Setting up your Db2 database

If you plan to use a Db2® database with IBM® Product Master, you must install the supported version of Db2 before you install Product Master.

Before you begin

  • See the list of supported Db2 databases.
  • After you install the database software, make sure that you apply the most current fix pack.
  • To set up a Db2 database and its environment, you must use these guidelines to create the instance, database, buffer pools, and table spaces. The following aspects must be considered when you set up the database:
    Database instance

    Create a new, separate database for the Product Master schema. The example, PIMDB is used as the name of this new database. Because of the large amounts of data that Product Master manages, do not share an existing database, but instead create a new one. The database must be created by using character encoding UTF-8.

    In most implementations, the Product Master database uses approximately 90% OLTP (online transaction processing) and 10% batch processing. OLTP causes lots of concurrent activity and single row updates during business hours and large batch processing activity during off-peak time.

    To avoid that the Db2 system is not I/O bound it is important to use 10 - 15 spindles per processor and dedicated LUNs (Logical Unit Numbers) per database file system. It is also advisable to separate Db2 transaction logs and data on separate spindles and LUNs. Use file systems instead of raw devices and create one file system per LUN. Use RAID-10 for transaction logs and RAID-10 or RAID-5 for data LUNs. Set the Db2_PARALLEL_IO registry variable and set the EXTENTSIZE to the RAID stripe size. Use AUTOMATIC (the default) for NUM_IOCLEANERS, NUM_IOSERVERS, and PREFETCHSIZE.

    Note: For more information about achieving balanced I/O for your Db2 system, see IBM Information Management Best Practices.