CASCON, DeveloperWorks, and half-year mark at IBM (part 1)

Where did the time go? It certainly doesn't feel like 4 months since my last blog entry...

So in the past 4 months, I've been working on multiple versions of process-based and thread-based workload drivers in C and Java for DB2. The drivers forked off or threaded off their workers to perform various queries, and reported back to the database how many read/write/total queries their workers performed per second. Their primary usage was to demonstrate what will be DB2v9.8's ability to balance workload, among other things.

As part of the DB2 + system performance monitoring, I also wrote some perl scripts to write results of various system commands to the database. I think one of the hardest parts for both the perl script and C programs, was how to get them working properly on various distributions of Linux as well as AIX. Drivers didn't install the same way, they didn't run the same way, some modules just weren't supported, etc.

The demonstration was performed through the Technology Explorer, where I helped build the control panel to start/stop/modify the workload, as well as graph the number of transactions(queries), for a visual representation of the data for clients. My team made videos of the various scenarios to exhibit at IOD (Information on Demand) at Las Vegas last week, which was quite a success.

I've also been working on setting up a Linux server for our team, which will serve as a SVN server, web server, Trac server, and team database (DB2) server. Prior to coming to IBM, I'd had absolutely zero experience with any kind of server, so this was a new and interesting experience for me. I checked out 3 books from the library, pored over pages and pages through the internet, learning what the necessary parts were, how to install them, how to configure them, and why they weren't working. It's difficult finding the right answer when there are so many linux distros out there, but I feel I've learned a lot about Linux in general, and just today, I helped someone set up their Trac server to work with IBM's LDAP. The server set-up is almost done, and I'm now writing tutorials and scripts to make maintenance easier for both users and the administrator.