Context determination

MainView enables you to determine the context of your data views. A context is a frame of reference for the data that you display in views. When you define a context, you specify a unique combination of target and product. You can select from predefined contexts and dynamic contexts that MainView provides, or create your own context to focus on specific data that you need.

Selecting your context defines which data to display—by creating vantage points that show only data that is relevant to your needs. In effect, the context acts as a high-level filter to narrow or increase the perspective as you require: you can create an unlimited number of virtual perspectives and construct the exact data view necessary for any situation. In this way, your data can be accessed and arranged into useful forms based on ongoing or daily needs. Similarly, you can discard or retain the context views as needed.

You can limit a context to a single target application or expand it to include all recognized targets that provide data to a MainView product. Contexts that include more than a single target are called SSI contexts. With SSI, you define the set of systems to be displayed in a single system image. This definition establishes a single point of control over all of the targets and products in a context from a single screen.

An SSI context uses the following criteria to select data to appear in your views:

• Target name (such as an IBM CICS region, IMS or Db2 subsystem, or z/OS system image)

• Products attached to a coordinating address space (CAS)

• Product attached to a product address space (PAS)

SSI is provided for both sysplex and nonsysplex environments. All levels of data, including detail data, are available in SSI mode. Consequently, you can display every data set that every job on every system is using on a particular DASD device. Furthermore, in SSI mode, you do not need to switch between images to see which jobs are causing a service class to deteriorate. Instead, you can view all of the following items running on all systems:

• Every CICS transaction, region, program, file, terminal, and resource

• Every Db2 thread, page set, buffer pool, lock, and resource

• Every IMS transaction, region, program, database, class, and resource

• IBM MQ Queue Manager, queue, channel, and resource

• All IP stacks, connections, response times, and throughput

• IBM VTAM LU response time, throughput, VIPA, CSM, and resources

• Storage controller, device, drawer, SMS group, and resource

• WebSphere HTTP server user response time, cookie, heap, servlet, and WAS performance

• All USS processes, threads, users, groups, file systems, directories, and resources

Additionally, you can remain in SSI mode but temporarily narrow the focus. This narrowed focus is called the scope. If you are viewing multiple targets, you can set the scope of your views to display selected targets within a context.

Narrowing the data into the specific form that you need increases your control over the data. This feature also increases your ability to glean the essential information from the extraneous and to uncover the best solution for any situation.