DB2 Connect User's Guide

Sending Accounting Information to a DB2 for OS/390 Server

Many mainframe customers consider detailed accounting for resources that are used by different applications to be an important part of their operational procedures. DB2 for OS/390 provides extensive facilities for producing accounting reports that allow information systems departments to charge individual user departments for the mainframe resources they use. This process is often called chargeback accounting. DB2 Connect products allow for accurate accounting for the host resources used by the PC and UNIX applications using existing accounting reports and procedures.

DB2 Connect implements this feature in a flexible way by providing:

• A default accounting string for all usage generated by a particular DB2 Connect Enterprise Edition server.
• Two mechanisms for individual users or applications to specify the account to which their usage should be charged.

Setting the Accounting String

The default accounting string is set by the DB2 Connect workstation's dft_account_str configuration parameter. This default mechanism is useful for database clients that do not have the capability to forward an accounting string to DB2 Connect. For example, applications developed prior to Version 2 products.

There are two ways for client applications to override the default accounting string set at the DB2 Connect server:

• Using the Set Accounting String API: sqlesact()

  The sqlesact() API is called before the application connects to a database. You should use this method because:

  • Calling an API does not incur the cost of reading a registry value.
  • You do not need to call this API again unless you want to use a new accounting string for future connect requests. If you are using the registry value, you need to end the application process, redefine DB2ACCOUNT, and then restart the process.

  For more information on using this API, refer to the Administrative API Reference.

• Using the DB2ACCOUNT registry value at the client workstation.

  If the sqlesact() API is not called prior to the first database connect request, the DB2ACCOUNT registry value is read. The accounting string is used for all subsequent database connect requests.