Performance Monitoring Db2

3 Key AS/400 Performance Indicators

One of the nice features of the AS/400 and iSeries platform is it’s reliability and administrative requirements. But even in light of this as a system administrator you should also be looking and monitoring key data elements to create a baseline of performance metrics. This data can then be used to gauge system capacity and sizing needs for the future. The critical areas we will focus on are disk space, job monitoring and memory utilization using the tools you already have on your system.

First you will want to tackle any disk storage issues. The easiest way to clear out disk space is to find what objects are using up all the disk space to begin with. This is very simply to do using the Display Object Description command DSPOBJD. Simply do a DSPOBJD for all objects and all object types in all libraries. One of the options is the output type, simple set that to dump the results into an outfile. This file contains all of the object names along with the size of the objects.

After running the command to display all object descriptions, which I recommend running in batch, is simply whip up a quick and dirty Query/400 query or run an SQL statement over the outfile you created. Sort this query by the object size field ODOBSZ and you now can see what objects are taking up all the DASD space.

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The one catch I don’t like about this technique though is it does not display objects sized once they surpass a certain size, requiring you to add together a couple of fields to get the actual size.

Next up on the list of system performance items is to monitor the jobs using the Work with Active Jobs command WRKACTJOB. This will give you an instantaneous snap shot of all the jobs running on the system along with important pieces of information like how much processor time and storage it has consumed.

For a more in depth analysis of job activity and performance tuning be sure to check out the features built into the iSeries Navigator tool or as I refer to it as Ops Nav. You can do very detailed and in depth analysis on jobs utilizing the underlying DB2 database including graphical tools to show query and SQL breakdowns. With Ops Nav you can also create nice little charts and graphs of key system metrics that are sure to make your manager happy.

Finally be sure to examine how the memory resources are allocated into the system memory pools. To take a look at the current usage of the memory pools check the Display System Status command DSPSYSSTS.

Display System Status shows all of the current memory allocated for the machine, base, spool and interactive pools. There are also other values to help determine memory problems like a running tab of faults and waits. And if need be you can adjust the system memory pools manually by using the Work with System Status command WRKSYSSTS.

However it is usually recommended to allow the AS/400 operating system to tune the memory performance of the system pools automatically by settings the performance adjustment system value QPFRADJ to adjust at IPL and automatically at regular intervals.

000-541: What are the details included in DB2 9.7 DBA for Linux and Windows examination?

000-541 is an examination that is awarded from the vendor “IBM” and it is also known as DB2 9.7 DBA for Linux as well as Windows. This certification is designed for the professionals who are specialized in performing intermediate skills that are required for daily processes in the administration in DB2 database as well as instances.

Topic outlines/ exam objectives:

Exam objectives/ topic outlines is one of the exam details that all candidates should know before applying for the examination. These topics will help the candidates to practice well for the exam. The following are the topic outlines of 000-541 examination and total percentage of questions asked from each section. They are:

1) DB2 server management- 10% questions
2) Physical design- 20% questions
3) Implementation of business rules- 5% questions
4) Monitoring DB2 Activity- 15% questions
5) High availability- 20% questions
6) Utilities- 15% questions
7) Networking as well as connectivity- 5% questions
Security- 10% questions

Examination consists of 60 multiple choice questions and questions are asked based on the calculation of percentage number from above each section. The time duration allotted for 000-541 examination is approximately 90 minutes. There is no case study or adaptive type or other type questions asked in the exam that is time consuming to answer. It is very important for the candidates to complete the examination in the mentioned time frame. Minimum score to pass in this examination is 60%.

Assessment test from IBM:

Assessment test can be said as the practice test from IBM where candidates have to pay 10$ fee for attending this examination. By attending and passing this examination, candidates can ensure that they are on the right track. However, this assessment test does not guarantee for any questions in the main examination since it is only a practice examination.

Procedures to attend the assessment test:

1) Candidates should log on to Prime link found in the IBM website that will redirect to the registration page.
2) Prometric ID is mandatory for further processes and if candidates do not have their Prometric ID, then should register for a new ID.
3) After registering with a new ID, select the required test
4) After that proceed with the screen instructions

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