Management of DB2 operations

Management of a DB2® subsystem on a daily basis requires performing a wide range of tasks. For example, you need to manage authorizations and be prepared to recover from any potential errors or problems.

When you manage a DB2 environment on a daily basis, you need to issue DB2 commands, run DB2 utilities, manage authorizations, and be prepared to recover from potential errors or problems. In addition, you probably want to take advantage of the high availability capabilities that are related to DB2, including the following capabilities:

You can bind application plans and packages online. By using packages, you can change and rebind smaller units. Using package versions permits binding while the applications continue to run.
You can define and change databases and authorizations online.
You can change buffer pool sizes online.
You can use utilities to reorganize indexes, table spaces, or partitions of indexes or table spaces.
You can use the data sharing functions of DB2, which enable several DB2 subsystems to process applications on shared data. Although the different subsystems share data, they appear as a single DB2 subsystem to users. Applications can be rerouted to avoid outages if one of the subsystems must be taken down for maintenance.

Several management tools are available to help you easily perform many of the tasks that are associated with daily operations of a DB2 subsystem. For more information, see Tools for managing DB2.

Common ways to interact with DB2 for z/OS
The z/OS operating system is ideal for processing batch jobs, workloads that run in the background with little or no human interaction. However, z/OS is as much an interactive operating system as it is a batch processing system.
The DB2I primary option menu
The DB2I Primary Option Menu ISPF panel is the starting point for all DB2I tasks.
Commands for controlling DB2 and related facilities
You can use commands to perform many of the tasks that are required to control and maintain your DB2 subsystem.
DB2 utilities
IBM® DB2 utilities are tools that help maintain data in your DB2 for z/OS databases. Generally, you use DB2 utilities to perform large-scale operations across one or more table spaces.
Management of data sets
In DB2 for z/OS, one way that you manage data sets is by using Storage Management Subsystem (SMS).
Authorization and security mechanisms for data access
Authorization is an important part of controlling DB2. The security and authorization mechanisms that control access to DB2 data are both direct and indirect.
Backup, recovery, and restart
Although high availability of data is a goal for all DB2 subsystems, unplanned outages are difficult to avoid entirely. A good backup, recovery, and restart strategy, however, can reduce the elapsed time of an unplanned outage.
Data encoding basics
Most DB2 for z/OS subsystems process data from multiple encoding schemes or operate in a distributed environment where different applications must communicate with each other. In this environment, a basic understanding of code pages and CCSIDs can help you avoid certain types of performance problems or, worse yet, data corruption.
Introduction to troubleshooting problems in DB2 for z/OS
If you are new to DB2 for z/OS, you should learn about the tools and techniques that are available to help you troubleshoot and resolve problems.

Parent topic: What is DB2 for z/OS?