The VM Interface

The VM Interface

The VM Interface lets you report on VM accounting data and charge users for resources consumed. The EXTDATA option lets you report on messages transmitted between virtual machines. The full reporting and charging capabilities of the Report Writer can be applied to VM data.

The VM Interface translates VM accounting records into summary file format for input to CA JARS. As the records are translated, the data can be tailored to your specifications. You have options to:

• set the CPU Identification Code and User Information fields based on the VM userid and account number
• restrict records to specific userids and/or a specific date range
• produce the OS or VSE version of summary file records, or produce a VSE glossary format record for use in period processing

The VM Interface is valuable for all VM users because:

• the activity of each virtual machine can be monitored
• VM accounting data may be used in conjunction with guest SCP accounting data for consolidated utilization and billing reports
• special charging algorithms and rates can be constructed for VM users, and different groups of users can be charged different rates
  • the same data center accounting standards can be applied to both the CMS and batch work loads
  • you can produce performance reports to display the resource consumption of selected virtual machines

The VM Interface gives quick, accurate answers to questions such as:

• How much CPU time is spent servicing virtual machines?
• Who is using CMS?
• What virtual machines are contributing to system degradation at peak periods of the day?

The Report Writer grouping feature is particularly useful for separating the analysis of usage by virtual machine or CMS user, and for combining VM data for analysis or billing.

Additional CA JARS sample reports are included with the VM Interface. EXTDATA can be generated that will allow you to report on chargeback and resource utilization. The EXTDATA option also reports on bandwidth consumed between virtual machines by TCP/IP, CTCAs, or APPC.

Note: If chargeback is needed for intermachine communication, the EXTDATA option must be used. The z/VM format accounting records that contain information on zIIP, zAAP, and IFL processor use are supported as EXTDATA records.

This section contains the following topics:

VM Interface Components

Creating and Using the Accounting Table

The Translate Component

Reporting Component

User Exit Routines

Sample Reports

Running the VM Interface