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.

IBM Data Replication 2020: In a Nutshell

IBM replication is based on two unique technical solutions: InfoSphere Change Data Capture, the heritage DataMirror product, and Q-Replication, the IBM-developed replication solution that uses MQ messaging.

IBM replication supports numerous sources and targets. For heterogeneous environments, that is, where either the source or target are not Db2, IBM recommends InfoSphere Change Data Capture. For Db2 to Db2 replication, IBM recommends Q Replication.

The currently available sources are targets are below. New offerings are always being added; for a current list visit the IBM replication homepage.

New offering highlight: Mainframe replication for Db2 for z and VSAM featuring “Remote Capture”, with the replication engine installed off the mainframe. The new solution delivers easier installation and administration as well as lower MIPs consumption to support replication from System z.

Coming soon: Refreshed monitoring tools built on Watson Knowledge Catalog, enabling expanded governance and integration with replication monitoring.

Implementation support, healthchecks and education:  Contact The Fillmore Group. We have several Quickstart offerings and have been delivering the IBM replication education offerings for decades.

Replication Sources: Db2 (LUW, Z/OS, iSeries), Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, VSAM, IMS, Informix, Sybase, MySQL.

Replication Targets: All above RDBMSs plus Teradata, Kafka, Hadoop, Files, Information Server (DataStage/QualityStage), Cloudant, AWS RedShift, S3, Azure SQL DB, JDBC targets (MongoDb, etc.), IBM IAS/ Db2WH/Db2WHoC, Netezza/Cloud Pak 4 Data System, and more.

Remote Capture Quickstart

Postgres Capture Quickstart

Kafka Replication Quickstart

Over 180 folks attended the “45 Minutes to Understand IBM Replication – Sources & Targets, Lower Latency, Costs” webinar on April 30, 2020 hosted by my colleague @KimMayTFG and me.  Thank you for joining us – along with the excellent questions and feedback.

These are the presentation materials IBM Data Replication Update 2020-04-30

You’ll find the recording of the webinar here.

Thanks to my colleagues, Kim May and Ed Lynch, for a terrific IBM InfoSphere Data Replication (IIDR) new features webinar delivered today.  The recording of the webinar is found here.    These are the presentation materials: Data Replication Update 2019-02-07 – Final

With 2018 coming to a close I am focused on plans for 2019.  Our current plans are being driven by changes in IBM’s services delivery model and product enhancements to be available in 2019.  Change can be good!

In 2018 IBM’s Lab Services organization opted to extend their use of Business Partners to support customer engagements.  Lab Services has long maintained relationships with skilled partners to augment their staff consultants; in 2018 this utilization was increased.  The Fillmore Group staffed several Lab Services engagements and supplied half a dozen consultants to support a variety of engagements including implementations, migrations, healthchecks, and staff augmentation, supporting replication solutions InfoSphere Change Data Capture, pureScale, Kafka, and Q Replication, as well as Db2 and Hadoop.

In staffing these engagements we became aware of several interesting customer situations and opportunities we hope will deliver better results to our customers in 2019.  Through a chance conversation with a Federal agency looking to identify the best replication tools for their next generation applications, we learned about some enhancements to the replication portfolio solutions expected to be delivered in 2019.

To support our IBM colleagues in spreading the word about the upcoming enhancements, and to (no surprise!) encourage customers to contact us if they are in need of support, the 2019 schedule of events below was drafted.

Some of these “events” consist primarily of outreach to customers who may be interested.  If these apply to you, feel free to contact me for more information.

Here’s to a busy 2019!

1. CDC Healthcheck Services. Delivery through Lab Services. a. Audience: current CDC customers considering new replication environments and/or looking to better support current replication. b. Tasks/activities: a review of current replication environments, staff enablement, monitoring review, performance tuning and/or planning new replication environments. c. Deliverables: Healthcheck report, enablement recommendations, plan for new replication sources and targets.

2. IBM Replication Roadmap Webinar. a. Audience: current and prospective replication customers. b. Content: a review of current and new replication offerings. c. Deliverables: recommendations/actions needed to initiate CDC purchases.

3. Kafka Webinar. a. Audience: current and prospective customers looking to replication to Kafka. b. Content: a review of Kafka, use cases, and where Kafka is best deployed. c. Deliverables: recommendations/actions to initiate Kafka deployment.

4. Replication Whitepaper. a. Audience: current and prospective customers. b. Content: TBD – replication competitive options, pricing, and/or Db2 for z data focus. c. Deliverable: whitepaper explaining IBM replication options compared with competitor solutions.

5. Kafka Quickstart Services. Delivery through Lab Services. a. Audience: customers implementing replication to Kafka. b. Tasks/activities: Kafka installation, replication set-up, and staff enablement. c. Deliverables: data replicating to Kafka.

6. Kafka Training – Extending KM020G ICDC Class a. Audience: new Kafka customers. b. Tasks/activities: instructor-led modules to demonstrate and explain Kafka implementation and administration. c. Deliverables: 2-days of formal classroom instruction with hands-on exercises.

7. IAS to IAS Replication Quickstart Services. Delivery through Lab Services a. Audience: customers implementing IAS to IAS replication. b. Tasks/activities: Software installation, replication set-up, and staff enablement. c. Deliverables: IAS replication, monitoring in place.

8. Competitive Replication Webinar. a. Audience: Oracle GG and Attunity customers. b. Content: a review of the advantages of IBM replication solutions. c. Deliverables/action items: action plan to PoC IBM replication offerings.

Please join us Thursday, July 28th, from 11am-12pm EDT for a free webinar with an update on IBM’s Q Replication.

Having worked with Q Replication customers since 2006, DB2 Gold Consultant and IBM Champion Frank Fillmore has collected useful tips and techniques for Q Replication implementation and administration. Join Frank as he shares his notes and thoughts on the topics below and delivers a mid-2016 checkpoint on the evolving IBM InfoSphere Data Replication (IIDR) product development roadmap.

In this session Frank will cover the topics below.  Please register for the session here.

1. Cold Start a Q Replication topology.
   1. When and why would you need to consider a Cold Start.
   2. What are the steps?
2. Oracle Native Q Apply – replication directly to an Oracle database (including RAC and Exadata).
   1. Comparison to Federated Apply.
   2. Co-existence and migration.
3. Tooling – what tool do I use when?
   1. Q Replication Dashboard.
   2. ASNMON.
   3. Replication Center.
   4. ASNCLP.
4. ASNCONSUMER – used to replicate to PureData System for Analytics (Netezza).
5. Pricing models.

About Frank Fillmore:

DB2 Gold Consultant and IBM Champion Frank C. Fillmore, Jr. is the Founder and President of The Fillmore Group, Inc., a Premier IBM Business Partner that specializes in IBM Analytics software sales, consulting, and training.  Frank has been providing IBM database-oriented solutions to government, industry, and not-for-profit enterprises as varied as The World Bank, J.P. Morgan Chase, Northrop Grumman, and the FBI for over 29 years.  Frank’s current practice centers on Hybrid Transaction and Analytic Processing (HTAP) and Oracle to DB2 migrations as well as information governance and integration.  Frank kayaks and cheers for the Baltimore Orioles.

Frank and I attended an IBM Business Partner event in Philadelphia earlier this week where we met with several IBM’ers supporting Business Partner initiatives in 2016.  Each of the specialists presented their “best of” solutions to the partners in attendance, and then patiently answered our many questions (mostly mine – sorry team!)

The final preparations for our Woodberry Kitchen lunch event are underway:   Frank and I are polishing the presentation, IBM’s Andrew Levine and Warren Heising are tracking down answers to my Cloud deployment “what if?” questions, Megan is gathering gold coins for attendees who ask Frank good technical questions, and Jolanta at Woodberry Kitchen has me salivating with her menu recommendations.

If you will be in Baltimore April 21st and haven’t registered yet, please do!  Register HERE.

Our webinar delivered on March 11, 2016 outlining access to mainframe data specifically oriented to non-mainframers such as IT Architects and Data Scientists was a success.  The presentation materials are here: IBM z Systems – Mainframes – for IT Architects and Data Scientists

A recording of the webinar is found here.

For Baltimore and Mid-Atlantic area data management customers, The Fillmore Group is excited to announce a “DB2 101” luncheon event at award-winning Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore on Thursday, April 21, 2016, from 11am – 2pm.

Join DB2 Gold Consultant Frank C. Fillmore, Jr., for a delicious lunch and a sprint through the IBM Analytics 2016 data management solutions portfolio.   Whether you are a long-time IBM customer or are considering your first IBM product purchase, Frank’s presentation will deliver the latest on today’s hottest technology topics – HTAP, Big Data/Hadoop and Cloud – and the specific solutions IBM has built, acquired and integrated to enable customers to meet their data management goals.

Is this, “the more things change the more they stay the same”, or an inflection point for data technology? You be the judge!

Frank’s overview will include IBM’s DB2 core databases, InfoSphere data integration solutions, Hybrid Transaction / Analytics Processing (HTAP), Big Data/Hadoop and Cloud offerings, as well as his 2016 best product recommendations and resources to help you learn more and evaluate these solutions.

Lunch and valet parking will be provided free of charge by The Fillmore Group.  Registration is required as seating is limited.  Register HERE.

If you have any questions or dietary restrictions please contact Kim May at kim.may@thefillmoregroup.com.  I hope we will see you at Woodberry!

I only spoke with Steve Mills a couple of times and attended presentations he delivered at conferences a few others, but he has had an enormous impact on my career.  Steve was the executive sponsor of the DB2 Gold Consultants program, of which I have been a member since 1998.  Steve recognized that specialized, deep technical skills were imperative to enabling the adoption and successful deployment of IBM’s world-class, function-rich – but let’s face it: enormously complex – information technologies.  Through the DB2 Gold Consultants program, Steve cultivated a cadre that were not only among the best DB2 practitioners, but foremost in the world in relational database technology in general.  Folks like Richard Yevich, Bonnie Baker, Frank Ingrassia, Terry Purcell, Jan Henderyckx, and Gerry Hodge.  I am humbled to be numbered among them.

For years IBM would sponsor a week-long DB2 Gold Consultants conference, usually at Silicon Valley or Toronto Lab.  Dozens of presenters including IBM Fellows like Pat Selinger, Don Haderle, Don Chamberlin, Hamid Pirahesh, and Curt Cotner would tell us about broad industry trends and specifics regarding features and functions in vNext, vNext+, and vNext++.  It was an amazing feast of insight which enabled me to better serve my clients.  None of that would have happened without Steve’s leadership.

An even more critical and direct aspect of Steve’s support was his sponsorship of contracting vehicles for DB2 Gold Consultants which enabled us to engage directly with IBM without having to add additional layers of third-part procurement.  He understood the practical problem of small businesses and sole practitioners trying to navigate a large, cumbersome bureaucracy.  One time I explained to Steve that even with the contracting vehicle in place, IBM buyers occasionally refused to use it.  His response was “Sometimes the inmates are running the asylum”.  I didn’t hear anything for a couple of weeks and then I received a call from a senior IBM procurement officer who introduced himself by saying: “Hi, I’m one of the ‘inmates'”.  Of course, the problem was resolved.

Steve Mills, the quintessential old-school “wild duck” IBMer, will be missed.