IDUG EMEA 2026

In the world of Db2 for z/OS, SQL performance tuning is one of the most critical and often most complex of DBA tasks. While static SQL has long been the standing order for traditional mainframe applications, the growing use of dynamic SQL - driven by modern applications, APIs, and distributed workloads - has changed the tuning game.Dynamic SQL’s agility and flexibility introduces a new layer of complexity that can hinder performance if not well managed and cause inconsistent performance and even be unpredictable. Dynamic SQL is becoming more prevalent as agile development and hybrid workloads become the norm. But with the flexibility of dynamic SQL comes responsibility - DBAs must adapt and develop new ways of monitoring and tuning dynamic workloads in real-time and across the application lifecycle. Colin Oakhill will share a proven approach to bring order to chaos by giving DBAs the visibility, control, and insight they need to ensure that dynamic SQL performs efficiently and predic

AI agents are transforming enterprise applications, but they need access to trusted, business-critical mainframe data. This session shows how MCP servers enable agents to query up-to-date, replicated Db2 z/OS data from targets like Db2 LUW or watsonx.data. It covers the rationale for agent integration, architecture patterns, implementation steps, and a live demo of an agent working with z/OS data.

The Db2 family of products including Db2, Db2 Warehouse, and Db2 PureScale provide a number of important features for diagnosing and solving your SQL problems. Through a series of practical examples, this session will bring you up speed on the latest capabilities available for SQL diagnostics and show you how you can leverage them to solve query problems in your own environment. You will learn how to identify your most expensive SQL statements using the package cache table functions, and how to use Db2's "time spent" metrics to analyze where your problem queries are spending their time. You will also learn some new tips for monitoring sort memory metrics and query memory consumption in order to tune your analytic workloads. Finally you will learn how to use the runtime explain capabilities in conjunction with the activity event monitor to capture actual query plan cardinalities as well the per object metrics.

In this presentation, we will discuss the resiliency offerings for DB2 and how they can be combined to provide an Always On architecture.  What process changes are required, how do I determine what needs to be done, and what can I do today? The IBM Always On architecture allows you to run your client facings systems 24 by 7 by 365 with zero downtime.

Enterprise database migrations are often slowed to a crawl by their reliance on flat files. Large volumes of data must be written to disk, moved across networks, and reloaded using traditional utilities—a process that is time‑consuming, storage‑intensive, and error-prone. In migrating a legacy Oracle environment on AWS RDS to a modern, containerized Db2 platform running on OpenShift, it became clear that a fundamentally different approach was needed—one that removes the disk from the equation altogether.
This session presents a high‑performance, zero‑disk migration approach that streams data directly from the Oracle source into Db2. It walks through how to set up Db2 Federation and automate nickname creation to establish a direct data pipeline. Rather than relying on conventional SQL processing, the approach feeds a federated cursor straight into the Db2 LOAD mechanism, allowing data to be written directly into target tables with maximum efficiency.
To make this solution practical at

SQL injection remains one of the most damaging classes of flaws against data-driven applications—and the workflow around it has changed: security testers and attackers alike can pair classic tooling with generative AI to iterate payloads faster, interpret ambiguous responses, and explore injection chains with less manual trial and error. This session focuses on Db2-backed applications: how SQL injection manifests in practice, how to recognize fragile dynamic SQL and unsafe integration patterns, and how to prioritize prevention (parameterization, safe composition, and tight error handling). We will connect that baseline to today’s landscape—examples include AI-assisted DAST/exploration tools, AI-augmented automation around sqlmap, and red-team harnesses that probe whether LLM-driven apps avoid unsafe database access—so you leave with a clearer understanding of both defenses and new risks.This is an upgraded version of my session on IDUG EMEA 2022: SQL Injection and Db2 - Pathology and P

To the average application, a database is often treated as a "black box": SQL goes in, and data comes out. But for those tasked with maintaining high-performance systems, "it just works" isn't enough. When a query hangs or a system spikes in CPU, understanding the mechanics "under the hood" is the difference between a quick fix and hours of guesswork.

This presentation takes you on a chronological journey of a query’s lifecycle. We will trace the path of a single PreparedStatement from the moment it leaves a remote application, through the DRDA protocol, and deep into the Db2 engine layers. We will explore:
- The Handshake: How client-server interactions and the SQLDA manage data exchange.
- The Brain: Inside the Query Compiler and Optimizer—how your SQL is transformed into an executable "Plan."
- The Engine Room: How the Runtime components interact with the Buffer Pools, Prefetchers, and Logger to retrieve your data.
- The Return: The mechanics of the ResultSet and how data is effic

With growing data volumes, mixed workloads, and strict SLAs, effective tuning demands a structured, end-to-end approach.
This session focuses on practical, real-world Db2 tuning techniques that deliver measurable performance improvements in production systems. Attendees will learn how to identify high-cost SQL using Db2 accounting and statistics data, analyse access paths with EXPLAIN, and apply targeted tuning at the SQL, object, and subsystem levels.
Topics include SQL and predicate optimization, index design best practices, EDM pool and sort tuning considerations, and understanding performance differences between static and dynamic SQL.
Participants will leave with actionable techniques they can immediately apply to improve response times and control Db2 CPU usage.

Index pages splitting is a normal DB2 process when inserting or updating rows into table. However, this process can consume CPU resources and generate latch contention especially in a Data Sharing environment. Index page splits in also the main cause of index disorganization. In this presentation we will see how to identify costly index page splits and reduce their frequency with the help of RTS history tables.

In modern DB2 for z/OS environments, delivering efficient, resilient, and reliable services depends on the alignment of multiple critical components. With the introduction of DORA regulations, the focus has evolved from simply ensuring service continuity to enhancing it by making recovery processes faster, more robust, and easier to manage.
While many technologies and strategies already support service continuity, real-world scenarios still reveal gaps, particularly when unexpected errors lead to temporary service disruptions impacting customers.
Starting from a legacy disaster recovery framework based on traditional batch jobs, we conducted a thorough assessment to identify limitations in flexibility, performance, and reliability. Building on this foundation, we redesigned and enhanced recovery processes by introducing new strategies, improving automation, and increasing customization to better align with business objectives.
In this presentation, we share our journey: from understand