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Manage your business. Not your computer. DB2 for i self managing capabilities are the cornerstone to the low total cost of ownership (PDF, 508KB) benefits of IBM i running on Power Systems. DB2’s self managing attributes, ultimate security, and built in analytical processing functions make it an ideal database server for today’s smarter computing applications. Some of the self management attributes.
Self Configuring
Unlike many Relational Database Management Systems, DB2 for i requires limited configuration work prior to use. Because it is pre-loaded with IBM i, and doesn’t require any specific database installation procedures, the database itself is ready to go! Because of the unique Single Level Storage concepts of the system, database management tasks such as creation and monitoring of table spaces or complex partitioning of data across disk subsystems are not required. DB2 for i provides automatic data spreading and automatic storage allocation for all database objects.
Self Healing
DB2 for i contains a number of self-healing qualities. Systems Managed Access Path Protection (SMAPP) automatically journals (logs) high risk indexes (including Encoded Vector Indexes) to minimize the recovery time in the case of a system failure. Self-managed journal receivers allow the system to automatically monitor the capacity of a journal receiver (database transaction log), creating a new receiver and auto switching transaction logging to it should it become close to maximum capacity. Automatic restart of journal processing after a copy or restore operation further increase the autonomic capabilities of DB2!
Index rebalancing (or table reorgs), a common DBA task on other systems (because indexes can become unbalanced over time), is handled automatically by DB2 for i. DB2 will also automatically rebuild catalog views when necessary, eliminating the need for manual intervention.
Self Tuning
Although the IBM i operating system comes with an automatic performance tuner that adjusts system resources based on predictive analysis, the DB2 for i engine also contains several self-tuning features. One key component of DB2 for i's self-tuning portfolio is the cost-based query optimizer which contains advanced query rewrite techniques. In addition, the optimizer, while processing all of the SQL and query requests, automatically detects changes to the database such as a new index and to system resources. This auto-detection allows the optimizer to rebuild query plans without user intervention to take advantage all of the latest changes to the system and database in order to maximize performance.
Adaptive Query Processing (AQP), a function of the DB2 for i query optimizer, can make real-time plan adjustments—such as changing the join order or utilizing a new index—while the SQL request is running and without disrupting the application.
Statistics are used by the optimizer to assist in determining the most efficient method of accessing the data. Statistics are collected and maintained automatically by DB2 for i during normal database processing. Administrators on other database often have to collect and refresh statistics manually.
The performance analysis components (included with IBM i) allow you to easily analyze and improve your indexing strategy by reviewing the indexes advised by the advanced DB2 query optimizer. Index advice is provided for both traditional indexes as well as Encoded Vector Indexes (EVIs). Furthermore, the DB2 query optimizer also utilizes this indexing advice to automatically create indexes to improve the response time of frequently executed SQL statements that are in need of performance tuning.
Self Protecting
DB2 for i is very well positioned in this area because of the object-based structure of IBM i, which DB2 leverages. In addition to the rock-solid security that is made possible by the object-based security model, other self protecting attributes that are built into the operating system and available to use include:
- Digital signing of objects to help prevent unauthorized access
- 128 bit data encryption and SSL
- US Government C2 security compliance including object auditing
In addition to the self-protecting security features, the operating system and DB2 for i include built-in encryption capabilities that enable customers to add an extra-layer of security around their data.
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DB2 Web Query
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IBM i for BI Solution
IBM i for Business Intelligence is a packaged solution that is easy to order and easy to implement, and easy to maintain. Everything you need for an out of box analytical solution based on IBM i and DB2 Web Query.