2. COST ACCOUNTING CONCEPTS FOR IS ORGANIZATIONS › 2.9 UNIX Accounting › 2.9.1 CA MICS Analyzer for MeasureWare
2.9.1 CA MICS Analyzer for MeasureWare
The MeasureWare system captures a broad range of performance
and usage data for UNIX systems. It summarizes and stores
the resulting metrics in compressed form in five log files:
global log, application log, process log, device log and
transaction log.
MeasureWare startup parameters may be entered that assign
processes to an application name. The system administrator
defines the application names and specifies one or more
program names (executable files) and/or prefixes and,
optionally, user IDs and priorities that make up the
application. When a process is executed that matches the
criteria, it is logged to the application. Log records are
written periodically that summarize the activity for each
application during the measured interval. Processes that do
not fit in any defined application are summarized in the
application named "Other." "Other" is an automatic
definition, you do not need to enter parameters for it.
The process log captures similar information, but it is not
summarized by application. Startup parameters for the
process log determine whether all processes or only selected
ones will be logged.
CA MICS Analyzer for MeasureWare and CA MICS Accounting
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and Chargeback
-------------------------
The CA MICS Analyzer for MeasureWare prepares the MeasureWare
data for CA MICS Accounting and Chargeback. With the CA MICS
Analyzer for MeasureWare installed, two Accounting journal
files, the UNIX/MeasureWare Application Journal File (ACTJMA)
and the UNIX/MeasureWare Process Journal File (ACTJMP), are
available for charging.
CA MICS Accounting and Chargeback allows you to charge for
UNIX/MW resources from either journal file or a combination
of both files. However, you should take care not to charge
for the same work from both files.
The CA MICS Accounting and Chargeback Rate Table panels have
validation checks to prevent duplicate charging in most
cases, but they cannot ensure that applications selected for
charging in the UNIX/MeasureWare Application Journal File do
not contain processes selected for charging in the
UNIX/MeasureWare Process Journal file. This can occur
because the WORKUNIT field contains application name in one
file and process name in the other file.
You can use qualification groups to easily charge for
selected applications from the UNIX/MeasureWare Application
Journal File and for any remaining usage from the
UNIX/MeasureWare Process Journal File.
A qualification group defines a set of values for any one of
the following accounting fields:
o SYSID--System Identifier.
o Subsysid--Subsystem. For UNIX/MW, this is the application
number.
o Subtype--For UNIX/MW, this is the operating system
identifier.
o COSTCTR1--Cost center 1 value.
o WORKUNIT--Unit of work. For the UNIX/MeasureWare
Application Journal, this is the application name. For
the UNIX/MeasureWare Process Journal, this is the process
name.
Once you specify the individual values in a group in the
qualification group table, you can use the group name in
place of individual values to identify the work to be charged
in a particular journal file.
For example, suppose you want to charge for application
numbers 2 through 32 from the UNIX/MeasureWare Application
Journal file, and for application number 1 (Other) from the
UNIX/MeasureWare Process Journal file. You could define a
Subsysid qualification group containing application numbers 2
through 32. Then you could use Rate Table Algorithm
Qualification to specify this Subsysid group for the
UNIX/MeasureWare Application Journal File and Subsysid value
1 for the UNIX/MeasureWare Process Journal File.
Metrics Collected for Accounting
--------------------------------
The following charging elements are available in the
UNIX/MeasureWare accounting journal files:
UNIX/MeasureWare Application Journal
------------------------------------
Comp Accounting
code Element Units Description
---- ---------- ----------- --------------------
2601 APPCPUTM CPU Seconds Total CPU time
2602 APPSYSTM CPU Seconds System CPU Time
2603 APPUSRTM CPU Seconds User CPU Time
2604 APPNICTM CPU Seconds Nice CPU Time
2605 APPRTMTM CPU Seconds Real Time CPU Time
2606 APPNORTM CPU Seconds Normal CPU Time
2611 APPKDIO 1000 I/O Physical Disk I/O
2612 APPKLRD 1000 I/O Logical Disk Reads
2613 APPKLWT 1000 I/O Logical Disk Writes
2614 APPKPRD 1000 I/O Physical Disk Reads
2615 APPKPWT 1000 I/O Physical Disk Writes
2616 APPPKBCT Kilobytes I/O Transfer Count
2617 APPKLIO 1000 I/O Logical Disk I/O
UNIX/MeasureWare Process Journal
--------------------------------
Comp Accounting
code Element Units Description
---- ---------- ----------- ------------------
2651 KPSCPUTM CPU Seconds Total CPU time
2661 KPSKDIO 1000 I/O Physical Disk I/O
2662 KPSKLDK 1000 I/O Logical Disk I/O
2663 KPSPKBCT Kilobytes I/O Transfer Count
Figure 2-4. UNIX/MeasureWare Charging Elements
Some of the elements listed are not available on all UNIX
systems. Refer to the "CA MICS Analyzer for MeasureWare"
guide for the elements available on your UNIX system.
The recommended charging elements are CPU time and I/O
transfer count. I/O transfer count is not available for all
UNIX systems, however, in which case we recommend charging
for logical I/Os. The UNIX system caches disk I/O, so
applying a rate to logical I/Os provides a more consistent
charge for applications and processes than physical I/Os. In
the UNIX/MeasureWare Application Journal, the recommended
computation codes are 2601 for total CPU time and 2616 for
I/Os. In the UNIX/MeasureWare Process Journal, the
recommended codes are 2651 and 2663. If I/O transfer counts
are not available for your UNIX system, you can use
computation codes 2617 and 2662, Logical Disk I/O, to charge
for I/O usage.
Strategies for UNIX Accounting
------------------------------
MeasureWare summarizes metrics data into predefined
application categories. This makes it possible to charge for
resource usage without having to process large volumes of
statistical data. To maximize this capability you must know,
and define, what programs or program prefixes will be
executed on a given UNIX system, and assign each of them to a
particular application. Any undefined usage will fall into
the catch-all application, Other.
In order to charge from the UNIX/MeasureWare Application
Journal File, you must also be able to identify the cost
center to be charged from the application name or number.
This is because the application log does not identify the
user of the application.
The UNIX/MeasureWare Application Journal contains fewer
records than the UNIX/MeasureWare Process Journal, so
charging from this file uses less overhead and is preferred.
You can implement charging using only the UNIX/MeasureWare
Application Journal if the following conditions are met:
1) All major processes are assigned to an application.
2) You can identify the cost center to be charged based on
the application name or number.
3) The usage identified by the "Other" application can be
treated as overhead, or assigned to a single cost center,
or prorated on a percentage basis between a limited number
of cost centers.
Another strategy, the one that organizations are most likely
to choose, is to use the two journals in combination. Define
major applications to MeasureWare and the accounting system.
Charge for these applications from the UNIX/MeasureWare
Application Journal. Charge for work that falls into the
"Other" application category from the UNIX/MeasureWare
Process Journal. The default UNIX/MeasureWare Rate Table
definitions in CA MICS Accounting and Chargeback support this
strategy.
If you have multiple UNIX systems, you do not have to
implement the same strategy for all systems. You can specify
the work to be charged in each journal file by system
identifier (SYSID) as well as by application. This allows
you to implement different strategies concurrently.
For example, suppose a company has three UNIX systems: one
that supports a dynamic set of applications, one that
supports a database with a fixed set of applications, and a
third that supports both dynamic and fixed applications. For
the first system you might charge by user from the
UNIX/MeasureWare Process Journal, for the second by
application from the UNIX/MeasureWare Application Journal,
for the third by using both journal files, depending on the
application number.
As a general guideline, select a method for each system that
will provide the best accounting and reporting abilities
using the fewest administrative and system resources. To do
this, favor accounting by application; use charging by
process when the applications and users change frequently.
Summary
-------
The MeasureWare software system collects performance and
resource usage metrics on UNIX systems. The combination of
MeasureWare from Hewlett-Packard with the CA MICS Analyzer
for MeasureWare and CA MICS Accounting and Chargeback from CA
provides an integrated financial management solution for
users adding UNIX systems to the enterprise computing
network. Users have the option to charge for resource usage
by process, by application, or by using a combination of both
methods.
