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Lead Database Administrator

Ember is always curious and thrives on change. Working in IT provides a lot of that change, but after 18 years developing a top-level expertise on Db2 for mid-range servers and more than 7 years blogging about it, Ember is hungry for new challenges and looks to expand her skill set to the Data Engineering role for Data Science. With in-depth SQL and RDBMS knowledge, Ember shares both posts about her core skill set and her journey into Data Science. Ember lives in Denver and work from home

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March 26, 2019 Uncategorized

DB2 Basics: Beyond Just Taking a Backup – Backup Performance, Utilities, and More!

While I’ve covered this topic in detail, and blogged about a specific backup performance problem, I’ve never talked about this at the basics level.

What is a Backup?

A backup is a binary image of the entire Db2 database.… Read the rest

March 19, 2019 Uncategorized

SQL Differences Between Db2 and Informix

I have been working with Informix from a user perspective recently. I learned about some of the SQL differences and developed a greater empathy for developers in the process. CTE Support is covered, along with comparing the date and time handling syntax. Continue reading »

March 14, 2019 Uncategorized

SQL That Meant Well: Where Functions are Applied

Not only was this delete running unreasonably slow – it was also causing lock timeouts on the MEMBER table while running because of the slowness. This post contains application specific details that you don’t need to understand the underlying concept here, which applies across many SQL statements in the real world. Continue reading »

March 8, 2019 Uncategorized

SQL That Meant Well: Applying Conditions in the Subquery vs the Outer Query

This is a new series that has been percolating in my head for a while. When I help clients with SQL, we’re often adding (or removing) indexes to help SQL performance. It has been said (though not by me) that SQL re-write is obsolete because the Db2 Optimizer will take care of that.… Read the rest

February 28, 2019 Uncategorized

Connecting to an Informix Database from Jupyter Notebook

There is almost nothing in this blog post about Db2. This is unusual for me. But I had a bear of a time figuring this out, so I need to share. I have a lot of Db2 performance data that is stored in an Informix databse. This means that if I want to apply things I'm learning with Jupyter Notebook and data science to this data, I had to learn the basics of how to connect to an Informix database. Continue reading »

February 21, 2019 Uncategorized

Update on Ember’s Data Science Journey – February 18, 2019

I’ve been moving along well this year on my data science journey. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying an edX class: Python for Data Science from UC San Diego. I started using Jupyter Notebooks (Python Kernel) over a year and a half ago, so I am enjoying the course on three levels:

It seems easy because I have a background in Python, basic programming, and Linux systems
I’m learning more about the Python libraries I use for Db2 health checks, and more about DataFrames that builds on my self-taught knowledge.

… Read the rest Continue reading »

February 19, 2019 Uncategorized

Db2 SQL Basics: The Column List

Learning SQL can feel intimidating, even to some experienced DB2 DBAs. For years, you could administer Db2 without using SQL. There are a lot of developers, too who want to learn SQL. The set-thinking of SQL can be confusing. The complete detachment from the physical layer can confound others.… Read the rest

February 12, 2019 Uncategorized

Db2 SQL Basics: The Most Basic Select Statement

January 29, 2019 Uncategorized

IBM Moves RFE Process to Aha Platform

I’ve long been both a proponent and a critic of IBM’s RFE(Request For Enhancement) program. For a several years, it was clear that RFEs just went into a black hole. Then, several years ago, IBM started actually paying attention and implementing them. There have been a number of them implemented to date – a couple that come to mind are the un-deprecation of db2_install and the creation of PDF manuals. Continue reading »

January 22, 2019 Uncategorized

What you Need to Do to Support a Db2 Environment

Many of the posts I write focus on either how to do or approach something or a story about something I did. Instead of the How, this post focuses on the What. If you’re new to Db2, you may not even be aware of what you should do to support a Db2 environment in a proactive manner. And by “New to Db2”, I also include those with up to three years of Db2-only experience who are self-taught. Continue reading »

January 15, 2019 Uncategorized

Db2’s Alternate Page Cleaning

The first professional technical presentation I ever gave was on March 31, 2003. I had been a DBA for just less than 2 years. It was at an event called “SDC West Geek Fest”. It was an internal IBM event within Global Services where the technical folks delivering services got together to share technical expertise. The title was something along the lines of “10 ways to improve physical performance in Db2”. This was just after version 8.1 was released. The top three on my 10-item list were Continue reading »

January 10, 2019 Uncategorized

Update on Ember’s Data Science Journey – January 10, 2019

Well, I knew it was going to be slow, and that is part of why my plan is a 20-year plan instead of just a short-term plan. The fall was particularly difficult due to a couple of issues at work and two conferences that I absolutely loved, but that took time away from the already 60-hour work weeks that I needed to be putting in.… Read the rest