DBA/DBE Appreciation Day

Not long ago, I discovered that DataBase Administrator(DBA)  Appreciation Day is observed annually on the first Friday in July which happens to be today!  I’ve recently discussed that although some of the traditional DBA tasks don’t apply to Db2 for i, that there is a real need for a Database Engineer (DBE) in IBM i shops. 

Based on our Systems Lab Services team interactions with clients, I think it will be difficult for IBM i shops to show appreciation to their DBEs on July 1 because far too many shops do NOT have a DBE or a DBE team.  Our team often sees the negative impact of the missing DBE during IBM i client engagements where we are brought into assess and analyze their SQL performance & Db2 for i databases. 

Because there’s not a DBE focusing on the database objects and data access, our team regularly sees issues like:

• Queries that are poor performers that can be easily fixed with the creation of an index
• Large tables that have grown past 90% of the Db2 size/row maximum limit – when the limit is reached no more rows can be added by your application!
• Overcommitment of system resources due to a system-wide parallel degree setting of *MAX for the Db2 SMP feature.
• Incorrect usage of SQL routine or program settings that are unnecessarily slowing performance
• Low SQL Plan Cache hit ratio due to runaway usage of QTEMP tables by developers
• Queries being run against tables with 60-70% of the rows deleted because tables are not being reorganized on a regular basis or they’re not configured to reuse deleted rows

It can be a challenge to find a qualified Db2 for i DBE, but that’s where Systems Lab Services can help with our DBE skills enablement offerings.  These services can help grown an existing IBM i team member into the DBE role or help convert a DBA from another platform into a DBE. So if you don’t have a DBE on your IBM i team to appreciate today, then make a goal to have one by DBA/DBE Appreciation Day 2023! 

I also discovered that July 1 holds the designation of International Joke Day as well, so I’d be remiss if I didn’t close out this July 1 focused entry with a database-related joke: 

Did you hear about the two relational databases that walked into a NoSQL bar. They left after 5 minutes.... 

    because they couldn't find a table! 🙃

No comments on the quality of my joke unless you’re willing to include your own database joke in the comment 😊