Linux® on the Mainframe

26.3. Performance tools

There is a joke that goes something like this:

A drunk is seen falling about on the roadside beside a lamp post, looking for something. A passerby asks him: “What are you looking for?” “My car keys,” replies the drunk. “Well,” says the passerby, “do you know approximately where you lost them?” “Somewhere over there,” says the drunk pointing to the dark side of the road. “So why look for them here?” “Because there is light here,” replies the drunk!

The problem with many proprietary operating systems is that you are compelled to expend your energies looking for performance problem solutions, but only in areas where the available tools permit you to do so. Here the zSeries and S/390 are different from other platforms. The ...