Chapter18.DB2 Monitoring and Tuning

Chapter 18. DB2 Monitoring and Tuning

• Overview of performance and tuning

• Database monitoring

• Memory tuning

• Problem determination

Understanding the performance of the DB2 database management system, its databases, and active applications in a dynamic environment requires monitoring. This means that a database administrator should gather information about the use of the database. An application programmer may also require information about SQL statement execution. This chapter discusses gathering database information by using DB2's monitoring facilities and information about SQL statement processing.

The various DB2 facilities for monitoring and gathering information that is input into the tuning process are reviewed, along with the Explain process, trace, commands, and other tools used to monitor DB2 database objects and SQL statements. These tools may be used to perform the following tasks:

• Understand user and application activity within DB2

• Better understand how an SQL statement is processed

• Determine the sources and causes of problems

• Tune buffer pool and system parameters

• Improve database and application performance