Configuring hardware files

When you start a Gateway Server session, the software creates tables in memory:

• Hardware Table: This table contains specifications for performance characteristics of CPUs, disks and networks. Gateway Server uses these characteristics to create and work with models of distributed computer systems.
• Translation Table: This table maps a model name or code found in the collected performance data to the model name used for the device in the Hardware Table.

This section:

• Describes the hardware files Gateway Server uses to create the Hardware Table and the Translation Table.
• Explains how you can edit the hardware files to modify the hardware information Gateway Server uses.
• Explains the sources for the hardware information that Gateway Server uses.

The Gateway Server hardware files contain the information that Gateway Server uses to create the Hardware Table and the Translation Table.

When you install Gateway Server, these hardware files are placed in the $BEST1_HOME/bgs/setup directory. These files are described in the following tables:

When you start a Gateway Server session, the software reads the XML hardware file (best1default.xml) to create the Hardware Table. 

If you have created your own user hardware file, Gateway Server reads it and includes its information in the Hardware Table. (You must name your user hardware file best1user.xml if you want Gateway Server to recognize it.) Gateway Server also reads the XML files, hrwMapDefault.xml and hrwMapUser.xml (if you have created them), to build the Translation Table. 

You can use the Hardware Main window to view the text versions of the following files:

• Default hardware file
• User hardware file
• Default translation file
• User translation file

You can also use this window to edit and save changes to your user hardware table or your user translation table. To view the Hardware Main window, click Hardware in the Gateway Server. 

The Hardware Main window provides tabs: one to view the Hardware Table (hrw) and one to view the Translation Table (odm). Each view is divided into sections.

• The first section is read only. Use it to view the settings for the default Hardware Library or the default Translation Table.
• Use the second section to edit and save your own user hardware file or translation file. The information in these files supplements the default Hardware Library or Translation Table.

For more information about configuring Gateway Server hardware files, see:

• Editing the user hardware table
• Adding vendors to the user hardware table
• Adding performance ratings to the user hardware table
• Unknown CPU message
• Editing the user translation table
• Sources of hardware information
• Disclaimer regarding the hardware table
• Downloading the hardware table
• To perform a hardware table download

Editing the user hardware table

You might want to have a user hardware table under the following circumstances:

• The files supplied with Gateway Server do not contain a device on an existing system in your enterprise or a device you want to use in your modeling work.
• You want to change the performance rating (or some other specification) for a device in the distributed hardware tables.

To edit the user hardware table

1. From the Gateway Server main window, click Hardware. Select the hrw tab page in the Hardware Main window. The upper scrollable pane displays the read-only text version of the default hardware table. The lower scrollable pane enables you to edit the user default hardware table or another file you select.
   Alternatively, select File >Open Hardware. Select or supply the name and path name of the file you want to edit.
2. Click in the User Hardware Library window and begin editing. You can perform standard edit functions (such as Select, Copy, Cut, Paste, Delete, and Insert ) in the edit pane. You can select and copy from the read-only pane to the edit pane. The Find capability works in both panes.
3. Do one of the following:
   • To save the new version of the user hardware table, select File > Save Hardware.
   • To save a copy of the current user hardware table, select File > Save Hardware As and supply a new path name and file name when prompted.

4. To apply edits immediately, select Session > Apply Current Hardware Library. (Otherwise, edits take effect the next time you start Gateway Server after saving the user hardware table.) Applying edits to the current session does not save edits permanently to the user hardware table. To permanently save the edits, select File > Save or File > Save As.

   Note

   You must name the file best1user.xml and save it in the $BEST1_HOME\local\setup directory in order for Analyze and Predict to correctly use the information in the user hardware library. You can also place this file in the Workarea directory, in which case the best1user.xml in $BEST1_HOME\local\setup will not be used.

 When you edit the user hardware table, follow these rules:

• Use the CREATE command to add a device.
• Use the MODIFY command to change the specifications for a device that already exists in the default hardware table.
• Do not use CREATE for a device that already exists in the default hardware table.

See the sample command entries below.

In the performance rating parameter, the OS identifier (UNIX in the sample performance rating entry above) is important, because the performance of a processor might be different when running with a different operating system. UNIX is the default OS identifier.

Adding vendors to the user hardware table

You can add vendors of hardware devices to your user hardware file. To do so, you must edit the user hardware file using a text editor or word processor.

To add a vendor

1. From the Gateway Server, click Hardware.
2. In the Hardware Main window, click the hrw tab.

3. In the User Hardware Library pane, scroll down until you see the list of predefined vendors. To define the new vendor, add the following command to this list:

    DEFINE VENDOR vendor-name

   DEFINE VENDOR MAKEM
   

After you define the new vendor, you can refer to it when you are adding new hardware devices from that vendor to the user hardware file.

Adding performance ratings to the user hardware table

You can also add performance ratings to the default hardware table, as follows:

The rating type is a case-insensitive string. When a new performance rating system is added, it must be defined in the hardware table before it is referenced in a CPU Model definition. The list of supported rating systems that are defined in the default hardware table is as follows:

• SPECINT95
• SPECINT2000
• MIPS
• SPECINTRATE95
• SPECINTRATE2000

Unknown CPU message

If Analyze encounters an unknown OS-specific device code, it places the following message in its log file:

<xxx> is the device code or string found in the collected data.

Following are possible causes and fixes for this issue:

• The device code is not present in the Translation Table. Create and edit your own user translation file (hrwMapUser.xml) to add the missing entry. To determine a computer's CPU device code, you can use the uname -m command at the shell prompt. (On HP systems you use the command model and on Digital UNIX systems you use sizer.)
• There is no entry for the Gateway Server model name in either the Translation Table or the Hardware Table. Create and edit your own entries in the user translation file (hrwMapUser.xml) and user hardware file (best1user.hrw) to add the missing entries. In the user hardware file you must supply a complete set of performance specifications as well as the model name. You might need to obtain this information from the device manufacturer, an industry source, or BMC.

Editing the user translation table

The Translation Table maps a device code or string found in the collected data to a model name in the Gateway Server Hardware Table. An example of a device code and a model name for a CPU entry follows:

When Analyze processes collected data, it sometimes finds only a device code or string in the collected performance data. When this happens, it uses the Translation Table to convert the code or string to a device model name. When Predict evaluates a model, it uses only the Hardware Table to obtain performance information for each device.

To create a user translation table

• (UNIX) From the Gateway Server main window, click Hardware. Select the odm tab page on the Hardware Main window. Select File > Save File As. Supply a new path name and file name when prompted. Remember that Gateway Server can use a user hardware translation table only when it is named hrwMapUser.xml and stored in $BEST1_HOME/local/setup.
• (Microsoft Windows) Use Windows Explorer and navigate to %BEST1_HOME%\bgs\setup. Locate the file named hrwMapUser.xml.sample. Right-click the file and select Rename. Change the name to hrwMapUser.xml. Copy or move the file to %BEST1_HOME%\local\setup.

To edit the user hardware translation file

1. On UNIX, from the Gateway Server main window, click Hardware. Select the odm tab page on the Hardware Main window. The upper scrollable pane displays the read-only text version of the default hardware translation file. The lower scrollable pane enables you to edit the user hardware translation file or another file you select.
   On Windows, click the Hardware Library snap-in and expand the Translation Table selection.
2. Click in the user translation table window and begin editing.
   On UNIX, you can perform standard edit functions (such as Select, Copy, Cut, Paste, Delete, and Insert ) in the edit pane. You can select and copy from the read-only pane to the edit pane. The Find capability works in both panes.
3. To save the later version of the user hardware translation table:
   • (UNIX) Select File > Save File.
   • (Windows) Right-click the user translation table in the scope pane and select All Tasks > Save.

4. On UNIX, to apply edits immediately, select Session > Apply Current Hardware Library. (Otherwise, edits take effect the next time you start Gateway Server after saving the user hardware translation table.) Applying edits to the current session does not save edits permanently to the user hardware translation table. To permanently save the edits, select File > Save or File >Save As.

   Note

   Be certain to name the file hrwMapUser.xml and save it in the /local/setup directory on UNIX or the %BEST1_HOME%\local\setup folder on Windows. Gateway Server recognizes the user hardware translation table only if it is named hrwMapUser.xml.

   Edit this file if the device code found in your data is not translating into the correct device name, or if you want to add another device to this table.

Sources of hardware information

BMC does not perform benchmarks or other direct measurements of the performance characteristics of CPUs, disks, or networks. Instead, we use performance characteristics from published sources. BMC also consults vendors for information about their own equipment. BMC never uses performance characteristics supplied by one computer vendor for a competing vendor's equipment. 

In an effort to assist our customers, BMC sometimes provides estimates or estimation techniques for obtaining performance metrics which are not otherwise available. BMC might also obtain performance characteristics for systems which have just recently been introduced to the marketplace and for which performance characteristics are not yet officially available. 

While we try to obtain the most accurate performance characteristic information available, BMC does not warrant or imply that the characteristics in the Hardware File accurately reflect the performance of specific systems. (See Disclaimer regarding the hardware table.) For your assurance, ask your vendor for the performance characteristics of their equipment, especially if you are considering special architectural features. 

Contact BMC if you have hardware information that you must have included in the hardware files.

Disclaimer regarding the hardware table

Processor and device performance can depend on workload characteristics. Therefore, it is possible that these performance (device characteristics) numbers do not apply to your workloads. 

BMC makes no representation about the accuracy or applicability of the numbers presented in this hardware table for your workloads. Feel free to modify these numbers to meet your organization's perception of relative performance of different processors and devices.

Downloading the hardware table

This topic provides instructions on how you can perform a hardware table download.

To perform a hardware table download

1. Access the Gateway Server.
2. On the left panel. right-click Hardware Library and select Hardware Table Download.
   Alternatively, on the standard toolbar click the Download Hardware Table icon.
3. You receive a notification asking if you want to download the latest hardware table files; click Yes.
4. You receive a notification asking of you want to update Prelim Hardware Table files. Click Yes to download prelim and default hardware tables and click No to download only default tables. The download starts.

5. You receive a notification about the download completion and asking if you want to view the download log file. To view the download log file, click Yes.
   You can also perform a hardware table download through the command line by running the hrwdownload.bat file located at %BEST1_HOME%\bgs\bin\hrwdownload.bat. You can use the following wrapper scripts to run the hrwdownload.bat file:

   HRWDownload.bat  -p <yes/no> -v <version> -w <working directory> [-h]
   p - Download prelim files"
   yes - Enable prelim files download.
   no  - Disable prelim files download.
   v - Version number(should be specified in V.V.VV format).Minimum version number supported is 7.4.10
   w - Working directory where files will be downloaded
   h - Display Usage