Establishing a Network Management Infrastructure
March 1, 2018
When I first got involved in network design and implementation, network management infrastructure was unheard of—an organizational component awaiting definition. Getting a network functional was top priority, and while a manager oversaw us, she had a minimal grasp of the technology. Constructing an online, interactive, computer-based network—one that provides access to business applications the same […]
ArticlesThe Art and Science of AIX Performance: Intuition and Instinct
March 1, 2018
Over the course of this article series, we’ve developed a methodology to attack and resolve performance problems. We’ve laid the foundation of our remediation efforts by developing a coherent and complete history-taking formula. We’ve learned about the importance of keeping current on system and device firmware, along with the importance of keeping careful and up-to-date […]
ArticlesEstablishing an Infrastructure for Tuning a Distributed Network
February 1, 2018
Just as with system or application tuning on a computer, network tuning is a discipline involving hardware and software, but components and methodology differ significantly. There are also commonalities, like the need to collect performance data from various sources, the need to understand interdependence and interactions involved in changing software, hardware or both. Product knowledge […]
ArticlesThe Art and Science of AIX Performance: The System Monitors
February 1, 2018
The first three installments in this series of articles cover much ground. We’ve learned how to deploy statistics-gathering programs to collect data on the behavior of system workloads, we understand that maintaining a complete history of those systems and what runs on them is essential to our diagnosis, and we know that keeping firmware up […]
ArticlesThe Art and Science of AIX Performance: The Stats Utilities
January 1, 2018
This is the third installment in my series on AIX performance. Part 1 focuses on current firmware, the foundation upon which any good AIX system performance is built. I also explain why taking a detailed history is so important to diagnosing performance problems. Part 2 explores the depth to which one can understand how a […]
Optimize Memory to Enhance Speed of CICS Functions
December 1, 2017
This article focuses on CICS performance across all platforms. On the mainframe CICS is known as CICS Transaction Server (TS), but on other platforms it’s called TXSeries, with CICS Transaction Gateway providing standardized CICS interfaces and secure access. All products are developed and supported by CICS development, and interact with each other via facilities like […]
ArticlesDetermining the Electrical Grounding for Mission Critical Facilities’ Engine-Generators
November 13, 2017
The Uptime Institute LLC considers the engine-generators as a primary source of power for the mission critical facilities. Permanently installed generators for the facilities are separate power sources and are often installed as separately derived systems, which are defined in Article 100 of National Electrical Codes. This article discusses the ‘electrical grounding for the engine-generators […]
ArticlesStreamline Processes and Reduce Processor Overhead in CICS
November 1, 2017
This article focuses on CICS performance across all platforms. On the mainframe CICS is known as CICS Transaction Server, but on other platforms it’s called TXSeries, with CICS Transaction Gateway providing standardized CICS interfaces and secure access. All products are developed and supported by CICS development, and interact with each other via facilities like CICS […]
ArticlesUse z/OS Resources and Tools for Data Protection
October 2, 2017
The IBM z/OS* platform, with its unmatched reliability, availability and serviceability, outstanding I/O bandwidth and secure environment, provides an excellent platform for data protection. This is especially true if that client data already is on the mainframe, as the features of this hardware and software platform promote reliable and scalable data protection. If your organization […]
ArticlesFuture of Testing
September 25, 2017
This is the last post in this series on enterprise testing. The focus has been on both system and application programmers in an enterprise systems setting. The first post described enterprise testing and explained the many challenges that programmers experienced 40 years ago in deploying defect free software. The next two posts discussed system programmers […]