Experience: Switching the laptop from Windows to Linux

Recently I started to use a Linux-based laptop computer for work, after many years on Windows XP. Over the past years most of my private activities (on another machine) have already been on Linux, so the changes were not that big. However, there are different requirements for a private environment (emails, pictures, some games, some videos, some word processing)  than for a business environment. My new system is now running on Ubuntu 9.10, my private machine is still on an older Mandriva.

The actual move was quick and included copying over all my two data directories with all kinds of documents and the Lotus Notes databases. I also needed some selected configuration files, but overall I was up and running again after about an hour.

The first trouble I had was to (persistently!) configure a two-screen environment with my laptop on the right and the monitor on the left. The default is the monitor on the right side. Depending on the hardware in the machine there are different tools to solve that. Just using the Display Preferences works fine now (most of the time).

On Windows I was a big user of hibernation and tried to avoid rebooting the machine as long as possible (2 months or longer). Hibernation is supported on Linux/Ubuntu, too, but it takes significantly longer to revive the machine than on Windows. Overall, the felt one or two minutes more is ok since it is once a day. After logging in I most of the time run into the issue that both screens display the same. Using Control+Alt+F1 and then Control+Alt+F7 switches to the correct settings. It took me a while to figure out this workaround.

As a heavy user of MS Powerpoint and MS Word I feared the switch to Lotus Symphony and OpenOffice.org the most based on experiences with my private computer. For most documents the import filters are "ok", but sometimes macros or special formatting does not work.
The biggest shock was to try to give a presentation without a presenter mode which Powerpoint has. However, after some research I found out that there is a suitable presenter console extension which seems to be even more powerful than the one in Powerpoint.

After few weeks with the new machine and OS environment, I am mostly fine as the problems above are so far the only ones I ran into. For most software there are Linux versions or suitable replacements. My USB UMTS stick for mobile Internet works (mostly? some speed issues) fine out of the box, DB2 is available on Linux (big surprise here, right?), and Firefox and Flash (here that, A!) work as well. And for one Windows-based program I had to make use of wine.

Is it worth switching? So far I would say it is a definitive yes.

Moving? Pack your tablespaces - Transportable tablespaces and schemas (sets)

Starting with DB2 9.7 FP2 it is possible to transport tablespaces and schemas. What does that mean? You take a backup image of an existing database and RESTORE the database schema(s) and associated tablespaces into another existing database.

The associated schemas and tablespaces are named a transportable set, neither of them can be partial. That is, you need all tablespaces that hold data of database objects for a given schema or given schemas as well as all schemas that have objects in the transported tablespace need to be restored. This is something to consider when planning new database layouts.

Sometimes mini-databases are realized as objects in dedicated schemas in a single database. With transportable sets, they can be moved across databases and servers.

Note that another method of moving data and schema information is db2move. db2move is based on using export and import or load and is utilizing IXF files for holding the data. In contrast, transportable sets (tablespaces and schemas) are enhancements to backup/restore.

Electrocardiography (ECG), Health Checks, Performance Expert, DB2, and Oracle

Earlier today I wrote about a 24 hour ECG. That got me thinking. Did you know that IBM Information Management Services actually offer health checks? You can have a "health" specialist (in this case not a physician!) look over your database installation. Like you would expect, if there are findings, recommendations are given and maybe a prescription is handed over.

Similar to the 24 hour ECG, there is also a product called DB2 Performance Expert that does exactly (and much more) what this wearable mini-computer does. It collects all the data points and lets you evaluate them, even assists you in that.

BTW: Some non-DB2 (but Oracle) customers come to see the health specialists, too. They are suffering from high costs and other issues. Read more about it here.

Learn about MySQL and DB2

When you work with database systems for a longer time it is always a good idea to step back from time to time and look at "your world" from some levels up (isn't it the season for that anyway?). Now there is a book that helps you to get a good overview of not just DB2, but also MySQL. Any idea what book I am talking about?

After some years since the first edition, IBM just updated the MySQL to DB2 Conversion Guide (a so-called Redbook - no Oracle involved). What is good about the book is that they start with a high-level introduction into DB2 9.7 with its architecture and database objects and components, the available tools and utilities, and different ways of accessing the data (APIs, languages, etc.). Thereafter, they focus on MySQL and give a similar introduction. Only if you understand your source and the target platform a migration can be planned well. The rest and biggest part of the 450+ pages then deals with the necessary steps to successfully convert an existing MySQL-based application to one running on DB2.

It is something worth reading. And if MySQL is/was not your world, maybe you are interested in reading the Oracle to DB2 Conversion Guide.

The last one

Sometimes it is hard to say goodbye, sometimes not. Sometimes you get used to something and cannot imagine a life without it. Anyway, the day has come to move on in a different, hopefully better way. No more of it for now. The experience is nice to have, but I hopefully can live without it.

After putting up some shelves and drawers over the last few weeks, it was time to unpack the remaining moving boxes. Some of them contained stuff we took with us from Germany to California and never touched (textbooks from the time at university). One box contained framed awards from the past few years (where do we put them?), books with my first conference papers, a newspaper from the day of our wedding. All is unpacked. Goodbye moving boxes, we have moved in. The last one is done...

Save Money, Get Promoted!!!

Many companies have programs for the continuous improvement of processes and operations. The idea is to save money, reach better quality, and move faster and smoother. Often, employees are given nice incentives to participate in such improvement programs, sometimes they get promoted for only a single brilliant idea.


Now, here is a (free!!!) advice. Don't try to win 10 million dollars in silly contests, but read the Redbook "Oracle to DB2 Migration: Compatibility Made Easy". You can even try out what you learned on the free DB2 Express-C. You will quickly understand how to save money, run database applications faster, and make DBA life simpler.

P.S.: Did I mention Award and Promotion...?

One year ago: Moving in

One year ago on a cold Wednesday morning "our" container arrived and we moved in our new passive house. This was after a 7 week journey by truck and train from San Jose, CA, to Houston, TX, then on with the Sealand Motivator to Bremerhaven, Germany, by train to the Ulm (Germany) container terminal and on by truck to Friedrichshafen.


Later that morning during the unloading, a customs inspector arrived for a 30 minute/40 EUR visit to make sure we didn't bring large quantities of Weber grills. We only had US junk bonds... :)

Our kids enjoyed having their toys back and all of us, after 7 weeks in hotels and with relatives, to sleep in our own beds again.

How to start a blog...?

"It was a cold and icy night in southern Germany..." are good words to describe what's going on outside (-10 degrees Celsius). Inside our passive house it is relatively warm (21 degrees). Yesterday has been a sunny day, bringing up the indoor temperatures and our mood. Right now I am in my small home office, taking a break from looking over DB2 pureXML code and working on product improvements. The vacation has been shorter than expected, but it was good to relax a little bit from traveling Europe to bring pureXML to IBM customers. It was the first real time out after moving from the US to Germany in March.

I hope that moving forward I have enough time to write about work and life. Enjoy.

For the German audience:
Wie soll mein ein Blog beginnen? Schreibt man ueber die amerikanische Tastatur und die Probleme mit den deutschen Umlauten? Ueber das Klima im Passivhaus bei den gerade vorherrschenden eisigen Temperaturen in Deutschland (ja, ich vermisse Kalifornien ein wenig)? Oder wie DB2 pureXML bei Kunden eingesetzt wird und was es an Neuerungen gibt? Ich werde versuchen, von alldem in der Zukunft zu schreiben, nicht aber mit dem ersten Eintrag.

Fuer die Zukunft ein hoffentlich gutes Lesen.