Administration Guide

Chapter 17. Scaling Your Configuration

You may find that the size of your configuration is not appropriate for your needs. You may have tried increasing your configuration memory, or storage capacity, or both, but this has not provided you with sufficient improvement to meet your current or future needs.

You should consider scaling your configuration as discussed in the remainder of this chapter if:

• You had a single-partition configuration with a single processor that was being used to its maximum capacity. As a result, you have decided to change configurations and have:

  • Determined a symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) configuration is your best choice for a new environment. You perhaps made this choice because you want to take advantage of the processing power available with more than one processor. Each processor shares memory and storage system resources. All of the processors are within one system, so there are no additional considerations such as communication lines between systems, perhaps no additional administration staff to support any new systems, and coordination of tasks between systems is not an issue. DB2 Universal Database supports this environment.

  • Determined a partitioned database configuration is your best choice for a new environment. You perhaps made this choice because you want to take advantage of the processing power available with more than one processor that is physically separate from the first. Each processor has its own memory and storage system resources without having to share with the other processor. While you may have the additional considerations mentioned above (communications, staff, and coordination of tasks), there are advantages to this choice such as the ability to balance data and user access across more than one system. DB2 Universal Database supports this environment.

• You currently have a SMP configuration and you are planning to add one or more additional processors. In this case, you are already familiar with those considerations associated with this type of environment. By adding one or more additional processors, you are simply adding complexity to your environment without adding new considerations. DB2 Universal Database supports this environment.

• You have a partitioned database configuration and you are planning to add one or more additional database partitions. In this case, you are already familiar with those considerations associated with this type of environment. By adding one or more additional database partitions, you are simply adding complexity to your environment without adding new considerations. DB2 Universal Database supports this environment.

• You have a partitioned database configuration and you are planning to add one or more additional database partitions each of which may be in a SMP configuration. DB2 Universal Database supports this environment.

When you scale your system by changing the environment, you should be aware of the impact that such a change can have on your database procedures such as backing up and restoring the database.

When you add a new database partition, you cannot drop or create a database until the procedure is complete, and the new server is successfully integrated into the system.

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