Tuning the system resources is a fourth way to optimize DB2 query response time. This entails adjusting the configuration parameters, memory allocation, and disk layout to improve database performance. The system resources can affect query response time by influencing the buffer pool hit ratio, lock contention, parallelism, and I/O throughput. To optimize the buffer pool size, use the MON_GET_BUFFERPOOL and MON_GET_TABLE functions to monitor the hit ratio and logical/physical reads, and adjust the size accordingly. To reduce lock contention, use the MON_LOCKWAITS and MON_LOCKS table functions to monitor wait time and escalation events, then adjust the lock escalation threshold. To improve parallelism, use CURRENT DEGREE or DFT_DEGREE to set degree of parallelism for each query/session, then use EXPLAIN or Visual Explain for the plan. However, parallelism has overhead so it should be used judiciously and not overload the system. To improve disk layout, use db2pd or db2dart to see extent map of each tablespace, then use REORG/REBALANCE/REDISTRIBUTE commands to reduce I/O contention. Factors you can optimize include: tablespace type (SMS or DMS) for space management/extent size; tablespace page size for row size/number of rows per page; container type (file or device) for file system/device characteristics; and striping for distribution/parallelism of I/O operations across multiple disks/controllers.