Available with the IBM DB2®10.5 release, BLU Acceleration delivers unparalleled performance improvements for analytic applications and reporting using dynamic in-memory optimized columnar technologies. BLU Acceleration is one of the most significant pieces of technology that has ever been delivered in DB2 and arguably in the database market in general. This IBM® Redbooks® Solution Guide provides an overview of the DB2 with BLU Acceleration feature.

IBM DB2® with BLU Acceleration is a revolutionary technology, delivered in DB2 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows Release 10.5. Using dynamic in-memory columnar technologies, BLU Acceleration enables organizations to perform analytic queries at breakthrough speeds.

With query response times up to 100 times faster than earlier systems, BLU Acceleration provides a simple, fast, and easy-to-use solution for organizations that seek rapid access to business answers. Armed with this new information, organizations can lower costs and quickly gain an edge on competitors that are slower to draw insight from their data.

Yes, the industry is abuzz with discussion of in-memory columnar data processing. Yet BLU Acceleration offers much more. For example, it delivers significant improvements in database compression but does not require you to have all your data in memory.

Furthermore, BLU Acceleration is built directly into the DB2 kernel (see Figure 1). It is not just an additional feature; it is an integral part of DB2 and every part of DB2 is aware of it. BLU Acceleration still uses the same storage unit of pages, the same buffer pools, and the same backup and recovery mechanisms, so BLU Acceleration tables can coexist with traditional row tables in the same schema, storage, and memory, and you can query a mix of traditional row and BLU Acceleration tables at the same time.


Figure 1. DB2 10.5 engine with BLU Acceleration


Did you know?

BLU Acceleration from IBM differs from solutions that other vendors offer in that it allows the unified computing of online transaction processing (OLTP) and analytics data inside a single database. This helps remove barriers and speed results for users.


Business value

Although the cost of memory continues to fall, data growth is exponential, so analytics systems that require all data to be kept in memory are no longer practical. This is where BLU Acceleration technology enters the picture, delivering in-memory performance even when the need for active data is bigger than the available memory space.

Extends existing investments

DB2 with BLU Acceleration runs on existing infrastructure, helping to extend the return on investments that the organization has already made. With relatively loose hardware requirements, system configurations can be optimized to meet specific cost targets and service levels. As data volumes increase, the cost of manipulating each piece of the data decreases dramatically.

Customers can choose between IBM POWER or x86 processor architectures. In addition, Advanced Workload Management capabilities enhance transactional and analytics operations while supporting more concurrent users at higher service levels than alternative solutions.

Proven business support

BLU Acceleration runs on DB2, so it builds upon the business-proven performance, reliability, and security of the platform while adding its own unique memory management and query optimization features.

DB2 is used around the world for online transactional processing (OLTP) and online analytic processing (OLAP) workloads, with decades of high-availability performance and a reputation for flexible scalability, both up and out. DB2 has consistently recorded top results in industry-standard benchmark tests, with multiple 100 TB-and-larger systems in production use every day.

Easy to adopt and use

The real breakthrough in BLU Acceleration is in how easily organizations can adopt the technology. Competing solutions often require migration to new platforms, database software, and business applications, making the transition both costly and resource intensive. But, because BLU Acceleration is integrated into DB2, you can move into it at your own pace.

The move to column-based tables can be accomplished one at a time or all at once. For guidance, DB2 includes tools that help IT personnel assess the impact of using BLU tables in different workloads and analytical environments.


Solution overview

In introducing BLU Acceleration, IBM did not just bolt a new component onto DB2. Support for the new solution already existed within the DB2 engine, so there is no new skill gap for DBAs and developers to overcome.

Simply stated, you need only to install DB2 10.5 on a supported platform and enable a single configuration parameter to tell DB2 that you want to optimize the default settings for analytical workload characteristics. After you create your database, create your tables, and load the needed data using common DB2 tools; your workloads immediately run faster and without the need for SQL syntax or schema changes.

At the center of BLU Acceleration is a column-organized table store combined with actionable compression that operates on a column and page level to save storage space. The column organization eliminates the need for creating and maintaining secondary indexes and aggregates. In DB2 10.5, both column-organized and traditional row-organized tables can coexist in the same database.

DB2 with BLU Acceleration includes several features that work together to make it a significant advancement in technology: