FAQs

This is a collection of frequently asked questions (FAQ) about the IBM® Db2® Warehouse as a Service service.

How do I sign up for Db2 Warehouse as a Service?

You can provision an instance of IBM Db2 Warehouse SaaS directly through the IBM Cloud® catalog. You can create a free IBM Cloud account and get an IBM Cloud credit of $200 that you can use towards IBM Db2 Warehouse SaaS.

How do I choose the Db2 Warehouse as a Service plan that's right for me?

IBM Db2 Warehouse SaaS offers several elastic data warehouse configurations to meet your workload requirements. For more information, see About.

How do I generate credentials for my instance?

  1. Log into IBM Cloud.
  2. Open your Resource list.
  3. Under Databases, locate your IBM Db2 Warehouse SaaS instance and click on the service name.
  4. Select the Service credentials tab > New credentials+ > Add in order to generate your service admin credentials.
  5. Expand View credentials, which displays your service connectivity information including your admin credentials (username and password).
  6. The admin credentials can be used to connect to both Db2 and the web console.

Now that I've generated credentials, how do I access my Db2 Warehouse as a Service instance?

You can access your IBM Db2 Warehouse SaaS instance through several methods, including a dedicated web console and a REST API. For more information, see Interfaces.

What's managed for me with Db2 Warehouse as a Service?

IBM handles all of the software upgrades, operating system updates, and hardware maintenance for your IBM Db2 Warehouse SaaS instance. IBM also preconfigures Db2 parameters for optimal performance across analytical workloads, and takes care of encryption and regular backups of your data.

The service includes 24x7 health monitoring of the database and infrastructure. In the event of a hardware or software failure, the service is automatically restarted. Because IBM Db2 Warehouse SaaS is a fully-managed SaaS offering, you do not get SSH access or root access to the underlying server hardware, and cannot install additional software.

Troubleshooting AWS‑specific issues

Why are manual changes to workload monitoring settings not retained on Db2 Warehouse on Cloud instances hosted on AWS?

On Db2 Warehouse on Cloud service instances hosted on AWS, manual changes to workload monitoring settings are not retained. For example, disabling activity data collection for a workload such as GGATE using:

ALTER WORKLOAD "GGATE" COLLECT ACTIVITY DATA NONE;

The setting is periodically overwritten (every 10 minutes or based on the configured collection interval).

Cause

This behaviour occurs due to recurring configuration resets when the Activity Event Monitor (RTMON_EVMON_ACTIVITIES) is enabled in AWS-hosted environments.

Workaround

To maintain selective disabling of activity data collection while keeping overall monitoring active:

  1. Create a stored procedure to check and update the workload’s activity data collection setting.
  2. Schedule an admin task to execute the procedure every minute.

This ensures the desired workload setting is reapplied automatically.

Notes

  • This issue is specific to Db2 Warehouse on Cloud instances hosted on AWS.
  • If you encounter similar behaviour, apply the workaround above.
  • Contact IBM Support if the problem persists.

Where can I find more information about Db2 Warehouse as a Service?

In addition to the IBM Cloud documentation site, there is a wide range of information about the underlying Db2 engine functionality in the Knowledge Center. Updates to the service are posted on our What's New page.

You can find pricing information and deploy a IBM Db2 Warehouse SaaS instance through the IBM Cloud catalog page for IBM Cloud. To learn more, contact IBM Sales.

Where can I find help for a problem that I'm having?

For information about posting questions on a forum or opening a support ticket, see Help & support.