UBS Hainer is pleased to announce the general availability of BCV5 version 3.1. This new version features performance enhancements and new functionalities that make copying DB2 data faster, easier and more reliable. With a growing amount of data and shrinking batch windows, a full-featured and efficient copying tool is essential in today’s business. BCV5 version 3.1 addresses the need to have business critical production data available around the clock with its unique log apply component that has been significantly enhanced in this release.

Improved BCV6 process
The log apply function has been enhanced to provide improved performance, easier customization, a streamlined job flow and reduced space requirements for work data sets. BCV6 now supports XML tablespaces which allows an improved availability of business critical tables. Support for copying DB2 objects using Flashcopy or other similar hardware-assisted copy facilities speeds up the copy process and saves resources when BCV6 brings the target objects into a consistent state.

Consistent Icebox Backups
Starting with BCV5 version 3.1, it is possible to combine the unique features of the log apply component and the Icebox component. The backups of source table spaces and indexes are automatically made consistent using information from the DB2 log. These consistent backups can be restored at any later point in time into any environment, even if the target is a different DB2 version. This new functionality is available at no extra cost for customers who have licensed both, the Icebox component and the log apply component (also referred to as BCV6).

Support for Sequences
The selection rule function of BCV5 now allows you to select sequence objects. The powerful renaming function of BCV5 also supports sequence objects, which allows changing the sequence objects according to the naming conventions in your target environments. This new feature further reduces the manual efforts that are required for copying DB2 data.

New Graphical Workstation Interface
The workstation client of BCV5 has been redesigned. It now supports the Icebox component (backup and restore tasks) and the new in-flight backup tasks. The ease of use has been improved to make it as easy as possible for the user to setup and execute tasks.
In addition, the UBSSRV started task is not required anymore in order to connect to DB2 or to submit jobs on the mainframe. The workstation client uses the standard JDBC interface of DB2 to access the admin database and allows submitting jobs over a FTP connection.

UBS Log Tracker, release 2.1 is available now. The new release makes a point of its user friendliness. The ISPF based user interface has been completely redesigned, following CUA guidelines, thus streamlining ULT4DB2′s appearance and look-and-feel with the other UBS Hainer products. The idea behind the product’s new user guidance gears to allow intuitive creation of new log tracking tasks. Meanwhile the experienced user is still able to work ‘batch-oriented’ and profits from ULT4DB2′s optimized restart capacities.

Enhanced Data Propagation
Data propagation has two components: initial load and continuous propagation. After first providing the entire data volume to the target environment (initial load), the continuous propagation process must start seamlessly – and further propagations must always continue seamlessly exactly where the previous propagation chunk ended. Start and re-synchronization of data propagation and auditing are now automated extensively in ULT4DB2.

More Versatility
A ULT4DB2 task is now represented by a job chain. This makes it much simpler to reenact single working steps. The new history function documents every usage of ULT4DB2, including all options, data base objects, and files that have been used.

New User Interface
The user interface has been completely redesigned. Now, even for inexperienced users, it is much easier to create log tracking tasks. For each working mode – propagation, auditing, correction (un-do, re-do), undrop, analysis – there is a specifically adjusted user guidance that leads to creating the job chain for the desired log tracking function. The generated JCL is enabled to be executed in a job scheduler, of course.

Facilitated Undrop
Although thankfully rare, ‘un-dropping’ an accidentially deleted DB2 table space is not a trivial task. Most DB2 administrators are not familiar with this complex task and so the efficient help provided by the above mentioned revamped user interface will be surely welcome.

Definitions at One Single Place
Now it is sufficient to keep ULT4DB2′s task definitions in one single place, i.e. in one single DB2 subsystem.

General Log Analysis
Former ULT4DB2 releases always expected the user to specify DB2 object names and analyzed the log, based on such object selections. Now it is also possible to specify a time interval, inspect the log for events during the interval and – for example – thus determine DB2 tables that have been modified during that time frame.

The IDUG DB2 Tech Conference in Orlando, Florida is just around the corner! Meet UBS Hainer from April 29th – May 3rd, 2013, at booth 318.

Don’t miss our speaker slot on Wednesday, May 1st, at 1.00 pm. One of our seasoned DB2 mainframe developers will be holding a presentation on DB2 Data Management for z/OS and how different environments can be supplied with fresh data quickly, efficiently and automatically while saving resources. DB2 and IMS subsystem cloning, test data provision, in flight copies, anonymization are a few of the topics that our speaker will cover.

The presentation will be held by our in house z/OS DB2 expert Kai Stroh. Kai specializes in creating innovative new applications and utilities for DB2 – working onsite and remotely with international clients worldwide. He knows his way around DB2 dumps and the differences you need to consider when moving data and definitions across DB2 versions as well as inhouse DB2 subsystems.

‘Ask the developer’: We offer private one hour slots Monday through Friday during non-exhibit times. Email Susanne Tursman (s.tursman@ubs-hainer.com) to book your Q&A session now and find out how to improve your specific Copy/Clone/Migrate/TDM projects.

IDUG Orlando at a Glance:

Vendor: UBS Hainer / ESAi
Booth: 318
Speaker slot: Wednesday, the 1st of May, 1.00 pm
Personal sessions: Every morning during non-exhibit hours

Please join us for our free Webinar and learn why companies like Home Depot, Volkswagen, Audi, Lincoln Financial and many others opted for the BCV solution.

The requirement to copy DB2 data has become an increasing concern in recent years. Whether providing test data for quality assurance or for application development, there is a need for an efficient and reliable tool to do the job.

Test and QA teams need up-to-date test data at an affordable price, but at the same time, they also need flexibility in regards to automatic adaption, conversion, renaming and DDL deviation handling.

With BCV5, we designed a tool to copy large amounts of DB2 data quickly and efficiently within a DB2 group or from sysplex to sysplex. BCV5 is commonly used to copy test data from a production environment to environments that serve quality assurance, acceptance testing and throughput capacity loading. Its high efficiency rating and low CPU time consumption allow it to be used both in ad-hoc daily work and on a nightly basis, without impacting critical operational windows. Once a copy task is defined it may be executed at any time under BCV5′s control or fully automated under an in-house scheduler.

BCV5 offers unmatched functionality, ease of use and savings of up to 90% in the areas of:

• Elapsed wall-clock time
• CPU time
• Staff time and effort

z/OS Library Validation and Software Asset Management

“Find out what’s needed. If you don’t use it, get rid of it”- still clichés in today’s computer budget meetings. With P-Tracker you have a software monitoring tool for z/OS mainframe systems that not only tells you which software products and inhouse modules have been truly accessed but how much they’re being used and by whom.

P-Tracker will ensure every module of every product and application you identify to it is monitored for usage on your z/OS system and sub-systems (CICS, IMS, ..). And you’ll know who’s using it. Knowing which modules are used means you know which features are used in your current systems, and which systems are obsolete.

If your job is to continue to reduce mainframe software costs at your organization, or look at options regarding system replacement costs, then P-Tracker automates the delivery of the current usage information you need to be in charge of negotiations:

• P-Tracker detects and identifies software products your installation isn’t using anymore, so you can cancel rental or maintenance on them, and cease supporting them.
• P-Tracker identifies the users of lightly used products, so you can find out if their software needs can be met in other ways.
• P-Tracker helps you find software that’s installed on the wrong system, so that you can remove it.
• P-Tracker finds all modules that are used to ensure that you will convert the right modules and features when migrating to new systems

We hope you find this product covers all areas required by your own internal review/audit. Should you or any of your staff have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us.

To learn more about P Tracker benefits, request your product demo or order a trial evaluation. See panel to your right for more information and product links.