DB2 Version 9.7 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows

Automatic storage databases

Automatic storage is intended to make storage management easier. Rather than managing storage at the table space level using explicit container definitions, storage is managed at the database level and the responsibility of creating, extending and adding containers is taken over by the database manager.

All databases are created with automatic storage unless you specify otherwise. When you create a database with automatic storage, you establish one or more initial storage paths for it. By contrast, when you create a database without automatic storage, you do not associate storage paths to database as a whole; instead, storage is associated with the individual system- or database-managed (SMS or DMS) table spaces that you create. As an automatic storage database grows, the database manager creates containers across those storage paths, and extends them or creates new ones as needed. automatically.

You can modify an existing database - even one that was not created with automatic storage - to use automatic storage with the ADD STORAGE ON clause of the ALTER DATABASE statement. This statement has the effect of both adding a new storage path to the database, as well as causing all new table spaces that are added to the database to be automatic storage table spaces unless you specify otherwise.

Important:

Adding storage paths will not convert existing non-automatic storage table spaces to use automatic storage. You can convert database managed (DMS) table spaces to use automatic storage. System managed (SMS) table spaces cannot be converted to automatic storage. See Converting table spaces to use automatic storage for more information.
Once a database has been enabled for automatic storage, you cannot disable it.

If you do not want to use automatic storage for a database, you must explicitly specify the AUTOMATIC STORAGE NO clause on the CREATE DATABASE command. For example:

   CREATE DATABASE ASNODB1 AUTOMATIC STORAGE NO

The list of storage paths can be displayed as part of a database snapshot (along with file system information if the BUFFERPOOL monitor switch is turned on).