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CICS Performance Monitor

anchor link Overview
anchor link CICS PM workstation client
anchor link CICS PM view sets
anchor link Enhancements in Release 2
anchor link Prerequisite PTFs
anchor link Presentations

Overview


IBM CICS(R) Performance Monitor for z/OS Version 1.2 (CICS PM) is a realtime performance management, monitoring and troubleshooting tool that supports IBM CICS Transaction Server for OS/390, Version 1.3 and IBM CICS Transaction Server for z/OS, Version 2.2.

CICS PM collects measurements for all CICS Systems resource, storage and task information. This data from multiple CICS regions is made available at a single point of access - the CICS PM workstation client. This client provides you with a user-friendly graphical interface to
  • Define and modify thresholds in multiple CICS regions
  • Monitor threshold status
  • Display alerts and their recent histories
  • Define historical task data collection criteria
  • Query historical task data using extensive filtering capabilities

This data, displayed by CICS PM workstation client, is enabled by CICS PM server, a supporting application installed in CICS TS. CICS PM server allows to create and modify the event threshold and history collection definitions in CICSPlex System Manager (CICSPlex SM), the complimentary component of CICS Transaction Server. CICS PM workstation client then retrieves the alert information from CICSPlex SM.

The CICSPlex SM Web User Interface can also be launched in context from the CICS PM workstation client to enable you to
  • perform real-time problem determination
  • make changes to key system and resource parameters
  • present historical task data

This functionality is enabled via CICS PM view sets. View sets are sets of views related to a single object class. CICS PM provides a comprehensive series of view sets specifically tailored for performance analysis and problem determination.


IBM CICS Performance Monitor for z/OS, V1.2 Architecture
IBM CICS Performance Monitor for z/OS, V1.2 Architecture



CICS PM builds on the systems management capabilities of CICSPlex System Manager (CICSPlex SM), which is an integral part of CICS Transaction Server. The CICSPlex SM component of CICS TS simplifies management of CICS systems, whether they are within one or more OS/390 or z/OS images, or concentrated in a Parallel Sysplex. It provides a single system image of CICS regions within enterprise, with the ability to manage those regions from a single point of control as though they were a single CICS region. This enables CICS PM to display all the critical information for all the CICS regions managed by CICSPlex SM in a single view, for faster problem determination.

For those CICS customers who are not currently using the CICSPlex SM component in CICS TS, CICS PM provides a simplified CICSPlex SM install and self-contained documentation providing all the information they need to easily set up a minimum CICSPlex SM configuration which will support CICS PM.

CICS Performance Analyzer can complement CICS Performance Monitor to provide capacity-planning capabilities. CICS Performance Analyzer is a separate offline performance analysis tool from IBM which enables you to produce a wide range of comprehensive, customizable reports about all aspects of your CICS systems. It also provides flexible data base capabilities for trending and capacity planning. CICS Performance Monitor and CICS Performance Analyzer, along with existing system management functions of CICS Transaction Server, can provide you with an effective solution to monitor and improve the productivity of your CICS systems and help plan capacity for future requirements.

If you are looking for an end-to-end performance monitoring solution, IBM provides a suite of tools for IBM Integrated Performance Management for zSeries. These tools enable you to monitor health of all IBM zSeries systems and applications. And ensure continuous application availability and improve business performance.

CICS PM workstation client
CICS Performance Monitor uses standard SMP/E for installation. CICS PM workstation client is also supplied on the product tape and is easily downloaded to a Windows workstation. It works with CICS PM server, supporting application, supplied as part of CICS PM and running in CICS Transaction Server.

The CICS PM workstation client provides:
  • the ability to create, discard, modify, and apply customer threshold definitions on the monitored CICS systems. Groups of threshold definitions can be installed into multiple CICS regions using an "Install" button.
  • a set of pre-defined thresholds
  • functionality for managing historical task data collection criteria
  • the ability to choose from a set of predefined filters or create your own filters for working with historical task data

CICS PM workstation client allows you to:
  • monitor active thresholds and currently active events
  • display recent history of active events
  • start and stop collection of historical task data
  • observe historical task data, utilizing the extensive filtering capabilities

CICS PM provides Single System Image of CICS regions in an enterprise, with the ability to access these regions from a single point of control - as though they were a single CICS region. CICS PM workstation client displays the events status for multiple CICS regions in one simple summary view for fast problem identification. This view can be controlled at the level of system group, region, resource type, or resource instance.

The Web User Interface can be launched from the CICS PM workstation client and display the CICS PM view sets for 'drilldown' to the details of a problem real-time or using historical task data. No separate sign-on to the Web User Interface is required. The CICS PM server handles requests from the Sign on to CICS PM dialog.

CICS PM server handles all communications between the threshold definitions and installed definitions windows.

CICS PM retrieves and displays information about performance at predefined sampling intervals, using the facilities and interfaces provided by CICSPlex SM to access information. CICS monitoring and statistics domains generate this information in a CICS region and this is gathered by CICSPlex SM to perform real-time analysis of events in your CICS regions. CICSPlex SM, CICSPlex SM Web User Interface sever and CICS TS 1.3 and CICS TS 2.2 were enhanced to extend these standard facilities and enable CICS PM display this information. To obtain the extended monitoring and statistics support for CICS PM in these releases of CICS TS, you need the prerequisite PTFs.


CICS Performance Monitor Status view
CICS Performance Monitor Status view
CICS PM view sets
 CICS Performance Monitor, using the CICSPlex SM Web User Interface server component of CICS Transaction Server, provides a comprehensive series of view sets specifically tailored for performance analysis and problem determination. The view sets are automatically selected using the links from the monitoring component of the CICS PM workstation client. Alternatively, however, they can be invoked directly from a Web browser connected to the Web User Interface.

These view sets provide real-time access to all CICS system and resource-related performance data, as well as access to all the task level performance data collected by the CICS monitoring facility (CMF), including file resource usage by task. The view sets include extensive links to allow easy navigation through the views as well as the ability to make operational changes to key system and resource parameters, for example: maxtask limit, dynamic storage area (DSA) limits, purging tasks, closing files, discarding unwanted CICS resource definitions, or deleting temporary storage queues.

The CICS system level view sets include:
  • CICS system-level data
  • CICS storage detail
  • IBM MVS™ task control block (TCB) storage and CPU time usage
  • Resources defined to CICS systems
  • Active tasks including resource usage by task
  • Historical task data

The view sets provide access to all the resources defined to the CICS systems, including:
  • CICS region
  • CICS storage—dynamic storage areas (DSAs) and subpool usage
  • CICS transaction manager and dispatcher
  • CICS loader
  • CICS recovery manager, including unit-of-work analysis
  • CICS enqueue pools
  • Java™ Virtual Machine pool
  • Temporary storage, including shared temporary storage pools
  • Transient data
  • IBM DB2® Universal Database™ for z/OS connection connectivity
  • Global and task related user exits

Other view sets are provided, giving access to the performance information about all the active tasks in the CICS systems, including task identification information, task status, suspend information, unit-of-work analysis, CPU usage, storage usage, program, file, temporary storage requests, and others. An extensive range of task level views is provided, with navigation links, which show all the performance data collected by the CMF, including file resource usage by individual task.

Also viewable are the outstanding events (as determined by the threshold definitions defined by the CICS PM workstation client, or set up by CICSPlex SM), together with the threshold definitions.
Enhancements in Release 2
Here is the summary of CICS PM V1.2 enhancements for the users, familiar with CICS PM V1.1:
  • Historical task data
    • View and manage collection criteria
    • Extensive filtering capabilities, to help diagnose:
      • Current problems to identify the symptoms, leading up to the event
      • Recent problems to prevent future reoccurrence
  • Significant data coverage enhancements:
    • Current CICS storage detail
    • MVS views - TCB storage and CPU time usage
    • Additional transaction resource monitoring
  • Significant usability enhancements
    • Changes to the data layout to reduce scrolling
    • Improved filtering to reduce the amount of data displayed
  • More efficient and secure method of removing problem tasks in plan for 2003
Prerequisite PTFs
 PTFs are listed in the CICS Performance Monitor Program Directory (GI10-2556), available at general availability of the product.
Presentations
 linkCICS Performance Monitor Presentations

1 Screen appearance in the shipped product may differ from that shown.
2 All statements regarding IBM future direction or intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice and represent goals and objectives only.


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