What's New in IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud

Service update 11.5.9.0.04.000 is now available for the new generation of plans hosted on AWS (all plans deployed after July 2023 that support native object storage). This update contains the following new functionality:

• You can now view or change your license type in the console. This features allows you to change from an on-demand license model to a 1-Year Reserve option, 3-Year Reserve option, a Bring Your Own License (BYOL) option, or the IBM Integrated Analytics System option. See the Service Description for more information.
• Cross-region disaster recovery is now supported. You can choose to copy backups to another supported region, and then restore a specific backup to an instance in that region if needed.

The update will be applied to your system on or after 31 Jan, but you can choose to update sooner by clicking on the notification shown in the console.

Over the coming days, supporting software on all Db2 Warehouse on Cloud plans on IBM Cloud, and the previous generation of plans on AWS (all instances deployed before July 2023) will be updated. The update consists of a regular security update, an update to Db2 11.5.9, and defect fixes. The updated Db2 level includes fixes and security updates but does not include new functionality.

An updated console is now available for the new generation of plans hosted on AWS. The console now allows you to reduce the number of backups that are retained. The minimum number of backups you can retain is one. You can also now schedule a compute scaling operation to occur in the future.

Over the coming days, supporting software on all Db2 Warehouse on Cloud plans on IBM Cloud, and the previous generation of plans on AWS (all instances deployed before July 2023) will be updated. The update consists of a regular security update, an updated Db2 build, and defect fixes.

Updates are now available for the new generation of plans hosted on AWS. These updates include:

• Support for deployments in Sao Paulo.
• An updated console with the ability to import data more easily from a watsonx.data instance.
• The console now notifies you when a new system update is available. You will see an alert on the Notifications icon in the upper right corner of the console. Click "View details" to open a panel that displays the new version number, then click "Update now" when you want to initiate the update.

Updates are now available for the new generation of plans hosted on AWS released on July 7. These updates include:

• Support for deployments in Sydney and Tokyo.
• Support for new discounted compute parts for clients who bring a license from an applicable offering and for clients who make a 1-year or 3-year commitment to the offering. For more information about the new Bring Your Own License and Reserved Instance plans, see the following blog.
• An updated console with the ability to export data more easily into a watsonx.data instance, and with monitoring dashboard enhancements.

Over the coming days, supporting software on Db2 Warehouse on Cloud Flex plans (all plans on IBM Cloud and the previous generation of plans on AWS) will be updated. The update consists of a regular security update, an updated Db2 build, and defect fixes. The default TLS version is updated to 1.3.  TLS v1.2 is still supported. Support for the cipher TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 is removed.

A new generation of plans hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) is now available. These plans introduce native object storage support to Db2. This functionality allows you to store traditional Db2 column-organized tables in Db2's native format on object storage while maintaining the existing SQL support and performance using a tiered storage architecture. Moving data from higher cost block storage to lower cost object storage can significantly reduce your costs and does not require changes to your workload. For more information about object storage support, see here.

These plans also support open data formats as DATALAKE tables, allowing for seamless access to other data within your enterprise for integrated workloads. Supported data formats include Parquet and ORC. For more information about DATALAKE tables, see here.

These plans also provide seamless integration and common metadata service with the new IBM watsonx.data service. You can use the web-based UI to register your watsonx.data service, to allow the import and export of data between the services. For more information about integration with watsonx.data, see here.

Over the coming days, supporting software on Db2 Warehouse on Cloud Flex plans will be updated. The update consists of a regular security update, an updated Db2 build, and defect fixes.

Over the coming days, supporting software on Db2 Warehouse on Cloud Flex plans will be updated. The update consists of a regular security update, an updated Db2 11.5.8 build, and an updated console that includes the following changes:

• The Run SQL page is enhanced with the new SQL Builder to enable users to easily build SQL queries for Db2 database without the need for manual SQL coding. The SQL Builder offers drag-and-drop and point-and-click interfaces that allow non-experts to build SQL queries quickly. Users can now generate query statements of varying complexity, create table joins, and save builds to retrieve them for future use.
• Nine monitor pages are added to be consistent with Db2 Data Management Console monitor functions:
  • Database-Database time spent: Display time spent break down information by database, and workload.
  • Database-Database usage: Display database level metrics such as CPU, memory, transaction rate, and active connections.
  • Applications-Utilities: Display running utilities information such as load and reorg.
  • Memory-Instance memory: Display instance memory break down information.
  • Memory-Database memory: Display database memory break down information.
  • I/O-Prefetchers: Display prefetch metrics such as prefetch ratio, cleaner ratio, and prefetch wait time, by buffer pool or table space.
  • Storage-Table space performance: Display table space performance metrics such as write/min, physical data reads/min, and hit ratio.
  • Storage-Table space utilization: Display table space utilization metrics such as page size, pages used, free pages, and total pages.
  • Workload management: Display workload management information including queue queries, superclasses, subclasses, workloads. Enables user to adjust resources among superclasses and subclasses. This function is only applicable when historical monitoring is turned on.
• Added report functions with four report types. The report function is only applicable when historical monitoring is turned on. The following four reports are available:
  • Reports-Database performance: Deliver report for database performance metrics including throughput, resource usage, contention, time spent, sorts, logs, and top ten statements sorted by longest running, most expensive or most run.
  • Reports-Top statements: Deliver report for top statements sorted by 17 metrics including CPU time, executions, activity wait time, lock wait time, rows read, and rows returned.
  • Reports-Table usage: Deliver top table usage by size, total access, or read.
  • Reports-Disk space usage: Deliver database disk space usage information overtime.
• Additional schema level privileges are available: ACCESSCTRL, DATAACCESS, DELETEIN, EXECUTEIN, INSERTIN, LOAD, SCHEMAADM, SELECTIN, UPDATEIN, LOGICAL BACKUP AND RESTORE OF RCAC PROTECTED DATA

Over the coming days, supporting software on Db2 Warehouse on Cloud Flex plans will be updated. The update consists of the following changes:

• A new Db2 engine build based on 11.5.8. This new Db2 fix pack includes many improvements and enhancements, including:
  • (Tech preview) The ability to do full, cumulative incremental, or delta incremental backup of a schema followed by full restore of the schema or table(s) within the schema. For more details on this feature, see here.
  • Enhanced set integrity performance
  • Data server clients and drivers enhancements
  • New abbreviated syntax for Federation server
  • Improved performance and compression when populating column-organized tables using the LOAD utility
  • New MON_GET_CONNECTION(_DETAILS) metrics CONNECT_SEC_TYPE, CONNECT_CIPHER_SPEC, SSL_SRV_CERT_LABEL and SSL_SRV_CERT_FINGERPRINT
  • For a link to the Db2 11.5.8 release notes, which contain additional information about these enhancements, see here. For a list of all APARs resolved in Db2 11.5.8, see here.

• The console now provides you with the ability to scale compute or storage on your instance.  Before this update, scaling functionality was available from a separate, free-standing Flex user interface that you could access from the IBM Cloud instance page. The separate Flex user interface will be removed in Sept 2022.
• A bug relating to historical monitoring collection has been fixed.
• A bug that caused users not to be able to define columns when uploading data has been fixed.
• The SQL Editor user interface has been updated.

• A new Db2 engine based on 11.5.7.0. For more information about Db2 11.5.7, see the what's new and the following list of resolved APARs. More information is available here.

• Additional data objects supported: indexes, table spaces, buffer pools
• Ability to scale storage up to 240 TB (Flex Performance plans only)
• Ability to schedule scale operations using the console UI

• A new event monitor profile panel displays the status of event monitors (Activity, Locking, Utility, and Statistics) for a database connection. Depending on the event monitor profile setting, the status is displayed as On/Off/Warning. The panel can be found under Settings.
• Support added for configuring table spaces. The Tablespace usage field displays the current table space usage for the event monitors on the database. Users can also scale the table space storage size, create a new table space, or change the table space definition for an event monitor.
• Support added for workload customization for activity and statistics event monitors. Users can view the list of relevant workloads, and enable, disable, and edit the collection settings for each workload for activity and statistics event monitors.

• A new Db2 engine based on 11.5.5.0. For more information about Db2 11.5.5, see the what's new and the following list of resolved APARs.
• Fixes in the console interface.

• A new Db2 engine based on 11.5.4.0. For more information about Db2 11.5.4, see the what's new and the following list of resolved APARs.
• New features are available through the console interface:
• The historical monitoring capability gives you the ability to view trends in your database performance, and analyze the database responsiveness, query performance, database throughput, and bottlenecks that are impacting your applications. The historical monitoring settings can be configured to control the volume of monitoring metrics collected and persisted for future analysis. Enable historical monitoring by logging in to the console and navigating to Administration > Settings.
• You can scale the CPU/memory and storage available to your database in an integrated manner from the Db2 Warehouse on Cloud console. The bluadmin user has the privilege to scale by default. In order to enable other users, grant them the INSTANCE_SCALE role.
• You now configure your service such that all users have a read-only view all the workloads running on your database, with the ability to cancel your own queries and kill your own applications.
• Support for capturing database events using an external Guardium server. This feature can be requested by opening a support case.

27 May 2020

25 Feb 2020

14 Jan 2020

30 Nov 2019

14 Nov 2019

$ sudo /Library/Application\ Support/Aspera/Aspera\ Connect/uninstall_connect.sh

$ ~/Library/Application\ Support/Aspera/Aspera\ Connect/uninstall_connect.sh

11 Nov 2019

7 Oct 2019

26 August 2019

• Updated Db2 engine containing Oracle compatibility improvements, BLU compression enhancements, added support for LOB datatypes, concurrency improvements for some types of update and delete statements on column-organized tables, performance improvements for Spatial Analytics, and increased support for external tables.
• Updated console, with fixes for several defects including an intermittent failure while loading using Lift, and an error that caused file systems to fill up too quickly.  The console also now displays the status during CPU/memory and storage expansion requests.
• Requirements for passwords have been strengthened.  The minimum password length is now 15 characters (up from 12), and passwords must contain at least one of each of the following types of character: uppercase letter, lowercase letter, digit, and special character.  When a user's legacy password does not meet the new requirements, the user will be prompted to change their password when they log in to the console.
• Db2 audit functionality is now available by default on all Flex systems on IBM Cloud.

25 June 2019

4 June 2019

3 June 2019

21 May 2019

29 March 2019

• The “Flex” plan is ideal for storage-dense workloads, inexpensive query of large data sets, and a development/test environment for cloud.
• The “Flex Performance” plan is ideal for high-performance production workloads that prioritize compute performance over storage density.

18 March 2019

Beginning on March 18th, an updated console interface will be made available for all Db2 Warehouse on Cloud Flex plans. The console includes the following changes:

For users with admin authority:

• The landing page has been redesigned and now includes a monitoring overview. The previous landing page contained three panels -- "Quick stats", "Connect" and "Load history". These panels have been moved. "Quick stats" is now available as hover help for the Storage item in the top menu bar; "Connect" has been moved to "Connection Information > Connect"; and "Load history" has been moved to "Load > Load history".
• Three new pages ("Explore - Views"; "Explore - Authorizations"; "Monitor - Storage") have been added.
• The "Explore - Tables" page has been redesigned, with new functionality added.
• The "RUN SQL" page has been redesigned.
• The console now supports Load from COS (Cloud Object Storage).
• New APIs have been added to allow you to query monitoring and metrics information, and to allow you to query information on schemas and SQL jobs.

For non-admin users:

• The landing page has been replaced by a redesigned version of the "Explore - Tables" page. See the description above for information on where you can find the contents of the old landing page.
• One new page ("Explore - Views") has been added.
• The "RUN SQL" page has been redesigned.
• The console now supports Load from COS.
• New APIs have been added. See the description above.

31 January 2019

The Db2 Warehouse on Cloud Flex Performance plan now supports compressed database sizes up to 96TB.

10 January 2019

Db2 Warehouse on Cloud Flex plans now support Identity and Access Management (IAM). This feature enables you to securely authenticate users for platform services and control access to resources consistently across the IBM Cloud platform. For more information, refer to the Knowledge Center.

2 November 2018

Db2 Warehouse on Cloud non-Flex plans have been updated with a new Db2 engine, an updated console, and additional fixes.  The non-Flex plans now support Identity and Access Management (IAM). This feature enables you to securely authenticate users for platform services and control access to resources consistently across the IBM Cloud platform. For more information, refer to the Knowledge Center.

1 November 2018

Db2 Warehouse on Cloud Flex and Flex Performance plans are now HIPAA ready. Both plans have implemented required controls commensurate with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Security and Privacy Rule requirements. For information about how to order a HIPAA-ready Db2 managed service, contact your IBM sales representative or send email to: CloudDigitalSales@us.ibm.com.

17 October 2018

Db2 Warehouse on Cloud Flex service is now generally available. Like the Flex Performance plan released earlier in 2018, the new Flex plan includes independent scaling of storage and compute, self-service backup and restore, and fast-recovery HA. It is optimized for storage-dense workloads. For more information, see here.

16 August 2018

A new user interface is now available on all entry plans.  Refer to the April 3rd update below for a list of new and changed functionality and for information about clearing your browser cache.

24 July 2018

IBM Hybrid Data Management Platform is now available for Db2 Warehouse on Cloud. This plan allows you to purchase IBM FlexPoints and allocate them toward multiple resources with a single subscription.  For more information, see here.

3 April 2018

Db2 Warehouse on Cloud (non-Flex plan, non-entry plan) introduces a new console user interface. After your service is updated with the new console, follow the steps here to clear your web browser cache.

The new console includes the following new and changed functionality:

MONITOR

• On the CONNECTIONS page, you can view applications that connect to the current Db2 Warehouse on Cloud.  When an application might impact the performance of the database, you can use the Force Application button to disconnect the application. You can also filter the applications using different metrics, and export the application status to a spreadsheet file.
• On the STORAGE page, you can view the storage status in a list or a heat map, either by schema or by table. You can also filter the storage status using different metrics, and export the storage status to a spreadsheet file.
• On the IN-FLIGHT EXECUTIONS page, you can view the SQL statements that are currently running on the database. You can also filter the SQL statements using different rules, and export the SQL statements to a spreadsheet file.
• Both administrator and normal users can use the monitoring features. For a normal user, only the data of the current user can be monitored and displayed.

RUN SQL 

• When you type SQL statements within the SQL editor, the syntax can be validated in real time and recommended fixes for the SQL statement are displayed as annotations in the SQL editor.
• You can save the SQL statements in the SQL editor either to the server, or to a .sql file in order to share the script with other users.
• By adding a FAVORITES tag to the saved SQL statements, you can load the SQL statements into the SQL editor with just one click the drop-down menu of the Favorites button.
• You can export the result of one or more queries to a spreadsheet file, such as an .xlsx file or a .CSV file.
• When you access the console from different browsers, the history of SQL statements executed within the SQL editor is also displayed.  
• You can also choose to run a subset of a group of SQL statements from the SQL editor.
• The SQL statements that you are working on are automatically saved and will be restored if you lose your connection to the console.

Security Enhancement

• Forgot password support: For non-entry plans, you can use your user ID and email address to reset the password if you forget your password.  You can also use the /auth/reset REST API to reset the password. The reset instruction is sent to your email address and is valid for 24 hours. Note that you can only reset your password once within 24 hours.
• Password policy GUI support: Administrators can update or delete the existing password policy, create new password policies, and assign a specific password policy to a user on the Manage Users page, or using REST API endpoints. The principles in a password policy are enforced as follows for different user roles.

Support for Internet Explorer

• You can use Internet Explorer (IE) 11 to access the Db2 Warehouse on Cloud console.

Load

• You can import data into Db2 Warehouse on Cloud using the load from external tables feature. If the original data is from PureData System for Analytics, it's recommended that you import the data using external tables because the performance is better and there is no lock on an external table.
• You can load the data from a local .csv file that is larger than 2GB.  However, you need to enable the High-speed loads powered by Aspera button for a file that is larger than 10GB.

7 March 2018

Db2 Warehouse on Cloud (non-Flex plan) now supports IBM Cloud Object Store as a cloud object storage location from which to load data using Db2 utilities and SQL statements (the CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE statement) directly. Both regional and cross-regional endpoints are supported. The same support is already included in the initial release of the Db2 Warehouse on Cloud Flex Performance plan.

20 February 2018

See the following announcement relating to Db2 Warehouse on Cloud:
https://www.ibm.com/blogs/bluemix/2018/02/upcoming-changes-rstudio-db2-warehouse-cloud/
This change was originally planned for April 2018, but will be delayed until December 2018.

13 February 2018

The Db2 Warehouse on Cloud Flex Performance plan now includes REST APIs for compute elasticity and storage expansion. These REST APIs provide customers with a programmatic interface to perform elasticity/expansion operations in addition to the Web UI. The swagger documentation for the REST APIs is available here.

31 January 2018

A new Flex Performance plan is available for Db2 Warehouse on Cloud. The Flex plan allows for independent, on-demand scaling of compute cores and storage capacity, giving clients greater control of resource consumption and increased efficiency with their operational expenses. In addition, the plan offers self-service backup and restore and fast-recovery high availability. For more information, see the following blog post.

17 November 2017

In 1Q 2018, there will be a change in how constraints are enforced in Db2 Warehouse on Cloud. For more information, see the following technote.

9 November 2017

Compatibility

This update includes the following compatibility updates:

• Enhanced NZPL SQL support, including support for %ROWTYPE, %TYPE, FOUND, ROW_COUNT, REFTABLE , AUTOCOMMIT and SELECT INTO record type.
• External Table extended with new options to support more native Db2 Warehouse file formats including CCSID, TIMESTAMP_FORMAT, DATE_FORMAT, and TIME_FORMAT options. Customers unloading and reloading data from Db2 Warehouse are recommended to use CCSID 1208 over ENCODING(INTERNAL) to maintain the data in unicode.
• HAVING CLAUSE now supports column aliases under SQL_COMPAT='NPS'

8 September 2017

External tables

External tables are now supported. For information about how to create them, see CREATE EXTERNAL TABLES statement.

INSERT performance improvements

Parallel inserts, vectorized inserts, and reduced logging are now enabled. Parallel inserts, vectorized inserts, and reduced logging can help improve performance. You can now complete large CTAS or INSERT from SELECT operations without using the LOAD from CURSOR syntax.

Federation

Federation (formerly called "fluid query") capability is now available for Db2-based sources over non-SSL connections. You can use federation capability to access data that is located on a data source that is different from the one to which you submitted a query. Supported data sources include IBM Db2, IBM Db2 Warehouse on Cloud, IBM Db2 Warehouse, and IBM Big SQL.

18 July 2017

The following table summarizes the new offering names:

2 May 2017

Compatibility

• With dashDB for Analytics, you can now use the Boolean data type for all row-organized and column-organized dashDB tables. You can implicitly or explicitly cast values from Boolean data types to integer or string data types and vice versa. You can also carry out "group by" and "order by" operations on Boolean columns. Also, dashDB offers a set of new scalar functions, each of which returns a Boolean value based on the truth value of an input expression. Boolean support is not currently available with dashDB for Transactions.

Security updates

• Updates include enhancements to security requirements for cipher specs of applications that access dashDB. If your application cannot connect to dashDB, complete the steps in the following technote.