Leveraging the power of IBM z14®, Db2 can use Huffman compression to reduce the space required for a table by using data compression. Compressing the data in a table space can significantly reduce the amount of disk space that is needed to store data and can help improve buffer pool performance. This new compression mechanism has been introduced by the IBM Db2 for z/OS lab in Db2 12 FL 504.
Customers may be wondering if the new Huffman compression for Db2 objects is valuable in their environment. There are many factors a DBA needs to consider while implementing compression in Db2. The introduction of Huffman compression is one more thing to consider. The goal here is to provide information to help the DBA make the right decision on compression in general and in particular Huffman compression.
CA Db2 Tools recently delivered PTF SO14029 to provide toleration support for Db2 objects compressed using Huffman. In addition, this PTF contains a suite of JCL, intended to help customers assess if Huffman compression will be beneficial in their Db2 environment. Two of our Db2 for z/OS SMEs, Toine Michielse and Kevin Harrison, have written a whitepaper regarding Huffman compression, which includes details on the usage of this JCL suite and the interpretation of the results.
Look at the White Paper in PDF format below.