Integrating on-prem DB2 for z/OS data with Cloud applications via Cloud Integration Service on Bluemix

DB2 for z/OS is the preferred Systems of Record for mission critical enterprise data. With the advent of Cloud paradigm, enterprise customers are looking for ways in which they can easily and securely expose DB2 for z/OS data to emerging Systems of Engagement. This has led to a hybrid cloud model, whereby public cloud offerings such as Bluemix need to access DB2 z/OS data hosted on premises.

With the growing popularity of Bluemix, customers want to quickly expose DB2 z/OS data to Bluemix developers as APIs and allow seamless integration of cloud and on-prem data. IBM Cloud Integration service for Bluemix has made that possible by adding native support for DB2 for z/OS as an enterprise endpoint. With Cloud Integration service on Bluemix, you can not only connect to on prem Db2 z/OS, browse and move data, you can also create REST APIs for DB2 z/OS CRUD operations that can be invoked easily by Bluemix applications.

To allow connectivity to DB2 z/OS running behind a firewall, you need to install and configure an on premise Websphere Cast Iron Secure Connector behind the firewall such that it has direct access to DB2. Secure Connector sets up a tunnel between company's secure network and Bluemix applications. Once you are connected to on-prem DB2 for z/OS using Secure Connector, you can sync data between on premise DB2 and Cloud Database using Data Sync capability. You can also choose to not move any data, but just expose REST APIs for Bluemix users to access DB2 data residing on prem.

You can find step by step instructions to access on-prem DB2 data from Bluemix at https://www.ng.bluemix.net/docs/#services/CloudIntegration/index.html#gettingstartedwithcloudintegation.

Faster problem determination in DB2 Connect applications with Smarter Serviceability

As DB2 Connect 10.5 FP5 goes GA, there are several exciting new capabilities to look forward to. I want to highlight our emphasis on enhancing serviceability of DB2 Connect drivers for faster problem resolution. Adoption of DB2 Connect has proliferated as customers strive to modernize their applications for a distributed environment. Most of these customers run with a complex multi-tiered stack environment with several Application Servers and Databases. When an application failure happens, it is often extremely difficult to pinpoint the cause of the failure due to lack of sufficient diagnostics.

Although DB2 Connect drivers offer rich tracing capability, collection of traces require recycle of Application Servers, which is difficult in production environments. Problem is aggravated if symptom is intermittent and workload is high, leading to longer turnaround time for resolution and frustration for all stakeholders (customer, IBM). To overcome this, DB2 Connect Java driver now offers an online tracing capability, which means that traces can be turned on/off and levels of tracing can be altered without needing to bring down the Application Server/JVM. An efficient polling mechanism is introduced whereby the tracing related properties such as TraceFile and TraceLevel are monitored at periodic intervals – these properties can be dynamically altered and will be picked up during polling. This will alleviate customer's pain point of bringing down application servers just to collect traces in 24X7 production environments.

Another area we addressed was lack of First Failure Data Capture. Again, we rely heavily on traces and there was no way to collect minimal targeted diagnostic information on a failure without needing to turn on traces (which can be heavy weight). With Cancun, we have introduced the capability to collect relevant diagnostics pertaining to specific error scenarios in both Java (JDBC) and non-Java (CLI/ODBC) drivers without turning on traces. When certain exceptions happen (which is configurable by customers), basic diagnostic information on that exception is auto logged in designated directories (which is also configurable). This prevents loss of critical diagnostic data on the first occurrence of the failure and improves the chances of resolution on the first failure itself rather than waiting for a recurrence.

We have embarked on this journey to enhance overall serviceability of DB2 Connect to drive up customer satisfaction and improve overall product experience of all stakeholders (application developers, App Server admins, DBAs, systems programmers, IBM support and dev). There are several serviceability related requirements on our radar for future releases. If you would like to see a particular serviceability feature built into the product in the long term, do drop me a note at pallavipr@in.ibm.com.