Product Description

A guide and reference for DB2 Universal Database version 7.1, delivering coverage of every crucial topic. For administrators and developers. The CD-ROM contains a trial of DB2 UDB 7.1, and a demo program, DB2DEMO. System requirements: CD-ROM drive. The trial version of the DB2 operates in 'try-and-buy' mode. Softcover.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1665168 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 832 pages

Amazon.com Review
IBM's DB2 Universal Database has a large following of corporate users--which means information technology professionals eager to sell their services to such companies--who can profit by knowing how to set up and use DB2. The easiest way to pass sniff tests in the search for a DB2 administration job is to have your certification papers in hand. DB2 Universal Database v7.1: Database Administration Certification Guide is meant to help you pass two of IBM's three DB2 certification exams. Coverage is sufficiently wide-ranging and deep (this is a large book) that you can continue to use the book as a reference once you've passed the exams.

Baklarz and Wong--both members of IBM's DB2 team--document the subject fully, don't cover test-taking strategies, and avoid limiting themselves to subjects known to appear on the exams. Indeed, except for some sample questions in an appendix, you wouldn't know that this is an exam-prep book at all (which is good, because knowledge-gathering is the best exam preparation of all. The book explains DB2 with the proven technique of what and why, shows how to do it (and illustrates the process with listings and screen shots), and then recaps what went on in the process. It's an effective approach that DB2 administrators will like. --David Wall

Topics covered: The published scope of the DB2 Family Fundamentals exam and the DB2 for OS/2, Windows, Unix, and Linux Database Administration exam, including basic functionality and architecture, database objects, Structured Query Language (SQL), data maintenance, and backup. Though there's some mention of software development issues, this book doesn't cover the requirements of the DB2 Family Applications Development exam.

From the Back Cover

• Gain DB2 Universal Database Certification!
• Includes demonstration program covering new product features
• Preparation for v7.1 Fundamentals and Database Administration Certification Exams
• Contains many useful tips, techniques and guidelines for DB2 administrators and developers
• The only comprehensive reference guide for DB2 UDB V7.1 certification
• CD-ROM contains trial version of DB2 UDB V7.1 for Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows 95/98
• Written by DB2 experts in IBM's Toronto Lab
• The #1 guide and reference for IBM's powerhouse DB2 UDB V7.1 database
• New DB2 UDB V7.1 features for all platforms: UNIX, Linux Windows, and OS/2!
• Complete coverage for database administrators and application developers!
• Sample test questions to assist in your preparation for IBM's new DB2 UDB V7.1 exams

IBM's DB2 Universal Database Version 7.1 for UNIX, Windows, and OS/2 delivers unprecedented power, scalability, e-business support, and much more! Now, there's a complete, authoritative guide to deploying, managing, and developing applications with DB2 UDB V7.1 — and preparing for IBM's updated DB2 UDB V7.1 certification exam!

This is IBM's definitive guide and reference for the newest, most powerful version of DB2 Universal Database ever: Version 7.1. DB2 Universal Database v7.1 for UNIX, Linux, Windows, and OS/2 Database Administration Certification Guide, Fourth Edition delivers end-to-end coverage for every DB2 UDB developer and administrator, on every platform: Windows, UNIX, or OS/2 — including the most complete IBM DB2 UDB certification review you can find.

IBM DB2 experts present a detailed overview of the DB2 UDB family of products, key DB2 concepts, and terminology, plus in-depth coverage of installation, configuration, networking, security, data integrity, optimization, and more. Coverage includes:

• DB2 administration: populating tables with import and load utilities, monitoring, logging, maintenance, and tuning
• Security: Controlling data access through authentication, assigned authorities, user/group privileges, and more
• Database backup and recovery, step-by-step
• DB2 SQL, in depth: database objects, Data Definition Language (DDL), Data Manipulation Language (DML), triggers, outer joins, OLAP SQL, table hierarchies, concurrency, and embedded SQL

Whether you're deploying DB2 UDB V7.1, managing DB2 UDB V7.1, preparing for DB2 UDB V7.1 certification, or all three, The DB2 Universal Database v7.1 for UNIX, Linux, Windows, and OS/2 Database Administration Certification Guide, Fourth Edition will be your single most valuable resource.

The CD contains a trial version of DB2 UDB v7.1 for Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows 95/98. The CD also includes the demo program DB2DEMO, which enables you to demonstrate and use various SQL features of DB2.

About the Author

GEORGE BAKLARZ, IBM's Senior Program Manager for DB2 Technical Sales Support, works closely with customers to help them understand new DB2 technology, and to gain their feedback for improving DB2 products. He has spent 18 years at IBM working on various aspects of database technology.

BILL WONG is IBM's worldwide manager of DB2 UDB Technical Sales Support. He is responsible for assisting customers assessing the latest DB2 technology and understanding future directions of IBM's data management portfolio. He has spent more than 16 years in a variety of database roles including DB2 systems administrator, DBA, technical sales support, vendor enablement, and product planning.

Customer Reviews

A nice update of the Version 6.1 book
This book is an update of "DB2 Universal Database V6.1 for Unix, Windows and OS/2 Certification Guide, ISBN 0130867551" - see also my review on that one, it is more or less applicable to this new one too. The updating itself was done in a nice manner - parts of text were re-written, so this is a real 7.1 book. Important: for certifications, the old 6.1 book prepared you for all 3 exams (fundamentals, administration, application development). This has changed: this 7.1 book covers only the first 2 tests, the chapters on application development were cut short and are meant only as an overview for this area. You find the text on this (updated even more) in another new book: "DB2 Universal Database v7.1: Application Development Certification Guide, ISBN 0130913677" - it prepares you for the application development certification test. My experience is that these books, combined with some real hands-on work with DB2, are absolutely sufficient for passing the certification tests. The tests are not so terribly difficult. The hardest one is the one on administration, fundamentals are easy (a warm-up test), application development is somewhere between. A colleague of mine even learned from the 6.1 book and passed the 7.1 administration certification test without difficulties. Should you buy this book, if you own the 6.1 version? It depends. If you want to have the series complete, buy it. But basically the 6.1 version + 7.1 new features from the 7.1 CD or from IBM WWW page could do it too... If you are new to DB2, this is a very nice book for you. Gives very good overview, reasonable explanations, good examples. Could contain a little bit more overall conceptual explanations, could contain more details, the structure could be somewhat better - but altogether, it is out of the questions that it earns 4 stars.

Good book but too lengthy.
This book is not bad, covering almost all the test objectives for 512 and 513. However, you have to spend a lot of time studying this heavy book. I have to say it's not compact. And the sample questions are so few! So I recommend this as a reference book, not a primary study guide.

If you want to pass 512 and 513 in a short period of time, I recommend you download a free CBT provided by IBM: Fast Path to DB2 UDB for Experienced Relational DBAs. This CBT is really cool. It covers all test objectives of 512 and 513 except SQL usage. And it contails many sample questions. It also provides a good lab. You can practice using a sample database. You can complete this CBT in about 8 hours. During you study, you can use the certification guide as reference book. And for SQL usage section, you can use the cetification guide to study.You can download this free CBT (or ask for a CD-ROM) in IBM website. CBT for application development is also avaliable.

Sheer torture
This book is disorganized, vague and contains errors! It's a chore to read, and the authors/editors have done a poor job of "connecting the dots" for readers -- i.e., they don't explain fundamental concepts & terms before delving into the complex implications and interrelationships of a feature. For example, they mention the importance of database objects when first introducing authorities (pg. 164), but don't bother to sufficiently explain or give examples of what a database object (vs. a database) is until the next chapter (on page 199). There are countless incidents like this. The book comes with a great sample database that you can work with; however, the publisher didn't bother to ensure that the author's code samples correspond with the database. So, for instance, on page 239 in chapter 5 if you attempt to use the code the authors provide, you will spend more time figuring out why it doesn't work than watching their example do what they claim it does. This book is exasperating and maddening. It desperately needs to be reorganized and could benefit from a well-written glossary. However, it does provide a lot of necessary detail (even though it's not presented well) and the sample database and the copy of DB2 UDB Personal Edition v7.1 that it comes with are invaluable for anyone who does not have access to UDB.