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IT Convergence is a global provider of enterprise application services for your entire technology stack. IT Convergence Support Services (ISS) offers comprehensive hosting and managed services to support your DB2 infrastructure. Visit our website to learn more about how we can help you simplify the cost and complexity of IT, or visit us at Collaborate08 in Denver, Colorado, at the Colorado Convention Center, booth # 1331.

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IDUG Training, Events and Networking

With the Spring season coming up, IDUG has a lot of great events and educational opportunities available and you shouldn't miss out! Here is the latest around IDUG training and networking opportunities:

IDUG Online Learning Center
The IDUG Online Learning Center provides a great opportunity for you to access one-hour on-demand streaming (audio/video) technical sessions on topics of your choice from IDUG 2007 - North America and Europe. 

You can also purchase technical sessions from a menu of topics that target your interests, from DB2 9 Viper 2 for LUW to Planning Your Migration to DB2 for z/OS V8 and DB2 9.  IDUG Premier members can access these sessions at a discount.  The pricing structure for the Online Learning Center is as follows:

Premier Member Pricing

Basic Member Pricing

Quantity of Sessions

Duration of Availability

$699

$899

All Recorded Materials

One (1) Year

$399

$549

Materials from One (1) IDUG Conference

One (1) Year

$49

$99

Twelve (12) sessions

Three (3) Months

$5

$10

One (1) session

Three (3) Months


For more information regarding the Online Learning Center, read the update below or visit www.idug.org/learningcenter.

IDUG 2008 - Australasia
IDUG 2008 - Australasia will be held 5 - 7 March at the Cliftons Education Centre in Sydney, Australia.  This conference is a key opportunity for DB2 professionals in Australia, New Zealand, and neighboring countries in the Pacific.  For more information, read the IDUG 2008 - Australasia update below, or visit www.idug.org/experienceAU.

IDUG 2008 – North America
Come participate in IDUG 2008 - North America, May 18 - 22 in Dallas, Texas to train, certify, and network with a community of your DB2 colleagues.  North America's great menu of technical presentations are vetted by an independent committee to assure high levels of technical content, with no marketing.  Registration is available now!  For more details check out the IDUG 2008 - North America update below, or visit www.idug.org/experienceNA.  

From conferences and events, to Premier and Basic Membership, to the IDUG Online Learning Center, DB2-L and more! IDUG continues to provide you, the DB2 professional, with a community for networking and the technical knowledge to effectively utilize DB2!

All the best,

Bernie O'Connor
President, IDUG - International DB2 Users Group

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Technical Library

More than 25 presentations from the IDUG 2006 - Europe conference in Vienna, Austria, were released to IDUG Basic Members during the month of January. Log into your member profile to access these and other helpful session in the IDUG Technical Library.  Here are just a few examples of these presentations.

Thomas Baumann EU06A03

Troubleshooting Tuning for Dynamic SQL
This presentation describes a methodical approach for database tuning, which has been developed, tested, and used for emergency performance tuning after an application's rollout, but has also shown to be very helpful for routine database monitoring. The session addresses the answers to the following three questions derived from commands, metrics, and tools available in each shop:

a) Are the application's critical queries being served in the most effective manner?
b) Is DB2 making optimal use of resources so as to reach the desired performance levels?       
c) Are there enough primary resources available for DB2's consumption and are they configured adequately, given the current workload?   

A case study with pure dynamic SQL running on both DB2 LUW and DB2 z/OS is also presented.

Leo Van Looy EU06B03

Full Data Refresh of DB2 (and IMS) Databases at a Simultaneous Point in Time in SYSPLEX
Several times a year we copy our DB2 and IMS production data (>3.6 Tb) to a quality assurance environment (=refresh). One of the business requirements is that this full data refresh is done at an exact point in time, valid for the business. Fortis Bank developed a process to achieve this goal using both homemade development and third party tools. This process equally takes into account design changes - already active in QA and not yet installed in production - and makes person-related data unrecognizable in QA at the same time (=data scrambling).

Berni Schiefer EU06C03

DB2 9 Performance
DB2 9 is a new release full of new features.  This presentation presents early performance measurements of the major new capabilities in DB2 9 and summarizes the overall state of OLTP and BI performance.

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The Code Place

Three new items were added to The Code Place during the month of January.  Log into your membership account to view these and other helpful hints: 

More fun with Dates

Author: William Gannon
Publish Date: Thursday, January 31, 2008
SQL statement which uses Case statements to format a Date/Time field to "RETURNS >>> Tuesday the 21'st of August 2001".

Clone of DSNTEP2 that Supports Report Width Up to 4000 Bytes

Author: Don Leahy
Publish Date: Thursday, January 24, 2008
Supplied in PL/I source code format, this version of DSNTEP2 does not 'wrap' the output report around 133 byte lines.

IFI READS Cobol UDF

Author: Brian Bear
Publish Date: Thursday, January 10, 2008
DB2 Cobol code to call IFI for ID 124 and return some fields from the correlation header of the product section. Specifically contributed to work with a DB2 WLM UDF; Debug options exist within the code that will produce verbose output in the WLM address space showing the memory areas used in the IFI call.

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e-Tip

David Powell's tip on differences between DB2 for z/OS v7 and DB2 for z/OS v8 on how the column name, or column correlation name is returned to the application in a SQL statement containing UNIONs of SELECTs.

To view more tips like this log into your member profile and visit IDUG's Member e-Tip page.

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Pick of the Forum

Sathyram Sannasi provides an example of how to return an error code from a Stored procedure to the calling application Thread - DB2 PROCEDURE - HOW RETURN ERROR - last updated - January 28, 2008.

Log into your member profile to see view more items from the IDUG Discussion Forum.

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IDUG Free Technical Webcast

DB2 9 and Native XML Support

Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 11:00 a.m. ET
The International DB2 Users Group (IDUG) is pleased to partner with CA to deliver a free Webcast by renowned presenter Phil Grainger, CA Product Management Director. This live event will run approximately 60 minutes, and participants will have the opportunity to pose questions to the presenter. Capacity is limited.

About the Webcast:
One of the biggest changes in DB2 9 for z/OS is the ability to store XML data alongside relational data. This webcast will start by considering VERY briefly what exactly is XML (and why it’s perceived by many to be a "Big Thing") before looking at how XML data is stored by DB2. We will then move on to consider how the data, once stored, can be retrieved using regular (or almost regular) SQL. 

About the Presenter:
Phil Grainger, Product Management Director, CA, has more than 17 years experience with DB2, starting in 1987 with DB2 Version 1.2. Since then he has worked with all versions, including Version 8. Beginning as a DBA for one of the largest users of DB2 in the UK, Phil moved to PLATINUM technology and then to his present role as Product Management Director for CA.  Phil has always been a keen supporter of user groups and is a regular speaker at CA events, as well as independent industry events. He currently serves as the CA representative on the European IDUG Planning Committee, and is a regular contributor to the IDUG sponsored DB2-L discussion list.

Webcast Schedule (USA time zones):
Wednesday, March 12, at 11:00 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT, 8:00 a.m. PT).  To register watch for additional information that will be posted on the www.idug.org website.

A replay of this Webcast will be available for a short period of time after March 12th.  Look for future announcements for direction on how to access the pre-recorded Webcast.

To Be Scheduled:

  • What's New in SQL for DB2 9 Part 2 - New SQL
  • What's New in SQL for DB2 9 Part 3 - New Options
  • Better Availability with DB2 9
  • Performance Improvements in DB2 9
  • DB2 9 Security and Regulatory Compliance

Look for additional announcements on how to register for these upcoming events. IDUG is pleased to sponsor this free distance learning opportunity. Questions about the Webcast can be directed to idug@idug.org.

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IDUG News

Hot Off the IBM Press!

IDUG Premier Members can receive a 45% discount through the IBM Press affiliate link at IDUG.org.  All other members, please visit www.ibmpressbooks.com.  

DB2 9 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows: DBA Guide, Reference, and Exam Prep, 6th Edition
Authors: George Baklarz, Paul C. Zikopoulos

Understanding DB2®: Learning Visually with Examples, 2nd Edition
Authors:  Raul F. Chong, Xiaomei Wang, Michael Dang, Dwaine R. Snow


IDUG Online Learning Center – FREE Sample!

Want to get an inside look at the learning opportunities available through the IDUG Online Learning Center? Here is your chance to enjoy the Best User Presenter session from IDUG 2007 - North America for FREE.

Experience "DB2 9 for z/OS: John Deere's Early Ship Pilot Experience" by presenter Bryan Paulsen as your introduction to IDUG’s newest learning opportunity. Downloading this demo is free; no sign-up is necessary.

The Online Learning Center features download-on-demand streaming media files of sessions recorded at IDUG 2007 - North America, May 6-10 in San Jose, California.  Most offerings in the Online Learning Center feature original presenter audio synchronized with presentation slides, giving you a virtual classroom experience that can be started, stopped, resumed and replayed at your convenience.

Visit IDUG's Online Learning Center to learn more and to start experiencing IDUG's world class education online.


What is the IDUG Online Learning Center?

The IDUG Online Learning Center features download-on-demand streaming media files of educational sessions. Most offerings in the Learning Center feature original presenter audio synchronized with presentation slides, giving you and your team a virtual classroom experience that can be enjoyed at your convenience.

Most offerings from the IDUG Online Learning Center are available at the cost of $10 per session for Basic Members. If you like what you see in the Learning Center, please consider becoming an IDUG Premier Member. For a cost of only $100 per year, IDUG Premier Members receive a host of exclusive benefits, including several complimentary offerings and a 50% discount off any purchased sessions from the IDUG Online Learning Center. Visit IDUG’s Web site  www.idug.org to learn more.

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IDUG Upcoming Events

IDUG 2008 – Australasia
5-7 March, Sydney, Australia

New in 2008!  IDUG 2008 - Australasia expanded to a three-day event conference providing you the best in DB2 education and training. Taking place 5-7 March 2008 at the Cliftons in Sydney, Australia, IDUG will feature the below opportunities and much more!

  • NEW:  Pre-Conference Certification Seminars - Prepare for both z/OS and Lunix/UNIX/Windows certification testing with experts Susan Lawson from YL&A and Robert Clow from Datasync Consulting. These full-day preparation seminars will be held prior to the conference on 4 March 2008 and will be available at no extra charge for conference attendees.
  • NEW:  FREE IBM Certification Testing - Save roughly $180 AUD by taking advantage of the IBM certification testing available at IDUG 2008 - Australasia. A number of IBM certification exams covering a variety of DB2 topics will be offered for.

Download the Advance Programme to see what this year's conference has to offer you.

Take advantage of the opportunity to receive the best DB2 education and training in the Asia Pacific. Visit the IDUG 2008 - Australasia Web site to learn more and to register today!

IDUG 2008 – North America
May 18-22, Dallas, Texas

The IDUG 2008 - North America conference schedule is now available online.

Get the inside scoop on the technical sessions that will be available to you in Dallas, Texas, May 18-22, 2008.  Nearly 200 hours of rich DB2 and IMS content will be delivered by fellow users, leading industry vendors, and IBM developers who will be available to answer your questions and help you find solutions to your professional challenges.

Register now!  It's not too late to take advantage of IDUG's cost-saving opportunities. The early bird discount is available through April 18 and the IDUG Multiple-Corporate Attendee discount gives you 10% off the registration rate when you send three or more employees to IDUG.


IDUG 2008 – India
21-23 August, Bangalore, India

IDUG will host the second annual IDUG India Forum at Hotel Le Meridien, 21-23 August 2008 in Bangalore, India.  The Call for Presentations is now live.  Click here to download the Call for Presentations information and submit your abstract today.   

IDUG 2008 – Europe
13-17 October, Warsaw, Poland

Do you have a presentation idea that you think would be a great addition to the IDUG 2008 - Europe conference programming?  IDUG is currently accepting submissions for this year's Call for Presentations in the following content categories:

To submit educational or technical content in any of the above categories for IDUG 2008- Europe, please complete the IDUG 2008 Call for Presentations Form.

Due to popular demand, the deadline for all presentation submissions for IDUG 2008 - Europe has been extended to Sunday, 9 March!


IDUG 2008 – Brazil

In support of the growing DB2 user community in South America, IDUG will host its first face-to-face event in Sao Paulo, Brazil in November 2008.  Dates and location are being finalized and will be publicized in the IDUG e-Bulletin once available.  If you are interesting in volunteering, speaking, or exhibiting at this event, please contact IDUG Headquarters at IDUG@IDUG.org.

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  The International DB2 Users Group (IDUG) is an independent, not-for-profit, user run organization whose mission is to support and strengthen the information services community by providing the highest quality education and services designed to promote the effective utilization of the DB2 family of products.

The DB2 Data Servers include DB2 for z/OS; DB2 for Linux, UNIX and Windows; DB2 for i5/OS; DB2 Server for VSE and VM; DB2 Express; DB2 Everyplace; and DB2 Data Warehouse Edition.

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