How IBM i teams modernize Db2 databases, expand capacity, and deploy structural changes in minutes—not hours or days.

By Donna Westmoreland, Midrange Dynamics North America

The IBM i Database Challenge: Change Without Downtime

For many organizations with critical applications running on IBM i, Db2 database file changes are much needed—yet often delayed. Structural updates introduce risk, complex dependencies require extensive planning, and acceptable downtime windows are increasingly difficult to secure.

Traditional approaches can leave applications unavailable for hours or even days. As a result, performance improvements, new functionality, and modernization initiatives are postponed.

MDRapid Changes the Equation

Developed by Midrange Dynamics, MDRapid enables near-zero application downtime for Db2 for IBM i database file changes. IT teams can reorganize data, reclaim space, convert DDS files to SQL DDL, add or modify fields, perform field expansion, and implement SQL partitioned tables—while production applications remain online.

Deploying database changes requires only minutes of planned downtime.

Enormous Files? No Problem!

MDRapid is designed for high-volume, high-activity environments. Even multi-million and multi-billion record files can be converted or reorganized while users continue working.

All changes are executed in a safe staging environment. MDRapid builds the new version of the database files in parallel, keeping production files and applications untouched. Data copying and transformation can begin days, or even weeks, in advance, giving teams complete control over timing and execution.

Final cutover is fast and predictable, requiring only a brief application exit.

How MDRapid Preserves Data Integrity

MDRapid performs database transformations in a secure staging library. Live data is replicated while journal transactions are continuously monitored and applied to the new file version, ensuring consistency throughout the process.

Multiple copy threads allow administrators to control throughput and system impact. Index rebuilding occurs in the background, even for large tables, further minimizing downtime.

MDRapid validates indexes and views before deployment, identifies issues early, and supports concurrent updates across multiple libraries or schemas. Workload groups and subsystem controls limit the performance impact of background processing.

Hitting the 1.6 billion record limit? MDRapid enables seamless migration to SQL partitioned tables, expanding capacity by up to 256x with minimal disruption.

Advanced Field-Level Data Transformation

MDRapid supports column-level data transformation using standard SQL syntax during background copy operations. Developers can apply intrinsic SQL functions, user-defined functions, or custom logic inline—eliminating the need for external conversion programs.

This capability simplifies field expansions, data normalization, and format changes while reducing development time and deployment risk.

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Customer Use Case — Field Expansion Without Downtime

Scenario: A manufacturing company needed to expand multiple numeric fields in a high-transaction order file to support new pricing and forecasting requirements.

The Challenge: The file contained hundreds of millions of records and was accessed continuously by shopfloor and ERP applications. Traditional conversion would have required an extended outage.

The MDRapid Solution:

• Built a new SQL-based version of the file in a staging library
• Used MDTransform to expand fields and initialize new columns inline
• Replicated live journal activity during background copy
• Performed final cutover during a short maintenance window

The Result:

• Minutes of downtime instead of hours
• No application changes required
• Improved performance and future scalability

Reduce Risk with Fully Tested Deployments

MDRapid makes it easy to maintain isolated test environments that mirror production. Database changes are validated before deployment, dramatically reducing post-install issues.

Advanced pre-copy and post-copy actions allow teams to customize workflows. Tasks such as field encryption, table partitioning, or data conditioning can be executed before bulk copy begins, while post-copy actions streamline final synchronization.

During deployment, MDRapid automatically moves existing production tables to a backup library and promotes fully built tables—with data and indexes intact—into application libraries. Downtime is reduced to seconds.

Robust restart and rollback capabilities protect production environments. If interruptions occur, processing resumes from the last checkpoint, and original file structures can be restored if necessary.

Performance Control Built for IBM i

MDRapid provides granular CPU and job management to prevent resource contention. Administrators can define processor usage, limit concurrency, and pause or resume processing as needed.

Multiple concurrent job threads reduce preparation time by up to 70%, while separating copy and monitoring jobs optimizes memory and CPU utilization. In the event of an unplanned outage, processing can resume where it left off.

MDRapid integrates seamlessly with IBM i development tools, including green screens, RDI, Visual Studio Code, CL commands, and REST APIs.

A centralized console tracks progress across environments, displaying records processed, transformation status, and estimated completion times. Tested deployment processes can be reused across partitions for consistency.

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Why IBM i Teams Choose MDRapid

• Near-zero downtime for Db2 database changes
• Safe DDS to SQL DDL conversion
• Seamless field expansion and data transformation
• Support for SQL partitioned tables
• Built-in testing, restart, and rollback
• Designed specifically for IBM i

MDRapid Includes MDTransform

MDRapid includes MDTransform, a powerful data transformation engine that eliminates the need for complex SQL scripting.

MDTransform maps and manages database changes, generates SQL automatically, and supports anything achievable in an SQL INSERT statement. It simplifies field expansions, merges, field-type changes, and DDS-to-DDL conversions.

Transformation results are validated during compilation, allowing teams to review and adjust outcomes before installation—avoiding surprises at deployment time.

Automatically Build and Refresh Test Data

Reliable test data is critical for modernization projects. MDTransform uses Data Copy Templates to define which files and records are required.

Development and QA teams can refresh data across the same or different partitions, on demand or on a schedule. Templates can be reused, and column-level data masking protects sensitive information.

Modernization Without Compromise

IBM i organizations worldwide rely on MDRapid to modernize Db2 databases safely and efficiently. By making database changes predictable and routine, MDRapid supports continuous improvement without business disruption.

With MDRapid, what was once considered risky or impractical becomes part of everyday operations—enabling IBM i teams to move forward with confidence.