DB2 Essentials

Book excerpt: The Easy, Visual Introduction to IBM DB2 Version 10.5 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows Foreword by Judy Huber, Vice President, Distributed Data Servers and Data Warehousing; Director, IBM Canada Laboratory This book covers everything you need to get productive with the latest version of IBM DB2 and apply it to today’s business challenges. It discusses key features introduced in DB2 Versions 10.5, 10.1, and 9.7, including improvements in manageability, integration, security, Big Data support, BLU Acceleration, and cloud computing. DB2 Essentials illuminates key concepts with examples drawn from the authors’ extensive experience with DB2 in enterprise environments. Raul F. Chong and Clara Liu explain how DB2 has evolved, what’s new, and how to choose the right products, editions, and tools. Next, they walk through installation, configuration, security, data access, remote connectivity, and day-to-day administration. Each chapter starts with an illustrative overview to introduce its key concepts using a big picture approach. Clearly explained figures are used extensively, and techniques are presented with intuitive screenshots, diagrams, charts, and tables. Case studies illustrate how “theory” is applied in real-life environments, and hundreds of review questions help you prepare for IBM’s newest DB2 certification exams. Coverage includes • Understanding the role of DB2 in Big Data • Preparing for and executing a smooth installation or upgrade • Understanding the DB2 environment, instances, and databases • Configuring client and server connectivity • Working with database objects • Getting started with BLU Acceleration • Implementing security: authentication and authorization • Understanding concurrency and locking • Maintaining, backing up, and recovering data • Using basic SQL in DB2 environments • Diagnosing and solving DB2 problems This book is for anyone who plans to work with DB2, including DBAs, system administrators, developers, and consultants. It will be a great resource whether you’re upgrading from an older version of DB2, migrating from a competitive database, or learning your first database platform.