DB2 for IBM i journal replication captures only the changes as they occur on the database and sends them to all targets using the SymmetricDS tool. Journal-based change capture creates less impact on the source database while still achieving a reliable replication use case.
Popular Use Cases
- Cross Platform – Move data to a relational database such as Postgres, SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL and more.
- Data Warehouse – Setup a new data warehouse or data lake in the cloud.
- Analytics – Move data to one of the many cloud based platforms dedicated to analytics and reporting.
DB2 for IBM i Journal Setup
If you do not already have journaling setup for your application tables this will need to be done prior to replication. See the SymmetricDS documentation for details.
DB2 for IBM i SymmetricDS Documentation
DB2 for IBM i Journal Permissions
Grant USE authority to the journal and to all requested journal receivers.
Setup journal table images with the IMAGES(*BOTH)
so that updates will contain old and new data. Without this changes to primary keys will not be replicated because the old ID is not provided in the journal and no update will be performed.
SymmetricDS Setup to Replicate DB2 for IBM i
In order to capture changes in DB2 for IBM i, setup a SymmetricDS node as a source with the following values. Changes will need to be made to provide your proper credentials such as hostname, database name, user, and password.
After connecting to the DB2 for IBM i database, provide the journal name that contains the changes as well as the library this journal is located.
Connect a target database after completing the connection setup for the DB2 for IBM i source database. Next, select tables for replication using the add table wizard. Finally, perform an initial load to send the existing data from the DB2 for IBM i to the target systems.
For more details on setting up the target node and tables to replicate watch this introductory video: Setting up your first sync scenario