A question on OMEGAMON CICS resource limiting facility (RLIM)

We recently had a question come up about the OMEGAMON CICS resource limiting facility (RLIM).  RLIM is a way to automate the process of doing such things as killing run away or high CPU CICS transactions.Here's the question:

"At our facility we use the Resource Limiting feature for CPU and DB2 Calls. I'm trying to find a way to dynamicly change the kill values of the transaction we specified. The way we currently change them, is by changing the kill value inside the GLOBAL BLOCK member and restarting (shutting it down, and starting up) omegamon. Is there a way to change the values without restarting omegamon?"

I ran this question by my colleague and CICS guru, Steve Hackenberg (thanks Steve).  The answer is you have two options.  The easiest and least painful way is to logon to the CUA interface for the region, and change the values in the CUA interface.  You can save the settings permanently or just for the session.  Since it is a common monitoring function at the region level it would not matter if additional sessions were logged on to the same region. 

The second options would be to edit the Global member using TSO ISPF edit, change the values.  Then logon to the target CICS, issue an OMEG SHUT command, then an OMEG REMOVE command,  then recycle the collector address space.  All currently active users would then have to log on again once the collector task was recycled. 

Check out the new OMEGAMON V5.1 enhanced 3270 interface

I just finished creating and posting to Youtube a short video demonstrating the new OMEGAMON z/OS V5.1 enhanced 3270 user interface.  The video is just a short (less than 10 minutes) demo of how the new UI works, and how you can easily navigate using the tool.  You'll be able to see how you can easily navigate and drill down, using the new 3270 UI, to solve common z/OS problems.

Here's a link to the video.  Feel free to take a look:
http://youtu.be/H2e_--jlbRE

Upcoming webcast on managing z/OS storage

There will be a webcast next week on "What's new with Tivoli Storage Management on System z: Save money and time by enhancing your storage capabilities".  The webcast will focus on the various solutions for managing storage on z/OS, with a focus on how these solutions all integrate via the Tivoli Portal. 

The event will be on Tuesday, February 28th at 11 AM ET.  The speaker will be Kevin Hosozawa. 

If you are interested in attending, here is a link:
https://www.techwebonlineevents.com/ars/eventregistration.do?mode=eventreg&F=1004120&K=CAA1AC

Another enhanced 3270 example - CICSPlex level view

Here is another example of the enhanced 3270 user interface in OMEGAMON V5.1, this time looking at OMEGAMON CICS V5.1.   In this example we see the service level metrics displayed at the CICSPLEX level.  This is a nice overview of critical service level metrics such as response time and WLM performance index (PI), plus you have the ability to drill down for additional detail.  Like OMEGAMON z/OS V5.1, the new OMEGAMON CICS exploits the integration and flexibility of the new enhanced 3270 UI.

New technology may beat Moore's Law

If you've been in the IT field for a while you may have heard of Moore's Law.  Stated simply, Moore's Law predicts that processor power will double every 18 months to 2 years.  The amazing thing about Moore's Law is that, so far, it has been pretty accurate and held up pretty well in terms of predicting how processors have grown in speed and computing power over the years. 

Moore's Law is named for Gordon Moore, the co-founder of  Intel Corp.  He first described the phenomenon in a 1965 report that was later cited by others with his name attached to it.

So today I stumble upon an article entitled  "Transistor Made Using a Single Atom May Help Beat Moore's Law".    The concept is built around the premise of creating a transistor from a single phosphorus atom.  Yes, a transistor from a single atom. If it can be made to work it will result in significantly smaller and faster processors.  One of the the challenges is that the atom must be kept at minus-391 degrees Fahrenheit.  

If you are interested in the article, here's the link:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/02/20/bloomberg_articlesLZNZ0D07SXKX01-LZO0R.DTL

Observations on the new OMEGAMON V5.1 architecture

Another one of the deliverables of OMEGAMON z/OS and CICS V5.1 is simplification of installation, replication, and maintenance.  Support for things such as self describing agents and the PARMGEN install help out in this area.  Another way that V5.1 helps from an installation and maintenance standpoint is the overall simplification of the monitoring infrastructure.

In the chart below, you see, in the bottom portion of the example, the current OMEGAMON architecture with multple address spaces per LPAR (TEMS, TEMAs, classic address spaces, and CUA address spaces on each LPAR).  Although CUA is still packaged as part of V5.1, the goal is for enhanced 3270 (e3270) to supplant and ultimately replace CUA.  What this means is that if you adpot e3270 you will no longer need the CUA address spaces (usually one per monitor per LPAR), as well as you would ultimately no longer need Omegaview for session management and navigation.

The top part of the chart shows the new architecture (now minus the CUA tasks), and introduces a new function in the form of an address space called the TOM (Tivoli OMEGAMON Manager).  The TOM functions as the front end for the e3270 interafce that all the monitors will ultimately feed to.  The utlimate advantage of this approach is, as I implied on earleir posts, that you will get superior integration, and also reduce the overall task footprint of OMEGAMON.

New OMEGAMON Offers Superior Integration

One of the key deliverables of OMEGAMON z/OS and CICS V5.1 is superior integration at the 3270 level.  In the past, integration could be achieved using Omegaview as an integration component and for cross monitor navigation.  However, if you wanted to have detailed multi-agent metric information on a single screen, you needed to use the Tivoli Portal.  Now with OMEGAMON V5.1 you can have that detailed performance information, for example, from both z/OS and CICS on the same screen.

Here is an example of the detailed integration you get at the 3270 level with V5.1.  In the above screen you can get detailed performance information for both z/OS (CPU utilization) and CICS (transaction rate) on a single display.  From here you can drill down for additional detail.  Integration will continue to be a key, and we will look at more examples as the year progresses.

What the new enhanced 3270 looks like

OMEGAMON z/OS and CICS V5.1 will feature a new enhanced 3270 interface (e3270).  The new e3270 offers many advantages over classic or CUA 3270 interface.  The primary advantage, when compared to classic interface, will be ease of use, and ease of navigation.  Many of the screens were designed with common problem analysis scenarios and requirements in mind.  e3270 also offers superior integration to what has been offered, up until now, with classic or CUA.  In a way think of e3270 as combining the strength, speed, and depth of 3270 interfaces with the integration capabilities of the Tivoli Portal GUI. 

If you are interested in what it looks like, here is an example.  The e3270 is a VTAM logon-able application, just like classic and CUA.  From there, you can access whatever information you need from a common UI, versus having to drill down and navigate as you would with classic interface.  In the example below we are looking at one of the commonly requested display scenarios, where users want to see high CPU and high storage use tasks from a single display, without having to navigate around to get the information.

One persons perspective on OMEGAMON V5.1

I freely admit I'm excited when a new release of OMEGAMON is announced.  For me, it's like getting a new toy for my birthday.  What's even nicer is there are so many great features, including the new enhanced 3270 interface, coming in V5.1.

Here's one analyst's view of OMEGAMON V5.1,  "Good Reasons for Customer Interest and Excitement".


http://ptaknoel.com/ibm-omegamon-v5-1-good-reasons-for-customer-interest-and-excitement/

Exciting news - new versions of OMEGAMON announced!

For me it doesn't come much more exciting than a new version of OMEGAMON.  Today IBM is announcing new V5.1 versions of OMEGAMON z/OS and OMEGAMON CICS. 

Starting with OMEGAMON XE for CICS on z/OS, and OMEGAMON XE on z/OS V5 editions, IBM provides:

·  Improved productivity by allowing subject matter experts, such as system programmers, to combine information from z/OS and multiple z/OS subsystems (including CICS) into a single simplified display

·  Standardized monitoring and management with an new enhanced 3270 user interface that gives users the ability to effectively move between different z/OS components providing a common look and feel of command and control conditions.

·  Increased analytics capability by organizing key performance indicators (KPIs) to be viewed based on managed SLAs. 

·  Higher availability by providing users with advanced problem determination using focused problem-solving scenarios designed by customers; these scenarios put related data needed for associated problems into context to resolve today's performance and availability impacts.

What does this all mean?  Keep in mind quite a few enhancements like a new more powerful, enhanced 3270 interface.  I will be blogging quite a bit about the new UI in the next few weeks.




For more information, here is a link:
http://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?infotype=AN&subtype=CA&htmlfid=897/ENUS212-041&appname=USN

An OMEGAMON webcast you will want to check out

This week, on February 9th, there will be a webcast on "Reduce costs based on faster problem solving with redesigned OMEGAMON".  This webcast will show how enhanced diagnostic capabilities in IBM Tivoli OMEGAMON can lighten your burden. The presentation will discuss how you can more easily monitor and maintain your entire mainframe environment to find and fix problems quickly — before they become outages. With a redesigned user interface, OMEGAMON makes it easier to understand information customized to focus on key problems experienced within System z® environments.

Yes, you read that right.  A redesigned OMEGAMON.

The presenter is Mike Goodman, , Software Product Manager, Tivoli Systems Management.  The webcast is February 9th at 11 AM CT.  Here is a link to sign up:
http://bit.ly/x4mvAA