z/OS Disk & Replication Performance Management

Compare LPAR and FICON Topology Time Intervals

Figure 1: Comparing two views, with the benefit of color coding changes, gives the user an easy to understand identification of configuration changes.

z/OS topology's (FICON and LPAR) are incredibly complex and difficult to visualize. Traditional methods of viewing these topology's have involved manually printing the topology out on paper and pasting it to physical walls in order to understand the configuration and spot errors.

IBM Z IntelliMagic Vision for z/OS's interactive LPAR and FICON topology viewers allows analysts to interact with, drill down into, and compare time intervals for their FICON and LPAR topology's - crucial for spotting errors and changes that may impact costs.

Time Charts for Deeper Insight

From the exception reports, it is a simple matter to drill down to see a detailed time chart of the metric that has been flagged.
This helps you narrow down the time frame when the behavior occurred and correlate this to any application impacts that may have resulted.

Comparison Charts and Change Detection

Comparison charts are very useful for determining when a particular behavior began and if this is a one-time anomaly or part of an ongoing trend.
In this example, we compare the Disconnect Queuing and delays to an earlier period, and it is easy to see that this is a new behavior. Any further investigation may be limited to the time frame that has been established.

Drill Down to Specific Volumes, Datasets, or Address Spaces

From a time chart, there are many drill downs available to see the metric at a more detailed level of granularity.

Here the drill down has too many active volumes. We can see that all the affected volumes are Db2. Thus, it is likely that any application impact may be Db2 related.

Track Key Metrics for Synchronous and Asynchronous Replication

The need for continuous availability has made replication a critical aspect of disk storage. Monitoring the health of your data replication is key to meeting both business and regulatory requirements. IBM Z IntelliMagic Vision for z/OS tracks key metrics for both Synchronous and Asynchronous replication methods.

For example, with Asynchronous replication, it is important that your remote data does not fall too far behind your production site. The chart to the right illustrates how IBM Z IntelliMagic Vision for z/OS can show you your RPO and diagnose when your replication is struggling to keep up.

Trend Analysis for your Key I/O Measurements

It is difficult to do proper long-term planning without data to inform you of where things stand and where your operations are heading. IBM Z IntelliMagic Vision for z/OS provides you with numerous trending charts that help you get a handle on this.

The example to the left shows how the overall I/O Rate and I/O Response Time have been trending over the last year. In this case there has been a modest increase in I/O Rate and a decrease in response time. This can be very helpful when deciding if a storage hardware upgrade is necessary or may be deferred.

AIOps via SaaS Delivery

Advantages to adopting a cloud model include rapid implementation (no lead time to install and setup the product locally), minimal setup (only for transmitting SMF data), offloading staff resources required to deal with SMF processing issues or to install product maintenance, and easy access to IntelliMagic consulting services to supplement local skills.