More on OMEGAMON messages to the z/OS console

As a follow on to my prior post on OMEGAMON issuing messages to the z/OS console, here is an example of how that can be specified in the 'Action" tab of the situation editor.

In the example I show, I've created a DB2 situation that monitors the DB2 EDM pool. When the situation alert is true, the action will be executed, in this case a message will be placed on the z/OS console. Note that in the example the message consists of both text literals and an & variable that passes detailed information from OMEGAMON to the resultant message text (in this case the percentage that the EDM pool is full). To add the & variable to the command string you would click the attribute substitution button on the situation editor Action tab display, and select the desired attribute data to pass.

Using situations to drive messages to the z/OS console offers multiple advantages. First, it's easy to do using the GUI interface options of the situation editor (no REXX code etc. is needed). Second, situations provide the most flexibility for alerts because any metric monitored by OMEGAMON can be incorporated within an alert. Third, it's easy and flexible to control the content of the messages, and make then meaningful using attribute substitution via the situation editor.

Another thing to consider is that this message technique is a very effective way to feed 3rd party (i.e. Non-IBM) automation. It's easy to set up the messages, you can control the content, and can pass detailed information through the message string using attribute substitution.