6. DATA SOURCES › 6.8 PR/SM LPAR Concepts › 6.8.4 Interpreting PR/SM Data

6.8.4 Interpreting PR/SM Data

The study of activity in a PR/SM LPAR complex is
significantly different from the study of activity in
non-LPAR systems.  The information contained in the type 70
subtype 1 records makes it possible, not only to look at
 activity within an individual LPAR, but also to look at the
utilization levels of the PR/SM LPAR complex as a whole, and
to compare the activity of multiple partitions executing
concurrently within a single complex so as to understand the
nature of interactions between them.

By combining all the information available in the type 70
subtype 1 record, it is possible to accurately characterize
the work being done by a system within a logical partition.
This can be done by matching the partition number recorded in
the RMF Product section of the record with the partition
number in the PR/SM Partition Data section, and then matching
the processor addresses in the CPU Data sections with the
logical processor addresses in the PR/SM Logical Processor
Data sections that pertain to the partition being examined.
(Remember that, although there is a match between the CPU and
logical processor addresses, there is no correspondence
between these addresses and the actual hardware central
processor addresses.)

With all of the data elements that compose these sections
available at one time, logical processor utilization can be
determined regardless of the wait assist status.

The following sections will help to understand the meaning of
key measurements:

    1 - Meaning of "Dispatch Time"
    2 - Meaning of "CPU Busy" and "CPU Wait"
    3 - Logical Partition Interaction