Connecting to DB2

Prerequisite Software

In order to connect to a DB2 Server, you will need the DB2 Client on your PC. There are a number of different types of DB2 Client - Runtime Client, Administration Client etc. Any of these Clients will work. The DB2 Client includes the DB2 ODBC Driver. The DB2 Client will be on the DB2 Install CD (your DBA will have this) or can be downloaded from the IBM site.

DB2 z/OS and DB2/400

If your database is a DB2 z/OS or DB2/400 database, you will also need DB2/Connect. This provides connectivity to mainframes and will perform EBCDIC-ASCII conversion (if this is required). DB2/Connect is a purchaseable product.

You have two choices of DB2/Connect products:

• DB2/Connect Personal Edition. This is installed on your PC and provides a direct connection from your PC to the DB2 z/OS or DB2/400 system.
• DB2/Connect Enterprise Edition. This is a server version of DB2/Connect. It will be installed on a server in your Lan. You configure a connection to your DB2 z/OS or DB2/400 system by going via the DB2/Connect Server.

DB2/400

You can also connect to a DB2/400 database using Client Access Express. If you use this, you do not need either the DB2 Client or DB2 Connect.

Configuring the DB2 Client

This is done using:

• Client Configuration Assistant (DB2 v7 or less)
• Configuration Assistant (DB2 v8)

We will not detail here all the steps involved in configuring the client. Your DBA can provide you with the information for doing this.

When you have finished, it is suggested you click on the Test button to check whether you can connect to the database.

Binding the Packages

If your DB2 client is a different version or release level than your DB2 server, you may need to bind the DB2 Client packages. If this is not done, AQT may hang when you try to sign on, or give you messages such as package NULLID.SQLLF000 not found. To bind the packages:

• for DB2 v7 or less: from the Client Configuration Assistant, select the database then click on Bind. Select Bind DB2 Utilities then Continue. When shown the Bind Utilities window, select <CLI/ODBC Support> then click on OK.
• for DB2 v8: from the Configuration Assistant, select the database then click on Selected > Bind. In the next window, select <CLI/ODBC Support> then click on Bind.

Other notes on Binding:

• only one person needs to bind the packages. All other users with the same release level of the DB2 client will not need to do the bind.
• in order to do the bind, you need a reasonably level of authority on the database server.
• the bind needs to be done against every DB2 database you access.
• if your DB2 server or DB2 client is upgraded to a new version (or fixpack applied) you will need to repeat the binding.

AQT Options

When using AQT against a DB2 database, we recommend using the following AQT options.

• Options > Technical Parameters > Uncommitted Read. This prevents queries running under AQT from tasking any locks on your tables.
• Options > Cancel Queries > Use the Async Capabilities of the ODBC Driver. This allows you to cancel an inflight query