CICS Tools Identify Performance Issues
August 1, 2017
This article focuses on CICS performance. On the mainframe CICS is known as CICS Transaction Server (TS), but on other platforms the product is named TXSeries, and for special functions, CICS Transaction Gateway. All products are developed and supported by CICS development, and are designed to interact with each other via facilities such as CICS […]
ArticlesAIO: The Fast Path to Great Performance
July 19, 2017
Asynchronous input and output (AIO) is an essential performance feature of AIX. Without it, our world would be a much slower place.
ArticlesIBM Z Pervasive Encryption Marks a Paradigm Shift for Security
July 17, 2017
Trust is the currency that drives the new economy. It’s the foundation of digital relationships and demands security, transparency and greater value in every interaction and transaction. That’s among the reasons IBM equipped the new z14 system with pervasive encryption. Transitioning away from selective encryption to end-to-end protection helps organizations secure all of their enterprise […]
ArticlesGet Started With CICS Performance and Tuning
July 5, 2017
This article begins with focus on mainframe CICS but as it progresses, the focus shifts to CICS on all platforms, a progression that matches the product’s development. While techniques discussed are initially mainframe-based and oriented to CICS Transaction Server (TS), most principles and concepts apply to all processing platforms; syntax, parameters and implementation specifics may […]
ArticlesUnderstanding and Tuning CPU Throughput
June 14, 2017
Few topics related to AIX performance analysis and tuning are more misunderstood than CPU throughput: how databases, applications, middleware and utilities use CPUs in an IBM Power Systems environment. What follows is a basic primer on determining CPU throughput and usage in your AIX systems. By combining this knowledge with performance statistics, you can tune […]
Slicing Time: Curing the Context Switch in AIX
May 17, 2017
Now that we’ve laid a solid groundwork for performance analysis, I'll show you how to tune your systems based on information you’ve gleaned from your diagnostic data.
ArticlesWhy Organizations Should Reconsider Their Current Chargeback Systems
April 1, 2017
Imagine Mary, Fred and George are gathered for a budget meeting with Ellen, their company’s CIO, to discuss another budget shortfall. Ellen asks, “What caused this million-dollar shortfall?” George says, “We think it’s related to the decision by accounting to shift one of their major workloads from our Power Systems* platforms to our VMware tower. […]
ArticlesSPLAT: The Simple Performance Lock Analysis Tool
February 14, 2017
Understanding locking activity and how it affects the performance of databases, applications and the OS itself is an essential part of every AIX specialist's diagnostic arsenal.
ArticlesAnalyzing System Dumps
February 8, 2017
A system dump indicates a severe problem with an AIX system. System dumps usually halt the system, necessitating a reboot.
ArticlesVirtualization’s Past Helps Explain Its Current Importance
February 6, 2017
With VM celebrating 45 years as an IBM product, it’s a good time to look at the history of virtualization technology. Everyone seems to want to take credit for something IBM invented and brought to maturity about 50 years ago. In this two part article, we will chronical the key milestones in the development of […]