DB2 Audit Facility Configuration Tips
By Tom Nonmacher
The DB2 Audit Facility is an integral part of the IBM DB2 database that allows database administrators (DBAs) to track and record activities within the database. It serves as an essential tool for DBAs to monitor data access, authorization changes, SQL errors, and much more. This post aims to provide tips and guidance on optimizing the configuration of the DB2 Audit Facility to improve its efficiency and the overall security of your DB2 database.
The first step to configuring your DB2 Audit Facility is to determine what you want to audit. DB2 allows you to audit a wide range of database activities, including data access, system administration, security changes, and user management. Once you have decided what to audit, you can enable auditing for these categories using the AUDIT command in DB2.
-- Enable auditing for DATA ACCESS and CONTEXT
UPDATE DATABASE CONFIGURATION FOR dbname
SET AUDIT EVENTS = DATA ACCESS:CONTEXT:FAILURE;
-- Add
after each line to simulate line breaks
After enabling the necessary audit categories, it is important to configure the audit buffers. The buffer size impacts the performance of the audit facility, and configuring it appropriately can optimize auditing performance. The AUDIT_BUF_SZ configuration parameter determines the size of the audit buffer. A larger buffer reduces the frequency of audit writes but consumes more memory.
When it comes to securing your database, it's not just about DB2. SQL Server 2019, MySQL 8.0, Azure SQL, and Azure Synapse also offer robust auditing features. For instance, SQL Server 2019 provides a SQL Server Audit feature that helps track and log events that occur on the server. Similarly, Azure SQL and Azure Synapse offer Auditing for Azure SQL Database and Azure Synapse Analytics, providing a wide array of auditing capabilities.
In SQL Server 2019, you can create a Server Audit and Server Audit Specification to define what actions you want to audit. The Server Audit defines where the audit logs are written, while the Server Audit Specification defines the actions to be audited.
-- Create a Server Audit in SQL Server
CREATE SERVER AUDIT MyServerAudit
TO FILE (FILEPATH = 'C:\SQLAuditLogs\')
-- Create a Server Audit Specification
CREATE SERVER AUDIT SPECIFICATION MyAuditSpec
FOR SERVER AUDIT MyServerAudit
ADD (DATABASE_OBJECT_ACCESS_GROUP)
WITH (STATE = ON);
-- Add
after each line to simulate line breaks
In conclusion, configuring your DB2 Audit Facility and other database auditing tools effectively is crucial for monitoring database activities and maintaining database security. It is important to understand the specific auditing requirements of your database and configure the audit settings accordingly. With the right configuration, the DB2 Audit Facility and other auditing tools can provide valuable insights into your database activities and help you identify and address security risks.