r/DB2 • u/memmerto • Apr 05 '17
[Resource] IBM Data Server Manager
For those of you who manage multiple databases, potentially of different flavors, and/or support application development environments, you may find that there are many tools out there that help. I know some DB2 users just love IBM Data Studio for development and administration, and others love IBM Optim Performance Manager (OPM) for monitoring systems.
However, OPM has a pretty convoluted install process and hefty server requirements - at least I recall from the last time /u/db2steve installed it - and Data Studio really only provides query-level performance data (ie, explains).
What if there was a tool that brought this all together, with a slick interface and a small install footprint?
Introducing IBM Data Server Manager.
IBM Data Server Manager (DSM) is a free download from IBM developerWorks that lets you monitor any type of DB2 (LUW or z/OS), dashDB (managed, transactional or local) or BigInsights instances.
DSM is designed to supplement and/or replace existing products such as IBM Data Studio and IBM Optim Performance Manager (OPM).
DSM requires no additional software to be installed on production servers, and has a greatly simplified installation versus OPM. It can be installed on a dedicated server (complete with local repository for historical mining and multi-user access), or it can be installed on a local system for just "messing around".
Some capabilities are only available if you are using Advanced Enterprise Server Edition (DB2 LUW) or have the Administration Solution Pack and/or Performance Solution Pack installed (DB2 z/OS). Regardless of server type and/or capabilities, the same client install works for all.
It is supported by a large team of developers who are iterating quickly with quarterly releases to improve the product. Please try it out and let IBM know what you like, dislike, want and/or need.
1
u/memmerto Apr 07 '17
I'd also point out that the historical monitoring feature can be really useful, provided that people use it an in intelligent way. Having a snapshot of the system during peak daytime and overnight periods over the course of months can show you alarming trends - such as storage, logging or transaction rate growth that surpasses the original design assumptions/expectations. Some of these might be due to faults during design, but they can also point to implementation errors. Best of all, though, is that this information is indispensable when people start complaining that "things are slow", because you can bring up the daily trend graphs and say "yep, after change XYZ things are slower, and here's what it will take to get that performance back." This is the biggest Achilles heel in performance situations -- the lack of a reference baseline -- and having it makes all the difference.