Instances - DB2

Overview

You must create a DB2 instance from the CommCell Browser as soon as you install the DB2 iDataAgent. This allows you to perform a backup on the DB2 database.

See Instances for an overview of Instances. Given below is a list of what you need to provide before creating a DB2 instance.

Name of the instance
Windows User account that will be used for performing all system operations
Path to the DB2 home directory
Name of the storage policy that will be used by the backup set in the instance
Name of the storage policy for backups started by user commands
Name of the storage policy to be used for log files

Providing the latter two storage policies allows you to view and track the status of jobs in the Job Controller and Event Viewer.

Software compression for DB2 Command Line Backups can be enabled or disabled at the instance level. Software compression for data can be more granularly managed through the subclient level.

Each DB2 iDataAgent consumes one license during installation. Note that each license can accommodate multiple instances and databases.

After creating the DB2 instance, you must Create Backup Sets for the instance.

Once installed, the agent is configured and is therefore able to manage the data or volumes on the client computer. However, you can change certain aspects of the instance configuration to manage the data in the manner that best suits your needs.

You can view or change the instance configuration from the Instance Properties dialog box. The following information can be configured.

Use Encryption for Third-party Command Line Operations

When accessing the Encryption tab from the instance level, you are selecting either Network and/or Media-side encryption for third-party Command Line operations. When accessing this same tab from the subclient level, the settings selected apply only to the selected subclient content for operations run from the CommCell Console. (See Data Encryption for an overview.) See the configuration section for your agent for more information on this feature.

View and Change Instance-level Storage Policies

From the Storage Device tab, you can view or change the storage policy used to back up data via the command line for the selected instance, select a storage policy for backing up logs on the selected instance, or view or select a default storage policy for the selected instance. By defining a storage policy for command line backups, you can view and track the status of those same jobs in the Job Controller. If you redefine (i.e., select a new) storage policy for command line backups at the instance level, the storage policy will apply only to any new command line backup jobs (i.e., those backup jobs that you subsequently start). (See Storage Policies for an overview.) See the configuration section for your agent for more information on this feature.

User Accounts

You can change the Windows or Unix user accounts that are used by the system to access the application and in effect perform all data protection and recovery operations for the iDataAgent.

See the DB2 iDataAgents section in User Accounts and Passwords for more information.

User Security

You can perform the following functions:

Identify the user groups to which this CommCell object is associated.
Associate this object with a user group.
Disassociate this object from a user group.

For more information, see User Administration and Security.

Configuring User Accounts for Backups

The DB2 iDataAgent requires a user account that has sufficient privileges for the software to:

Perform backups and restores
Access Windows registry keys
Stop or Start DB2 services

By default, the db2 administrator user account is used for performing backups and restores. However, if you want to use a non-db2 admin user, make sure that the user has the following privileges:

On Unix clients, the user should be part of the user group assigned during the iDataAgent install.
On Windows clients, the user should be part of the local administrator group.
The user should be part of the SYSMAINT_GROUP and SYSCTRL_GROUP authorities.
DB2>db2 update dbm cfg using SYSMAINT_GROUP <user_name or user_group>

DB2>db2 update dbm cfg using SYSCTRL_GROUP <user_name or user_group>
The user should have dbadm privileges
DB2>db2 grant dbadm on database to <new_user>

You can change the user account at the Instance and Backup Set levels.

At the Instance Level

This user account will be used for all the backup sets within the instance. Configure the user account at this level if backup and restore operations will be conducted by a different user for each instance.

Navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | DB2.
Right-click the <Instance> and click Properties.
Click Change.
In the User Account box, type the name of the user account to be used for accessing the DB2 application.
In the Enter Password box, type the password for the user account.
In the Confirm Password box, retype the password, and then click OK.
Click OK.

At the Backup Set Level

In addition to configuring the user account at the instance level, you can also configure a different user account for a specific backup set within the instance.

When you modify the user account for an instance, the new user account will be used for the subsequent new backup sets created within the instance. The existing backup sets however will continue to use the earlier user account unless modified manually.

Use the following steps to change the user account for a specific backup set:

Navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | DB2 | <Instance>.
Right-click the <backup set> and click Properties.
Select the Connect as a Different user checkbox.
Click Change.
In the User Account box, type the user account to be used for accessing the DB2 application.
In the Enter Password box, type the password for the user account.
In the Confirm Password box, retype the password, and then click OK.
Click OK.