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Best practices for DB2 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows

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Introduction
Best Practices
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Discover the best practices for IBM® DB2® for Linux®, UNIX®, and Windows®. Get practical guidance for the most common DB2 9 product configurations and use this knowledge to improve the value of your DB2 data servers.


Introduction

These Best Practice papers present advice on the most optimal ways you can use DB2 to satisfy key business data processing needs. These papers are authored by leading experts in IBM's development and consulting teams, and have been extensively tested.

Each Best Practice paper is designed to provide practical guidance for the most common DB2 9 product configurations. By applying these recommendations, you may improve the value of your DB2 data servers and align yourself with IBM's technical direction for DB2.

Additional Best Practice papers are in development, and will be published here as they become available. If you would like to suggest a new Best Practice topic or you have comments or feedback on the current Best Practices, please send us feedback. Please include the title of the Best Practices you are specifically commenting on in your message.


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Best Practices

" Database Storage " (October 2009) Updated!
Discover best practices for database storage including guidelines and recommendations for physical disks and logical unit numbers (LUNs), stripe and striping, transaction logs and data, file systems versus raw devices, Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) devices, registry variable and configuration parameter settings, and automatic storage.


" DB2 databases and the IBM General Parallel File System " (October 2009) New!
Reduce management costs, add flexibility, and simplify storage management by using General Parallel File system (GPFS™). Learn the strategic benefits of GPFS and the best practices for deploying GPFS with DB2 software.


" Physical Database Design " (May 2008)
Learn about all of the design features that relate to the physical structure of the database such as datatype selection, table normalization and denormalization, indexes, materialized views, data clustering, multidimensional data clustering, table (range) partitioning, and database (hash) partitioning.


" Information Modeling with Rational Data Architect Version 7 " (October 2008)
Discover the best practces for infomation modeling based on the experiences of a team of data modelers using Rational Data Architect with DB2. Rational Data Architect is an information modeling tool that can help you establish and use standards in design based on proven design methodologies to create highly reusable models that satisfy business requirements.


" Data Life Cycle Management " (October 2009) Updated!
See the best practices to design and implement scalable solutions that facilitate the continuous feed or roll-in and roll-out of data, with minimal interruption of data access.


" Minimizing Planned Outages " (May 2008)
View the best practices for minimizing, or even potentially eliminating, planned database outages. Planned outages can include activities such as routine database maintenance activities or upgrades to your database environment.


" DB2 High Availability Disaster Recovery " (October 2008)
Get recommendations for setting up and maintaining a DB2 High Availability Disaster Recovery (HADR) environment in ways that balance the protection HADR provides with performance and cost. This best practice explains optimizing for fast failovers, tuning parameters for network and logging performance, and understanding table reorganization methods and load operations in an HADR environment.


" IBM Data Server Security " (May 2008)
This Best Practices roadmap details how to protect data servers against the common data security threats, some uncommon threats, and useful countermeasures for these threats.


" Deploying IBM DB2 Products " (May 2008)
Discover best practices for deploying the DB2 9.5 family of products on Linux, UNIX, and Windows platforms across multiple computers quickly, easily, and consistently.


" Writing and Tuning Queries for Optimal Performance " (May 2008)
Learn best practices for minimizing the impact of SQL statements on DB2 database performance. This paper focuses on good fundamental writing and tuning practices that can be widely applied to help improve DB2 database performance.


" Tuning and Monitoring Database System Performance " (October 2008)
See best practices for the performance evolution of a Data Server. From important principles of initial hardware and software configuration to monitoring techniques that help you understand system performance under both operational and troubleshooting conditions. For troubleshooting performance problems, this paper provide a step-wise, methodical method for determining the problem.


" DB2 Workload Management " (October 2008)
DB2 Workload Management helps prevent, detect, and resolve conflicting resource requirements on a DB2 data server based on defined business objectives. This paper details the current best practices for DB2 workload manager.


" Deep Compression " (June 2008)
Compression will reduce the storage requirements for your data server and often will improve performance. These Best Practices explain how to best use data row compression and table compression in the context of a larger storage strategy.


" Managing XML Data " (May 2008)
Get principles and guidelines for using DB2 pureXML™ to solve business problems effectively and to achieve high performance when managing XML data in enterprise applications - illustrated with a real-world example easily adapted to other types of XML applications.


" Improving Data Server Utilization and Management through Virtualization " (May 2008)
Discover best practices for deploying DB2 9 with the IBM System p™ virtualization technology. Select the right blend of virtualization features and their configurations to achieve desired business goals, while improving the utilization of IT resources.


" Cost Reduction Strategies with DB2 " (October 2009) New!
Learn how to use the Configuration Advisor, the Design Advisor, and autonomic features, such as the self-tuning memory manager, to reduce the human costs associated with DB2 maintenance. Help your organization develop a holistic view of reducing costs across hardware, software, and maintenance over time as part of the lost-cost evolution.


" Frequently Asked Questions from Problem Management Reports " (May 2008)
Get answers to the most common questions that DB2 customers have about the DB2 data server.


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Comment, edit, or add your own insights to these Best Practices papers on the IBM Database Wiki.





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