Working with combined MSU reduction data

Cost Analyzer can support the following IBM price reduction offerings in Monthly Summary Reports:

• Mobile Workload Pricing (MWP)
• z Systems Collocated Application Pricing (zCAP)
• Container Pricing

When you generate a Monthly Summary Report for a month that had mobile transaction, zCAP, or container activity, the report provides details about the MSU reduction values in the Combined MSU Reduction column. The report also provides links that enable you to drill down to levels where you can analyze your combined MSU reduction data to understand its impact on both the R4HA MSU utilizations and all MSU utilizations for each interval of the month.

In general, the value in the Combined MSU Reduction column can be:

• A number greater than 0, representing the actual combined mobile, container and/or zCAP reduction of peak 4HRA
• 0, indicating that the mobile, container, or zCAP MSU usage does not contribute to the R4HA peak time interval for a given LPAR
• Blank, indicating that there is no mobile MSU, container, or zCAP usage for a given LPAR for the whole month  

The following figure shows a sample Monthly Summary Report that contains Combined MSU Reduction activity:

The Combined MSU Reduction column contains the following data:

• The total combined MSU reduction for the MLC product at the R4HA peak
• The total combined MSU reduction for each CPC where the MLC product was running

Cost Analyzer determines the combined MSU reduction according to the rules defined in the IBM Mobile Workload Pricing, Container Pricing for IBM Z, and IBM z Systems Collocated Application Pricing announcements. When evaluating this report, note that the values in the R4HA First Peak (MSU) column already include the combined MSU reduction.

Click on () next to any Combined MSU Reduction value, to display the following reduction details:

• Reducing Activity—The total number of combined MSUs for the MLC product or product family
• MSU Reduction—The total number of MSUs subtracted from the peak R4HA value due to the mobile, container, and zCAP activity
• Reduction—The amount subtracted from the R4HA First Peak cost due to the mobile, container, and zCAP activity

To drill-down to an MLC product's combined MSU reduction level and compare charts

1. From the Monthly Summary Report, find the MLC product from the list and for any CPC that is running the product, and click the corresponding Combined MSU Reduction value hyperlink.

   The Reporting Tool drills down to the MSU Utilization level for the MLC product running on the CPC:

   
   The charting area displays:

   • The adjusted CPC R4HA MSU Utilization and unadjusted CPC R4HA MSU Utilization charts for the selected MLC product.
   • The time and date of the peak interval.
   • The adjusted and unadjusted R4HA MSU Utilizations at the peak interval.

   Note

   For container activity, the Monthly Summary Report designates the type of container by the following labels:

   • LPAR Container ()
   • Collocated Container ()

2. In the Visibility column, select the box next to the LPAR name to add that LPAR's chart to the charting area.

   The charting area displays the R4HA MSU Utilization chart for the selected LPAR as shown in the following figure:

   

   
   

   Note

   For container MSU utilization activity, the report provides columns of additional metrics as described in the following table:

   Column	Description
   Container R4HA at Peak	The MSU reduction amount for the container activity on the LPAR The Combined MSU Reduction value can include all types of reductions (Mobile, zCAP, and Container). The Container R4HA at Peak value isolates the MSU reduction that resulted from container activity. The Container R4HA at Peak and the Combined MSU Reduction values are identical when the container activity is only type of reduction activity that occurred.
   Container MAX R4HA	The highest R4HA value for the container during the month in the LPAR
   Container Total MSU	Total MSU utilizations for the container during the month in the LPAR

   If none of the LPARs are defined as containers, the additional metric columns are not displayed.

   When you select an LPAR to display in the charting area, the color-coded LPAR chart is added showing only the combined MSU reduction utilizations across the monthly intervals.

   To assist in the analysis of the chart, you can perform any of the following actions:

   • Using the visibility selector, show or hide the adjusted or unadjusted CPC R4HA curves.
   • Perform the same interactive actions as described in Drill-down-levels.
     
     

3. (optional) For any LPAR listed in the LPAR Name column, click its R4HA MSU Utilization preview chart.
   The Reporting Tool drills down to a level that displays the monthly activity for the selected LPAR on its CPC as shown in the following figure:

   
   

   This level also enables you to compare the average hourly MSUs to the R4HA MSU Utilization by analyzing:

   • The LPAR Monthly R4HA MSU Utilization chart
   • A data grid that details each interval for the month and their corresponding MSU utilizations, including independent values for mobile, container, and zCAP activity

   The following table describes the curves you can display in the charting area:

   Chart curve	Description
   Average Hourly MSU	Average number of MSU utilized for the interval
   Actual LPAR R4HA MSU	Amount of R4HA utilization measured for the interval The value indicates the total R4HA MSU per hour.
   Adjusted LPAR R4HA MSU	Amount of R4HA utilization after applying the Combined Activity reduction The value indicates the reduced R4HA after applying the Combined Reduction to Measured LPAR R4HA. Depending on the LPAR, the combined reduction can consist of mobile transactions, zCAP activity, or both.
   LPAR R4HA Reduction Activity	Amount of Mobile Workload R4HA and/or zCAP R4HA utilization for the interval The different colors of the bar chart indicate values for the total number of R4HA MSUs identified as mobile transactions, and the total number of R4HA MSUs identified as zCAP activity. Note Cost Analyzer displays both types of workload reduction activity only when both types exist on the LPAR. If only one type exists on the LPAR, Cost Analyzer displays only that type.
   Defined Capacity	Displays or hides a background to contrast the charts against the LPAR Defined CapacityIf the Defined Capacity value is 0 MSUs, no background is displayed.

   To assist in the analysis of the chart, you can perform any of the following actions:

   • Select which curves to display in the charting area
   • Click on any number of intervals in the chart to mark them with an X and highlight the corresponding interval in the data grid
   • Click on any number of intervals in the data grid to highlight these intervals in the data grid and mark the corresponding intervals in the chart with an X
   • Click on Highlight top 5 LPAR R4HA intervals link to highlight the top 5 intervals in the data grid and mark them with an X in the chart
   • Click on Reset highlighted LPAR R4HA intervals to clear all highlighted intervals from the data grid and clear all X marks in the chart
   • Perform the same interactive actions as described in Drill-down-levels.