Administration of the CICS Feature › Overview › How the TOP Limit Works

How the TOP Limit Works

In order to use the Alert Management option of the CICS Feature, the TOP Limit of work must be defined. TOP Limit processing works for each defined CICS system and is the last step in the total system management. To define the TOP Limit, use the parameter called TOP Limit of most important transactions. The TOP Limit field can contain a value from 0 to 999. A value of 0 deactivates the TOP Limit, thus deactivating Alert Management. Otherwise, the TOP Limit number defines how many important transactions are to be statistically observed.

Within the TOP Limit—meaning the number defined as a parameter—all transactions of the current system are statistically observed and, at the end, a runaway test check is performed. The statistical limits are based on up to eighteen months of stored interpreted measurements. To determine the TOP consumer and issue alerts, one of two conditions normally exists:

• Transaction consumption is static. A standard deviation check is done and if the result indicates an increase in the consumption (runaway), an alert is issued.
• Transaction consumption is not static. A standard deviation check is done and if the result indicates a drastic increase in the consumption (runaway), an alert is issued.

If there is a runaway situation, the transaction is added to the alert file with the state OPEN and the reason STAT. Alerts can be viewed under the Alert Management dialog.

The range of the statistical observation is limited to one year. For a transaction to be alerted, it must have been observed in at least three separate measurements collected during the period of statistical observation.