Db2 Month
Db2 Month at Planet Mainframe: Resilience, Innovation, and a Thriving Community
June was a standout month for Planet Mainframe, as we turned the spotlight on Db2 for z/OS—a cornerstone technology of the enterprise world. This month’s campaign featured expert articles, technical deep-dives, trivia, and live events that brought together voices from...
Learning from SMF: Managing Db2 Buffer Pools
Unlocking the Value of Cheryl Watson’s Tuning Letter Back Catalog If you work with IBM mainframes, you’ve probably heard of Cheryl Watson’s Tuning Letter, which I now have the pleasure of editing. For decades, it’s been one of the most trusted resources for...
At 40 years old, is Db2 still relevant?
It’s the 40th anniversary of Db2, IBM’s family of data management products, which was first released in 1983 as DB/2 (Database 2). IBM Db2 was a successor to IBM's first relational database IMS, and as a response to competition from Oracle's database, which was...
Diving into the Depths of Data: Announcing Db2 Month
IBM Db2 is 40 years old this year. In celebration, I want to welcome you to a month-long journey that will explore the ins and outs of Db2! This month, we will feature a multi-part original series from Craig Mullins, hear from the next generation of Db2 experts, and...
Top 10 Performance Tuning Tips for IBM Db2
Performance is a critical aspect of any database management system, and IBM Db2 is no exception. As organizations deal with ever-increasing data volumes and complex workloads, it is crucial that Db2 environments are fine-tuned to ensure optimal performance,...
OUTBUFF: A Db2 for z/OS ZPARM You Really Ought to Check
Over the past year or so, I've seen more and more situations in which a too-small Db2 for z/OS log output buffer is negatively impacting system and application performance. The Db2 development team took aggressive action to remedy that situation via a change to the...
Consider Application-Level Lock Control in Db2 13 for z/OS
It has been close to a year since Db2 13 for z/OS has been generally available. It was announced in April 2022 and delivered for GA on May 31, 2022. As you think about migrating from Db2 12 to Db2 13, it is inevitable that you will consider the new functionality and...
Welcome to the Virtual Db2 user group
The Virtual Db2 user group launches in January with a presentation on the 17th from Craig S Mullins, President & Principal Consultant at Mullins Consulting Inc. And being a virtual meeting, you don’t have to face the hard task of convincing your company to fund...
Db2 Month
What Db2 for z/OS People Should Know About Data Fabric
"Data fabric" is an increasingly hot topic in IT circles, and with good reason—an effectively implemented data fabric can deliver significant dividends by enabling an organization to get more value from its data assets. Db2 for z/OS people should have some familiarity...
All About zIIPs
If you work with Db2 then you need to know about the IBM zIIP specialty processor. This is true whether you are a DBA or a developer... and, let's face it, if you work on a mainframe in any capacity, you'll want to know at least something about zIIPs. With that in...
What Should a Modern Db2 for z/OS Client-Server Application Environment Look Like?
The distributed data facility (aka DDF) is the component of Db2 for z/OS that enables data access by applications that connect to Db2 via TCP/IP communication links. DDF has been around for over 30 years, but especially during the past 10 years or so D…
Db2 for z/OS: The Online Path from a Partition-by-Growth Table Space to Partition-by-Range
Last month, I posted to this blog an entry on the long-awaited capability to migrate tables, in an online way, from a multi-table segmented or simple table space to multiple single-table partition-by-growth table spaces (a capability delivered with fun…
The DB2Night Show #246: Db2 Advanced Log Space Management – Unleashed
Presented by: Michael Roecken IBM Toronto Lab
“The DB2Night Show #246: Db2 Advanced Log Space Management – Unleashed” Replays available in WMV and M4V formats!
100% of our studio audience learned something!Michael gave an important …
Time to Download the Db2 13 for z/OS Manuals!
Yesterday I posted a brief piece about the new version of Db2 for z/OS that is now generally available: Db2 13 for z/OS is Here! It is always an exciting time when a new version of Db2 for z/OS is unleashed on the world and one of the first things I re…
Db2 for z/OS: The Online Path from a Multi-Table Table Space to Universal Table Spaces
Back in 2014, I posted an entry to this blog on the topic of getting to universal table spaces from non-universal table spaces. In that entry, I noted that there was an online path (ALTER followed by online REORG) for getting from a “classic” partition…
Db2 for z/OS: Answering Some Questions About DBATs (i.e., DDF Threads)
Sometimes, a DBA will email me a question about Db2 for z/OS, and I’ll respond in a pretty comprehensive way, and I’ll look at that outbound message and think to myself, “Hmm. I may have written most of a blog entry there.” This is one of those ca…
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Upcoming Events
Events
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Virtual Db2 User Group | My All-Time Db2 Top Ten Lists
Virtual MeetingDate: November 17, 2026 - 11:30am ET Presenter: Craig Mullins What do Db2 performance, application development, database administration, and David Letterman have in common? Top Ten lists, of course! Join […]
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Virtual Db2 User Group | November 17, 2026
Zoom - Virtual Meeting -
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Virtual CICS User Group | Latest Update on Security in CICS TS 6.3: The Journey to Zero Trust
Zoom - Virtual MeetingCICS has been advocating zero trust principles and introducing security-focused enhancements since CICS TS 6.1. This session will explore the latest security capabilities available in CICS TS 6.3 and how […]
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Virtual IMS User Group | December 15, 2026
Zoom - Virtual Meeting
IBM Expands Its Digital Banking Infrastructure, Agentic AI on the Mainframe, and more
Kyndryl Report: As AI Broadens Modernization Agenda, Leaders Prioritize Business Outcomes Over Replacing Legacy Systems IBM Expands Its Digital Banking Infrastructure with Swift Integration and Digital Asset Haven On-Premises Rocket Software Advances Governed, Agentic...
Agentic AI on the Mainframe
It’s AI month at Planet Mainframe, and for Round Two of our Trivia Challenge, we’re turning to agentic AI. On the mainframe, this emerging technology is moving beyond answering questions and generating code. Agents can interpret goals, reason through multi-step...
Risk and Compliance Portfolio for IBM Z Environments, IBM Z Datathon, and more
Rocket Software Launches Rocket® z/Assurance™, a Risk and Compliance Portfolio for IBM Z® Environments IBM Z Datathon: Build AI for Good. In 24 Hours. At Global Scale. Broadcom 2026 North American Mainframe Technical Exchange LTM Collaborates with IBM and Red Hat on...
❓Think You Know Mainframe AI
Mainframes have powered intelligent decisions for decades. Today, artificial intelligence (AI) takes that role further – spotting fraud as transactions happen, anticipating workload demands, helping developers understand legacy code, and strengthening system...
Next-Generation Dual-Architecture Processor, Advances in AI Enablement for Application Modernization, and more
IBM Unveils Next-Generation Dual-Architecture Processor for IBM Z and LinuxONE BMC Survey Finds 94% Confidence in the Mainframe as Enterprises Scale AI With Human Oversight Rocket Software Advances AI Enablement for Application Modernization Across Mission-Critical...
Partnership to Accelerate Secure AI Deployment, Introduction of New Agentic Modernization, and more
IBM Partners with OpenAI to Accelerate Secure AI Deployment for Enterprises Across Core Operations Kyndryl Introduces New Agentic Modernization Services-As-Software Scaled Through Kyndryl Bridge BMC Achieves the AWS AI Competency Kyndryl Named 2026 CIO 100 Award...