Minimizing EXEC processing time

Rules are less prone to have errors and use less CPU than EXECs. The use of EXECs should be considered only after you have determined that the automation task cannot be accomplished with a Rule.

For MainView AutoOPERATOR to perform automation efficiently with EXECs, the subsystem must be tuned to process EXECs as quickly as possible. The desirable level of throughput (or the number of EXECs processed per minute) for each site varies, depending on your automation requirements and the design of the EXECs.

You can do some things to ensure that EXECs run efficiently:

• Fix the dispatching priority of the subsystem.

  The subsystem (SS) must be run at a fixed dispatching priority. The priority of the SS must be higher than (or equal to) the regions that MainView AutoOPERATOR is managing (for example: CICS, IMS, JES2). This setting ensures that MainView AutoOPERATOR can quickly respond to events in these regions.

• Allocate the correct number of EXEC threads.

  Adjust the number of EXEC threads (with the MaxNorm and MaxHigh parameters in BBPARM member AAOEXP00) to the minimum number required to achieve the level of throughput that you want.

• Use the OS/390 Virtual Lookaside Facility (VLF) service.

  Using VLF allows MainView AutoOPERATOR to perform EXEC processing with a minimum of I/O activity, and reduced I/O activity leads to less system overhead and improved performance.

  Refer to the IBM publication OS/390 Initialization and Tuning Reference for information about the VLF service. Refer to Using-VLF-to-improve-performance for more information about MainView AutoOPERATOR EXECs and VLF.