dr. Lind has assisted customers across all geographic areas at all levels – from development to C-level executives.

Washington Area Informix Users Group (WAIUG) Meeting
Sponsored by IBM

Date:       Thursday, December 6, 2018
Time:       9:30am – 2:30pm (registration opens at 9:30am)
Location: IBM, 6710 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, Maryland 20817
Cost:       There is no cost but attendees must pre-register HERE

Session Abstracts

Docker & Informix – What can Docker do for you? 
Presenter:   Darin Tracy
Understand what Docker is, how it works.   How to create an Informix Docker image and best practices. Docker containerization is the first step into using Kubernetes as a fault tolerant clustering service.

Darin began working for Informix in 1994 and continues to work for IBM now. He has worked in the openlink support group, and the Down Systems Group and has been with the APD (RT) group. Darin has presented at many IIUG events as well as many internal classes to IBM support.

Informix roadmap – Where do we go from here?
Presenter:  Karen Qualley
What might we expect from Informix in 5 years? Join IBM to learn about the Informix roadmap and what the team is working on.

Informix HCL Licensing
Presenter:  Karen Qualley
Information about changes and plans for the Informix licensing model from HCL.

Baltimore/Washington Db2 Users Group – sponsored by IBM

Date:          Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Time:         9:00am – 3:30pm (registration at 8:30am)
Location:    Hilton BWI Airport, 1739 W Nursery Rd, Linthicum Heights, MD  21090
Fees:           $30 Pre-registered and $40 At-the-door
Register:     HERE

Agenda:
9:00am – 10:15am Optimize Db2 for z/OS with Machine Learning using IBM Db2 AI for z/OS
Presenter:  Terry Purcell, IBM
10:15am – 10:30am  Break
10:30am – 11:45am Db2 12 and Continuous Delivery – What’s New from the Optimizer?
Presenter:  Terry Purcell, IBM
11:45am – 12:45pm Lunch Sponsored by IBM
12:45pm – 2:00pm Automating Accelerator Batch Loads in Single Instance Environments
Presenter:  Steve Cricchi
2:00pm – 2:15pm Break
2:15pm – 2:45pm  Using and Implementing the Db2 Profiles
Presenter:  Joe Huang, NFCU
2:45pm – 3:30pm NFCU Db2 12 Migration Experience
Presenter:  Joe Watson, NFCU

Session Abstracts

Optimize Db2 for z/OS with Machine Learning using IBM Db2 AI for z/OS   Terry Purcell, presenter
Machine learning is now prevalent in our day to day activities as it helps us make better data driven decisions. Therefore, it makes sense to extend that same technology to help tune performance for Db2 for z/OS. Db2 AI for z/OS applies machine learning insights from your workload characteristics to empower the Db2 optimizer and find better access paths for SQL queries. This offering enables clients to see out-of-the-box CPU and elapsed time savings. Db2AI for z/OS embeds machine learning and IBM domain expertise to provide customized recommendations for performance tuning. Learn how Db2AI for z/OS applies IBM Machine Learning for z/OS to better optimize Db2 for z/OS performance.

Db2 12 and Continuous Delivery – What’s New from the Optimizer?  Terry Purcell, presenter
DB2 12 for z/OS has been announced and DB2 has embarked on Continuous Delivery for ongoing features. So what’s coming from the optimizer team regarding further performance enhancements? DB2 12 for z/OS had already delivered outstanding performance and scalability improvements from UNION ALL and outer join performance improvements, sort optimizations, improved predicate indexability and tighter integration of the Optimizer and RUNSTATS. This presentation will outline what was delivered and how future optimizer enhancements apply to continuous delivery.

Automating Accelerator Batch Loads in Single Instance Environments    Steve Cricchi, presenter
When concurrency is not needed for warehouse applications it is possible to use standard z/OS tools to load a Db2 Analytics Accelerator without sample programs or 3rd party tools.  See the mechanics of how to do this for a cycle-driven process with a high degree of usability and easy job output management.

Using and Implementing the Db2 Profiles     Joe Huang, presenter
How to implement the Db2 Profiles at your shop with real life use cases. The presentation will show you how to configure and activate a Db2 Profile. The components of PROFILE tables and the relationship between PROFILE and ATTRIBUTE table. The presentation will also introduce the Navy Federal Credit Union use cases such as: to control number of active DBAT threads, to control IDLE THREAD TIMEOUT, bind DISTRIBUTED packages using multiple COLLID and Simulate PROD environment in TEST to trick optimizer.

NFCU Db2 12 Migration Experience   Joe Watson, presenter
Navy Federal Credit Union recently migrated DB2 to V12 from V11.  The migration occurred ‘online’ where production workflow continued to process without interruption.  This was a major achievement for increased system availability / less system downtime, and the first major software implementation of this type for NFC.  This implementation also ranks among a very few number of organizations that have done online migration. This presentation will outline the basic concepts pertinent to the NFC DB2 system configuration that enabled online migration to be pursued, along with challenges that existed and the approaches to resolve them.

Presenter Bio’s

Terry Purcell is a Senior Technical Staff Member with the IBM Silicon Valley Lab, where he is lead designer for the Db2 for z/OS Optimizer. Terry has 25 years of experience with Db2 in SQL Performance and optimization as a customer, consultant and Db2 developer. Terry is an IBM Master Inventor with more than 25 U.S. patents for database search Technology.

Steve Cricchi has over 25 years of Db2 DBA experience starting with V1.3. He currently supports Db2 applications on V11 for a major financial organization.

Joe Huang is a Certified Db2 DBA with 30 years of IT experience. During his career, Joe has held several job roles in Application Programming, Db2 z/OS system administration, IBM Mainframe System Architecture and Db2 z/OS Database Administration. Joe is an IBM Certified Db2 V11 Database Administrator and an IBM Certified Db2 V11 System Administrator. Joe plays Classic Guitar and he performs at a local 5 star rated restaurant in Northern Virginia.

Joseph Watson is a Senior DB2 database administrator with Navy Federal Credit Union, with experience as database and system administration since version 1.3. Joe earned Master of Computer Science degree from Howard University; Certificate In Information Systems from George Washington University. Previous duties include DB2 administration, IMS programming, CICS programming, application consulting/training for EDS, Verizon, and consulting/training for IBM including government top secret security assignments. In a past life Joe was a science and math teacher for the MD Montgomery County school district.

Db2 and Informix Users Groups 12.6.18 Agenda

Baltimore Washington Db2 Users Group 12.6.18 Agenda

 

The Call for Speakers for the 2019 IDUG North America Conference, scheduled for Charlotte, NC, from June 2 – 6, 2019, is open.  For Db2 users this is an excellent opportunity to share your experience with your peers.  IDUG has a well documented presentation submission format and process, detailed on the IDUG North America webpage.

You may submit an unlimited number of abstracts.  However, it is important that you provide all of the information requested when submitting your presentation(s) for review. Failure to provide all requested information may impact whether or not the abstract is accepted.

One last note:  given the timing, don’t forget to reach out to your local Db2 RUG and offer to deliver your presentation at one of their meetings prior to the conference.  It’s a great opportunity to do a practice run, and also allow your local peers – some of whom may not be attending the conference – to appreciate your work.

From the IDUG webpage:

“IDUG is soliciting presentation abstracts that explore into details of implementation, migrating to a new release, or maximizing performance from any member of the DB2 product family. In recognition of the complex requirements of today’s database implementations, presentation abstracts relating to migration from Oracle to DB2, upgrading within versions of DB2, and new hardware implementations are also being requested. Presentations may cover details of DB2 tools, Big Data and other ancillary DB2 products.

All presentations must be strongly technical in nature, cannot contain marketing themes, and must support and strengthen the information services community by providing the highest quality education and services designed to promote the effective utilization of the DB2 and its family of products.”

 

Following his successful hands-on IDAA class in Columbus, Frank Fillmore will be presenting on the IDAA at the September Baltimore/Washington Db2 Users Group, scheduled for Wednesday, September 12th.   Frank’s presentation and bio are below – last, per his request – keep reading – !

If you are in the area September 12th please join us.  If you have any questions on the upcoming meeting or are interested in presenting please contact me.

Date:                Wednesday, September 12th, 2018
Time:                9:00 AM – 3:30 PM (registration at 8:30)
Location:          Hilton Baltimore BWI Airport, 1739 W Nursery Road, 21090
Fees:                Pre-registered members: $30,  Pre-registered non-members: $40
At-the-door:    Members: $40, non-members: $50

Schedule:
Registration
8:30 – 9:00

9:00 – 10:15:  Copy Smarter – Unload/Load, DSN1COPY and Beyond

Kai Stroh, UBS Hainer

When you get tasked with setting up a refresh process for thousands of Db2 z/OS tables you probably have a few thoughts running through your head: How long does it take to create all the required jobs? How long for all the control cards? Do all the target tables exist, or are there any new tables in production? Have tables been changed? Better double check if the tables have grown or if Db2 has added more VSAMs so that you don’t run out of space halfway through like last time. Don’t forget catalog statistics and RTS. And those identity columns and sequences – they’re always trouble. What seems like little bits and pieces at first can really stretch your staff thin, which is why automation is key if you want to save time and energy. This presentation discusses advantages and disadvantages of different utilities that copy Db2 data, but the main focus is automating all the side tasks that DBAs usually need to do in addition to copying the data itself.

10:15 – 10:30:  Break

10:30 – 11:45:  Log Enhanced Copies for 24×7 DB2 Refresh/Migration

Kai Stroh,  UBS Hainer

LOB compression is one of the more interesting features of Db2 12. It promises performance gains for your application that use LOB’s, coupled with disk savings! This presentation provides an overview of the feature, and discusses some of the performance characteristics. Then we move on to pros and cons, and a process for taking advantage of the feature.

11:45 – 12:45:  Lunch

12:45 – 2:00:  Machine Learning

Jonathan Sloan, IBM

Gain an overall understanding of Machine Learning for z/OS and its role in enabling advanced analytics on IBM Z. You will learn how this machine learning technology integrates with Db2 Analytics Accelerator and Db2 for z/OS to drive real-time insight on an enterprise scale.

2:00 – 2:15:  Break

2:15 – 3:30: IBM Db2 Analytics Accelerator (IDAA) V7 had a Brain and Heart Transplant

Frank Fillmore, The Fillmore Group

IBM Db2 Analytics Accelerator (IDAA) v7 has been completely re-engineered. Previous IDAA versions were based on legacy Netezza technology including PostgreSQL (the “brain”) and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA – the “heart”). IDAA v7 – aka “Sailfish” – uses Db2 with BLU Acceleration and POWER processors. The benefits are greater compatibility between Db2 for z/OS and the IDAA, fewer hardware problems, improved Incremental Update latency, and lots more.  If you are an existing IDAA shop considering migrating to v7 or have not previously considered IDAA, this presentation will cover what you need to know.

Speaker:

Kai Stroh earned a Computer Science degree from the University of Darmstadt and is a mainframe software developer specializing in Db2 utilities for z/OS. He designs and builds innovative Db2 applications and utilities often working onsite or remotely with UBS’ international clients. He easily navigates his way around Db2 dumps and knows how to move data and definitions across Db2 versions, and this includes the unique in-house Db2 subsystems which each have their own little technical adaptations.

Jonathan Sloan is a Senior Certified Executive Software IT Specialist, with more than two decades experience successfully leading, selling and implementing business analytic and data warehouse applications as a vendor as well as an implementer. He joined IBM in 2000 and specializes in helping customers understand the application of IBM Information management technology to business problems.

Frank C. Fillmore, Jr. is the Founder and President of The Fillmore Group, Inc., a Premier IBM Business Partner specializing in Hybrid Cloud and Analytics. Frank has been a Db2 Gold Consultant since 1998 and currently is an IBM Champion for both Analytics and System z. Frank has frequently presented on cutting-edge topics at regional and international Db2 Users Group meetings and the IBM Insight conference.

After a few months of discussion and support from the IBM community-focused Db2 technical team and local Db2 users, a new RUG, the Mid-Atlantic Db2 for LUW Users Group, is here!  The group will kick off with their first meeting on Wednesday, August 15th at the McLean TEC.

The team is working on the exact schedule for the day and planning a late morning start, most likely 10am, to allow for traffic (a challenge to us all!)   IBM is sponsoring the meeting and bringing STSM Date McInnis in from the Toronto Lab to present.  There will be no charge to attend the meeting, however registration is required.

I will update this post with the registration link as soon as it is set up.  In the meantime please mark you calendar and plan to join us if you are a Db2 user.

And if you run into IBM’s Kay Groski, Lynn Chou and/or Warren Heising, or Db2 Gold Consultants and IBM Champions Ken Shaffer and Steve Mazer, please give them a shout out for their efforts to make this new group a reality.

…and here’s the update – just in!

Register on Eventbrite HERE.

The agenda:
10:00 – 11:00 Db2 Topic: Db2 Backup and Restore best practice with Dale McInnis
11:00 – 11:15 break
11:15 -12:15 Db2 Topic: Building a resilient DB with Db2 with Dale McInnis
12:15 – 1:00  lunch
1:00 – 1:45  Emerging Technologies Topic: ICPD overview with Kay Groski
1:45 – 2:00 break
2:00 – 3:00 Emerging Technologies Topic: Topic DSX Local with demo with Steve Geringer

*** Please note:  There is a fee for parking ***