IDUG Conference - 4 Reasons Why It’s Extremely Valuable

The International DB2 User Group (IDUG) conference is always great for talking with my long time DB2 friends, DB2 experts who have been working with systems for decades, and other colleagues who know the truth about IT politics, costs, and the real problems we deal with on a daily basis.  The following were four things that stuck me during several conference conversations.

1. Open Source software is just like heroin: the first use is free, and you will pay big later.  This comment from a friend referred to his management forcing Open Source software to be used for one of their latest projects.  When the Open Source ran into problems they had to buy additional tools and a support contract from a firm that supported their version of the Open Source software.  After moving to their branded and supported version of the Open Source, their project ran into even more problems.  Now his team has to get the project off the Open Source platform without disturbing the project schedule.  It’s like getting an addict off heroin, because so many people still crave the Open Source fantasy, even though it’s expensive and doesn’t perform.
2. Big Data will be gone.  During the IDUG Gartner Group keynote presentation from Donald Feinberg, he talked about the term Big Data and how it might not be part of the IT lexicon in two year.  All the data in the world; social, sensor, mobile and transactional will continue to grow and get bigger.  It is just that the term “Big Data” will no longer be used to sell software, hardware, or projects because everyone who installed a NoSQL database and searched for a project will have failed.
   
   The Internet of Things will continue to grow with your Watch, Car, TV, and House now reporting data.  All of this will be the new normal regardless of how the big data is produced.  So the big data will just be the new normal and no one will be impressed when you say “Big Data.”
3. Cloud leveraged properly can save IT money.  During the IDUG cloud sessions that I talked about last week there are several new cloud alternatives.  Cloud offerings from all the major vendors will provide a cheap alternative for remote versus local storage.  Companies flocking to this new cloud option will quickly realize that costs are sometimes not reduced.  Unfortunately, companies will also become aware of the security requirements, I/O latency, and the new “data hoarders” from every department who are building their own data systems to do their own analytics.
   
   Leveraging cloud infrastructures will save companies money only when it is approached with performance and costs analytics in mind.  Cloud platforms are just another new trend that can turn into a stormy cloud problem that will rain all over cost-saving initiatives, while killing performance and exposing all your data through poor cloud governance and security standards.  Cloud IT efforts are vital to the future, so make sure to take your time to approach them judiciously.
4. Our DB2 11 migration was moved up.  Talking to a couple of people about the analysis they are doing on their DB2 systems, showed me that they need to get DB2 version 11 because they are running out of RBAs.  The 6-byte RBA/LRSNs supports a large enough capacity for most shops. Worldwide they have enough capacity until the year 2042.  Unfortunately, some busy systems, as well as others that have been migrated to data sharing and then rolled back, or recovered multiple times may have logged so much that they are nearing the 6 byte RBA/LRSN limit.  Once your system maxes out the RBA/LRSNs a recovery is necessary to reset the RBA/LRSN. This process requires downtime and standard DB2 system catalog recovery procedures.
   
   Many shops are beginning to realize that their DB2 system has become so busy that their system is approaching the DB2 6-byte RBA/LRSN limit faster than they thought.  Analysis done on one of my friend’s systems showed that they were going to run out of RBA/LRSNs by the end of this October. So they moved up their migration to DB2 11.
   
   With DB2 11’s expansion of the RBA/LRSNs from 6 bytes to 10 bytes, systems will be able to address capacity of 1 yotta-byte, support 30,000 years with 16 million times more precision than the 6 byte RBA/LRSNs.

So the value of IDUG is not only the technical material from all the great user, consultant, vendor, and IBM presentations, but all the conversations and experiences of everyone you meet at the conference.  Together all the users make the IDUG experience unique and extremely valuable for people who are really doing the work with their companies’ infrastructure, architecture and DB2 systems.

Dave Beulke is a system strategist, application architect, and performance expert specializing in Big Data, data warehouses, and high performance internet business solutions. He is an IBM Gold Consultant, Information Champion, and President of DAMA-NCR, former President of International DB2 User Group, and frequent speaker at national and international conferences. His architectures, designs, and performance tuning techniques help organization better leverage their information assets, saving millions in processing costs.

DB2 Night Show June 13th
I will be presenting on June 13th via webcast in the DB2 Night Show presenting my “Big Data Disaster Recovery Performance” presentation.  Sign up at their website that can be found here (https://www3.gotomeeting.com/island/webinar/registration.tmpl;jsessionid=abcdmLLykGXL7cSWIwyzu?id=441719086)