1. OVERVIEW › 1.2 Major Features

1.2 Major Features

The major features of the CA MICS Analyzer Option for VM/CMS
can be grouped into four categories:

o  Report facilities

o  Use of Monitor, Account, RSCS, and Network data

o  General product flexibility

o  Interface capabilities


Report Facilities

o  Management Reports are run on a daily, weekly, and/or
   monthly basis as part of the standard CA MICS processing.
   These reports summarize the activities of the organization
   and are designed to assist in tracking VM service and
   performance, monitoring the operations configuration, and
   planning for future resource requirements.

o  Standard Analysis Reports are usually run on need basis
   and provide concise information in the form of graphs,
   tables, charts, or plots.  These reports provide
   information on various VM and CMS activity such as the
   number of channels that were concurrently busy over a
   user-specified period of time.  They can be used to
   identify service level problems, analyze performance and
   availability, or examine throughput issues.

o  Exception Analyzer Reports allow you to define, capture,
   and report on conditions encountered that are outside of
   the expected norm.

o  Ad Hoc Reporting Facilities allow you to access
   information in the CA MICS database either interactively
   or in batch using the CA MICS Information Center Facility
   (MICF), a panel-oriented productivity tool.

Comprehensive Use of Monitor, Account, RSCS, and Network Data

The CA MICS Analyzer Option for VM/CMS combines information
from several sources, which allows it to provide a complete
and total picture of system use and activity.  In addition,
it provides the following functions:

o  It consolidates data from multiple systems into an
   information database and then provides a common access
   method for reporting on VM activity.

o  It interprets encoded values in the input data so that
   information is immediately usable in a logical form and
   without further conversion and/or translation.

o  It supports cost center information classification based
   on organizational structure by allowing each organization
   to set its own account codes to link individual VM session
   activities with the responsible cost center or
   organizational unit.  This account code structure can be
   used to report VM activity by user (engineering, payroll,
   manufacturing, etc.), or by any other relevant category.

o  In a VM or z/VM environment, you can quickly track
   problems or potential problems related to host processor
   configuration operational status.  Operational
   configuration consolidation done by the system provides
   information about any changes made during the day as well
   as resources that are available during IPL.

General Product Flexibility

o  Usage guidelines for applying VM management information

o  A wide range of standard exits that allow you to tailor
   the product to your enterprise's specific needs

o  Data verification functions that increase data reliability
   and usability by detecting incorrect monitor input and
   preventing its inclusion in the database

o  A data dictionary that describes the information found in
   the VMC, VMX, and LNX Information Areas' files and how the
   information was derived

Interface Capabilities

The CA MICS Analyzer Option for VM/CMS integrates VM activity
and utilization data that is collected by various monitoring
functions into the CA MICS database. This process creates the
VMC (derived from CP account data), VMX (derived from z/VM
and Velocity Software's ESAMON monitor data), and LNX
(derived from Velocity Software's ESALPS monitor data),
information areas, all of which interface with a number of
other CA MICS products including:

o  CA MICS Accounting and Chargeback - The data provided to
   Accounting and Chargeback supports accounting for
   consumed resources such as CPU time, I/O counts, and
   counts of records transmitted between systems or to remote
   work stations.  This accounting process is accomplished
   using information from VM, VM Remote Spooling and
   Communications Subsystem (RSCS), VM/VTAM Communications
   Network Application (VCNA), Velocity Software's ESALPS for
   Linux, and CMS batch.

o  CA MICS Capacity Planner - The CA MICS Analyzer Option for
   VM/CMS maintains a database of detailed and summarized VM
   usage and performance data that the CA MICS Capacity
   Planner can use to make growth trend projections.  These
   projections can be made at all information levels
   including the system level, a specific virtual machine
   grouping level, or the organizational structure level.