Stuck in SQL1092N

I tried to issue the command "list applications". The result was a SQL1092N. DB2 is kind enough to inform me what this error means: does not have the authority to perform the requested command. Great.

My hunch is that this problem traces back to when I installed DB2 on my Windows Professional workstation. I chose to enable operating system security for DB2 object. This option probably works fine. However it requires that you be able to add yourself to the DB2ADMNS Windows group. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I cannot do this. I had thought I overcame this drawback by adding Everyone to this group. This did not solve me problem.

Normally when I am faced with challenges like this, I turn to Google (i.e. Google the problem and looks for others with the same problem and suggested solution). The most promising recommendation was to issue an "update dbm cfg using SYSADM_GROUP" command. This way I could specify another group which I already belong to as the administrator. I tried this, and got a SQL5001N error. This error means does not have the authority to change the database manager configuration file. It appears I am stuck in a conundrum here.

My second to last resort, as advised by one of the Google search results, is to manually update the dbm config file. But this somehow feels wrong. The very last resort is to uninstall and reinstall DB2. However I am concerned about how this will work with my 90 day trial license. With my luck, it won't even allow me to reinstall. Come sing the DB2 woes with me.

db2sampl mystery

So I am reading my "Understanding DB2" book. I come across a section on the sample database. Previously I had problems creating the sample database. So I thought I finally was getting lucky. Apparently I just needed to issue the db2sampl command. However when I try that, I just get a bunch of error messages no matter what I do.

Don't get me wrong. I do not give up easily. I searched my DB2 installation for anything that looked like a sample database. Even though I was able to locate a db2sampl directory on my file system, I could not make heads or tails of it contents. There were a number of files types like xsd, xml, html, and even gif. I included one of the image files I found in this post. Who knows? Maybe this is a picture of a person who is stored in the sample database. I may never know.

This experience is just another setback. I can learn how to create my own database. But having a pre-built sample would help speed things up. What I have learned is that nothing is every easy with this IBM DB2 installation.

Connecting Client and Server

My next assignment will have me working with a huge IBM DB2 database on the z/OS. So I have been trying to learn more about DB2. I installed a copy of DB2 on Windows XP. But now I am trying to get a handle on client/server connectivity with DB2.

So far the book "Understanding DB2" has helped me with a number of DB2 topics. However it only seems to confuse me when trying to explain connectivity configuration. The book mentions the catalog command. However I am not sure what this command is supposed to do. I guess it might mean show me the contents (of a database). Or maybe it shows me the databases available. The book seems to indicate that catalog is more of an active command. But I am still clueless.

Luckily I have a local DB2 database on Windows XP. So things should be simple here. But I want to understand. It might be time to get another book. Tried looking up catalog on the web but that was fruitless. I started feeling better when the book mentioned using TCP/IP to connect to a server. But in the same paragraph it was mentioning APPC as if I should know what that means. Wikipedia helped out in explaining that this stood for IBM's Advanced Program to Program Communication, and that this was a part of SNA. I just hope the next project uses TCP/IP.

On a final note, I would say that the whole idea of directories was confusing as well. There seems to be a whole hierarchy of directories that work in DB2. Again maybe it is that my book is weak on this topic. But I just don't get it. Sometimes it sucks to be the new guy in a complex technology such as DB2.

A Little Progress

I used the Control Center wizard to create a new database table. This looks like a promising start. Some of the data types seemed unfamiliar to me. Good old VARCHAR was there. But I did not see a lone NUMBER type. So far I have been switching between SMALLINT and DECIMAL to fulfill my NUMBER needs (if you cannot tell, my recent background is Oracle).

After getting a table created, I wanted to run some SQL commands. Both the Command Line Processor and Command Window told me I was not connected to a database. So I tried "CONNECT toolsdb;" without success. Then I figured I needed CONNECT TO so I issued a "CONNECT TO toolsdb;". But it still resulted in an error.

In desperation I chose the Help facility. It bought me to the IBM site on the web. Took a while to realize that you do not end single commands with a semicolon on the Command Line Processor line. Finally I was able to connect to the database via "CONNECT TO toolsdb". Now we are in business. I don't have any data in my table yet. But given my bad luck so far, I am happy even small results such as these.

Control Center Blues

I continue to explore the different IBM DB2 tools available to me. While reading my book "Understanding DB2", I came to understand that Control Center tools have a way to set the properties of the tool. This includes the Control Center itself.

Since I had Control Center running, I decided to give it a try to see what options are available to me. I choose "Tool Settings" from the Tools menu. Nothing happens. I try it again. No luck. So I figure it might be due to the fact that I had Control Center running for a long time. I exited it and started it back up again. Apparently the Tool Settings menu option does nothing on my DB2 installation.

I am starting to get disappointed with this tool's quality. But hey. My next project is a huge data store backed by IBM DB2. Let's hope that DB2 for the z/OS is better than the one for Windows.

Database Creation Thwarted

To guide my introduction to DB2, I have been reading a book entitled "Understanding DB2". The book recommended I follow the First Steps tools that comes with DB2 to create a sample database. Sounds like sound advice. So I click the "Creating the SAMPLE Database" link to get an overview of the process. Here is what I get:

The topic that you have requested is not available. The link may be wrong,
or you may not have the corresponding product feature installed. This online
help only includes documentation for features that are installed.

Ouch. IBM falls down on the job. So much for the overview. I decided to go ahead and try to create the sample database anyway. After I click the "Create SAMPLE Database" button, I get the following message.

This is just not going well. I am glad that I am running DB2 as a free trial. I would be pissed if I had paid money and got this level of product. I sure hope this does not indicate how my overall experience with DB2 is going to be. Guess I will have to man up and create a sample database from scratch on the command line.

db2pd Reveals Secrets

My company provides a computer to do my work for our client. This computer is on the client's network. And this network is on lock-down for security purposes. There is the ability to go out to the Internet. However most good sites are on lock down.

I talked my manager into getting me a separate computer which I could hook up to our company's network. That way I could search the Internet and not get blocked all the time. The business case for this PC is so that I can research software topics I need.

So I figured this PC was a good place to install IBM DB2 to give it a test drive. I have been slowly looking through the utilities that come with DB2. I opened up a DB2 command window, from which I started the db2pd tool to check out some statistics. In fact I started it with the following option:

db2pd -osinfo

Imagine my surprise when this command revealed that my TotalCPU count was 2. I guess I have a dual CPU machine. It is almost a little embarassing that I do not know the hardware that I run on. Maybe that a sign that I am getting old. Either way this was a positive surprise. Anyways I continue to check out the administrative tools that come with DB2. I have much to learn.