ISBN:0130913669Amazon.com
IBM's DB2 Universal Database has a large following of corporate users--which means information technology professionals eager to sell their services to such companies--who can profit by knowing how to set up and use DB2. The easiest way to pass sniff tests in the search for a DB2 administration job is to have your certification papers in hand. DB2 Universal Database v7.1: Database Administration Certification Guide is meant to help you pass two of IBM's three DB2 certification exams. Coverage is sufficiently wide-ranging and deep (this is a large book) that you can continue to use the book as a reference once you've passed the exams.
Baklarz and Wong--both members of IBM's DB2 team--document the subject fully, don't cover test-taking strategies, and avoid limiting themselves to subjects known to appear on the exams. Indeed, except for some sample questions in an appendix, you wouldn't know that this is an exam-prep book at all (which is good, because knowledge-gathering is the best exam preparation of all. The book explains DB2 with the proven technique of what and why, shows how to do it (and illustrates the process with listings and screen shots), and then recaps what went on in the process. It's an effective approach that DB2 administrators will like. --David Wall
Topics covered: The published scope of the DB2 Family Fundamentals exam and the DB2 for OS/2, Windows, Unix, and Linux Database Administration exam, including basic functionality and architecture, database objects, Structured Query Language (SQL), data maintenance, and backup. Though there's some mention of software development issues, this book doesn't cover the requirements of the DB2 Family Applications Development exam. /p>
Reviews From AMAZON.COM
Didn't Hit the High Notes
This book does have a solid base, and easily covers all of the requirements for the DB2 Fundamentals exam. However, it begins to come up short for the DB2 Administrator test. Many areas are not particularly well explained, and the description of the DB2 product family is a complete hash job, and really leaves you none the wiser.
Perhaps the most annoying part of this book is that there is no public errata, and I quickly found two errors. Given that this is a certification book, it's crucial that it's accurate. The author e-mailed me and pointed out that the mistakes were corrected for the Version 8 book, and that the publishers didn't give them any web space for an errata.
Overall, a good book. However, a book written by IBMers on an IBM product for an IBM exam should be final word on the subject. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and I would suggest looking at the 'All in One' Gold books.
Don't rely on this to master the material
I used this book to prepare for the 512 and 513 exam as well as a prerequisite to attending the CF231 DB2 Database Administration Workshop. The book worked well to get a slight head start on the class. However, it does not prepare you to do well for the 512 exam (took and passed yesterday, but am not pleased w/ the score). The sample questions were woefully inadequate. There were a ton of questions that were not addressed at all in the material and you really need a much better understanding of SQL than the book provides. I'm taking the 513 exam next Monday, and am planning to study other material before then.