IDUG Europe Conference

A sneak preview of the Conference

2006-10-17T03:10:00.000+02:00

En Route to Vienna

2006-09-22T22:26:00.000+02:00

En Route to Vienna
by Robert Catterall (CheckFree)

A week from today, I will be on an airplane en route to Vienna (by way of Paris), travelling to the site of the IDUG 2006 European Conference (I have to be there a little earlier than most folks, because the IDUG Board of Directors will be meeting in Vienna the day before the conference begins, and one of my responsibilities as IDUG President is to chair these meetings). I am very much looking forward to the trip, in part because of the good memories I have of two previous visits to the "city of music."

I first went to Vienna in 1981. It was the summer after my junior (that is, third) year in college, and a friend of mine and I were traveling throughout Europe by train. Two experiences stand out as I think of that trip. One involved a late-night visit to a "wine cellar" in the historic heart of the city. There, in a very old (centuries?) and cavernous space distinguished by stone walls and vaulted ceilings, I enjoyed "ein viertel" (a quarter-litre glass) of the most delicious red wine. The other really memorable experience was a dinner in a Greek restaurant (there's much more to dining in Vienna than schnitzel, though the schnitzel is fantastic). My friend and I were seated at a table near the restaurant's bar, and we were having such an obviously great time that the bartender came by at the end of our meal with two snifters of Greek brandy. "From me," he said with a big smile. It was great to feel so welcome in a place so far from my home.

It was about 14 years before I had the opportunity to travel again to Vienna. This time, I was with my lovely wife, Marcia, and we were there for a few days of vacation. It was October, 1995, and our base for exploration of the city was none other than the Hilton Vienna, the venue for this year's European Conference. We were delighted with the hotel's location - upon exiting the building, one had only to cross through a beautiful park to reach the old part of the city, where Mozart walked so long ago. Vienna is full of remarkable museums, but our best times were spent strolling through the maze of cobblestoned streets, stopping every now and then at an outdoor cafe or a cozy coffeehouse for a drink, a snack, and some great people-watching.

I am very pleased that Marcia (lovely as ever) will be joining me in Vienna for the week of the conference. Yes, I'll be quite busy during the week (various meetings, various speaking duties, session-moderating, and trying personally to thank as many IDUG volunteers as I can), but I look forward to some periods of free time, when my wife and I will be able to retrace our steps through one of the most romantic cities in the world.

To those who will be attending the IDUG European Conference: safe travels, and I hope to see you there.

Members from a local DB2 User Group get an extra discount of 50 euros

2006-09-04T23:31:00.000+02:00

Members from a local DB2 User Group get an extra discount of 50 euros

We are offering a 50 Euro discount off the IDUG 2006 – Europe registration fee to members of each local DB2 User Group, provided they have not yet registered for the conference.

To take advantage of this discount, ask your president of your local DB2 User group to send you the Coupon PDF file, and mail or fax it with your completed conference registration form.
This discount will be applied to the registration rate for the date on which we receive your registration form.

Please note that the DB2 User Group discount can only be honored by attaching the coupon when mailing or faxing your registration form, and you cannot have already registered for the conference.

Make sure you take advantage of the current rate, which is only available until Thursday, 14 September 2006, to save an additional 226 Euros off the full conference rate.

For more information on registering for IDUG 2006 – Europe, visit http://www.idug.org .

Register Early and Save 226 Euro!

2006-08-28T11:27:00.000+02:00

Register by 14 September and save 226 Euro on your full conference registration! Don't wait - make sure you take advantage of the early registration savings!

And, be sure to book your hotel room at the Hilton Vienna by using the official housing form before Thursday, 14 September to ensure availability and best available rates.

FREE Certification Preparation Seminars

2006-08-21T11:05:00.000+02:00

Start your IDUG 2006 - Europe experience a day earlier with FREE Certification Preparation Seminars, sponsored by IBM, Sunday, 1 October.

These full-day seminars provide a unique opportunity for every DB2 professional to prepare for the FREE IBM Certification tests offered onsite.

The two Pre-Certification Classes that will be available are:

DB2 V8 z/OS - DBA Certification Crammer Course, Susan Lawson of YL&A (Preparation for IBM Certified Database Administrator - DB2 Universal Database V8.1 for z/OS,Exams 700 & 702)
DB2 Application Development Certification Crammer Course, Jan Henderyckx of Brainware (Preparation for IBM Certified Application Developer - DB2 Universal Database V8.1 Family, Exams 700 & 703)

Free IBM DB2 certification

Free IBM Certification takes place during the conference (Monday-Thursday) at the hotel.Registration for a Certification Preparation Seminar is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Lunch and presentation materials will be provided by IBM.

If you have already registered for IDUG 2006 - Europe and want to register for the Certification Preparation Seminars, please contact IDUG Headquarters at idug@associationhq.com.

Please note: Availability is limited and is first-come, first-served - make sure you mark the course you would like to attend on your registration form.

Maximise Your IDUG 2006 - Europe Experience with Educational Seminars

2006-08-14T10:53:00.000+02:00

Stay a day after the full IDUG 2006 - Europe conference, scheduled for 2-5 October at the Hilton Vienna in Vienna Austria, and attend a One-Day Educational Seminar (additional fee required).

Focusing on specific DB2 and Informix topics, these in-depth and hands-on full-day seminars are being offered on Friday, 6 October from 8:30 - 17:00.

The industry's leading authorities and instructors will present workshops on the following hot topics:

DB2 9 Technical Deepdive - Rahul Kitchlu, IBM Toronto Lab
DB2 Viper is the latest release of DB2 for Linux, UNIX, Windows. There are many new exciting features for performance, security, scalability, application development, ease of management and availability. This one day seminar will go into great detail on many of the new features in Viper taking you from the high level value of the feature right down to the implementation details including syntax, best practices, and potential pitfalls you should watch out for. Topics covered will include pure XML storage, Table Partitioning, Compression, Self Tuning Memory Manager, Automatic Storage, Label Based Access Control, Autonomics and more.

Top Application Impacts on Performance - Sheryl Larsen, Sheryl M. Larsen, Inc.
The past twenty years of DB2 has offered us many ways to architect an application. SOA, web services, and the like, have changed our thinking, but has SQL performance improved? Come find out what DB2 features impact response time, throughput, peak response time, hits, and sessions per second for the better, and for the worse. Sheryl will discuss with you the many faces of SQL. This seminar is packed with performance hints and tips and even contains materials about DB2 versions yet to be released.

DB2 for z/OS Java Administration Masterclass - Julian Stuhler, Triton Consulting
Up until a few years ago, Java on the z/OS platform was a new technology which was not embraced by many customers. Today Java is the de facto language in which many enterprise e-business applications are written. A lot of legacy data is resident on the mainframe, and more and more z/OS users are looking into opening this data to web applications. Many use IBM’s WebSphere framework to build these applications, but finding the best settings and making the right decisions is not an easy task. This “masterclass” takes a comprehensive look at the architecture, performance and administration issues associated with the use of Java applications on the z/OS platform. This is Julian’s new class for 2006, up-to-date with the latest releases and technologies.

Performance Checks for Your Data Sharing System - Bryce Krohn, Krohn Enterprises, Inc.
This course presents three of the major mechanisms of DB2 data sharing: group buffer pools, global locking, and the role of XCF in supporting a data sharing installation. The major display commands and monitor reports that can be used to monitor and tune a data sharing installation are then explained, with suggestions on how to use those reports and commands to identify and tune data sharing performance problems.

Migrating to DB2 for z/OS V8 and Getting Ready for V9 - Bonnie Baker, Bonnie Baker
Corporation, & Roger Miller, IBM Silicon Valley Lab
The primary audience for this seminar is the DBA or programmer who performs the migration to DB2 for z/OS V8. Coverage begins at the planning level and stretches down to the implementation and parameter level. We will discuss the tasks and include V8 parameters that affect implementation of new & improved function. These presentations are adapted from the work of many others. Although this seminar touches upon the content of DB2 V8, it has a focus on the highlights and is not at all inclusive. The intent is to address those areas that have direct bearing on the task of migrating to DB2 V8. This material is a compilation of information from many sources, with usage & customer input added. It points out areas that have the most impact on the success of your migration.

Informix Half-Day Seminars
(registration includes admission to both morning and afternoon sessions)

8:30 - 12:00:
Hands-on with Advanced Features of IDS 10 - Carlton Doe, IBM
This session will cover many of the new and important features and changes in IDS v.10. Topics include column-level encryption, table-level restore, multiple fragments in the same dbspace, configurable page size, truncate table and others. Hands-on demonstrations of many of these functions will be included.
13:30 - 17:00:
Using Perl, DBI & CGI with Databases - Daryll Priest, DLA PiperI
This session will cover database access using Perl in conjunction with the DBI and DBD modules. Covered topics will be database connections, data selection, changes and deletions. The session will also show how to create Perl modules and use them to save coding time.

IDUG 2006 - Europe is the premiere event for DB2 and Informix professionals. We look forward to seeing you in Vienna!

Schedule grid for IDUG 2006 - Europe is now available

2006-05-22T21:04:00.000+02:00

Use the schedule grid to view the complete conference schedule and to review session abstracts.

Customise your personal itinerary by chosing the topics and sessions that best fit your needs.
http://idugew.prod.web.sba.com/displaymod/GridDisplay.cfm?conference_id=60

Please note the new conference date and location:

IDUG 2006 - Europe
October 2-6, 2006
Hilton Vienna
Vienna, Austria

Continue to visit the IDUG 2006 - Europe homepage.
Registration will become available soon:
http://conferences.idug.org/europe/2006/index.cfm

IDUG Europe Conference October 2-6, 2006 Vienna, Austria

2006-05-19T20:45:00.000+02:00

Please note the new conference date and location:

IDUG 2006 - Europe
October 2-6, 2006
Hilton Vienna
Vienna, Austria

Due to circumstances beyond IDUG's control, IDUG 2006 - Europe will now take place October 2-6 at the Hilton Vienna in Vienna, Austria. IDUG regrets any inconvenience this relocation may cause, and looks forward to delivering an exceptional conference and attendee experience in Vienna this fall.

Continue to visit the IDUG Web site for the latest program information as it is determined.
http://conferences.idug.org/europe/2006/index.cfm

Learn more about IDUG Insider!

2005-10-13T10:54:00.000+02:00

Simply put, IDUG Insider is THE Web location to use to find the technical DB2 information you need. Conceptually, IDUG Insider is a site within the IDUG Web site, available only to registered users. How do you register to become an IDUG Insider? It’s simple: first, click on the IDUG Insider logo on the IDUG home page www.idug.org to get to the IDUG Insider login page.

On that page, click on the “first time user” link, fill out the registration form, click the Submit button, and you are an IDUG Insider! Now, let’s see what’s inside.

IDUG Insider consists of five main sub-areas

e-Tip of the Week
Discussion Forums
Technical Library
Solutions Providers
The Code Place

E-Tip of the Week
is what the name implies: it contains technical DB2 tips contributed by people in the IDUG community (a new tip is displayed each week, and you can browse the archive for previously displayed tips).
You can below an example:

Contributed by Dawn Kastelic DB2 Database Services Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield in Pittsburgh, USA
"When using the new DB2 LUW Version 8 snapshot SQL functions, in order to reset the counters on the snapshot tables, you must explicitly update the monitor switch in which you are working with. For example, for bufferpools snapshots you must explicitly do UPDATE MONITOR SWITCHES USING BUFFERPOOL OFF. A RESET MONITOR ALL will not reset the counters in the snapshot table and your counters will accumulate. "

In the Discussion Forums, you can post questions, answer questions or simply read what IDUG Insiders are doing with DB2.

In the Technical Library, you will find an abundance of white papers, presentations from past IDUG conferences, and articles that you can search for by subject category, title, or author.

The Solutions Providers section allows you to search for organizations that can provide solutions to address your DB2-related needs.

In The Code Place, you will find scripts, code fragments, samples, and more to help you get the most out of the DB2 technology you depend on.

If you are interested in learning more about IDUG Insider or would like to volunteer to be part of the team that puts it together, you can learn more in the DB2 Solutions Centre.

DB2 Blog community

2005-10-11T15:45:00.000+02:00

Here is a short list of Blogs about DB2:

Craig Mullins, Mullins Consulting, Inc (DB2)
Perspectives on Database Management since February 2005
http://www.dbazine.com/blogs/blog-cm/craigmullins
http://www.db2portal.com/blog.html
http://www.craigsmullins.com/articles.htm

Willie Favero, IBM (DB2 for z/OS)
Getting the Most out of DB2 for z/OS since June 2005
http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/database/db2zos

Chris Eaton, IBM Toronto Lab (DB2 for LUW)
An Expert's Guide to DB2 Technology since August 2005
http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/database/technology

Leon Katsnelson, IBM Toronto Lab (DB2 for LUW)
Database Talk: Insights on DB2 & Application DevelopmentDevelopment
http://blogs.ittoolbox.com/database/talk

Dwaine Snow, IBM Toronto Lab (DB2 for LUW)
Dwaine Snow's Thoughts on DB2 since August 2005
http://dsnowondb2.blogspot.com

and

A Japanese DB2 Blog (DB2 for LUW
Unofficial DB2 Blog since April 2004
http://db2.jugem.cc

Fred Sobotka (DB2 for LUW)
DB2 UDB News since August 2004
http://www.bloglines.com/blog/db2fred
http://db2news.blogspot.com

Susan Visser, IBM (DB2 Books, certifications, tutorials, ...)

http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/dw_blog.jspa?blog=551

Grant Hutchison, IBM (Application development for DB2 for LUW)

http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/dw_blog.jspa?blog=760

Martin Packer, IBM (Mainframe Performance Topics)

http://www-03.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/MartinPacker

If you know another active DB2 Blog, feel free to let us know.