IDUG NA 2026

In this session we'll take a look at the capabilities that have been added to Db2 over the past years to prepare Db2 to meet client demands of today and the future. This will include modern deployment options such as cloud and containerized deployments - but - we'll spend more time on modern workloads such as data virtualization, multi-model support, NoSQL support, how to handle mixed workloads and, of course, AI. Many clients are using Db2 for traditional OLTP, operational and analytic workloads - but - are you getting the full value of your Db2 investment and footprint ? All these high value capabilities are there and included in your current license base. Lets unpack what they are.

This session should be considered because it addresses a high-value challenge for Db2 customers: performing a version upgrade with little to no application outage while preserving a reliable backout path. Based on real production experience, it covers failed upgrade scenarios, post-upgrade risk, and the operational realities of switching active workloads across versions and hardware. Rather than staying conceptual, it presents a practical, repeatable approach using Q Replication and Automatic Client Reroute (ACR), along with lessons learned on synchronization, clustered cutover behavior, and risk reduction. Attendees will leave with actionable ideas they can apply in their own environments.
This session presents a practical approach for performing a no-outage Db2 version upgrade using Q Replication and Automatic Client Reroute (ACR). It explains the drivers behind the solution, including online upgrade capabilities in competing platforms, prior failed upgrade attempts, and the need for a reliable backout strategy. The session then walks through replication setup, synchronization of an active source to the target, online cutover steps, and operational challenges in clustered environments. Attendees will learn how to move from an older Db2 version to a newer one with minimal disruption and lower upgrade risk.

The Db2 family of products including Db2, Db2 Warehouse, and Db2 PureScale provide a number of important features for diagnosing and solving your SQL problems. Through a series of practical examples, this session will bring you up speed on the latest capabilities available for SQL diagnostics and show you how you can leverage them to solve query problems in your own environment. You will learn how to identify your most expensive SQL statements using the package cache table functions, and how to use Db2's "time spent" metrics to analyze where your problem queries are spending their time. You will also learn some new tips for monitoring sort memory metrics and query memory consumption in order to tune your analytic workloads. Finally you will learn how to use the runtime explain capabilities in conjunction with the activity event monitor to capture actual query plan cardinalities as well the per object metrics.

In this presentation we will discuss the resiliency offerings for DB2 and how they can be combined to provide an Always On architecture.  What are the process changes required, how to I determine what needs to be done and what can I do today. The IBM Always On architecture allows you to run your client facings systems 24 by 7 by 365 with zero downtime.

This session explores the latest advancements in Db2 LUW designed to ensure continuous reliability, high availability, and disaster recovery for enterprise databases. Attendees will gain insight into new features introduced since Db2 v12.1, including integrated automated HA solutions with Pacemaker, online upgrades and maintenance with minimal disruption, and seamless backup and recovery enhancements. The presentation covers the architecture and operational principles of Db2 pureScale, demonstrating how it delivers near-linear scalability, robust transactional integrity, and rapid failover across cloud and on-prem environments. Real-world testing scenarios and enterprise-grade validation processes are highlighted to showcase how Db2 achieves platinum-level resiliency. Whether you manage mission-critical workloads or architect resilient database solutions, this session provides actionable strategies and technical guidance to maximize uptime, streamline maintenance, and future-proof your Db2 deployments

This updated workshop will give you the education and information you need to use existing and new features of Amazon RDS for Db2. Some of the topics covered during this workshop will include provisioning, scaling, backup, monitoring, migration and beyond. Each module will be introduced and presented and then participants will be provided an environment they can use and go through a series of instructor led exercises to practice what they have learned and explore. This will be a joint workship between the IBM and AWS RDS teams.

Db2 delivers a wide range of tools for problem determination. Those tools range from the new Log Analysis Capability in IBM Db2 Genius Hub to classical tools that can and should be used for deeper analysis. As the Db2 community constantly welcomes new database administrators and application developers, an effecient tooling and its use is required for those new community mambers. The session will share tools and best practices for the first occurrence data capture (FODC) tools available for DBAs and developers. This session will cover the first steps in the process of problem determination and problem source identification (PD/PSI). It provides hands-on and practical examples for the strategy and process to encircle and find problems by asking the right questions.

IBM Db2 offers a wide range of AI features, both built-in and external tools, for creating AI systems and solutions. These include over 200 built-in AI stored procedures and tools that work seamlessly with open-source AI ecosystems. In this workshop, participants will explore Db2’s AI support and use a selection of these features to implement practical AI models. The workshop consists of two parts. In the first module, participants will learn how to develop a supervised AI model using Db2’s built-in AI stored procedures. The entire model development and usage will be done using SQL within the database. In the second module, participants will learn how to create a Python model using popular Python packages outside of the database, and then deploy that model back into a Db2 database. By the end of the workshop, participants will have gained fundamental skills and hands-on experience in utilizing these AI capabilities. They will be able to apply these skills to their future AI projects. This workshop is designed to be beginner-friendly and does not require participants to have extensive knowledge in AI. Basic SQL skills and some Python programming skills are sufficient for attending and benefiting from this workshop.

Efficient data extraction is critical for analytics, migrations, and modern application integration. Optim High Performance Unload (HPU) provides a powerful, flexible, and lightning-fast way to unload Db2 data without impacting production workloads. This session will explore how HPU can be used for faster unloading and migrating data by using direct access methods to deliver unmatched performance compared to traditional unload utilities. In addition, we will demonstrate how HPU can recover data directly from backup images in the event of table loss, ensuring business continuity and minimizing downtime. Attendees will learn best practices for optimizing unload tasks, and handling large-scale migrations to cloud or hybrid environments. Real-world case studies will highlight performance gains, reduced disk space consumption, and simplified operations. Whether you are a DBA, or architect, this session will equip you with practical strategies to maximize the value of HPU in your enterprise.

Since 2012, the ADMIN_MOVE_TABLE stored procedure has stood for versatility. Whether you're facing extraordinary challenges or handling everyday tasks, ADMIN_MOVE_TABLE has you covered as a DBA. ADMIN_MOVE_TABLE, or AMT for short, has been continually expanded and new application areas have been added. Today, it's important to understand the architecture and design principles of AMT to understand the best use cases and avoid pitfalls. This workshop will guide you through the AMT functionality, starting with the initial intended use cases, and the most used scenarios. But even more importantly, the instructors will discuss and show pitfalls and will guide trough the problem analysis process for AMT.

Are you ready to move beyond managing infrastructure and start innovating with your data? This hands-on workshop provides a deep dive into migrating and modernizing IBM Db2 workloads using Amazon RDS for Db2. Participants will gain practical experience in executing seamless migrations from platforms like Linux, AIX, or z/OS while ensuring high availability and optimized performance.Beyond the migration, you will explore how to unlock the value of your data by integrating AWS AI/ML services. You'll learn to build intelligent applications using Amazon Bedrock powered by your live RDS for Db2 data. By the end of this session, you will have a clear blueprint for transforming your legacy databases into a modern, AI-ready data foundation.

This hands-on lab will explore how Db2 integrates vector data with structured relational data to support AI-driven use cases. Through guided exercises, attendees will combine unstructured text-derived vectors with traditional data and apply similarity search across both. The lab shows queries that merge SQL filtering with vector similarity to enable semantic search, recommendations, and intelligent data retrieval.