A look at local external tables in Db2

Surprising Db2 results or not?

My recent post about Db2 backup to S3 or Object Storage triggered a question. And the answer to it is that I wrote about external tables first in 2017, about 7 years ago. Since then, some features were added or changed for external tables and remote storage support, most recently in Db2 11.5.7 (AFAIK). With my new Db2 playground in place, I thought it was nice to test external tables again.

My adventure of fixing Windows 10 boot issues

Ventoy to the rescue to repair Windows 10

Since my early days with computers, friends and family have asked me for advice and to "take a look" at their current IT issues. Recently, a neighbor contacted me with a tough problem. A tower PC with Windows 10, which had been in use for 10 years and had many to him valuable programs installed, had crashed and could no longer be started. The recovery screen did not make any sense to him. My quick Internet search indicated that most advise centered around reinstalling Windows or getting a sledge hammer...

Revisited: Db2 backup to S3 / Object Storage

Db2 backup in an S3 bucket

One of the popular posts I have written is on Db2 and S3-compatible Cloud Object Storage, a follow-up from an older article on that same topic. Because things change and I recently set up my new test environment, I just tested backing up a Db2 database to an S3-compatible bucket in my IBM Cloud storage service. Here are my notes.

Three plus one simple (and free) ways to test Db2

Getting started with Db2

Recently, I switched jobs and now want to set up a "playground" on my machine. First on the list is IBM Db2. So, what options are available to anyone to test Db2 and build up some Db2 skills? In this blog, I plan to provide an overview and share what I option I am going with. Why titled I this blog post "three plus one"? Because a possible solution for quickly testing Db2 queries is not really a full Db2 database. So let's start with that one...

About BIRD, SQL, IBM granite models, and your business reporting

BIRD-SQL benchmark

Some years ago, when composing SQL queries, I was hoping that those queries would just "fly", performing flawlessly and quickly. Now, I stumbled over something SQL-related that seems to fly: BIRD-bench. It measures Large Language Models' (LLMs) capabilities to generate SQL queries from text input. It is at the core of SQL: You describe the result set you need.

Lakehouse: Bronze, silver, and gold levels of data

Is this a Data Lakehouse?

While working with customers and IBMers on data processing projects (to keep it as broad as possible), I often hear the talk about bronze, silver, and gold standards. These standards sometimes refer to the systems the data is stored in in terms of reliability, availability, performance, bandwith, and more. The IBM mainframe in a geographically dispersed parallel sysplex configuration may be considered such a gold standard. Lately, bronze / silver /gold standards are more frequently heard in the context of Data Lakehouse architectures and data sources or data zones. So, what is bronze, silver, and gold when discussing data and data lakehouse?

Get ready for IDUG North America Db2 Tech Conference

In about a week (June 23-27), IDUG North America Db2 Tech Conference is going to start. Are you already registered and will attend either on-site or virtually? Agendas for on-site attendees and the virtual participants have been posted. 

"Breakfast Buffet Available" is something you only find on the on-site agenda. As I am to attend virtually, I will have to stack up food and drinks and get ready for an exciting week of technical talks related to Db2 for z/OS and Db2 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows.

Registration for IDUG EMEA 2024 Db2 Tech Conference is now open

IDUG, the International Db2 User Group, just announced that the registration for its EMEA conference in Valencia, Spain, this Fall is now open. You can find the details about the currently available conference packages by going to the IDUG EMEA 2024 Db2 Tech Conference page. Right now, an early bird rate, a special rate for first time attendees, and for virtual participants is available. Moreover, you can also register for the Db2 for z/OS and for the Db2 for LUW Fundamentals courses.

Follow-up on resource reclamation: Search resources and Code Engine commands

Restore IBM Cloud Code Engine projects

Some longer I time ago, I wrote about resource reclamation in IBM Cloud. When you delete a resource, it is not immediately gone but moved into a kind of trash bin. It gives you some days to reconsider or to recover from accidents. Today, I am going to share some additional tips & tricks.

Next German Db2 User Group meeting in Munich on April 12th

The next German Db2 User Group (DeDUG) meeting is planned for April 12th and will be held at IBM in Munich. You can find more information on DeDUG's temporary homepage. The meeting will have a hybrid format, timely sign up required. That's already all for today.

Authentication for your IBM Cloud Code Engine functions

Protect your Code Engine functions

How can we protect an API function implemented as IBM Cloud Code Engine function? This was one of the questions which I recently answered. When migrating from IBM Cloud Functions to Code Engine, this is a common question. Cloud Functions offer some basic security to protect against unauthorized calls. Code Engine and their functions differ in flexibility and hence you have to deal with authentication. Here is a simple solution.

Spreadsheets: How to excel with Db2 data

Generated chart in Excel file

Recently, I had to produce a spreadsheet from database data. One naive way is to export the data to a CSV file, then import the data from that file into the spreadsheet. Another option was to quickly script a small Python program that fetches the data and directly generates a Microsoft Excel file. As a bonus, I added even a line chart (as shown).

Tutorial on cloud end-to-end security - an overview

Cloud solution architecture

Recently, my team updated our tutorial on applying end-to-end security to a cloud application. The tutorial features a typical app with an attached NoSQL database and object storage. Moreover, it leverages other services for increased security and to provide observability. Even better, all components can be automatically deployed, including a Tekton-based delivery pipeline. In this blog post, I am going to provide an overview and discuss some implementation details.

DeDUG: German Db2 User Group meeting February 2nd

The year 2024 is still young and a great event is coming up in about three weeks. DeDUG, the German Db2 User Group, is having their first meeting on February 2nd and is going to be at Atruvia in Karlsruhe. Best of all, I plan to attend and even give a talk. Currently, the agenda lists me with "Unicode und Db2", but I have renamed it to "How to treat 💔💔💔 (broken hearts) with Db2". It hopefully is a great start into February with carnival and Valentine's Day.

Am I going to meet you in Karlsruhe? Please make sure to register.