Yevich, Lawson, and Associates

Series 3 - On the Bar Stool with the DB2 Cockail Hour

This is our third series of podcasts. We have been doing the first series of podcasts, The DB2 Cocktail Hour, since March of 2005. It evolved into an extremely popular show with thousands of downloads per month, and we thank you for that! In the second series, we had the same format as the original DB2 Cocktail Hour, but discussed specific features of DB2, or database design ideas in detail.

In this third series we're going to direct topics towards management. We'll discuss technical topics and design ideas that will help managers understand DB2 database concepts and help better manage DB2 and the usage of DB2.

Podcast 5 - Caching
Podcast 4 - Are You Certifiable?
Podcast 3 - Enterprise Canonical Database Architecture
Podcast 2 - Version X Featuring the X-Men of IBM
Podcast 1 - XML

12/02/2009 - Series 3 Podcast 5 - Caching (back to series 3), (back to top)

notes by Dan...This podcast finds us in the very friendly city (with good pizza) of Coburg, Germany. Sue is drinking a white Franconian wine, and I am drinking a nice beer from near the Black Forest (sorry, don't remember the names). In recent podcasts and magazine articles we've discussed enterprise design and enterprise database architecture. We've mentioned that caching can help improve performance with these types of implementations. Also, we recently were exposed to a research report on enterprise database design where several successful implementations were highlighted. The common factor on the successful deployments of these databases was caching. So with that in mind we thought we'd discuss the caching options available at the various levels of acesss/processing and the performance expectations at each level. Most of this is at an easy to understand level until Sue starts talking bufferpools. Maybe you should invite a DBA or system programmer to lunch to discuss that part. The music beds include All in My Head by Shawn Mullins, Airstream Driver by Gomez, and Jack and Diane by John Mellencamp. These are all songs I'm learning or performing as I play open mic nights in Pennnsylvania under the Name Coatcheck! Cheers!
Disclaimer and Copyright

In this podcast we talk about:

What is the issue here with enterprise design and caching?
Why do we need caching?
What type of data is the best to cache?
DASD cache
Database server cache
Caching on the application server
Cache databases

Listen to the entire podcast here. Right click on the file name, and do a save as. Then you can listen on your PC, or download into your portable device to listen to anywhere! db2_Cocktail_Hour_35_cache.mp3

10/28/2009 - Series 3 Podcast 4 - Are You Certifiable? (back to series 3), (back to top)

notes by Dan...Live podcast party at the IBM IOD conference in Las Vegas. This star studded party featured Willie Favero and Jay Bruce from IBM! Thanks to IBM Optim for sponsoring the party! At this party we discuss the benefits of certification as well as how someone can go about preparing for certification. After that discussion we host a game show where our very sarcastic party participants test their skills in one on one competition to see who is the most certifiable! We also talk to Jay Bruce about Optim Query Tuner and the future of query optimization with DB2 for z/OS. The music beds include Funk 49 by The James Gang, Midnight Rider by The Allman Brothers Band, and Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffett.
Disclaimer and Copyright

Downloads and links that accompany this podcast:

contents of Optim Query Tuner offerings; download
Optim family overview
Data sutdio
Optim development studio
Optimization service center
Optim Query Tuner for z/OS
Optim Query Workload Tuner for z/OS
Everything you need to know about DB2 9 Certification

In this podcast we talk about:

What is certification?
What does certification get you?
How does one become certified?
How one prepares for a certification test
Sample questions in a wacky game show style
IBM Optim Query Tuner and the future direction for query tuning

Listen to the Optim interview with Jay Bruce here. Right click on the file name, and do a save as. Then you can listen on your PC, or download into your portable device to listen to anywhere! db2_Cocktail_Hour_34_tune.mp3

10/07/2009 - Series 3 Podcast 3 - Enterprise Canonical Database Architecture (back to series 3), (back to top)

notes by Dan...Live from my hotel room at IDUG Europe 2009 in Rome! We heard a word coming from the world of enterprise architecture recently and it caught our attention...canonical. What is a canonical database and how does it solve our enterprise database issues? After doing some research we realized that several of our clients have dipped into the world of canonical database architecture to a certain extent. So, here we share their experiences, both the good and the bad. Our song beds include Sugarfoot by Black Joe Lewis, Doesn't Remind Me by Audioslave, and Chasing Pavement by Adele.
Disclaimer and Copyright

In this podcast we talk about:

What is Canonical Database Architecture (at least what we think it is)
How this architecture helps the enterprise
Mapping issues
Common object management
Change control
Service Layers and Performance
Redundant SQL execution issues
Best practices and coding for exceptions

Right click on the file name, and do a save as. Then you can listen on your PC, or download into your portable device to listen to anywhere! db2_Cocktail_Hour_33_can.mp3

05/13/2009 - Series 3 Podcast 2 Version X and the X-Men of IBM (back to series 3), (back to top)

notes by Dan...Live from my hotel room at IDUG NA 2009! Given that version X of DB2 for z/OS was a hot topic at IDUG we decided to gather some of the great minds that are creating this feature packed version to get a preview of some of the things that may be in it! Joining us are Jeff Josten, Chris Crone, and Terry Purcell from the IBM SVL labs. Listen to us discuss some of the upcoming features, and the potential impacts to your installation. Get a really great idea as to how some of this can significantly impact the performance of your DB2 applications in the near future so you can get your long term plans in place. This could impact the management decisions you make today! We are drinking some great beers local to the Denver area. The song beds include Rebel Girl by Survivor, Champagne Supernova by Oasis, and Solar Sex Panel by Little Village.
Disclaimer and Copyright

In this podcast we talk about:

Temporal data / data versioning
Hash Access
Include columns
Online schema evolution additions
Virtual storage relief and other memory and concurrency improvements
Enhanced plan stability
Enhanced statistics collection
Adaptive optimization
Enhanced dynamic statement cache utilization
Retained dynamic SQL access path

Right click on the file name, and do a save as. Then you can listen on your PC, or download into your portable device to listen to anywhere! db2_Cocktail_Hour_32_vX.mp3

04/08/2009 - Series 3 Podcast 1 XML (back to series 3), (back to top)

notes by Dan...The first podcast in the new DB2 Cocktail Hour series directs discussion towards enlightening management about the choices when it comes to your applications use of XML, and storage of that XML in a DB2 database. This podcast finds us in Baltimore drinking a very fine Spanish sparklingly wine sent to us by a friend in Barcelona. We discuss how XML is useful, the various ways you can use, store, and access it in DB2, and also the performance advantages and disadvantages of each choice. During the podcast we listen to Good Riddance by Green Day, Lullaby by Shawn Mullins, and Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing by Chris Isaac, which are all songs you can hear me cover sometime when you're in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania!
Disclaimer and Copyright

In this podcast we talk about:

Why XML is useful
Storing data relationally versus as an XML document
The different ways you ca store XML in you database
The XML features that are built into DB2 versions 8 and 9

Right click on the file name, and do a save as. Then you can listen on your PC, or download into your portable device to listen to anywhere! db2_Cocktail_Hour_31_xml.mp3

The Technology (back to top)

We're using Dan's PC, a Fujitsu Lifebook U801, and the following sweet stuff:

CAD Equitek E100 supercardiod large diaphram side address condenser microphone (presumed stolen by Hertz employees)
Behringer MIC100 tube ultragain preamp (presumed stolen by Hertz employees)
Pinnacle table top mic stand (confiscated by airport security after going through 6 times!)
QuikLok A188 Desktop Tripod Microphone Stand (presumed stolen by Hertz employees)
CAD Equitek E100**2 supercardiod large diaphragm side address condenser microphone
QuikLok A188 Desktop Tripod Microphone Stand
Behringer MIC200 tube ultragain preamp
Mixcast Live podcasting software
Dell Inspiron 8100 (retired after series 1, podcast 8)
HP Pavilion dv1010us (retired after series 2, podcast 9)

Disclaimer and Copyright: (back to top)

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