Highlights of Db2 12.1.4

Db2 AI editions now available

Users can now access agentic AI feature found in the Db2 Genius Hub (formerly the Db2 Intelligence Center) to manage their Db2 instances. With the release of Db2® 12.1.4, users have the option of purchasing Db2 AI Standard and Db2 AI Advanced licenses for their Db2 deployments. These editions offer all of the functionality found in the Db2 Standard Edition and Db2 Advanced Edition, but come bundled with the new Db2 management console, the Db2 Genius Hub. Through the Genius Hub, users can employ agentic AI to manage and complete many day-to-day administration tasks. For more information, see Db2 database product editions and deployment options.

Datalake tables now available for Db2 partitioned databases

Users can now use the Datalake table feature in partitioned Db2 (DPF) environments. The Datalake table feature enables Db2 to query and manage data stored in open file formats, such as Parquet and ORC, without requiring the data to be loaded into the database. Both Hive and Iceberg tables are supported, allowing use cases ranging from read‑only analytics to scenarios that require ACID‑compliant table operations. The Datalake table feature provides support for creating, querying, and managing Datalake tables, including metadata handling and vault operations, by using the new db2dlvault command‑line tool. For more information, see Datalake tables.

Db2U Next Generation

The Db2U Next Generation preview for Db2 and Db2 Warehouse on Red Hat® OpenShift® and Kubernetes is enhanced for the Db2 12.1.4 release. Db2U Next Gen is a modernized version of the Db2 Universal Operator. It replaces the legacy Operator Lifecycle Manager (OLM) with a Helm-based, GitOps-compatible installation model, offering a streamlined experience that better aligns with Kubernetes-native deployment practices. The 12.1.4 preview introduces support for the restricted-v2 Security Context Constraint (SCC) and horizontal scaling. For more information, see Db2U Next Generation.

Asynchronous automatic recovery history file pruning

Automatic recovery history file pruning is now decoupled from the BACKUP command and is driven asynchronously by an engine dispatchable unit (EDU) called db2autoprune. This feature is enabled by default and can be controlled through the DB2_AUTOPRUNE_EDU registry variable. For more information, see Automating recovery history file pruning.

Enhanced collection of Federation statistics

Catalog-based statistics collection for ODBC data sources by using Method 1 of NNSTAT is now supported for MySQL, MySQL_CE and MariaDB data sources.

For more information, see Configuring access to data sources through ODBC wrapper.

AI Optimizer enhancements

While the automatic maintenance database configuration (auto_maint) parameter auto_ai_optimizer continues to control automatic AI Query Optimizer model training, it no longer controls the use of AI Optimizer models within the optimizer. A new database configuration parameter, ai_optimizer, now controls the use of AI Optimizer models within the optimizer.

Improved copy functionality for the CLPPlus utility in Window mode

When running the CLPPlus utility, users can now select and copy both the SQL commands and the corresponding output together in a single action. While user input and the generated output are highlighted, the full content of the console window is copied and pasted.

Support for converged ethernet (RoCE) v2 network switches in Db2 pureScale on AIX

With the enhanced support of RoCE v2, the RoCE network switches no longer need to have the same VLAN ID for each cluster. More importantly, this support enables RDMA over routable Layer 3 Ethernet networks. This enhancement significantly increases the Db2 pureScale deployment flexibility, simplifies network architecture, and aligns Db2 pureScale with modern data center designs that rely on IP-based fabric topologies. RoCE v2 support ensures that Db2 pureScale can leverage low-latency RDMA performance while operating within scalable, standards-based Ethernet infrastructures that are commonly used in contemporary enterprise and cloud environments. For more information, see Switch configuration on an RoCE network (AIX).