Use Current Db2 for z/OS Data on Cloud, Without Direct Mainframe Access and Without Loosing Control Over Your Data
A Db2 for z/OS environment is usually very strictly managed, both from a security and from a workload perspective. You don’t just add adhoc workloads to such environments — every application and workload is carefully sized, planned and accounted for. For very good reasons: Db2 for z/OS hosts the core business data of large parts of the banking, insurance and retail industry. These systems are as serious as it can get, so every change or additional work you put on an existing system needs careful planning, testing and validation. Also, data on Db2 for z/OS is usually very sensitive and must be strictly protected and secured, every access must be logged and full data lineage must be ensured when data is copied or moved.
This all sounds like the best option you have to to build applications that use Z data is to run them on the mainframe itself. Which is true. Data wont leave platform in this case, so thats the easiest option to keep security, governance and lineage as tight and easy as possible.
However, I want to introduce you to a second option: build your application and services on a cloud platform of your liking (AWS, Azure, IBM, or OpenShift on prem), and co-locate your Db2 for z/OS data using a service called Data Gate.
Data Gate implements the first part: it enforces encryption, and uses a high-throughput, asynchronous data synchronisation technology to keep tables from Db2 for z/OS synchronised with a copy in Db2 for Linux.
This not only achieves the aforementioned co-location of your data and application, and the manifold benefits that come with that, but also allows you to register the database connection and all data assets (tables) under it in a Catalog that provides the second part: security, governance, and data lineage across all users and accesses of your data assets.
Whats more, Cloud Pak for Data offers a range of other services that can easily use your Db2 for z/OS data once its registered on the platform. I have recorded a 16 minute demo that hopefully gives you a better impression of what I mean with that.
For more details on how the Catalog can help you with governance, lineage, policy enforcement and more, Lena has an excellent blog with more details: https://medium.com/@lwoolf_91808/surface-mainframe-data-without-moving-it-off-the-platform-3632e867012d
I hope Data Gate and its integration with the Catalog will help to make the mainframe and Db2 for z/OS look a bit less scary and unapproachable.
Our goal is to make Z data more accessible to non-Z users in a self-service manner, but not compromise on any of the reason why you chose Z as the home for this data in the first place: security, high-availability, lineage and governance across all its uses.
