Configuring and testing DB2 UDB 7.1

Before you can run WebSphere Application Server, you must create a DB2 UDB instance and the database named was, which WebSphere Application Server uses.

Creating a database instance

Perform the following steps to create the resources required by a DB2 instance and to create the instance:

  1. Ensure that you are logged into the machine with superuser (root) privileges.
  2. Invoke SMIT to create an administrative group for DB2 (named db2adm for this example), by entering the following command: # smit mkgroup
  3. On the Add a Group screen, do the following:
    1. In the Group NAME field, type db2adm.
    2. Click OK. When this process is complete, exit from SMIT.
  4. Create a user to administer the DB2 instance (named db2inst1 for this example), by entering the following command: # smit mkuser
  5. In the Add a User screen, complete the steps below. Note that the values that you add for the HOME directory and Initial PROGRAM fields can differ from those shown here.
    1. In the User NAME field, type db2inst1. Note that the user name you specify here identifies the database instance owner. When you install WebSphere Application Server you will specify this user name for the database user ID.
    2. In the Primary Group field, type db2adm.
    3. In the HOME directory field, type /home/db2inst1.
    4. In the Initial PROGRAM field, type /usr/bin/ksh.
    5. Click OK. When this process is complete, exit from SMIT.
  6. Assign an initial password for user db2inst1 by entering the following command: # smit passwd
  7. In the Change a User's Password screen, do the following:
    1. In the User NAME field, type db2inst1 and click OK.
    2. In the Change a User's Password pop-up window, type the new password for user db2inst1. For this example, use the password changeme and press Return. Note that DB2 requires a password of 8 or fewer characters.
    3. You are prompted to enter the new password again. Type changeme and press Return. When this process is complete, exit from SMIT.
  8. Ensure that the user root is a member of the db2adm group by entering the command: # smit user
  9. From the Users screen menu, choose Change / Show Characteristics of a User.
  10. In the Change / Show Characteristics of a User pop-up window, type root in the User NAME field, and click OK.
  11. In the Change / Show Characteristics of a User screen, do the following:
    1. In the Group SET field, ensure that the group db2adm is included by clicking the field and scrolling to the end of the entries. If db2adm is not listed, append it to the list of entries.
    2. Click OK. When this process is complete, exit from SMIT.
  12. Create a database instance (named db2inst1 in this example) by entering the following command: # /usr/lpp/db2_07_01/instance/db2icrt -u db2inst1 db2inst1

    Note that you may get an error message stating that your machine is out of space. Increase the free space in the /home directory.

  13. Create symbolic links from the home directory of the instance to the DB2 installation directory by entering the following command: # /usr/lpp/db2_07_01/cfg/db2ln
  14. Configure the instance owner (db2inst1 in this example) to run the db2profile script on startup:
  15. Configure root to run db2profile on startup. This is required to install and run WebSphere Application Server.

Creating and configuring a database for WebSphere Application Server

Perform the following steps to create a database named was and set its DB2 application heap size:

  1. Log in as the DB2 instance owner named db2inst1, which was defined in the steps above. Note that when you log in as db2inst1, the command prompt changes from # to $ to indicate a change in your login identity.
  2. If this is the first time that you have authenticated as the DB2 instance owner, you are prompted to change the password. Type in a new password and press Return. Note that DB2 requires a password of 8 or fewer characters.
  3. When prompted, type the new password again and press Return.
  4. To ensure that the DB2 environment has been set correctly, verify the value of the DB2INSTANCE environment variable by issuing the following command. The value returned should be db2inst1: $ env | grep DB2INSTANCE
  5. Enter the following command to start DB2: $ db2start
  6. Enter the following command to create a database named was. This process can take several minutes. $ db2 create database was
  7. Enter the following command to set the application heap size: $ db2 update db config for WAS using applheapsz 256
  8. Stop and start the database for your changes to take effect. If an application heap size of 256 does not work for your system, increase it to 512.

It is recommended that you set up the database manager to use TCP/IP to remotely connect to WebSphere. Note that if you are using a local DB2 database with WebSphere Application Server (for example, both DB2 and WebSphere Application Server are installed on the same machine) all of the steps in the following procedure will be performed on the same machine:

  1. On the server machine, log in as the DB2 instance owner. (Note that, in these steps, the server and client may be the same machine.) Then, do the following:
    1. Set DB2COMM to TCP/IP using a command such as the following: db2set DB2COMM=tcpip
    2. Open an editor on the /etc/services file. If it does not specify DB2 connection and interrupt service ports, then add lines such as the following to specify the ports: server1 50000/tcp # DB2 connection service port server1i 50001/tcp # DB2 interrupt connection service port
    3. Update the database manager configuration:
      db2 update dbm cfg using svcename <DB2_connection_service_port>

      For DB2_connection_service_port, specify the name used in the /etc/services file (for example, server1).

  2. On the client machine:
    1. Catalog the node using a command such as the following:
      db2 catalog tcpip node node1 remote <hostname> \
      server <DB2_connection_service_port>
    2. Catalog the database:
      db2 catalog database was as wasAlias at node node1
  3. Stop and start DB2.

Verifying installation of DB2 UDB 7.1

To demonstrate that DB2 is functioning correctly, create a sample database and then compile and execute a Java application that accesses this database. The steps below establish that the correct environment is available for DB2 and the IBM JDK, and that the JDBC driver is accessible from a Java application. Perform the following steps to create the sample database and compile and run the Java application:

  1. Log in as the DB2 instance owner (the value that you specified for the User Name option in Step 5 in "Creating a database instance"). Note that when you log in as the instance owner, the command prompt appears as $, rather than #, to indicate your login identity.
  2. If this is the first time that you have authenticated as the DB2 instance owner, you are prompted to change the password. Type in a new password and press Return. Note that DB2 requires a password of 8 or fewer characters.
  3. When prompted, type the new password again and press Return.
  4. To ensure that the DB2 profile has been set correctly, search the environment for the value of DB2INSTANCE by entering the following command. The value returned must be the instance owner name (the value that you specified for the User Name option in Step 5 in "Creating a database instance"): $ env | grep DB2INSTANCE
  5. Enter the following command to create the sample database. This process can take several minutes to complete. $ db2sampl
  6. Compile an example Java application, placing the resulting class file in the local directory, by entering the following command: $ javac -d . sqllib/samples/java/DB2Appl.java
  7. Start DB2 by entering the following command: $ db2start
  8. Execute the sample by entering the following command: $ java DB2Appl

    Your output appears like the following:

    Retrieve some data from the database... Received results: empno= 000010 firstname= CHRISTINE empno= 000020 firstname= MICHAEL empno= 000030 firstname= SALLY . . . Update the database... Changed 1 row.
  9. To log out, enter control-D (^D) at the command prompt.

Verifying connection to the was database

To verify connection to the was database, perform the following steps:

  1. Log in as the DB2 instance owner (the value that you specified for the User Name option in Step 5 in "Creating a database instance"). Note that when you log in as the instance owner, the command prompt appears as $, rather than #, to indicate your login identity.
  2. Enter the command: $ db2 connect to was

    Your output appears like the following (assuming an instance name of db2inst1):

    Database Connection Information
    
         Database server        = DB2/6000 7.1.0  
         SQL authorization ID   = DB2INST1
         Local database alias   = WAS
  3. To log out, enter control-D (^D) at the command prompt.