Additional Measurement Options

The procedures discussed up to this section describe the basics of submitting measurement requests. However, there are additional types of measurement data that you can collect, and additional ways to configure your measurement request. This section describes all of the advanced measuring options available to you with Strobe. These options include how to:

Specify data collectors
Specify additional module mapping facilities
Add session management parameters
Specify other parameters
Retain measurement requests for a specified length of time.

Additional AutoStrobe Measurement Options

AutoStrobe users can also:

Schedule a measurement request (see Using-AutoStrobe-Scheduling)
Save the measurement request in a request group (see Building-and-processing-AutoStrobe-batch-candidate-lists).

To perform any of these tasks, type Y in the corresponding field of the Strobe- Add Active Request panel or the Strobe- Add Queued Request panel and press Enter to display the selected panel.

Strobe displays the selected panels. When you press Enter on the last panel, Strobe submits the measurement request. The following sections describe each of these additional measurement options.

Specifying Data Collectors

Strobe data collectors gather additional data for applications in ADABAS, CICS, Db2, CA-IDMS, IMS, WebSphere MQ and other subsystem environments. When you measure one or more of these subsystems and your installation uses the standard IBM-supplied names for the load modules that initialize the regions, Strobe automatically invokes the available data collectors.

Strobe invokes a data collector when the first four characters of the module name that begins execution in the target subsystem match the last four characters of any of the Strobe data collectors. For example, Strobe calls the CICS data collector STRBDFHS whenever it encounters a measurement request for a CICS address space, provided the name of your CICS initial program has a standard prefix of DFHS (for example, DFHSIP).

Use the Strobe- Data Collectors panel to override the Strobe defaults. If your installation uses a nonstandard name for any of the subsystems that Strobe supports, specify the appropriate data collector option.

The Strobe- Data Collectors panel displays only the Strobe options that are available for your site. Available Strobe data collectors and language attributors are displayed in the DATA COLLECTORS fields. A plus sign (+) indicates additional options.to override the Strobe defaults. If your installation uses a nonstandard name for any of the subsystems that Strobe supports, specify the appropriate data collector option.

To invoke a Strobe data collector or language attributor, type Y next to the subsystem or language name. To suppress a data collector or attributor, type N next to the name.

Warning

You must revisit this panel and make your changes each time you want to override the Strobe defaults before your selections will be active in the request.

Strobe - Data Collectors Panel

Special Considerations for Specifying Data Collectors

Strobe always invokes the SVC attributor, and it invokes the VSAM attributor when VSAM activity is present.

Important

To obtain VSAM attribution data, you or your system programmer must set the installation parameter LPALIB to YES. Refer to the Advanced-Configuration-Guide for more information.

Strobe invokes the C, COBOL, CA Gen, PL/I, WebSphere MQ, and Db2 attributors, if they are available for your site. (The IEF option enables attribution of CA Gen activity.) There are, however, some special considerations for specifying data collectors. These considerations are outlined in the following table:

Task	Value to Specify
Gather Data Manipulation Language information for batch jobs that invoke CA-IDMS	Y in the CA-IDMS BATCH DML field. The CA-IDMS BATCH DML option cannot be used in conjunction with the CA-IDMS option.
Collect statement information in batch jobs that call NATURAL	Y in the NATURAL field.
Attribute wait time caused by a 3GL program written in COBOL, Assembler, C, or PL/I in an ADABAS/NATURAL environment	Y in the ADA3GL field. This option cannot be used in conjunction with the ADABAS option.
To collect CICS transaction service time	Y in the Collect CICS Transaction Service Time field on the Strobe - CICS Data Collector Options panel. To type a value in this field, you must specify Y in the CICS data collector field. This option only appears on the panel if Strobe for CICS is installed at your site.
Suppress data collection for the Network Activity report of the CICS Performance Supplement	N in the Collect Terminal Activity field on the Strobe - CICS Data Collector Options panel. This option appears on the panel only if Strobe for CICS is installed at your site.
Suppress data collection for CICS Region Data	N in the Collect Region Data field on the Strobe - CICS Data Collector Options panel. To type a value in this field, you must specify Y in the CICS data collector field. This option only appears on the panel if Strobe for CICS is installed at your site.
Collect detailed performance information for CICS transactions, users, or terminals	From one to five CICS transaction names, users, or terminals in the Detail by... fields on the Strobe- CICS Data Collector Options panel. Type any valid CICS transaction name, user, or terminal ID. To target sets of CICS transactions, users, or terminals, use a wildcard () as the last character. To specify transactions, users, or terminals, you must also specify Y in the CICS data collector field. You cannot use this option if you specify Y in the Produce Performance Supplement field. This option only appears on the panel if Strobefor CICS is installed at your site. Note:* The names of CICS system transactions are not valid in this field.
Identify the invokers of the module that is the common user routine that the application uses for WebSphere MQ APIs.	The module name in the MQ Common User Module field on the Strobe - MQ Series Data Collector Options panel. To use this option, you must specify Y in the MQSeries Data Collector field. This option only appears on the panel if Strobe for WebSphere MQ is installed at your site.
Apply the MQ Common User Module entered only to the current measurement request	N in the Always use as default field on the Strobe - MQ Series Data Collector Options panel. If you specify Y and you typed a valid name in the MQ Common User Module field, then Strobe uses this module as the default for all subsequent measurements. This option only appears on the panel if Strobe for WebSphere MQ is installed at your site.

For more information on these data collector options, see the appropriate section of the Using-Strobe-options.

Other Data Collectors

To specify other data collectors, type their names in these fields. Strobe first invokes the Strobe data collectors that have Y in the DATA COLLECTORS field, followed by any data collectors in the PROGRAM NAME fields. Finally, it invokes any other Strobe data collectors that are used by default for the measured address space. If your data collectors rely on information from the Strobe data collectors, type Y next to the subsystem names in the DATA COLLECTORS portion of the panel to ensure that Strobe invokes the data collectors in the proper sequence.

Entering Module Mapping Specifications

When Strobe maps the control section structure of a load module, it uses data from the library in which the load module resides. This mapping information enables Strobe to report activity in the control section that caused it, rather than in an offset from the beginning of the load module. For this reason, Strobe must map any modules that you want to index. Strobe automatically maps a load module if the percentage of execution samples for the module is greater than or equal to the percentage supplied in the DETAIL BASELINE parameter described below.

The Strobe - Module Mapping panel enables you to enter module mapping specifications.

Strobe - Module Mapping Panel

LIBRARIES TO SEARCH

Strobe searches the link pack area (LPA) libraries when the following conditions are met:

The module is loaded from LPA.
Your Strobe system programmer specifies in the Strobe parameter file that LPA libraries can be searched, i.e., LPALIB=YES.
The application being measured has READ authority to the LPA library, which contains the modules to be mapped.

If the above conditions are not met, Strobe searches the following libraries, in this order, to obtain mapping data:

STRBLIB
STRBDD
TASKLIB (ATTACH macro with TASKLIB=)
DB2LIB (DB2 executed from TSO TMP)
DFHRPL (CICS)
CDMSLIB (CA-IDMS)
DFSRESLB (IMS)
ISPLLIB (ISPF)
ISPLOAD (ISPF)
PGM=*.DD
STEPLIB
JOBLIB (not searched if STEPLIB is present)
LINK LIST LIBRARIES

If the module you want to map is not loaded from one of these libraries, you can enter the dataset names of additional libraries here. Strobe searches these libraries first.

DETAIL BASELINE

To specify the minimum percentage of execution samples required for a module to be mapped, type a value from 0 to 99 in this field (default 2).

BASELINE OVERRIDE

To designate modules to be mapped regardless of the percentage of execution samples gathered, type the module names in these fields. For Strobe to gather attribution information for PL/I or COBOL library routines that are statically linked in subprograms, you must include the subprogram name in this field.

SVC NUMBERS

To specify SVC modules for which you want more detailed reporting, type the SVC numbers in these fields. Strobe normally reports all execution in an SVC as occurring within an SVC pseudo-section named SVC nnn. When you specify an SVC number, Strobe shows execution within the modules called by the invocation of the SVC, provided the modules are loaded by MVS contents management. Specify one of the following:

A single number
A list of numbers separated by commas
A range of consecutive numbers separated by a hyphen (for example, 1-5).

Enabling Attribution for 64-Bit Language Support with Pre-mapping

To provide attribution for 64-bit language support, Strobe requires the following IBM LE system modules that reside in LPA to be pre-mapped:

CELSPARS
CELSLMDD.

If these modules are in the link list or have been copied by the user into the link list, Strobe will map them. Otherwise, you must map these LE system modules.

To premap these LE system modules:

Copy them to one or more load libraries to which Strobe has READ access.
For each measurement request for 64-bit language support, enter the names of the load libraries containing the 64-bit LE system modules on the Strobe - Module Mapping panel under the LIBRARIES TO SEARCH to get module mapping data.

Alternatively, you can use the STRBLIB parameter to specify the load libraries containing the 64-bit LE system modules on the Strobe- Other Parameters panel. For example:

STRBLIB=(LoadLib1,LoadLib2)

Important

Setting LPALIB=YES does not enable 64-bit LE attribution.

Specifying Session Management Parameters

A single measurement request comprises one or more measurement sessions; each session produces one sample dataset. For an active request, by default Strobe terminates the request after it collects the target number of samples. For a queued request, by default, Strobe continues sampling until the measured step terminates. The Strobe- Session Management Parameters panel enables you to change both the number of sessions and the action Strobe takes after the final session is complete.

Strobe - Session Management Parameters Panel

NUMBER OF SESSIONS

To specify the number of measurement sessions you want Strobe to conduct, type a value between 1 and 99 in this field (default 1). If you specify more than one session, Strobe closes the sample dataset when it reaches the target sample size and begins a new one immediately. This option enables you to produce several datasets when measuring one job step.

FINAL SESSION ACTION

To specify the action Strobe takes after it reaches the target sample size in its last session, type:

Quit	Stop sampling, end the measurement session, and terminate the measurement request (default for an active request).
Stop	Stop closes the current sample dataset, making it available for report processing, and suspends the request. You can restart it later with a START operand. This allows you to measure an address space multiple times with the same Strobe measurement request. You can issue START via the Change option on the Strobe - Status panel. See Changing a Stopped Measurement Session for details.
Continue	Take no action when the target sample size is reached (default for a queued request); the number of sessions must be 1.

Specifying Other Parameters

When you initiate an Add request, Strobe gathers the information you have specified on the Strobe - Add Active Request or Strobe - Add Queued Request panels and builds the appropriate ADD command. Before it submits this command to Strobe, however, Strobe appends any additional Strobe operands that you have specified on the Strobe- Other Parameters panel.

Strobe - Other Parameters Panel

Strobe does not interpret the text that you type on this panel, nor does it verify the syntax. For more information on Strobe measurement commands, see Measuring-with-the-Strobe-Command-Language.

Retaining Measurement Requests

The Strobe- Request Retention panel enables you to manage your requests by specifying how long Strobe keeps the requests on the system. The following figure shows the Strobe - Request Retention panel for a queued request. The date format displayed on the panel depends on the date format specified in the Strobe parameter dataset.

Strobe - Request Retention Panel

In the QUEUED RETENTION field, type the number of days from today to retain a measurement request for a job that has not executed. If Strobe has not measured the requested job step after the specified number of days, Strobe deletes the request at the end of the final day. Type a number between 0 and 999. Specifying 0 causes Strobe to delete the request at the end of the current day. Specifying 999 causes the request to remain queued until Strobe measures the requested job step. The QUEUED RETENTION field does not appear for active requests.
In the COMPLETED RETENTION field, type the number of days after the measurement request completes to retain the request on the system. After the specified number of days, Strobe deletes the request at the end of the final day. Type a number between 0 and 999. Specifying 0 causes Strobe to delete the request at the end of the day of the measurement. Specifying 999 causes the request to remain on the system indefinitely.

If you clear a retention field, Strobe applies the system’s default value.

The example in the preceding figure shows a setting that will keep the request on the queue for three days. If the request runs within that time, Strobe keeps the completed request on the system for one week.