Book Review: DB2 10 for Z/OS Database Administration: Certification Study Guide

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Whether you're trying to get certified or you just need a great reference book, this is the book for you.

Reviewed by Prasad Mani

The DB2 10 for Z/OS Database Administration Certification Study Guide (Exam 612) is goal-oriented and successfully fulfills its primary goal of helping those who want to certify on DB2 Z/OS as a DBA. The authors, Susan Lawson and Daniel Luksetich, have ensured that the contents are well-written and appropriately categorized so that both aspiring and experienced DBAs can use this guide with ease and better understand the database concepts. In addition, this book covers all the key aspects of database administration that a DBA needs on a day-to-day basis, and hence will easily serve as the go-to guide for any firsthand information.

One of the aspects about this book that I found very interesting and most useful was the information presented about the DB2 on Z/OS application programming considerations that database administrators need to be aware of. This will help a great deal, especially for those who are application DBAs and work with the development teams regularly on SQL reviews, performance tuning, etc. Chapters 10 through 16 are a must-read for everyone, even if you are an experienced DBA on Z/OS. There is wealth of tips available in those pages that can help a DBA with everyday work, especially in database design and performance.

Susan and Daniel have done a great job of providing the right amount of information on native XML support in DB2. I have read many reference books and use them as part of my job, but I think this book presents the right dose of XML features and usage information, especially in chapters 6 and 8. I found other books to be either confusing or loaded with too much information on this topic, so I really appreciate what these authors have done.

The information notes—seen on most pages—highlighting important points are very useful, and I feel readers should pay attention to those points. As this book is mainly for DB2 V10 certification, for an experienced DBA, the information available on DB2 10 installation, migration, and conversion is limited and hence one may not find detailed information on those topics and may need to refer to the guides listed in the reference section for additional information.

As far as getting certified, this book has adequate questions at the end of each chapter to test your knowledge as well as a good set of practice test questions at the end of the book. While there is a wealth of information available in this book to help with database administration and V10 application development, if you ask me, the fundamental question is: Does reading this book help you get certified? The answer is a big YES. This book should certainly get into your bookshelf at work as a reference guide as well.

Disclaimer: The feedback presented above is an outcome of my review of the Exam 612 DB2 10 for Z/OS Database Administration Certification study guide and is based on my personal knowledge and experience on DB2 Z/OS Database Administration. It does not reflect in any way the opinions or positions of my employer or any of my clients.

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