Common tasks for databases - Amazon Relational Database Service
Creating a databaseConfiguring settings for a databaseModifying database parametersConfiguring log retentionListing log informationUsing fine-grained access control (FGAC)Deactivating a databaseActivating a databaseReactivating a databaseDropping a databaseBacking up a databaseCopying archive logs to Amazon S3Restoring a databaseListing databasesCollecting information about databasesForcing applications off of databasesGenerating performance reportsGenerating db2exfmt reports
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Common tasks for databases

You can create, drop, or restore databases on your RDS for Db2 DB instance. Creating, dropping, or restoring databases requires higher-level SYSADM authority, which isn't available to the master user. Instead, use Amazon RDS stored procedures.

You can also perform common management tasks such as monitoring, maintenance, and the collection of information about your databases.

Creating a database

To create a database on your RDS for Db2 DB instance, call the rdsadmin.create_database stored procedure. For more information, see CREATE DATABASE command in the IBM Db2 documentation.

Note

If you plan on modifying the db2_compatibility_vector parameter, modify the parameter before creating a database. For more information, see Setting the db2_compatibility_vector parameter.

To create a database

  1. Connect to the rdsadmin database using the master username and master password for your RDS for Db2 DB instance. In the following example, replace master_username and master_password with your own information.

    db2 "connect to rdsadmin user master_username using master_password"

  2. Create a database by calling rdsadmin.create_database. For more information, see rdsadmin.create_database.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.create_database(
    'database_name',
    'database_page_size',
    'database_code_set',
    'database_territory',
    'database_collation',
    'database_autoconfigure_str',
    'database_non-restrictive')"

  3. (Optional) Create additional databases by calling rdsadmin.create_database for each database you want to create. Each Db2 DB instance can contain up to 50 databases. For more information, see rdsadmin.create_database.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.create_database('database_name')"

  4. (Optional) Confirm that your database was created by using one of the following methods:

    • Call rdsadmin.list_databases. For more information, see rdsadmin.list_databases.

    • Run the following SQL command: 

      db2 "select varchar(r.task_type,25) as task_type, r.database_name, 
    varchar(r.lifecycle,15) as lifecycle, r.created_at, r.database_name,
    varchar(bson_to_json(task_input_params),256) as input_params, 
    varchar(r.task_output,1024) as task_output 
    from table(rdsadmin.get_task_status(null,null,'create_database')) 
    as r order by created_at desc"

Configuring settings for a database

To configure the settings for a database on your RDS for Db2 DB instance, call the rdsadmin.set_configuration stored procedure. For example, you could configure the number of buffers or buffer manipulators to create during a restore operation.

To configure settings for a database

  1. Connect to the rdsadmin database using the master username and master password for your RDS for Db2 DB instance. In the following example, replace master_username and master_password with your own information.

    db2 "connect to rdsadmin user master_username using master_password"

  2. (Optional) Check your current configuration settings by calling rdsadmin.show_configuration. For more information, see rdsadmin.show_configuration.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.show_configuration('name')"

  3. Configure the settings for the database by calling rdsadmin.set_configuration. For more information, see rdsadmin.set_configuration.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.set_configuration(
    'name',  
    'value')"

Modifying database parameters

Amazon RDS for Db2 uses three types of parameters: database manager configuration parameters, registry variables, and database configuration parameters. You can update the first two types through parameter groups and the last type through the rdsadmin.update_db_param stored procedure.

Note

You can only modify the values of existing parameters. You can't add new parameters that RDS for Db2 doesn't support.

For more information these parameters and how to modify their values, see Amazon RDS for Db2 parameters.

Configuring log retention

To configure how long Amazon RDS retains log files for your RDS for Db2 database, call the rdsadmin.set_archive_log_retention stored procedure.

To configure log retention for a database

  1. Connect to the rdsadmin database using the master username and master password for your RDS for Db2 DB instance. In the following example, replace master_username and master_password with your own information.

    db2 "connect to rdsadmin user master_username using master_password"

  2. (Optional) Check your current configuration for log retention by calling rdsadmin.show_archive_log_retention. For more information, see rdsadmin.show_archive_log_retention.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.show_archive_log_retention(
    ?,
    'database_name')"

  3. Configure log retention for the database by calling rdsadmin.set_archive_log_retention. For more information, see rdsadmin.set_archive_log_retention.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.set_archive_log_retention(
    ?,            
    'database_name',  
    'archive_log_retention_hours')"

Listing log information

To list details about archive log files, including such details as total storage size used, call the rdsadmin.list_archive_log_information stored procedure.

To list log information for a database

  1. Connect to the rdsadmin database using the master username and master password for your RDS for Db2 DB instance. In the following example, replace master_username and master_password with your own information.

    db2 "connect to rdsadmin user master_username using master_password"

  2. Return a list of log file information by calling rdsadmin.list_archive_log_information. For more information, see rdsadmin.list_archive_log_information.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.list_archive_log_information(
    ?,            
    'database_name')"

Using fine-grained access control (FGAC)

To use fine-grained access control commands to control access to table data in a database on an RDS for Db2 DB instance, call the rdsadmin.fgac_command stored procedure. You might want to use FGAC to limit access to data based on user roles or data attributes. For example, you could limit access to patient health care data based on the type of data or to certain medical care providers.

To use fine-grained access control to control access to table data in a database

  1. Connect to the rdsadmin database using the master username and master password for your RDS for Db2 DB instance. In the following example, replace master_username and master_password with your own information.

    db2 "connect to rdsadmin user master_username using master_password"

  2. Run various fine-grained access control commands by calling rdsadmin.fgac_command. For more information, see rdsadmin.fgac_command. 

    db2 "call rdsadmin.fgac_command(     
    ?,
    'database_name',
    'fgac_command')"

Deactivating a database

To deactivate a database on your RDS for Db2 DB instance, call the rdsadmin.deactivate_database stored procedure.

By default, Amazon RDS activates a database when you create a database on your RDS for Db2 DB instance. You can deactivate infrequently used databases to conserve memory resources.

To deactivate a database

  1. Connect to the rdsadmin database using the master username and master password for your RDS for Db2 DB instance. In the following example, replace master_username and master_password with your own information.

    db2 "connect to rdsadmin user master_username using master_password"

  2. Deactivate a database by calling rdsadmin.deactivate_database. For more information, see rdsadmin.deactivate_database.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.deactivate_database(    
    ?, 
    'database_name')"

Activating a database

To activate a database on a standalone RDS for Db2 DB instance, call the rdsadmin.activate_database stored procedure.

By default, Amazon RDS activates a database when you create a database on your RDS for Db2 DB instance. You can deactivate infrequently used databases to conserve memory resources, and then later activate a deactivated database.

To activate a database

  1. Connect to the rdsadmin database using the master username and master password for your RDS for Db2 DB instance. In the following example, replace master_username and master_password with your own information.

    db2 "connect to rdsadmin user master_username using master_password"

  2. Activate a database by calling rdsadmin.activate_database. For more information, see rdsadmin.activate_database.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.activate_database(
    ?, 
    'database_name')"

Reactivating a database

To reactivate a database on a replica source RDS for Db2 DB instance, call the rdsadmin.reactivate_database stored procedure. After you make changes to database configurations, you might need to reactivate a database on an RDS for Db2 DB instance. To determine if you need to reactivate a database, connect to the database and run db2 get db cfg show detail.

You can also call this stored procedure to reactivate a database on a standalone RDS for Db2 DB instance after you make changes to database configurations. Or, you could reactivate a database on a standalone RDS for Db2 DB instance by first calling the rdsadmin.deactivate_database stored procedure and then the rdsadmin.activate_database stored procedure. For more information, see Deactivating a database and Activating a database.

To reactivate a database

  1. Connect to the rdsadmin database using the master username and master password for your RDS for Db2 DB instance. In the following example, replace master_username and master_password with your own information.

    db2 "connect to rdsadmin user master_username using master_password"

  2. Reactivate a database by calling rdsadmin.reactivate_database. For more information, see rdsadmin.reactivate_database.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.reactivate_database(
    ?, 
    'database_name')"

Dropping a database

To drop a database from your RDS for Db2 DB instance, call the rdsadmin.drop_database stored procedure. For more information, see Dropping databases in the IBM Db2 documentation.

Note

You can drop a database by calling the stored procedure only if certain conditions are met. For more information, see Usage notes for rdsadmin.drop_database.

To drop a database

  1. Connect to the rdsadmin database using the master username and master password for your RDS for Db2 DB instance. In the following example, replace master_username and master_password with your own information.

    db2 "connect to rdsadmin user master_username using master_password"

  2. Drop a database by calling rdsadmin.drop_database. For more information, see rdsadmin.drop_database.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.drop_database('database_name')"

Backing up a database

To back up a database in your RDS for Db2 DB instance to Amazon S3, call the rdsadmin.backup_database stored procedure. For more information, see BACKUP DATABASE command in the IBM Db2 documentation.

Note

This stored procedure uses the integration with Amazon S3. Make sure that you have configured the integration before proceeding. For more information, see Integrating an Amazon RDS for Db2 DB instance with Amazon S3.

To back up a database

  1. Connect to the rdsadmin database using the master username and master password for your RDS for Db2 DB instance. In the following example, replace master_username and master_password with your own information.

    db2 "connect to rdsadmin user master_username using master_password"

  2. Create a VPC gateway endpoint for S3. If you already have a VPC gateway endpoint for S3, skip to Step 4.

    For an RDS for Db2 DB instance to be able to interact with Amazon S3, you must have a VPC and an Amazon S3 gateway endpoint for private subnets to use. For more information, see Step 1: Create a VPC gateway endpoint for Amazon S3.

  3. Confirm the VPC gateway endpoint for S3. For more information, see Step 2: Confirm that your VPC gateway endpoint for Amazon S3 exists.

  4. Back up a database by calling rdsadmin.backup_database. For more information, see rdsadmin.backup_database.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.backup_database(
    ?,
    'database_name', 
    's3_bucket_name', 
    's3_prefix', 
    'backup_type',
    'compression_option',
    'util_impact_priority', 
    'num_files',
    'parallelism',
    'num_buffers')"

  5. Terminate your connection.

    terminate

  6. (Optional) Confirm that the backup files were uploaded to your Amazon S3 bucket under s3_prefix/dbi_resource_id/db_name. If the files don't appear at s3_prefix/dbi_resource_id/db_name, check the status of backing up your database to identify any issues. For more information, see rdsadmin.get_task_status. If you can't resolve any identified issues, contact AWS Support.

  7. (Optional) After the backup to Amazon S3 completes, you can restore the backup to an RDS for Db2 DB instance or to another location such as a local server. For information about restoring to an RDS for Db2 DB instance, see Restoring a database.

Copying archive logs to Amazon S3

Db2 archive logs can now be copied from your RDS for Db2 DB instance to Amazon S3. The archive logs combined with native backup created using rdsadmin.backup_database can be used to restore and rollforward database to point in time on another RDS for Db2 instance or EC2 database.

Before configuring this feature, use the stored procedure rdsadmin.backup_database to set up RDS for Db2 database.

This feature operates at the RDS for Db2 DB instance level, though archive log copying can be enabled or disabled per database.

To configure archive log copying to Amazon S3

  1. Connect to the rdsadmin database using the master username and master password for your RDS for Db2 DB Instance. In the following example, replace master_username and master_password with your own information.

    db2 "connect to rdsadmin user master_username using master_password"

  2. Setup archive log backup to S3 by calling rdsadmin.set_configuration.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.set_configuration(
    'name',
    'value')"

    Example: 

    db2 "call rdsadmin.set_configuration('ARCHIVE_LOG_COPY_TARGET_S3_ARN', 'arn:aws:s3:::my_rds_db2_backups/archive-log-copy/')"

  3. Enable archive log copying for a database by calling rdsadmin.enable_archive_log_copy. Replace database_name with your database name.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.enable_archive_log_copy(?, 'database_name')"

  4. Similarly,to disable archive log copying for a database, call rdsadmin.disable_archive_log_copy.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.disable_archive_log_copy(?, 'database_name')"

  5. Confirm the archive log copy status by calling rdsadmin.list_databases.

    db2 "select * from table(rdsadmin.list_databases())"

    Sample output: 

    DATABASE_NAME   CREATE_TIME                DATABASE_UNIQUE_ID                                 ARCHIVE_LOG_RETENTION_HOURS ARCHIVE_LOG_COPY ARCHIVE_LOG_LAST_UPLOAD_FILE ARCHIVE_LOG_LAST_UPLOAD_FILE_TIME ARCHIVE_LOG_COPY_STATUS
--------------- -------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- ---------------- ---------------------------- --------------------------------- ------------------------------
RDSADMIN        2026-01-06-02.03.42.569069 RDSADMIN                                                                     0 DISABLED         -                            -                                 -
FOO             2026-01-06-02.13.42.885650 F0D81C7E-7213-4565-B376-4F33FCF420E3                                         7 ENABLED          S0006536.LOG                 2026-01-28-19.15.10.000000        UPLOADING
CODEP           2026-01-14-19.42.42.508476 106EEF95-6E30-4FFF-85AE-B044352DF095                                         0 DISABLED         -                            -                                 -
...

Restoring a database

To move a database from an Amazon S3 bucket to your RDS for Db2 DB instance, call the rdsadmin.restore_database stored procedure. For more information, see RESTORE DATABASE command in the IBM Db2 documentation.

To restore a database

  1. Connect to the rdsadmin database using the master username and master password for your RDS for Db2 DB instance. In the following example, replace master_username and master_password with your own information.

    db2 "connect to rdsadmin user master_username using master_password"

  2. (Optional) Check your current configuration settings to optimize the restore operation by calling rdsadmin.show_configuration. For more information, see rdsadmin.show_configuration.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.show_configuration('name')"

  3. Configure the settings to optimize the restore operation by calling rdsadmin.set_configuration. Explicitly setting these values can improve the performance when restoring databases with large volumes of data. For more information, see rdsadmin.set_configuration.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.set_configuration(
    'name',  
    'value')"

  4. Restore the database by calling rdsadmin.restore_database. For more information, see rdsadmin.restore_database.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.restore_database(
    ?,
    'database_name', 
    's3_bucket_name', 
    's3_prefix', 
    restore_timestamp, 
    'backup_type')"

  5. (Optional) Confirm that your database was restored by calling rdsadmin.list_databases and checking that the restored database is listed. For more information, see rdsadmin.list_databases.

  6. Bring the database back online and apply additional transaction logs by calling rdsadmin.rollforward_database. For more information, see rdsadmin.rollforward_database.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.rollforward_database(
    ?,
    'database_name',
    's3_bucket_name', 
    s3_prefix, 
    'rollforward_to_option', 
    'complete_rollforward')"

  7. (Optional) Check the status of the rdsadmin.rollforward_database stored procedure by calling the rdsadmin.rollforward_status stored procedure.

  8. If you set complete_rollforward to FALSE in the previous step, then you must finish bringing the database back online by calling rdsadmin.complete_rollforward. For more information, see rdsadmin.complete_rollforward.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.complete_rollforward(
    ?,
    'database_name')"

  9. (Optional) Check the status of the rdsadmin.complete_rollforward stored procedure by calling the rdsadmin.rollforward_status stored procedure.

Listing databases

You can list all of your databases running on Amazon RDS for Db2 by calling the rdsadmin.list_databases user-defined function.

To list your databases

  1. Connect to the rdsadmin database using the master username and master password for your RDS for Db2 DB instance. In the following example, replace master_username and master_password with your own information.

    db2 "connect to rdsadmin user master_username using master_password"

  2. List your databases by calling rdsadmin.list_databases. For more information, see rdsadmin.list_databases.

    db2 "select * from table(rdsadmin.list_databases())"

Collecting information about databases

To collect information about a database on a RDS for Db2 DB instance, call the rdsadmin.db2pd_command stored procedure. This information can help with monitoring your databases or troubleshooting issues.

To collect information about a database

  1. Connect to the rdsadmin database using the master username and master password for your RDS for Db2 DB instance. In the following example, replace master_username and master_password with your own information.

    db2 "connect to rdsadmin user master_username using master_password"

  2. Collect information about the database by calling rdsadmin.db2pd_command. For more information, see rdsadmin.db2pd_command.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.db2pd_command('db2pd_cmd')"

Forcing applications off of databases

To force applications off of a database on your RDS for Db2 DB instance, call the rdsadmin.force_application stored procedure. Before you perform maintenance on your databases, force applications off of your databases.

To force applications off of a database

  1. Connect to the rdsadmin database using the master username and master password for your RDS for Db2 DB instance. In the following example, replace master_username and master_password with your own information.

    db2 "connect to rdsadmin user master_username using master_password"

  2. Force applications off of a database by calling rdsadmin.force_application. For more information, see rdsadmin.force_application.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.force_application(     
    ?,
    'applications')"

Generating performance reports

You can generate performance reports with a procedure or a script. For information about using a procedure, see DBSUMMARY procedure ‐ Generate a summary report of system and application performance metrics in the IBM Db2 documentation.

Db2 includes a db2mon.sh file in its ~sqllib/sample/perf directory. Running the script produces a low-cost, extensive SQL metrics report. To download the db2mon.sh file and related script files, see the perf directory in the IBM db2-samples GitHub repository.

To generate performance reports with the script

  1. Connect to your Db2 database using the master username and master password for your RDS for Db2 DB instance. In the following example, replace master_username and master_password with your own information.

    db2 connect to rdsadmin user master_username using master_password

  2. Create a buffer pool named db2monbp with a page size of 4096 by calling rdsadmin.create_bufferpool. For more information, see rdsadmin.create_bufferpool.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.create_bufferpool('database_name','db2monbp',4096)"

  3. Create a temporary tablespace named db2montmptbsp that uses the db2monbp buffer pool by calling rdsadmin.create_tablespace. For more information, see rdsadmin.create_tablespace.

    db2 "call rdsadmin.create_tablespace('database_name',\
    'db2montmptbsp','db2monbp',4096,1000,100,'T')"

  4. Open the db2mon.sh script, and modify the line about connecting to a database.

    1. Remove the following line.

      db2 -v connect to $dbName

    2. Replace the line in the previous step with the following line. In the following example, replace master_username and master_password with the master username and master password for your RDS for Db2 DB instance.

      db2 -v connect to $dbName user master_username using master_password

    3. Remove the following lines.

      db2 -v create bufferpool db2monbp

db2 -v create user temporary tablespace db2montmptbsp bufferpool db2monbp

db2 -v drop tablespace db2montmptbsp

db2 -v drop bufferpool db2monbp

  5. Run the db2mon.sh script to output a report at specified intervals. In the following example, replace absolute_path with the complete path to the script file, rds_database_alias with the name of your database, and seconds with the number of seconds (0 to 3600) between report generation.

    absolute_path/db2mon.sh rds_database_alias seconds | tee -a db2mon.out

    Examples

    The following example shows that the script file is located in the perf directory under the home directory.

    /home/db2inst1/sqllib/samples/perf/db2mon.sh rds_database_alias seconds | tee -a db2mon.out

  6. Drop the buffer pool and the tablespace that were created for the db2mon.sh file. In the following example, replace master_username and master_password with the master username and master password for your RDS for Db2 DB instance. Replace database_name with the name of your database. For more information, see rdsadmin.drop_tablespace and rdsadmin.drop_bufferpool.

    db2 connect to rdsadmin user master_username using master_password

db2 "call rdsadmin.drop_tablespace('database_name','db2montmptbsp')"

db2 "call rdsadmin.drop_bufferpool('database_name','db2monbp')"

Generating db2exfmt reports

db2exfmt is a query performance analyzer tool that you can use to debug query performance issues in an RDS for Db2 database.

Prerequisites

Before using db2exfmt, ensure the following requirements are met:

Database access

  • Run db2exfmt only against user databases.

  • Cannot run db2exfmt against RDSADMIN. It will generate an authorization error (SQL0551N).

Client setup

  • The target RDS for Db2 database must be cataloged and accessible from the client machine where you run the db2exfmt command.

  • IBM client installations do not package the db2exfmt binary. A full Db2 installation is required, such as Db2 Community Edition.

Confirm that the db2exfmt binary is available on the client machine:

ls -l DB2_INSTALL_PATH/bin/db2exfmt
To run db2exfmt

  1. Create a shell script (for example, db2exfmt.sh) to run the db2exfmt tool.

    #!/bin/bash
MYUSER=master_username        # Master user name
MYPASS=master_password        # Master user password

DBNAME=database_name          # Database name
QRY=q1.sql                    # Filename that contains the SQL statement
OUTPUT_FL=my_db2exfmt.out     # Filename where db2exfmt output will be saved

echo "select * from MASTERUSER.NAMES ;" > $QRY

db2 connect to $DBNAME user $MYUSER using $MYPASS
db2 set current query optimization = 5
db2 set current explain mode explain
db2 -tvf $QRY
db2 set current explain mode no
db2exfmt -d $DBNAME -g TIC -w -1 -n % -s % -# 0 -u $MYUSER $MYPASS -o ${OUTPUT_FL}

    This script does the following:

    • Connects to the RDS for Db2 database

    • Sets the query optimization level

    • Enables explain mode to capture query execution plans

    • Executes the SQL query

    • Runs db2exfmt to generate a formatted analysis report

    For a complete list and explanation of db2exfmt command parameters, see db2exfmt - Explain table format command in the IBM Db2 documentation.

  2. Execute the script:

    $ ./db2exfmt.sh

Sample output:


   Database Connection Information

 Database server        = DB2/LINUXX8664 11.5.9.0
 SQL authorization ID   = MASTERUS...
 Local database alias   = UHPROD01

DB20000I  The SQL command completed successfully.
DB20000I  The SQL command completed successfully.
select * from MASTERUSER.NAMES
SQL0217W  The statement was not executed as only Explain information requests
are being processed.  SQLSTATE=01604

DB20000I  The SQL command completed successfully.
DB2 Universal Database Version 11.5, 5622-044 (c) Copyright IBM Corp. 1991, 2019
Licensed Material - Program Property of IBM
IBM DATABASE 2 Explain Table Format Tool

Connecting to the Database as user masteruser.
Connect to Database Successful.
Using SYSTOOLS schema for Explain tables.
Output is in my_db2exfmt.out.
Executing Connect Reset -- Connect Reset was Successful.

If SYSTOOLS.EXPLAIN* tables are not found on the target database, create the explain tables by running the following commands:

db2 -v CONNECT TO database_name user master_username using master_password
db2 -v "CALL SYSPROC.SYSINSTALLOBJECTS('EXPLAIN', 'C', CAST (NULL AS VARCHAR(128)), CAST (NULL AS VARCHAR(128)))"