Getting Started with WebSphere Application Server

Appendix B – Up and running with DB2 229
B.5 The DB2 environment
Figure B.8 provides a quick overview of the DB2 environment.
Figure B.8 - The DB2 Environment
The figure illustrates a server where DB2 Express-C has been installed. The smaller boxes
in light green (Environment Variables, Database Manager Configuration File, Database
Configuration File, DB2 Profile Registry) are the different areas where a DB2 server can be
configured, and they will be explained in more detail in the next section. The larger dark
green box represents an instance which in this example has the name myinst.
An instance is an environment where database objects can be created. On the same
server, you can create several instances, each of which is treated independently. For
example, you can use an instance for development, another one for test, and another one
for production. Table B.1 shows some useful commands you can use at the instance level.
Note that the commands shown in this section can also be performed from DB2 GUI Tools.
Command
db2start
db2stop
db2icrt
db2idrop
Description
Starts the current instance
Stops the current instance
Creates a new instance
Drops an instance