IBM Db2 13 z/OS DBA Professional study plan

Map the Db2 13 for z/OS object hierarchy (storage group, database, table space, table, index) and draw it from memory without notes

Configure a scratch Db2 13 subsystem or sandbox and create partitioned table spaces with different page sizes, then verify allocations through catalog queries

Write and run catalog queries against SYSIBM.SYSTABLESPACE, SYSIBM.SYSTABLES, and SYSIBM.SYSINDEXES to confirm physical attributes of what you created

Explain the differences between segmented, partitioned-by-growth, and range-partitioned universal table spaces and pick the right one for three sample workloads

Design and implement referential integrity constraints and check constraints on a test schema, then test insert and delete behavior

Create and alter indexes (including index on expression and include-column indexes) and measure the effect on access path selection

Analyze RUNSTATS output and explain how COLGROUP statistics and histogram statistics influence the optimizer for skewed data

Draft a schema change procedure covering DDL versioning, pending alterations, and REORG requirements

Read EXPLAIN and PLAN_TABLE output for at least five queries and identify the chosen access path, join method, and sort behavior

Force alternative access paths with optimization hints or catalog statistics and compare predicted costs

Set up a monitoring baseline using Db2 statistics and accounting traces, and interpret key performance fields for CPU, getpage, and lock wait

Tune a deliberately slow query by adding an index or rewriting predicates, and document the measured before/after difference

Explain the Db2 log architecture (active logs, archive logs, BSDS) and describe what happens to each during a failure

Configure and test copy and recovery utilities in a sandbox, including inline image copies taken during REORG

Perform a point-in-time recovery of a table space and verify data consistency afterward

Interpret checkpoint and log-related statistics to spot recovery risk before an outage occurs

Compare conditional restart options and describe when each is appropriate after an abnormal termination

Design a backup strategy that balances full image copies, incremental copies, and log-based recovery against recovery time objectives

Describe data sharing considerations for recovery, including group attach and coupling facility structure failure scenarios

Practice recovering an index and a table space independently and confirm how Db2 handles index rebuild versus index recovery

Implement role-based authorization using roles, trusted contexts, and secondary authorization IDs, and test privilege inheritance

Explain and apply row and column access control with column masks and row permissions on a test table

Run LOAD, REORG, RUNSTATS, and UNLOAD utilities with appropriate parameters and verify output and catalog updates

Describe utility restart and termination behavior and the role of the Db2 utilities panel in managing concurrent utility jobs

Audit authorization failures and privilege escalation paths using catalog authorization tables and audit trace output

Configure audit trace classes for a specific compliance scenario and explain the performance tradeoff

Describe utility impact on availability, including when REORG with inline copy allows concurrent access and when it does not

Review Db2 13 changes relevant to security and utilities and note which affect existing procedures

Complete a full-length timed practice assessment across all four domains and score it by domain

Re-study the two weakest subareas identified by the practice assessment and re-test those areas

Write out from memory the catalog queries, recovery commands, and utility parameters you most often got wrong

Build a final one-page reference sheet covering access path rules, recovery decision points, and authorization model terms