DB2 Magazine E-Newsletter

February 28, 2006

DB2 Magazine Email Newsletter
Volume 7, Issue 2
www.db2mag.com

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IN THIS ISSUE:

1. From the Editor
   * DB2 Magazine Quarter 1, 2006 highlights
2. Asked and Answered
   * More on split mirroring
3. Poll Positions
   * Who's planning for SOAs?
4. Skill Sets
   * Advanced certification hints, Web casts, training discounts, and
     more
5. Must Reads
   * Database Modeling and Design: Logical Design
6. In the Zone
   * The latest DB2 and Informix articles from developerWorks

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1. FROM THE EDITOR: DB2 Magazine Quarter 1 Highlights

* The High Cost of Not Knowing
There's a funny turn of phrase in an article you'll read in this issue. The writer has just shared an anecdote about being a customer of four different divisions of one company. Instead of allowing the company to capitalize on an extensive relationship, the author says the multiple touch points turn into "a plethora of opportunities for my financial provider not to know me."

Missed opportunities resulting from an inability to deliver accurate, complete information where it's needed is a very common business problem. IBM is betting that its customers are savvy enough to recognize the potential to get in front of their competitors by capitalizing on information. That's why it announced a $1 billion investment in Information On Demand last month. Information On Demand technologies combined with service-oriented architectures will produce a "tectonic shift" in the way companies manage information, according to Ambuj Goyal, general manager of IBM information services.
--Read the interview with Ambuj Goyal.
http://db2mag.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=180206358
--Follow data on the path to information.
http://db2mag.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=180206976

--Browse these additional highlights.
* Take the Fast Train
The new DB2 Express-C is the quickest ride to the latest data server technologies. And there's one more interesting thing: It's free.
http://db2mag.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=180206389

* Zooming In On Saturn
DB2 version 8.2.2 introduced new features for SAP users that are as innumerable (and in some cases as invisible to the naked eye) as the rings of Saturn. An SAP/DB2 customer turns his lens on the features he expects will exert the greatest pull for SAP shops.
http://db2mag.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=180206402

--Read the latest DB2 and Informix technical tips from Robert Catterall, Roger Sanders, Lester Knutsen, and more.
http://db2mag.com/

****Sponsor: IBM Information On Demand 2006 ****

IBM Information On Demand 2006, October 15-20th, 2006, Anaheim, CA.
The premier information management event for business and IT professionals.

Save the Date!
http://www-306.ibm.com/software/data/ondemandbusiness/conf2006.html
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2. ASKED AND ANSWERED

* In your recent column on split mirroring for DB2 for Linux, Unix, and Windows, you write that the SET WRITE RESUME command must be executed from the same database connection that has executed the SET SUSPEND command. What do you do when this session has abended?
--Read Roger Sanders' advice.
http://db2mag.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=180205738

3. POLL POSITIONS

* What's your company's position on service-oriented architectures?
--Let your opinion count in the DB2 Magazine poll.
http://www.db2magazine.com/

* Last month, more than 500 people revealed their deepest, darkest secrets: How much they know (or don't know) about XML.
--Read the final results.
http://www.db2mag.com/poll_results

4. SKILL SETS

* Skill Zone
Columnist Howard Fosdick reveals the secrets to earning the most advanced DB2 DBA credential.
http://db2mag.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=180205749

* Upcoming IBM Webcasts
  -- March 7: Learn about DB2 Viper technology (March 7th)
http://www-1.ibm.com/partnerworld/pwhome.nsf/weblook/eac_webcast_techisvs07mar.html
  -- March 15:  Getting top performance out of your Business Intelligence solution
https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=registration.jsp&eventid=20128&sessionid=1&key= 24833A36E6CE48A47A703A3FA5FDA154&referrer= &sourcepage=register

* IBM Webcast Replays Available
  -- Optimizing Power Solutions with DB2 Express to Deliver Information on Demand
https://www14.software.ibm.com/webapp/iwm/web/preLogin.do?source=dw-c-wcsdp&S_PKG= 020906&S_TACT=105AGX11&S_CMP=SPLT

* IBM Education Discounts
Enroll in certain public IBM classes (valued at $1,995 or greater) between February 1 and April 4, 2006, and can save $500 off the tuition price.
--Read offer details and get the priority code.
https://www-304.ibm.com/jct03002c/services/learning/itess.wss/us/en?pageType=page&c= a0006986&ca=wave1us&me=D&met= redirect&re=faststart6

5. MUST READ

* Database Modeling and Design: Logical Design
By Toby J. Teorey, Sam Lightstone, and Tom Nadeau

The fourth edition of Database Modeling and Design separates logical and physical design into two separate books to address what the authors call "vast and explosive changes" in database design techniques. The Logical Design volume covers entity-relationship and Unified Modeling Language (UML) approaches.
--Learn more about this book.
http://www.db2mag.com/bookstore/

6. NOW PLAYING AT THE DEVELOPERWORKS DB2 ZONE

* Leverage Your MySQL skills to Learn DB2 Express
http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/db2/library/techarticle/dm-0602tham2/

* Improve Persistence with Apache Derby and iBATIS, Part 2
http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/edu/os-dw-os-ad-ibatis2.html?S_TACT=105AGX11&S_CMP=FP

* Develop and test SQLJ programs for DB2 using Rational Application Developer
http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/edu/dm-dw-dm-0602an-i.html?S_TACT=105AGX11&S_CMP=HP

* Configure and use IDS/OnBar with Tivoli Storage Manager
http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/db2/library/techarticle/dm-0602herber/

* Configure Informix Dynamic Server with WebSphere Application Server
http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/db2/library/techarticle/dm-0602sudhakar/

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