Db2 Month
Db2 Month Trivia
This month at Planet Mainframe, we’re celebrating all things Db2, which has earned its place as one of the most trusted relational database management systems in mainframe environments. Organizations have trusted it for decades because when push comes to shove, it...
Unleashing the Future of Data Management: What’s New in IBM Db2
The database world is shifting. Between skyrocketing data volumes, evolving cyber threats, and the rise of AI, traditional tools no longer cut it. That’s why IBM’s latest updates to Db2 are on target and timely. The three new Db2 tools – Db2 12.1.2, Db2 Intelligence...
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" partitioned...
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 cases. I recently got a...
Moving from IMS to Db2?
As a Db2 consultant and regular blogger I often receive questions about technical things, but also on strategy and industry trends. I try to help but I always make it clear when answering that I cannot predict the future, only make educated guesses... So with that...
Top 10 Steps to Building the Right Indexes
One of the constant struggles with Db2 development, and indeed developing for any relational DBMS, is designing and creating appropriate indexes. Perhaps the most important thing you can do to assure optimal application performance when accessing data in a...
Db2 for z/OS: Clearing Up Some Matters Pertaining to PGSTEAL(NONE) Buffer Pools
I have written a few entries for this blog in which I provided information about Db2 for z/OS buffer pools defined with PGSTEAL(NONE), including one from a few years ago in which I differentiated the PGSTEAL and PGFIX buffer pool specifications, and another...
Where do Db2 Containers Come From and How are they Used
In my last post, I wrote an overview of running Db2 in containers. Today, I’d like to talk a bit about where we get Db2 containers and several common ways they are used. Catch my next post about a critical mistake I think IBM is making with containerization. Ways...
Db2 Month
Sorting Results by Specific Values in SQL with CASE
Recently I rewrote the backend for my service, Any New Books, due to an Amazon API change. Generally speaking, rewriting an entire codebase is a bad idea. However, the code was quite old and the API changes rather drastic, so I took the opportunity to rewrite the...
4 Tech Innovations That Could Change Smartphones
Smartphones have gotten so advanced today that it can almost be hard to tell the difference between the top options. That’s not to say you’d literally mix up an iPhone and its Samsung counterpart — but there aren’t too many defining features that really set one apart...
A Case Study: Measuring the Impact of Db2 for z/OS Buffer Pool Changes
Not long ago, a Db2 for z/OS administrator contacted me with a request. His team had made some changes to the buffer pool configuration in their production Db2 environment (the overall size of the buffer pool configuration was increased to reduce read I/O activity,...
Db2 12 In-Memory Feature: Fast Index Traversal
Db2 12 is classified as an in-memory data base by Gartner. It is not just a simple in-memory data base but a very smart one. In this paper, we explain one of the most innovative in memory optimizations in Db2 12. Why In-Memory Optimization in Index? The...
Should DB2 have an Immutable Table Function?
I love hearing about Blockchain; if you are involved in Fintech, then surely by now you have heard a lot about it, and that it holds a tremendous amount of promise for Internet business. Fundamentally, it guarantees the validity of a transaction. Blockchain is a...
What’s waiting round the mainframe corner?
Anyone who has been working on mainframes for any length of time knows that things are always changing. Many people can remember when DB2 was new (1983), the client-server period, and the need for Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). And, I’m sure, can come up with a...
Capacity Planners and Big Data
I was at a regional CMG meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina, giving a presentation on Big Data to a group of about forty Capacity Planners (big turnout for North Carolina a week after Hurricane Matthew hit). The group was interested in understanding the impact the...
It’s about time!
DB2 z/OS V12 is in the Early Support Program mode. This means the larger Independent Software Vendors (BMC, CA, Compuware, etc.) have a version of DB2 z/OS V12 in house so they can modify their products to support and/or exploit the new features of DB2 z/OS V12. This...
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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
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...
Mainframe Jargon Challenge
Every technical field develops its own language, and the mainframe world is no exception. Whether we’re talking about the alphabet soup of multi-letter acronyms or terms that have been part of the platform for decades, mainframe jargon serves as a kind of shorthand...
AI Ranked as Top Priority, Lightwell at No Cost to Universities, and more
Rocket Software Study Reveals 94% of Financial Services Leaders Rank AI as a Top IT Priority IBM Study: One in Four Malicious Breaches are AI-Enabled, Costing Companies $6 Million on Average IBM and Red Hat Offer Lightwell at No Cost to Universities, NGOs and Think...