In today’s high-speed, high-pressure business environment, reliable applications are crucial. DevOps on the mainframe, while promoting agile workflow, has a downside: cluttered Db2® catalogs. This clutter can create bottlenecks, impacting application performance and availability and increasing IT costs. Here’s where Infotel’s DB/IQ PackMan steps in, as showcased by two successful client stories: a managed services provider (who requested anonymity) and Provinzial Rheinland, a European insurance group.
The Problem: DevOps Chaos and a Cluttered Db2 Catalog
DevOps encourages rapid development cycles. However, with multiple developers working on programs in series in large enterprises, numerous package versions can accumulate in a Db2 catalog very quickly. This “package sprawl” creates problems:
- Overloaded Catalog: The Db2 catalog becomes clogged with unnecessary data, leading to:
- Slower Backups and REORGs: Critical database maintenance tasks take longer to complete
- Unforeseen Costs: IT budgets balloon due to inefficient resource utilization
- Unreliable Application Performance: With so much clutter, identifying the correct code versions for production becomes difficult, potentially causing application performance issues.
The Solution: DB/IQ PackMan – Cleaning Up the Db2 Catalog
DB/IQ PackMan is a powerful tool that helps clean and declutter Db2 catalogs. Here’s how it works:
- Identifies Unused Packages: PackMan scans the Db2 catalog, pinpointing unused and unnecessary packages
- Streamlines the Catalog: PackMan removes these redundant packages, resulting in a cleaner and more efficient Db2 catalog
- Improves Performance: With a streamlined catalog, backups and REORGs run faster, freeing up valuable IT resources
- Ensures Version Control: PackMan tracks the most up-to-date package versions, guaranteeing the right modules are deployed in production
Case Study 1: Large European Managed Services Provider Optimizes Performance with PackMan
This Infotel customer manages a vast financial services IT enterprise and its accompanying workload. Their challenge:
- Rapid Package Growth: Hundreds of developers created thousands of package versions weekly.
- Oversized Catalog: The Db2 catalog became bloated, impacting backup and REORG times.
The PackMan Effect:
- Significant Data Reduction: PackMan identified and removed hundreds of thousands of unnecessary rows of data from the Db2 catalog. The customer was very concerned about application availability being compromised when we told them how much data could be removed. We assured them to trust our process and solution and they did. No production applications were negatively affected.
- Faster Backups and REORGs: With a cleaner catalog, maintenance tasks became significantly faster.
- Improved User Experience: Streamlined Db2 performance led to a more responsive user experience for internal business applications.
Case Study 2: Provinzial Rheinland Enhances Efficiency with PackMan
Provinzial Rheinland, the second largest public insurance company in Germany, needed to optimize its Db2 for z/OS performance for faster, more efficient claim processing and customer service. Their challenges:
- Legacy Db2 System: Their Db2 system, dating back to 1987, had accumulated clutter over time.
- Budgetary Pressures: Increasing Db2 complexity led to higher CPU consumption and unplanned IT expenses.
The PackMan Effect:
- Reduced Redundancy: PackMan eliminated over 50% of redundant packages in the Db2 catalog.
- Streamlined EXPLAIN Tables: PackMan minimized the size of EXPLAIN tables, leading to faster query optimization.
- Cost Savings: A cleaner Db2 catalog resulted in stabilized, and predictable IT budgets and improved resource utilization.
Conclusion: PackMan – Your Key to an Optimized z/OS Db2 Environment
DB/IQ PackMan empowers enterprises to manage Db2 catalog chaos effectively. By removing clutter and ensuring version control, PackMan delivers in numerous ways:
- Faster Backups and REORGs
- Increase in Application Performance and Availability
- Reduced IT Costs
- Enhanced Developer Productivity
For a cleaner Db2 catalog and a more efficient developer environment, Infotel’s DB/IQ PackMan is the answer. Visit the DB/IQ PackMan product page to learn more and schedule your free demo.