Setting up DDM files

You can use DDM to submit remote commands to a server, copy tables from one system to another, and process nondistributed relational database work on another system.

With distributed relational database, information the client needs to connect to a database is provided in the relational database directory. When you use DDM, you must create a separate DDM file for each file you want to work with on the server. The DDM file is used by the application on the client to identify a remote file on the server and the communications path to the server.

As of V5R2, you can also create DDM files with a reference to an RDB directory entry. Some database administration tasks discussed in Managing a distributed relational database use DDM to access remote files. A DDM file is created using the Create Distributed Data Management File (CRTDDMF) command. You can create a DDM file before the file and communication path named in the file have been created. However, the file named in the DDM file and the communications information must be created before the DDM file is used by an application.

The following example shows one way a DDM file can be created:

CRTDDMF FILE (TEST/KC105TST) RMTLOCNAME(KC105)
        RMTFILE(SPIFFY/INVENT)

If the DDM file access in the example is to be over TCP/IP, you must specify *IP in the second element of the RMTLOCNAME parameter.

This command creates a DDM file named KC105TST and stores it in the TEST library on the client. This DDM file uses the remote location KC105 to access a remote file named INVENT, which is stored in the SPIFFY library on the server system.

You can use options on the Work with DDM Files display to change, delete, display or create DDM files.