| Introduction |
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SCC Monitor can examine Storage Groups, VTOCs, Catalogs, HFS, DFSMS, HSM control files and logs, IBM Tape Libraries, JCL libraries, and storage management DADSM events. When the Monitor rules encounter specified conditions, the product can log, notify, or automatically take installation defined actions. All monitoring and
automation facilities are installation configurable.
| Description |
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SCC Monitor can be run as a batch job or started task to take snapshots of a data center’s storage subsystem. The product can also be used to continuously watch storage events, and automatically invoke installation-specified actions when threshold conditions are triggered. This real-time monitor component uses the DADSM and SMF exits to capture storage management events. Both the snapshot and real-time monitors use installation rules to generate reports, send messages, create files and/or take actions.
So, what’s a storage subsystem component, and what can you do with rules that analyze the information? The picture below illustrates what a Monitor batch job can access and produce.
In early versions of Monitor, customers typically worked with the Monitor rules to customize reports, or implement automatic storage management actions based on storage events. The current version requires almost no rule setup. Storage administrators typically use the Monitor ISPF interface or the PC-based SCC Explorer application to access SCC Monitor functions.
| Benefits |
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Monitors status of storage pools and volumes in a data center
- Monitors in real time whenever a storage related event occurs
- Scans volumes and pools to check for free space, fragmentation level, and VTOC index problems
- Provides up-to-date info regarding DASD utilization
- Invokes actions when thresholds are reached
Problem Prevention
- Prevents problems before they occur
- Provides early notification of impending situations (e.g.: dataset migration, expiration, excessive size)
- Aid to capacity planning & problem solving
Automated Process
- Automatically scans volumes
- Automatically invokes actions when thresholds are reached
- Eliminates manual intervention
Integrates with DFSMShsm
- Monitors & controls DFSMShsm
- Displays error records
- Provides statistics
| User Quotes |
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"SCC-Monitor has prevented problems from happening since it's set up to notify our group if pools fall under set thresholds. The product has some great reporting capabilities, and is used not only by support groups but by some customers have requested access to it. SCC-Monitor was easy to install and the support team is the best group I have ever worked with."
Jim Borus
IBM Global Services
MF Storage Management
"The DTS Software products are wonderful! We would not be able to run without them. We also experience significant cost savings, since the products' efficiencies allow us to maintain a smaller DASD farm."
Dave Cebell
The Dallas Morning News
"We find MONITOR extremely useful, especially when combined with automation in order to provide notification to users. We set threshold levels that interface with defined messages that get sent (via email, pager, etc) to users as notification. E.g., "Pool XYZ is 85% full, please make appropriate adjustments". This monitoring and messaging process provides real-time information without the necessity of manually reviewing it."
George Arangelovich
ACXIOM
| History |
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During the early years of our company, the ability to actively monitor a storage subsystem was always near the top of the DTS future projects list. Since DTS develops products that act on storage conditions and events, the future product had to be much more than just a reporting tool.
During the design phase for Monitor, DTS wanted to create the following user interfaces to the product:
- printed reports
- messages
- the creation of customizable fixed format data records for customer processing
- an ISPF interface
- a PC Application for storage administrators
Once the developers defined “storage subsystem” (see the left column on the diagram below), it took several years to write a product that could read all the different inputs, and then use the rules language to create all the different output formats (the right column on the same diagram).
After releasing the first version of Monitor in 1998, DTS created a large body of generic storage management rules and reports that might be useful to a storage administrator. This was followed by the Monitor ISPF interface.
The original design for SCC Monitor included a PC based GUI application that used a database tier to provide access to both real-time and historical storage management information. DTS tackled this last phase of the Monitor project, and created the first version of SCC Explorer using Java. Unfortunately, the first design was overly complicated and we learned that Java is not well suited for developing and maintaining GUI applications.
The current release of SCC Monitor includes a new Windows-based version of SCC Explorer. By default, the new application uses a two-tiered implementation – the PC-based GUI makes requests directly to the mainframe-based Monitor. If an installation requires a large amount of historical information about the storage subsystem, or needs to run frequent complex queries, an optional database tier can be easily added.
After years of hard work, the SCC Monitor and SCC Explorer have the polish of mature software products. They are easy to install and rarely require customization. However, the rules language in Monitor and the scripts used by SCC Explorer allow easy enhancements.
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