DB2

Connect & Extract data from IBM DB2 databases

IBM DB2 is a family of data management products, including database servers, developed by IBM. Sling supports connecting to DB2 databases via ODBC with a built-in db2 template that provides optimized SQL syntax and type mappings.

Prerequisites: DB2 connections use ODBC under the hood. Make sure you have the ODBC driver manager installed on your system before proceeding. See the ODBC connection guide for general ODBC setup instructions and troubleshooting.

Setup

Before using DB2 connections, you must install the IBM DB2 ODBC driver for your operating system.

macOS

Download the Driver

Download the IBM Data Server Driver for ODBC and CLI from IBM Fix Central:

• Intel Macs: Download macos64_odbc_cli.tar.gz (Db2 11.5)

• Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3): Download the Db2 12.1 ARM64 driver package

Install the Driver

tar -xzf macos64_odbc_cli.tar.gz
cd odbc_cli/clidriver
./installDSDriver

Set Environment Variables

Add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bash_profile:

export DB2_CLI_DRIVER_INSTALL_PATH=/path/to/clidriver
export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=$DB2_CLI_DRIVER_INSTALL_PATH/lib:$DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH

Linux

Windows

Connection Properties

• conn_string (required) -> The ODBC connection string for DB2

• conn_template (required) -> Set to db2 to use the built-in DB2 template

Connection String Parameters

Common parameters for the DB2 ODBC connection string:

Parameter	Description
Driver	The ODBC driver name (e.g., {IBM DB2 DRIVER})
Hostname	The DB2 server hostname or IP address
Port	The DB2 server port (default: 50000)
Database	The database name
Protocol	Connection protocol (typically TCPIP)
UID	Username for authentication
PWD	Password for authentication

Using sling conns

sling conns set DB2 type=odbc conn_string='Driver={IBM DB2 DRIVER};Hostname=host.ip;Port=50000;Database=testdb;Protocol=TCPIP;UID=db2inst1;PWD=password;' conn_template=db2

Environment Variable

export DB2='{ type: odbc, conn_string: "Driver={IBM DB2 DRIVER};Hostname=host.ip;Port=50000;Database=testdb;Protocol=TCPIP;UID=db2inst1;PWD=password;", conn_template: db2 }'

Sling Env File YAML

See here to learn more about the sling env.yaml file.

connections:
  DB2:
    type: odbc
    conn_string: Driver={IBM DB2 DRIVER};Hostname=host.ip;Port=50000;Database=testdb;Protocol=TCPIP;UID=db2inst1;PWD=password;
    conn_template: db2

Replication Example

Here's an example replication configuration to extract data from DB2 to PostgreSQL:

source: DB2
target: MY_POSTGRES

defaults:
  mode: full-refresh
  object: public.{stream_table}

streams:
  # Extract entire table
  myschema.customers:

  # Extract using SQL query
  orders:
    sql: SELECT * FROM myschema.orders WHERE order_date >= '2024-01-01'
    object: public.orders

  # Extract specific columns
  products:
    sql: SELECT product_id, name, price FROM myschema.products
    object: public.products

Troubleshooting

Driver Not Found

If you receive a "driver not found" error:

1. Verify the driver is installed by checking the ODBC configuration:

   • Linux/macOS: Check /etc/odbcinst.ini or run odbcinst -q -d

   • Windows: Open "ODBC Data Sources" from Control Panel

2. Ensure the driver name in your connection string matches exactly (including brackets), e.g., {IBM DB2 DRIVER}

3. Verify environment variables are set correctly (DB2_CLI_DRIVER_INSTALL_PATH, LD_LIBRARY_PATH/DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH)

Connection Timeout

For slow connections, add timeout parameters to your connection string:

Driver={IBM DB2 DRIVER};Hostname=host.ip;Port=50000;Database=testdb;Protocol=TCPIP;UID=db2inst1;PWD=password;ConnectTimeout=30;

SSL/TLS Connections

For SSL-enabled DB2 connections, add security parameters:

Driver={IBM DB2 DRIVER};Hostname=host.ip;Port=50000;Database=testdb;Protocol=TCPIP;UID=db2inst1;PWD=password;Security=SSL;

If you are facing issues connecting, please reach out to us at [email protected], on discord or open a Github Issue here.