Linux on IBM eServer zSeries and S/390: Performance Toolkit for VM

Linux on IBM eServer zSeries and S/390: Performance Toolkit for VM

by Gregory Geiselhart, Bruce Dailey, Dean DiTommaso, Bernard Royole Degieux, Klaus Egeler, Mario Held, Livio Sousa, Roger Thibault
Released August 2004
Publisher(s): IBM Redbooks
ISBN: None

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

This IBM Redbooks publication discusses Performance Toolkit for VM, a performance monitoring and analysis tool for z/VM. Derived from the earlier FCON/ESA product, Performance Toolkit for VM enables system administrators to collect and analyze VM performance data. Both real-time and history data can be processed by Performance Toolkit for VM, and it provides most of the functions that are available in Real Time Monitor (RTM) and Performance Reporting Facility (PRF).

In this book, we present an overview of the functions and features of Performance Toolkit for VM. We show how to navigate through its major monitoring screens and configure it. We also describe configuration for monitoring remote z/VM systems. Using examples, we illustrate how to monitor your z/VM system to identify potential performance problems. Major performance factors for running Linux guests under z/VM are discussed.

Table of contents

  1. Notices
    1. Trademarks
  2. Preface
    1. The team that wrote this redbook
    2. Become a published author
    3. Comments welcome
  3. Chapter 1: Performance Toolkit for VM at a glance
    1. Defining Performance Toolkit for VM
    2. Starting Performance Toolkit for VM
    3. Basic mode
      1. Redisplay facility
    4. Monitor mode
    5. Help facility
      1. Context-sensitive help
    6. Displaying current and average data
    7. Sorting reported data
    8. History performance analysis
      1. Simple history data files
      2. Extended trend files
    9. Benchmark data analysis
    10. Threshold monitoring
    11. Variable correlation coefficient analysis
    12. When to use Performance Toolkit for VM
      1. Performance Toolkit for VM overhead
  4. Chapter 2: Navigating through Performance Toolkit for VM
    1. Information available in Performance Toolkit for VM
    2. General system data reporting
      1. CPU load
      2. Storage utilization
      3. Spool file overview
      4. LPAR data
      5. Shared segments
      6. System configuration
    3. I/O data reporting
      1. I/O device load
      2. CP-owned disks
    4. User data reporting
      1. User resource usage
      2. Linux systems
    5. History data reporting
      1. Graphics selection
      2. History data files
      3. Benchmark displays
      4. Correlation coefficients
    6. User-defined screens
      1. Defining a user data screen
      2. User-defined display selection
      3. User-defined performance screen
    7. Using the Web interface
  5. Chapter 3: Configuring Performance Toolkit for VM
    1. Performance Toolkit for VM installation
      1. The 4VMPTK40 user
      2. The PERFSVM user
    2. Performance Toolkit for VM control files
      1. FCONX $PROFILE (1/2)
      2. FCONX $PROFILE (2/2)
      3. The FCONTROL RESET command
      4. Printed reports
      5. Trend data collection
    3. Sample PROFILE EXEC for PERFSVM
    4. Performance Toolkit for VM operation
    5. Tailoring Performance Toolkit for VM
      1. Tailor the FCONX $PROFILE control file
      2. Tailor the FCONX REPORTS control file
      3. Tailor the FCONX TRENDREC control file
    6. Enabling remote access and monitoring
      1. Create the FCONRMT AUTHORIZ control file
      2. Create the FCONRMT SYSTEMS control file
    7. Enabling data collection for Linux guests
  6. Chapter 4: Remote access and monitoring
    1. Remote monitoring with Performance Toolkit for VM
    2. APPC/VM interface to Performance Toolkit for VM
      1. Implementing APPC/VM for a local system
      2. Using an alternate resource name
      3. Implementing APPC/VM for remote systems
    3. Performance Toolkit for VM Web interface
      1. Web interface main selection menu
      2. Line graphic displays in the Web interface
      3. Enabling the Web interface
      4. Web interface authentication
  7. Chapter 5: Understanding z/VM configuration
    1. Commands to use for configuration information
    2. System configuration screen
    3. Storage layout
    4. System settings
      1. Effect of the timer patch on Linux guest scheduling
      2. The QUICKDISP option
      3. Assigning processing share
    5. System counters
    6. Monitor settings
    7. I/O configuration
    8. Page and spool allocation
    9. Spool file usage
    10. User paging utilization
    11. Virtual disks in storage
  8. Chapter 6: Analyzing I/O and network performance
    1. Analyzing I/O to DASD performance
    2. Channel monitoring
    3. Control unit monitoring
      1. Cache control unit overall performance
      2. Cache extended function performance
    4. I/O device load
      1. Minidisk cache
    5. Analyzing VM TCP/IP data
      1. Virtual switch activity
      2. TCP/IP Activity Log
      3. General TCP/IP data transfer log
  9. Chapter 7: Understanding LPAR configuration
    1. Collecting LPAR data
    2. Displaying LPAR configuration and activity
    3. Understanding LPAR options
      1. Shared or dedicated processors
      2. Shared or dedicated CHPIDs
  10. Chapter 8: Monitoring Linux guests
    1. Reporting Linux monitor data
      1. Installing DDS
      2. Configuring and starting DDS
      3. Registering Linux guests with Performance Toolkit for VM
    2. Viewing Linux performance data
      1. RMF DDS browser interface
      2. DDS Java client
    3. Analyzing Linux guest memory utilization
      1. Comparing virtual machine size on memory usage
      2. Analyzing memory usage inside Linux guests
    4. Analyzing Linux guest paging
      1. Using a VDISK as a Linux swap partition
      2. Effect of minidisk cache
      3. Effect of expanded storage
      4. Monitoring Linux guest paging
      5. Using a single minidisk swap partition
      6. Using four minidisk swap partitions
      7. Using a VDISK swap partition
    5. Analyzing processor utilization
      1. Processor utilization for a Linux guest
      2. Shared and dedicated processors
      3. Running services and daemons
  11. Chapter 9: RTM and PRF functions in Performance Toolkit for VM
    1. Equivalent RTM functions
    2. The RTM general display
      1. The Performance Toolkit for VM general display
    3. The RTM SLOG display
      1. Performance Toolkit for VM history files
    4. The RTM environment display
      1. Performance Toolkit for VM system configuration display
    5. The RTM user display
      1. The Performance Toolkit for VM user display
    6. The RTM idle user display
      1. The Performance Toolkit for VM idle user display
    7. The RTM I/O display
      1. The Performance Toolkit for VM I/O display
    8. Using the Virtual Machine Communication Facility
    9. Creating scheduled printed reports
    10. VMPRF functions
      1. Creating history data
      2. Processing historical data
      3. When to use MONSCAN
      4. When to use TRNDSCAN
      5. Reports
  12. Chapter 10: Performance Toolkit for VM updates for function level 510
    1. Performance Toolkit for VM changes for FL510
    2. Performance Toolkit for VM installation changes
    3. Control file changes for FL510
      1. FCONX $PROFILE change
      2. Performance Toolkit for VM report changes
      3. FCONX TRENDREC change
      4. New FCONX SUMREC
    4. Performance Toolkit for VM PRF support
    5. Using APPLDATA from Linux
    6. New reports for SCSI DASD
    7. Summary of changes for FL510
  13. Appendix A: Monitoring for z/VM
    1. VM Monitor facility overview
      1. A word about the monitor system service (*MONITOR)
    2. Types of available monitor data
    3. Using the CP MONITOR command
  14. Appendix B: Performance Toolkit for VM sample files
    1. The sample FCONX $PROFILE (1/3)
    2. The sample FCONX $PROFILE (2/3)
    3. The sample FCONX $PROFILE (3/3)
  15. Appendix C: Adding VM page space
    1. How to add page space to a running z/VM system
    2. Making the dynamic change permanent
    3. Optional steps
  16. Appendix D: Sample tools
    1. Sample monitoring EXECs
      1. The PAG EXEC
      2. The SHARE EXEC
    2. Sample VMCX front end
  17. Related publications
    1. IBM Redbooks
    2. Other publications
    3. Online resources
    4. How to get IBM Redbooks
    5. Help from IBM
  18. Abbreviations and acronyms
  19. Index (1/2)
  20. Index (2/2)
  21. Back cover

Product information

  • Title: Linux on IBM eServer zSeries and S/390: Performance Toolkit for VM
  • Author(s): Gregory Geiselhart, Bruce Dailey, Dean DiTommaso, Bernard Royole Degieux, Klaus Egeler, Mario Held, Livio Sousa, Roger Thibault
  • Release date: August 2004
  • Publisher(s): IBM Redbooks
  • ISBN: None