Viewing Storage Object Data in the Investigator › View Storage Object Relationships in the Topology Viewer

View Storage Object Relationships in the Topology Viewer

CA Chorus for Storage Management lets you view storage object relationships using the Topology Viewer. The Topology Viewer provides a graphical view of storage resources in your system and their relationships. This view can simplify your ability to identify relationships as you manage your storage resources.

A graphical view is useful when you want to see the relationships of storage resources and their dependencies in your storage environment. As you drill down in the Topology Viewer, your storage environment is displayed in hierarchal, graphic format.

You can launch the Topology View from any object, by selecting a line item in a storage object and clicking the Replace Topology Viewer or Add to Topology Viewer navigational actions from the Action pane in the Investigator. However, not all Storage objects include topology relationships. That is, while any object line item can be added to the Topology Viewer, some objects do not have child relationships to other storage resources which can be drilled down to.

For a top down topology view of your storage resources and their relationships in your system complex (sysplex) or the LPARs you are connected to, start the Topology Viewer from the Sysplex Information Display or LPAR Information Display objects. These objects are located in the Diagnostics & Investigations, z/OS System Resources directory in the Storage object tree.

The Topology Viewer remembers the graphical view you last displayed in the Topology Viewer (with the expansions, filters, zooms, and so on, you applied the last time you opened the Topology Viewer). If you want to start with a fresh display, select the Replace Topology Viewer Navigation action instead of the Add to Topology Viewer action from the Action pane in the Investigator.

Note: The Topology Viewer comes with default configuration. You can change this configuration to better display your storage resource environment. For example, the number of DASD volumes that are installed in most environments is very large so the Topology Viewer cannot realistically provide a visual representation of each of these volumes on a single mapping. You can change the Topology Viewer configuration to sub-divide and group online DASD volumes. You can also customize online DASD maps where DASD is logically grouped according to various characteristics of the volumes such as by application, line-of-business, and so on. For configuration information, see the CA Chorus Administration Guide.

Example:

You want to get a graphical overview of your storage resources in your sysplex so you can easily see your storage resource architecture.

Follow these steps:

1. Log in to CA Chorus.
2. Add the Investigator module to your dashboard from the Module Library, and click Start New Investigation.

   The Investigator opens.

3. Select Storage from the discipline drop-down list.
4. Expand the Diagnostics & Investigations, z/OS System Resources directory in the Storage object tree, and open the Sysplex Information Display object.

   The Sysplex Information Display object opens and displays the sysplex in the object table.

5. Click the sysplex row if it is not already selected.
6. Click one of the following actions in the Actions panel:
   • Replace Topology Viewer

     Opens the Topology Viewer and replaces existing hierarchal, graphics with the selected item.

   • Add to Topology Viewer

     Opens the Topology Viewer and adds the selected item to existing graphics.

   The selected item is displayed in the Topology Viewer.

7. Right-click the Sysplex Information Display box in the Topology Viewer, and select the LPAR Information Display box.

   The LPAR Information Display diagram is displayed in hierarchal, graphic format under the System Information Display diagram. The text box informs you of the number (in parenthesis) of LPARs available in the sysplex .

8. Right-click the LPAR Information Display diagram, and click Expand from the pop-up menu, to display the LPARs in the sysplex in hierarchal, graphic format.
9. Right-click one of the LPAR diagrams you are connected to (if you have a multiple host environment), to display a list of the storage resources available in the LPAR.
10. Select a storage resource from the list to add it to your topology diagram.
11. (Optional) Continue to drill down to the storage resources in this fashion, to add items to the topology diagram and view their relationships in the sysplex.

    The Topology Viewer continues to display the upper part of the hierarchal graph. You can, for example, repeat steps 9 through 11 and select a different storage resource available in the LPAR, to start a new branch in the hierarchal graph. You can remove a branch, by right-clicking a storage resource in the branch and selecting Remove.

12. (Optional) Use the Topology Viewer toolbar icons to customize the diagram, zoom in and out, print, and so on. Hover your cursor over the toolbar icon to see a description of the tool.

    A graphical overview of your storage resources in your sysplex is shown, which lets you easily see your storage resource architecture.