Db2 for z/OS: The Performance and Management Champion!

Usually, posts I write for this blog focus on technical details, tips, and techniques for better using and optimizing your experience with Db2. Today, I want to do something a little different. You see, I am a big fan of Db2 for z/OS, and I do not see it getting the press, or the accolades that I think it is due. So I am going to use my platform to shout out the performance benefits of Db2 for z/OS.

When it comes to performance, nothing beats Db2 for z/OS. This mainframe database has been setting the standard for decades, delivering unmatched speed and efficiency for mission-critical applications. Let's explore some of the reasons why Db2 for z/OS is the performance champion.

Hardware Acceleration

• z/Architecture: Db2 for z/OS takes full advantage of the powerful z/Architecture, which includes specialized hardware for database operations. This hardware acceleration provides a significant performance boost for tasks like query processing and data loading.
• Storage Subsystem: The mainframe's storage subsystem is designed for high performance and reliability. With features like z/Hyperlink, data compression, and flash storage, Db2 for z/OS can access data quickly and efficiently.
• IDAA: IBM Db2 Analytics Accelerator is a high-performance, in-memory database appliance designed to accelerate analytic workloads. It's optimized for large-scale data analysis tasks, providing significant speedups compared to traditional disk-based databases. By leveraging solid-state drives (SSDs) and advanced hardware architecture, IDAA can handle complex queries and data manipulations with exceptional efficiency. This makes it ideal for applications requiring real-time analytics, data warehousing, and big data processing.

Database Optimization

• Query Optimization: Db2 for z/OS has a sophisticated query optimizer that can automatically select the most efficient execution plan for your queries. This ensures that your applications run as fast as possible.
• Data Compression: Db2 for z/OS supports data compression, which can reduce storage requirements and improve performance. By compressing data, Db2 can reduce the amount of data that needs to be read and processed.
• Parallel Processing: Db2 for z/OS can take advantage of multiple processors to perform tasks in parallel. This can significantly improve performance for large workloads.
• AI: IBM Db2 AI for z/OS integrates autonomics to simplify database management efforts. Using machine learning and AI, it can help improve operational performance and maintain Db2 for z/OS efficiency and health while enhancing Db2 for z/OS performance, reliability and cost effectiveness–even under the most demanding circumstances.

Workload Management

• Resource Allocation: Db2 for z/OS provides powerful tools for managing resources and ensuring that your database applications get the resources they need to perform optimally.
• Workload Balancing: Db2 can automatically balance workloads across multiple systems to ensure that resources are used efficiently.
• WLM: Workload Manager is an integrated, critical component of z/OS that is used for optimizing the performance and resource utilization of Db2 for z/OS. It provides a comprehensive framework for managing workloads across the mainframe environment, ensuring that Db2 applications receive the resources they need to perform optimally.

Data Sharing and Parallel Sysplex

Finally, Data Sharing using IBM Z Parallel Sysplex confers a significant advantage onto Db2 for z/OS in that it can enhanced availability by providing inherent redundancy, as multiple subsystems can access the same data. This helps to mitigate the impact of hardware failures or system outages. And in case of a disaster, data sharing can facilitate rapid recovery by allowing applications to access data from a different subsystem.

Furthermore, Data Sharing enhances scalability by enabling workloads to be distributed across multiple subsystems, improving scalability and preventing bottlenecks. It facilitates simpler growth: as data volumes and application demands increase, data sharing can help to accommodate growth without requiring significant hardware investments.

And Data Sharing can improve performance. By allowing multiple Db2 subsystems to access the same data without requiring individual copies, data sharing significantly reduces I/O operations, leading to improved performance. And with data readily available to multiple subsystems, queries can be executed more quickly, resulting in faster response times for applications.

So, IBM Z data sharing on Db2 offers a range of benefits, including improved performance, enhanced availability, increased scalability, reduced costs, and simplified management. These benefits make it a valuable feature for organizations that require high-performance, reliable, and scalable database solutions.

Real-World Results

Organizations around the world rely on Db2 for z/OS to power their most critical applications. From financial services to healthcare, Db2 has proven its ability to deliver the performance and reliability that businesses need to succeed.

So, if you're looking for a database that can handle your most demanding workloads and deliver exceptional performance, Db2 for z/OS is the way to go.

DB2 for z/OS Coupling Facility Sizing

Just a very brief blog post today to inform you about something that I ran across doing some web research today... and that is a free, web-based Coupling Facility sizing tool from IBM named CFSIZER. 

The CFSIZER tool will connect to your live server to get information. You will need to input some values and some estimation of the type of workload for your system and CFSIZER will output its recommendations.

If you are struggling with your Data Sharing environment this might be a good place to start if you don't have any tools to help you. Here is the link to CFSIZER.

Thanks IBM!

Using the DISPLAY Command, Part 5

Today’s entry in our series on the DB2 DISPLAY command is the fifth – and final – edition of the series.  We’ll wrap up coverage by briefly discussing the remaining features of DISPLAY. And, just as a reminder:

• Part 1 of this series focused on using DISPLAY to monitor details about you database objects; 
• Part 2 focused on using DISPLAY to monitor your DB2 buffer pools;
• Part 3 covered utility execution and log information;
• And Part 4 examined using the DISPLAY command to monitor DB2 stored procedures and user-defined functions.

Additional Information that DISPLAY Can Uncover

Distributed Information

The DISPLAY command can be quite useful in distributed DB2 environments. You can use DISPLAY DDF to show DDF configuration and status information, as well as statistical details on distributed connections and threads.  An example of the output from issuing DISPLAY DDF:

DSNL081I STATUS=STOPDQ

DSNL082I LOCATION LUNAME GENERICLU

DSNL083I STLEC1 -NONE.SYEC1DB2 -NONE

DSNL084I TCPPORT=446 SECPORT=0 RESPORT=5001 IPNAME=-NONE

DSNL085I IPADDR=NONE

DSNL086I SQL DOMAIN=-NONE

DSNL090I DT=A CONDBAT= 64 MDBAT= 64

DSNL092I ADBAT= 0 QUEDBAT= 0 INADBAT= 0 CONQUED= 0

DSNL093I DSCDBAT= 0 INACONN= 0

DSNL105I DSNLTDDF CURRENT DDF OPTIONS ARE:

DSNL106I PKGREL = COMMIT

DSNL099I DSNLTDDF DISPLAY DDF REPORT COMPLETE

Additionally, DISPLAY LOCATION can be used to show information about distributed threads.

Data Sharing Information

For data sharing, the DISPLAY GROUP command can be used to display information about the data sharing group (including the version of DB2 for each member); and DISPLAY GROUPBUFFERPOOL can be used to show information about the status of DB2 group buffer pools.

Profile Information

If you have started using PROFILEs in DB2 10 (or later), the DISPLAY PROFILE command allows you to determine if profiling is active or inactive. The status codes that can be returned by this command are as follows:

•         ON Profiling is active.
•         OFF Profiling is inactive.
•         SUSPENDED Profiling was active, but is now suspended due to error conditions.
•         STARTING Profiling is being started, but has not completed.
•         STOPPING Profiling has been stopped, but has not completed.

Resource Limit Information

If you use the Resource Limit Facility, the DISPLAY RLIMIT command can be used to show the status of the RLF, including the ID of the active RLST (Resource Limit Specification Table).

Thread Information

To display information about a DB2 thread connection or all connections, use the DISPLAY THREAD command. A DB2 thread can be an allied thread, a database access thread, or a parallel task thread. Threads can be active, inactive, indoubt, or postponed.

There are a number of options for displaying thread information, and you can narrow or expand the type and amount of information you wish to retrieve based on:

•          Active threads, inactive threads, indoubt threads, postponed threads, procedure threads, system threads, or the set of active, indoubt, postponed, and system threads (see the descriptions under the TYPE option for more information)
•          Allied threads, including those threads that are associated with the address spaces whose connection names are specified
•          Distributed threads, including those threads that are associated with a specific remote location
•          Detailed information about connections with remote locations
•          A specific logical unit of work ID (LUWID)

Tracing Information

And finally, the DISPLAY TRACE command can be used to list your active trace types and classes along with the specified destinations for each. 

Summary

The DB2 DISPLAY command is indeed a powerful, yet simple tool that can be used to gather a wide variety of details about your DB2 subsystems and databases. Every DBA should know how to use DISPLAY and its many options to simplify their day-to-day duties and job tasks.

DB2 Locking, Part 11: Data Sharing Global Lock Management

Data sharing adds an additional level of complexity to the DB2 locking strategies and techniques we have been discussing in this series. Because data sharing group members can access any object from any member in the group, a global locking mechanism is required. It is handled by the lock structure defined in the coupling facility. The lock structure is charged with managing inter-member locking. Without a global lock management process, data integrity problems could occur when one member attempts to read (or change) data that is in the process of being changed by another member.

Data sharing groups utilize a global locking mechanism to preserve the integrity of the shared data. The global locking mechanism allows locks to be recognized between members.

Global Locking

All members of a data sharing group must be aware of locks that are held or requested by the other members. The DB2 data sharing group utilizes the coupling facility (CF) to establish and administer global locks.

The IRLM performs locking within each member DB2 subsystem. Additionally, the IRLM communicates with the coupling facility to establish global locks. Each member of the data sharing group communicates lock requests to the coupling facility’s lock structure. The manner in which a transaction takes locks during execution does not change. The only difference is that, instead of being local locks, the locks being taken are global in nature.

DB2 data sharing does not use message passing to perform global locking. The members DB2 IRLMs use the coupling facility to do global locking. Contention can be identified quickly without having to suspend the tasks to send messages around to the other DB2 members contained in the data sharing group. The following list outlines the events that occur when transactions from different DB2 members try to access the same piece of data:

1. TXN1 requests a lock that is handled by the local IRLM.
2. The local IRLM passes the request to the coupling facility global lock structures to ensure that no other members have incompatible locks. No incompatible locks are found, so the lock is taken.
3. TXN2 requests a lock that is handled by its local IRLM. The lock is for the same data held by TXN1 executing in a different DB2 subsystem.
4. Once again, the local IRLM passes the request to the coupling facility global lock structures to check for lock compatibility. In this case, an incompatible lock is found, so the lock request cannot be granted. The task is suspended.
5. Eventually, TXN1 executes a COMMIT, which releases all local and global locks.
6. TXN2 now can successfully execute the lock and continue processing.

Data Sharing Locking Considerations 

Consider specifying TRACKMOD NO for objects used in a data sharing environment to avoid locking problems. In addition, consider the MEMBER CLUSTER option. The MEMBER CLUSTER option indicates that DB2 should locate table space data based on available space rather than clustering the data by the clustering index. This option can benefit applications when there are many inserts to the same table from multiple members.

You might also improve performance by randomizing index key columns to reduce hot spots. This can be accomplished using the RANDOM keyword of CREATE INDEX.

The coupling facility level (CFLEVEL) can also be a consideration. DB2 prefetch processing for GBP-dependent page sets and partitions varies depending on the CFLEVEL in which the group buffer pool is allocated.

If the group buffer pool is allocated in a coupling facility with CFLEVEL=0 or 1, DB2 reads and registers one page at a time in the group buffer pool. If the group buffer pool is allocated in a coupling facility with CFLEVEL=2 or higher, DB2 can register the entire list of pages prefetched with one request to the coupling facility.

You can determine the CFLEVEL of your coupling facility using the DISPLAY GROUP command.

Lock Structures

The coupling facility contains several lock structures that are used for global locking purposes. The lock lists contain names of modified resources. This information is used to notify members of the data sharing group that the various resources have been changed.

Additionally, a hash table is used to identify compatible and incompatible lock modes. If the same hash value is used for the same resource name from different systems (with incompatible lock modes), lock contention will occur. If the same hash value is used for different resource names (called a hashing collision), false contention will occur. Any contention requires additional asynchronous processing to occur.

Hierarchical Locking

DB2 data sharing introduces the concept of explicit hierarchical locking to reduce global locking overhead (which increases global locking performance). Explicit hierarchical locking allows data sharing to differentiate between global and local locks. When no inter-DB2 interest occurs in a resource, the local IRLM can grant locks locally on the resources that are lower in the hierarchy. This feature allows the local DB2 to obtain local locks on pages or rows for that table space without notifying the coupling facility. In a data sharing environment, locks on the top parents are always propagated to the coupling facility lock structures. (These structures are detailed on the previous page.) In addition, the local DB2 propagates locks on children, depending on the compatibility of the maximum lock held on a table space that also has other members of the DB2 data sharing group requesting locks on it.

P-Locks Versus L-Locks

DB2 data sharing introduces two new lock identifiers: P-locks and L-locks.

P-locks preserve inter-DB2 coherency of buffered pages. P-locks are owned by the member DB2 subsystem and are used for physical resources such as page sets. These physical resources can be either data objects or index objects. P-locks are held for the length of time the pages are locally cached in the local buffer pool. As such, data can be cached beyond a transaction commit point.

P-locks are negotiable. If multiple DB2 members hold incompatible P-locks, the IRLMs try to downgrade lock compatibility. P-locks are never timed out. Because P-locks are not owned by transactions, they cannot be deadlocked. The sole job of a P-lock is to ensure inter-DB2 coherency. P-locks notify the data sharing group that a member of that group is performing work on that resource. This way, the coupling facility can become involved and begin treating the resources globally.

L-locks are used for both intra- and inter-DB2 concurrency between transactions. L-locks can either be local or global in scope. L-locks are owned by transactions and are held for COMMIT or allocation duration. L-locks are not negotiable and, as such, must wait for incompatible L-locks held by other DB2 members to be released before they can be taken. Suspended L-locks can be timed out by the IRLM.

New Data Sharing RedPaper

Just a quick FYI today to let you know about a new RedPaper offering information about exploiting client load balancing and fail over capabilities across a DB2 data sharing group (or a subset of the group members).

A RedPaper is sort of like a tip, only longer... and sort of like a RedBook, only shorter... Anyway, if you are interested in the topic, the RedPaper can be donwloaded for free by following this link:

DB2 9 for z/OS Data Sharing: Distributed Load Balancing and Fault Tolerant Configuration