2. USAGE GUIDELINES › 2.1 Data Analysis

2.1 Data Analysis

The following identifies methods of analyzing the CA MICS
VAX/VMS Analyzer's data:


Accounting and Chargeback

The VAX/VMS Analyzer provides resource usage data in a form
that can be used for billing VMS system use.  Usage such as
consumed resources (e.g., CPU time), physical I/Os (e.g., the
number of direct I/Os), and disk space occupancy (e.g.,
megabyte hours of storage) can be measured and charged by
user defined account code levels.


Capacity

The VAX/VMS Analyzer provides utilization and workload
information that is essential for determining current and
future capacity requirements.  System resources such as
central processors, disk devices, memory, the I/O subsystem,
and the paging subsystem can be examined to be sure they are
not approaching site-determined capacity thresholds.


Performance

The VAX/VMS Analyzer can be used to evaluate the performance
of system resources.  Disk device I/O times and queuing times
can be analyzed to ensure they are not causing response-time
problems.  Memory use and paging subsystem performance can be
evaluated to ensure they are not detracting from system
throughput.


Workload Characterization

A necessary task in any capacity evaluation effort is
workload characterization.  The VAX/VMS Analyzer can provide
data to determine a system's primary workload components and
the amount of resources consumed by those components.  It is
possible to determine, on an interval basis, average CPU
utilization, number of I/Os, storage requirements, etc.


Trends

You can identify trends by comparing measurements taken in
the current month with similar measurements from the previous
month.  Some uses of trend analysis include analyzing CPU
utilization, I/O counts, and workload.


Configuration

You can use the VAX/VMS Analyzer to support utilization
studies to determine if the configuration is adequate for the
needs of the enterprise.  If the utilization is inappropriate
for the users' needs, appropriate budgetary actions can be
taken.

Such analysis, performed daily or weekly, will indicate
unused hardware on the system and provide the necessary
information for operations to properly distribute the work
over all the resources.  This will minimize the under- or
over-utilization of devices.


Problem Resolution

When system-related problems occur, it is not always easy to
determine where and how they originated and what is
impacted.  The VAX/VMS Analyzer can be used to assist in
determining when a problem first occurred, what workload
component was responsible, and the system components affected
by the problem.


Bottlenecks

The VAX/VMS Analyzer can be a valuable tool in analyzing
bottlenecks to identify the causes that result in poor usage
of the data center's capacity.  The analysis can be used to
maximize system usage and balance the distribution of the
workload over the available resources.