MDI
DataSystems
NEW P-TRACKER
Decision Aid for Revision & Cleanup
z/OS Library Validation and Software Asset Management
"Find out what's needed. If you don't use it, get rid of it"- still clich�s in today's computer budget meetings. With P-Tracker you have a software monitoring tool for z/OS mainframe systems that not only tells you which software products and inhouse modules have been truly accessed but how much they're being used and by whom.
P-Tracker will ensure every module of every product and application you identify to it is monitored for usage on your z/OS system and sub-systems (CICS, IMS, ..). And you'll know who's using it. Knowing which modules are used means you know which features are used in your current systems, and which systems are obsolete.
If your job is to continue to reduce mainframe software costs at your organization, or look at options regarding system replacement costs, then P-Tracker automates the delivery of the current usage information you need to be in charge of negotiations:
- P-Tracker detects and identifies software products your installation isn't using anymore, so you can cancel rental or maintenance on them, and cease supporting them.
- P-Tracker identifies the users of lightly used products, so you can find out if their software needs can be met in other ways.
- P-Tracker helps you find software that's installed on the wrong system, so that you can remove it.
- P-Tracker finds all modules that are used to ensure that you will convert the right modules and features when migrating to new systems
DB2 Test Data Management
MDI DataSystems believes that by utilizing the BCV family of products described below enables a higher level of Test Data Management. UBS Hainer products enable an elegant Test Data Management Methodology which ensures that your management of DB2 processes are the most efficient possible.
http://ubs-hainer.com/
"Find out what's needed. If you don't use it, get rid of it"- still clich�s in today's computer budget meetings. With P-Tracker you have a software monitoring tool for z/OS mainframe systems that not only tells you which software products and inhouse modules have been truly accessed but how much they're being used and by whom.
P-Tracker will ensure every module of every product and application you identify to it is monitored for usage on your z/OS system and sub-systems (CICS, IMS, ..). And you'll know who's using it. Knowing which modules are used means you know which features are used in your current systems, and which systems are obsolete.
If your job is to continue to reduce mainframe software costs at your organization, or look at options regarding system replacement costs, then P-Tracker automates the delivery of the current usage information you need to be in charge of negotiations:
MDI DataSystems believes that by utilizing the BCV family of products described below enables a higher level of Test Data Management. UBS Hainer products enable an elegant Test Data Management Methodology which ensures that your management of DB2 processes are the most efficient possible.
http://ubs-hainer.com/
BCV4
FAST SUBSYSTEM CLONING
BCV4 duplicates DB2 and IMS subsystems running under the z/OS operating system. It sets the standard for creating DB2 subsystem clones. Making, setting up and executing pre-production environments, SAP Homogeneous System Copies, PeopleSoft test environments, QA system refreshes and general DB2 applications testing are simple job streams. BCV4 is the preferred solution for creating such environments. BCV4 is also an essential tool for IT staff implementing DB2 version upgrades.
BCV4 supports ‘single’ and ‘shared’ environments and is compatible with copy services such as native ADRDSSU, Flashcopy, Snapshot, ShadowImage, etc. BCV4 also clones complex systems including combined IMS/DB2 environments. It automates the complete process: Renames datasets, changes VTOCs and VVDSes, creates new catalogs, re-catalogs all files and makes the necessary updates within DB2 Directory and Catalog and prepares Bootstrap Datasets and Active Logs. In other words, BCV4 makes the new DB2 subsystem clone immediately usable.
Substantial Benefits
Easy to install and execute: the user selects from a list of cloning configurations and navigates through a short series of intuitive definition steps. Only required information that BCV4 cannot find by itself is solicited from the user. For each cloning project, BCV4 creates a job stream that goes from start to finish. It is executed either using the company scheduler under the manual control of the operational staff or in its own automatic submit mode. That means, after running the first task, all other jobs automatically execute following the successful completion of their predecessors.
Each and every step necessary to clone a DB2 subsystem is included in the job chain. The pitfalls of labor intensive and error prone tasks are eliminated. The time lost to reruns are a thing of the past. Once set up, a clone definition may be re-used as often as desired. Subsequent executions eliminate the need for tedious setup tasks and expert DB2/IMS staff coordination. DB2 cloning is accomplished with the “push of a button.”
How BCV4 Clones
Cloning is about copying and renaming many items and the faster the better. BCV4 uses installed hardware fast copying tools, standard ADRDSSU, or existing backups to create copies of volumes and datasets from the source DB2 or IMS subsystems. It executes specialized programs to rename and re-catalog all datasets on the target volumes. It completes this task in a fraction of the time needed by the standard utilities.
After all source data is copied and available, BCV4 runs specialized programs to make the necessary name changes required by the DB2 Catalog. It uses neither SQL nor any DB2 utility to perform these changes. This is the source of its speed. Time savings of 90% and higher are commonly reported by users. When the target DB2 subsystem is brought up at the end of this process, it has re-newed data and is ready to use. It is not magic, but solid craftsmanship with careful attention to detail that yields these performance boosts.
BCV5
FAST AND EFFICIENT DB2 DATA MIGRATIONS
Corporations maintain large amounts of data in DB2 databases, and it is normal to find several DB2 subsystems for production, test and development. Refreshing testbeds from production systems is a vital part of the development, testing and quality assurance life cycle. Obtaining relevant test data requires copying from one DB2 subsystem to another.
The window of opportunity for copying or migrating DB2 data is constantly decreasing as the demands from 24×7 operations are increasing. Limited resources and shrinking batch windows make data delivery to QA difficult.
Corporations maintain large amounts of data in DB2 databases, and it is normal to find several DB2 subsystems for production, test and development. Refreshing testbeds from production systems is a vital part of the development, testing and quality assurance life cycle. Obtaining relevant test data requires copying from one DB2 subsystem to another.
The window of opportunity for copying or migrating DB2 data is constantly decreasing as the demands from 24×7 operations are increasing. Limited resources and shrinking batch windows make data delivery to QA difficult.
BCV5 quickly and efficiently copies, refreshes and replicates DB2 objects. BCV5 copies DB2 databases or tables within the same or different DB2 systems. When measured against conventional copying methods, BCV5 saves around 90% on elapsed copy time and resources consumed (SSU, SRU). For one customer a ten-hour unload/load process was reduced to slightly over one hour. A BCV5 copy task integrates both, the physical data movement and the DDL related requirements. It copies DB2 data, i.e. databases or tables with or without auxiliary objects – indexes, views, triggers, procs and runstats. BCV5 automatically handles the OBID translation and the RBA adaptation. Copy jobs are completed in minutes rather than hours. DBAs are no longer forced to wait for weekend time slots and are able to run copying jobs on regular weekday shifts. Test data on demand is a dream come true for QA, development and test staff. BCV5 offers relief where the need is greatest. It significantly cuts down runtime and cost. It reduces CPU consumption by 90%+ and shortens the preparation lead time required by the staff.
TUC
AUTOMATING DB2 Maintenance
DB2 maintenance tasks include backup, reorg and statistics collection. TUC automates the generation and triggering of maintenance jobs. Real Time Statistics and thresholds are used to trigger utilities only when needed. TUC identifies any new object and refreshes the maintenance jobs automatically. Customization options allow the administrator to easily control utilities, objects and resources.
Grouping Objects
DB2 objects are grouped in profiles for uniform processing. Utility statements and jobs are generated for all objects in scope. Generic notations can be used to include objects in a profile. Utility statements are refreshed automatically whenever a table or an index is dropped or created. Skeletons are used to control how a statement should look. Utility options can be assigned for each profile. Profiles are created automatically for any newly created database. To balance the workload, profiles can be processed by multiple parallel jobs.
Triggering Execution
DB2 collects Real Time Statistics that can be used to identify the rate of changes since the last COPY or REORG. TUC allows you to define rules to examine Real Time Statistics and catalog statistics and qualify objects for utility execution. Utility jobs can be automatically triggered and handed over to a scheduler to process only the selected objects. Objects are processed by priority and can be excluded. The mangement of incremental copies allows the triggering of full copies only when needed.
Processing Requests
TUC has a unique mechanism that allows users to trigger maintenance procedures at meaningful points in time that fit into the application’s jobs flow. Jobs can be handed over to the scheduler as needed. This approach differs from common solutions because it takes into consideration the business requirements.
TUC allows full integration with application jobs and avoids collision between utility jobs and application processing. In addition, authorized users can indirectly request the execution of maintenance procedures without approaching the DBA team.
Why TUC
TUC automates the generation and execution of DB2 utilities and allows you to handle your DB2 maintenance efficiently.
TUC automation helps saving resources and cutting down expensive maintenance tasks while ensuring full recoverability
and availability. TUC allows you to cut the cost of backups, REORG and statistics collection by using Real Time Statistics.
TUC improves the DBA productivity and allows easy automation of repeatable tasks.
You can minimize the damage of availability loss by ensuring fast recovery. Efficient database maintenance also improves the overall system performance by increasing capacity. TUC is the ultimate product to automate the DB2 maintenance procedures by providing dynamic services to match your needs and demands.
P-Tracker Asset Discovery for z/OS
Need help with Software CUTBACKS?
Do you sometimes feel like you’re walking into a blind alley when discussing software usage
& contractual details with vendors? Procurement specialists and z/OS managers that
consider software cutbacks need to start by finding out which programs and products their
users are really using!
• WHAT are they using?
• WHO’s using it?
• WHERE are they using it?
• WHEN are they using it?
• HOW often are they using it?
Every now and again there comes a crunch when upper management says “if you don’t
need it, get rid of it …”. This can be initiated by a credit crisis or an inhouse crisis,
incredulous costs in IT upgrades, extras as a result of mergers or acquisitions, or those
sought-after-savings following outsourcing, insourcing, divestitures, down-sizing and
consolidations.
The need for Software Asset Management is well documented and every site has some
process to manage their software portfolios. Most sites are content to manage their software
contracts and costs by re-justifying the products during an annual review. In reality, the rejustification
of the products occurs when maintenance falls due or an interim upgrade cost is
thrown at them. The problem is that most sites do not have the capability to take a snapshot
assessment of who’s using what, where and how often, so the benefit analysis may not be
based on current facts regarding usage, redundancies and compliance.
P-Tracker is a convenient z/OS tool that monitors the usage of software programs in the
enterprise. It keeps you in control in discussions with IBM and ISVs. Using P-Tracker, you
can easily determine whether specific programs and products are used – vendor software
and inhouse software. It will confirm the CPUs and sub- systems where programs are used.
P-Tracker empowers you to cancel software that is no longer cost- justified. It identifies the
users that need to be notified when you decide to drop or change the software.
Of course, it’s not only about the software you acquired from various vendors. Libraries of in
-house developed applications are constantly growing, to the detriment of performance and
the expansion of maintenance. Sometimes older versions have not been cleanly removed
and lead to errors. Does this sound familiar? Have P-Tracker monitor your program usage,
lets say over a year, and detect those modules that are rarely or no longer used.
Benefits & Savings
P-Tracker can be licensed on a rental basis for the duration of your review requirements –
the necessary snapshots in time. You know the programs and products you want to track
down so we’ll license it just for the duration of your monitoring periods. You can use the PTracker
reporter for selected summary and detail reports or use your own report generator
program to extract the relevant information from P-Tracker monitoring files.
Immediate savings can be achieved through:
• Analysing product usage prior to renewal and upgrade negotiations
• Avoiding fees on unused or redundant products
Renegotiating contracts based on true usage (users/LPAR) rather than perceived
usage (across LPARs/CPU/Sysplex)
•
Redirecting manpower in maintaining inhouse and external programs identified as not
used is a powerful management tool.