Submitting a Transaction Monitoring Request

A transaction monitoring request directs AutoStrobe to observe the transactions in a CICS region and to trigger a warning or a measurement whenever a transaction in the request exceeds a threshold that you specify. You can submit a transaction monitoring request for as many as ten transactions (five transactions per time period) for a CICS region.

To submit a transaction monitoring request:

  1. Select Option 1, ADD AUTOSTROBE REQUEST, from the Strobe - AutoStrobe Options panel.
    Strobe - AutoStrobe Options Panel

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  2. Type Y in the SWITCH TO AUTOSTROBE TRANSACTION OPTION field.

  3. Press Enter.
    The Strobe - Add AutoStrobe Transaction Request panel is displayed. It will appear by default whenever you select the Add AutoStrobe Request option, until you select the Batch Option on this panel.

    Strobe - Add AutoStrobe Transaction Request Panel

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  4. Complete the following required fields:

    • Jobname
    • Program
    • Stepname
    • Action (if not using the default)
    • Collect Transaction Data by.

    The fields on this panel are described in Fields for the Strobe - Add AutoStrobe Transaction Request Panel.

  5. If you want to specify monitoring period options, type TRAN, TERM, or USER in the Collect Transaction Data by field. For more information, see Specifying Monitoring Period Options below.
  6. Press Enter.

Important

Only one transaction request is permitted per CICS region. If a Create Transaction Candidates request has already been submitted for a CICS region, that CICS region cannot also have a transaction monitoring request. AutoStrobe will reject the request as a duplicate.

Any active measurement of the CICS region preempts any transaction monitoring or create transaction candidates requests. When a transaction monitoring request is preempted because a user issued an Add Active measurement request, AutoStrobe will automatically resume transaction monitoring after the measurement completes.

Specifying Monitoring Period Options

When entering starting and ending times for monitoring, you can also select whether transaction data is to be collected by transaction ID, terminal ID, or user ID. Enter TRAN, TERM, or USER in the Collect Transaction Data by field and refer to the appropriate section below.

Collecting Transaction Data by Transaction ID

If you entered TRAN in the Collect Transaction Data by field, the Add AutoStrobe Monitor Period for Transactions panel is displayed:

image2021-2-17_11-12-35.png

You can specify as many as two monitoring periods (MP1 and MP2). Specify the time using the format on the panel, which was set when Strobe was installed. The time periods for monitoring the same CICS region cannot overlap or be greater than 24 hours. The default is blank. The monitoring period must be greater than the analysis interval. Monitoring periods are optional. If you do not specify a monitoring period, the transactions will be monitored continuously.

Complete the following time and threshold fields for monitoring period MP1 and, if desired, for monitoring period MP2:

  • Starting time, if an ending time period is specified.
  • Ending time, if a starting time period is specified.
  • At least one transaction ID.
  • CPU for each user ID. This is the threshold that the transaction must exceed before AutoStrobe triggers a measurement or a warning. The valid values range from .00001 to 9.99999 seconds. The default is .00010.
  • Response for each user ID. This is the threshold that the transaction must exceed before AutoStrobe triggers a measurement or a warning. The valid values range from 0.1 to 999.9 seconds. The default is 1 second. 

Tip

If you want to have AutoStrobe calculate these thresholds for you, you must submit an AUTOSTROBE CREATE TRANSACTION CANDIDATES request. See Using-AutoStrobe-to-Identify-CICS-Transactions-for-Monitoring for more information.

You can add as many as five transactions for the second monitoring period with their thresholds. You can use wildcards with these transaction IDs.

Important

AutoStrobe does not check whether the transaction ID exists in the target CICS region.

Collecting Transaction Data by Terminal ID

If you entered TERM in the Collect Transaction Data by field, the Add AutoStrobe Monitor Period for Transactions by Terminals panel is displayed:

image2021-2-17_11-13-13.png

You can specify as many as two monitoring periods (MP1 and MP2). Specify the time using the format on the panel, which was set when Strobe was installed. The time periods for monitoring the same CICS region cannot overlap or be greater than 24 hours. The default is blank. The monitoring period must be greater than the analysis interval. Monitoring periods are optional. If you do not specify a monitoring period, the transactions will be monitored continuously.

Complete the following time and threshold fields for monitoring period MP1 and, if desired, for monitoring period MP2:

  • Starting time, if an ending time period is specified
  • Ending time, if a starting time period is specified
  • At least one terminal ID
  • CPU for each user ID. This is the threshold that the transaction must exceed before AutoStrobe triggers a measurement or a warning. The valid values range from .00001 to 9.99999 seconds. The default is .00010.
  • Response for each user ID. This is the threshold that the transaction must exceed before AutoStrobe triggers a measurement or a warning. The valid values range from 0.1 to 999.9 seconds. The default is 1 second.


Tip

If you want to have AutoStrobe calculate these thresholds for you, you must submit an AUTOSTROBE CREATE TRANSACTION CANDIDATES request. See Using-AutoStrobe-to-Identify-CICS-Transactions-for-Monitoring for more information.

You can add as many as five terminals for the second monitoring period with their thresholds. You can use wildcards with these transaction IDs.

Important

AutoStrobe does not check whether the terminal ID is valid.

Collecting Transaction Data by User ID

If you entered USER in the Collect Transaction Data by field, the AutoStrobe Monitor Period for Transactions by Users panel is displayed:

image2021-2-17_11-13-46.png

You can specify as many as two monitoring periods (MP1 and MP2). Specify the time using the format on the panel, which was set when Strobe was installed. The time periods for monitoring the same CICS region cannot overlap or be greater than 24 hours. The default is blank. The monitoring period must be greater than the analysis interval. Monitoring periods are optional. If you do not specify a monitoring period, the transactions will be monitored continuously.

Complete the following time and threshold fields for monitoring period MP1 and, if desired, for monitoring period MP2:

  • Starting time, if an ending time period is specified
  • Ending time, if a starting time period is specified
  • At least one user ID
  • CPU for each user ID. This is the threshold that the transaction must exceed before AutoStrobe triggers a measurement or a warning. The valid values range from .00001 to 9.99999 seconds. The default is .00010.
  • Response for each user ID. This is the threshold that the transaction must exceed before AutoStrobe triggers a measurement or a warning. The valid values range from 0.1 to 999.9 seconds. The default is 1 second.

Tip

If you want to have AutoStrobe calculate these thresholds for you, you must submit an AUTOSTROBE CREATE TRANSACTION CANDIDATES request. See Using-AutoStrobe-to-Identify-CICS-Transactions-for-Monitoring for more information.

You can add as many as five user IDs for the second monitoring period with their thresholds. You can use wildcards with these user IDs.

Important

AutoStrobe does not check whether the user ID is valid.

Fields for the Strobe - Add AutoStrobe Transaction Request Panel

The following sections describe the fields in Strobe - Add AutoStrobe Transaction Request panel.

SWITCH TO AUTOSTROBE BATCH OPTION

To display the AutoStrobe add monitoring request for batch programs, type Y.

Jobname

The name of the CICS region to be monitored. Wildcards are not allowed.

Stepname

The step name of the CICS region to be monitored. *ALL is not allowed.

Program

The default IBM program name for CICS (DFHSIP) or the name in use at your site.

System

The system ID on which AutoStrobe will collect data on CICS transactions in multisystem environments. Valid values are a specific system ID or *ALL to collect transaction data on all on MVS images. Default is the current system.

Monitor Immediate

Type Y to direct AutoStrobe to begin monitoring the CICS region as soon as the transaction monitoring request is received and to display the Strobe - AutoStrobe Request - Active Measurement panel upon pressing Enter. If AutoStrobe is unable to find an exact match for the CICS region that you specified, AutoStrobe displays the Strobe - Active Job Selection List panel. Type N to monitor the CICS region the next time it starts up. N is the default.

Analysis Interval

The length of time, in minutes, that AutoStrobe observes a user-specified transaction. This interval is used to calculate a rolling average of the transaction’s CPU and response times. Valid values are 1–60 minutes. The default is 5 minutes. The length of the analysis interval must be shorter than the monitoring periods, if the analysis period is specified.

If you have infrequently running transactions or very few transactions running in your CICS region, you will want to specify a longer analysis interval than if you have many transactions running frequently. The longer the analysis interval, the less likely that a few observations of a transaction will skew the CPU and response times.

Action

The action that AutoStrobe takes when a transaction exceeds a threshold. Typing A causes AutoStrobe to add an Add Additive measurement request. Typing W causes AutoStrobe to issue a warning. The default action is specified when Strobe is installed.

When you type A, AutoStrobe displays the Strobe - AutoStrobe Request - Active Measurement panel upon submitting the monitoring request, so you can specify parameters for a measurement session when a transaction exceeds a threshold.

Schedule

Type Y to display the Strobe - AutoStrobe Request Scheduler panel to restrict the days of the week during which transaction monitoring occurs upon pressing Enter.

Type N to immediately start the transaction monitoring process for the current or next startup of the CICS region. Y is the default.

Specifying a Schedule for Transaction Monitoring

You can use the Strobe - AutoStrobe Request Scheduler panel to restrict the days during which transaction monitoring occurs.

For example, if you add only one date, the transaction monitoring will occur only on that date. If you exclude only one date, transaction monitoring will occur for one year, excluding that date.

If you excluded one date and you did not specify a monitoring period on the Strobe - Add AutoStrobe Transaction Request panel, AutoStrobe will monitor that transaction for 24 hours a day for one full year, except for the date you excluded.

Strobe - AutoStrobe Request Scheduler panel

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The following sections describe the fields in Strobe - AutoStrobe Request Scheduler panel.

Select day of week by entering a Y

Type Y under the days of the week when you want transaction monitoring to occur. You can also type N or leave the field blank for the days of the week for which you do not want transaction monitoring.

Starting Date

Type the date on which you want transaction monitoring to begin, using the format on the panel.

Number of Weeks OR Ending Date

The number of weeks that you want transaction monitoring to occur or the date on which you want transaction monitoring to end (using the format on the panel).

Add or Exclude dates

Type a date in the DATE field and specify A to add or an E to exclude the date from monitoring in the OPT field.

 

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