Quick Beginnings

Administering Databases with DB2 Tools

You can administer local databases on UNIX servers using the command line processor. You can also perform database administration tasks remotely from an OS/2, Windows NT, or Windows 95 client by using DB2 GUI tools. Use the Control Center to graphically perform server administrative tasks such as configuring, backing up and recovering data, managing directories, scheduling jobs, and managing media. Use the Command Center to access and manipulate databases from a graphical interface.

Managing Databases Using the Control Center

The Control Center displays database objects (such as databases, tables, and packages) and their relationships to each other. Using the Control Center, you can manage a local database server or multiple remote database servers and the database objects within them, all from a single point of control. See Figure 3 for an example of the main Control Center window. You can install the Control Center on an OS/2, Windows NT, or Windows 95 client to remotely manage your UNIX server.

Figure 3. Control Center Main Window

From the Control Center you can perform the following tasks on database objects:

Create and drop a database
Create, alter, and drop a table space or table
Create, alter, and drop an index
Backup and recover a database or table space
Define the replication sources and subscriptions to replicate data between systems

You can also manage database manager environments (known as DB2 instances). You can:

Maintain the communications protocols
Set database manager configuration values that affect performance

SmartGuides are provided to help you perform complex tasks. For example, a SmartGuide is available to tune the performance of your system. See "SmartGuides" for descriptions of the various SmartGuides and how to invoke them.

The Control Center provides additional facilities to assist you in managing your DB2 servers:

Use the Command Center to enter DB2 commands and SQL statements in an interactive window and see the execution result in a result window. You can scroll through the results and save the output to a file.

Use the Script Center to create mini applications called scripts, which can be stored and invoked at a later time. These scripts can contain DB2 commands, SQL statements, as well as operating system commands. Scripts can be scheduled to run unattended. These jobs can be run once or set up to run on a repeating schedule; a repeating schedule is particularly useful for tasks like backups.

Use the Journal to view all available information about jobs that are pending execution, executing, or that have completed execution; the recovery history log; the alerts log; and the messages log. The Journal also allows you to review the results of jobs that are run unattended.

Use the Alert Center to monitor your system for early warnings of potential problems or to automate actions to correct problems discovered.

Use the Tools Setting to change the settings for the Control Center, Alert Center, and Replication.

You can run these facilities from the Control Center toolbar or from icons in the Administration Tools folder.

You can install the following options for the Control Center:

DB2 Performance Monitor Use the DB2 Performance Monitor to monitor the performance of your DB2 system. You can monitor activity using snapshots of data over a period of time or using data for a particular event. See "Monitoring Databases Using DB2 Performance Monitor" for more information.
Visual Explain Use Visual Explain to graphically analyze and tune SQL statements and to analyze query access plans. See "Viewing SQL Access Plans Using Visual Explain" for more information.

You can find additional information in the Administration Getting Started Guide or in the Control Center's online help.

Understanding the Administration Server

The Administration Server is used as a service by the DB2 Administration Tools to satisfy requests. It is implemented as a DB2 instance, and has interfaces to start, stop, catalog, and configure it. The Administration Server resides on every DB2 server that you want to administer and detect. The Administration Server is required in order to use any of the administration tools described above.

Monitoring Databases Using DB2 Performance Monitor

With the DB2 Performance Monitor, you can:

Identify and analyze performance problems in the database applications or the database manager.
Identify exception conditions based on thresholds you define.
Use the early warning system to detect potential problems.
Automate actions to correct problems that are discovered.
Define your own statistics, in addition to the default set that is provided.

You can choose to monitor snapshots or events. The Snapshot Monitor allows you to capture point-in-time information at specified intervals. The Event Monitor allows you to record information over the duration of an event such as a connection.

You can find additional information in the Administration Getting Started Guide or in the online help for DB2 Performance Monitor.

Viewing SQL Access Plans Using Visual Explain

Visual Explain helps database administrators and application developers to:

View the access plan chosen by the database manager's optimizer for a given SQL statement.
Tune SQL statements for better performance.
Design application programs and databases.
View all the details of the access plan, including the statistics in the system catalogs.
Decide whether or not to add an index to a table.
Identify the source of problems by analyzing the access plan or performance of SQL statement execution.
Use the portable snapshot function to view snapshots from any remote DB2 server.
Display access plans for parallel and SMP systems.

You can find additional information in the Administration Getting Started or in the online help for Visual Explain.

Managing Communications on the Server

The Control Center allows you to view, update, and reset the server protocol settings. These functions are accessed by clicking with the right mouse button on a database instance. Click on the Setup Communications option in the pop-up menu. This tool helps database administrators to:

Configure database manager communications parameters.
Generate database information in a profile that can be used to configure clients.

You can find additional information in the online help for the Control Center.

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	Use the Command Center to enter DB2 commands and SQL statements in an interactive window and see the execution result in a result window. You can scroll through the results and save the output to a file.
	Use the Script Center to create mini applications called scripts, which can be stored and invoked at a later time. These scripts can contain DB2 commands, SQL statements, as well as operating system commands. Scripts can be scheduled to run unattended. These jobs can be run once or set up to run on a repeating schedule; a repeating schedule is particularly useful for tasks like backups.
	Use the Journal to view all available information about jobs that are pending execution, executing, or that have completed execution; the recovery history log; the alerts log; and the messages log. The Journal also allows you to review the results of jobs that are run unattended.
	Use the Alert Center to monitor your system for early warnings of potential problems or to automate actions to correct problems discovered.
	Use the Tools Setting to change the settings for the Control Center, Alert Center, and Replication.

DB2 Performance Monitor	Use the DB2 Performance Monitor to monitor the performance of your DB2 system. You can monitor activity using snapshots of data over a period of time or using data for a particular event. See "Monitoring Databases Using DB2 Performance Monitor" for more information.
Visual Explain	Use Visual Explain to graphically analyze and tune SQL statements and to analyze query access plans. See "Viewing SQL Access Plans Using Visual Explain" for more information.