Managing Your IBM Power System Server Performance

Successfully managing performance ensures that your system is efficiently using resources and that your server provides the best possible services to your users and to your business needs. Moreover, effective performance management can help you quickly respond to changes in your system and can save you money by postponing costly upgrades and service fees.

Performance management is necessary to optimize utilization of your computer system by measuring current capabilities, recognizing trends, and making appropriate adjustments to satisfy end user and management requirements such as response time or job throughput. It is needed to maintain business efficiency and avoid prolonged suspension of normal business activities. Therefore, managing performance is part of your daily operations.

Understanding the factors that affect system performance helps you respond to problems and make better long-term plans. Effective planning can prevent potential performance problems from developing and ensures that you have the system capacity to handle your current and growing workloads.

  • Selecting a Performance Management Strategy

    Developing a good performance management strategy will help you manage your system's performance.

  • Determining when and how to expand your system

    As your business needs change, your system must also change. To prepare for any changes, you will want to model the current system and then see what would happen if the system, the configuration, or the workload were changed.

  • Comparing performance metrics before and after system changes

    Comparing performance metrics before and after system changes provide important information for both troubleshooting and planning.

  • Tracking performance

    Tracking your system performance over time allows you to plan for your system's growth and ensures that you have data to help isolate and identify the cause of performance problems. Learn which applications to use and how to routinely collect performance data.

  • Researching a performance problem

    There are many options available to help you identify and resolve performance problems. Learn how to use the available tools and reports that can help you find the source of the performance problem.

  • Displaying performance data

    After you have collected performance data, learn how to display the data using the most appropriate tool for your purposes.

  • Tuning performance

    When you have identified a performance problem, you will want to tune the system to fix it.

  • Electronic business performance

    Managing performance in an electronic business environment introduces several new problems for the system administrator.

Parent topic:
Performance
Related reference:
IBM Reference

Checklist: Completing the IBM i upgrade or replacement

Use this checklist to complete the IBM® i upgrade or replacement processes.

  1. If you still have default passwords for your service tools user IDs, change them now. For information about service tools user IDs, see Changing service tools user IDs and passwords.
  2. Remove the media volume when the installation is complete. If your media is tape, wait for the tape to rewind completely.
  3. If you have any IBM or non-IBM products with special installation instructions, install these products now. Check the product's documentation, and follow any special instructions.
  4. Install the most current cumulative PTF package. (This package should have been ordered a week or two before your installation.) Use the instructions in the PTF Shipping Information Letter. Then return here and continue with the next step.
    NoteIf you do not install the cumulative PTF package now, you need to perform an IPL and let the Initialize System (INZSYS) process complete. Before you do, set the IPL type to B (or the IPL type you use for everyday operation) and then set the mode selection to Normal. Initialize System (INZSYS) recovery has more information on INZSYS.
  5. Apply any PTF groups that you have ordered. For more information on PTF groups, refer to Fix groups. To apply PTF groups, refer to the cover letter and instructions for the program temporary fix (PTF). For general information on applying PTFs, go to Installing fixes.
  6. If your system is operating as a service partition and your system is not being managed by a Hardware Management Console, you might be required to perform a server IPL. A server IPL is an IPL whereby all logical partitions on the system are shut down at the same time. This allows, for example, a new level of the server firmware to be activated on the system.

    You might be required to perform a server IPL after you apply or remove a PTF on the service partition if that PTF affects the server firmware.

    • To find out if you need to do a server IPL, type DSPFMWSTS on the IBM i control language (CL) command line and press Enter. If a server IPL is required, the Server IPL required field is set to Yes.
    • To find out if your system is operating as a service partition, type DSPFMWSTS on the CL command line and press Enter. If your system is operating as a service partition, the Service partition field is set to Yes.
    NoteWhen shutting down your service partition, reference codes D6xx430B or D6xx430A could be displayed for an extended amount of time. The xx should increment periodically and is a normal part of processing when server firmware code is being updated. Allow the system to complete the processing. Do not interrupt this process.
  7. Look for messages in the install history log that indicate the status of the Initialize System (INZSYS) process.
    1. Type GO LICPGM and press Enter.
    2. Type 50 (Display log) on the Work with Licensed Programs display, and press Enter.
    3. The Display Install History display appears. Press Enter.

    The Display History Log Contents display appears. If you do not see either of the following messages on the display, wait a few minutes and select option 50 again. Find the message Initialize System (INZSYS) started. After this message appears, wait for a period of time and look for the Initialize System (INZSYS) processing completed successfully message (CPC37A9). If you do not see message CPC37A9 on the display, go to Initialize System (INZSYS) recovery to determine the problem.

  8. If you see the message An unexpected error occurred during an IPsec request in the QSYSOPR message queue, the Internet Protocol filtering rules might have failed to load. To help you determine why the loading of filtering rules failed, review the messages in the QTCPWRK system job log and search for TCP9535 (Failed to apply filtering rules). You will need to load your filter rules again.
  9. If you used an image catalog to perform your upgrade, you might want to remove all installation images from your system. To delete the catalog and all the optical images (image files), type the following: 
    DLTIMGCLG IMGCLG(mycatalog) KEEP(*NO)Copy
  10. If you used an image catalog to perform your installation and you used the Start ASP Balance (STRASPBAL) command to end the allocation for storage in the load-source disk unit before you upgraded, enter the Start ASP Balance (STRASPBAL) command to resume the allocation of storage for the load-source disk unit. 
    STRASPBAL TYPE(*RSMALC) UNIT(1) 
STRASPBAL TYPE(*CAPACITY) ASP(1) TIMLMT(*NOMAX)Copy
  11. If your service tools language is different than your primary language, you might want to verify that the service tools language is the one that you want on the system or logical partition. For details, refer to Changing the service tools language on your system or logical partition.
  12. Install software license keys for your IBM i and keyed products. Use the Work with License Information (WRKLICINF) command to display the installed keyed products to add license key data. For specific instructions, go to Adding license key information.

    After updating the license key information, return here and continue with the next step.

  13. After you complete the installation process and before you make a system or partition available to all users, set the usage limit for the software-license managed products. These products are listed on the Proof of Entitlement (POE), invoice, or other documents that you have received with your software order. For products that have a usage limit, you set the usage limit with the Work with License Information (WRKLICINF) command.

    To set your usage limit, do the following:

    1. Type WRKLICINF and press Enter.
    2. On the Work with License Information display, press F11 (Display Usage Information). The usage limit number on each product that is listed on the POE, invoice, or other documents must match the usage limit number on the Work with License Information display for the associated product.
    3. If the usage limit is to be updated, move the cursor to the line that contains the product name whose usage limit is to be updated.
    4. Type 2 (Change) and press Enter.
    5. When the Change License Information display is shown, update the usage limit prompt with the usage limit shown on the POE. In addition, update the threshold prompt with either *CALC or *USGLMT. Do not leave the threshold set to zero.
      NoteIf message CPA9E1B [Usage limit increase must be authorized. Press help before replying (C G).] is sent, respond by typing G.
    6. If the POE lists more products than the Work with License Information display, set the usage limits after you install those products.
  14. If you deleted any licensed program libraries or secondary language libraries from either of the library list system values [system library list (QSYSLIBL) or user library list (QUSRLIBL)], change system values QSYSLIBL or QUSRLIBL to add the libraries back in the library list now.
  15. If you changed the verify object signatures during restore (QVFYOBJRST) system value from 4 or 5 to 3 or had unlocked it before your upgrade, change this back to its normal setting. If you have additional software applications, however, that were included in the upgrade, keep them at 3 until after you restore them. If you changed the allow restore of security sensitive objects (QALWOBJRST) system value to *ALL or had unlocked it before the upgrade, return the value to its normal locked setting.
  16. If you changed the scan control (QSCANFSCTL) system value to minimize future scanning of some objects that are restored before you installed your licensed programs, you can now remove the *NOPOSTRST specification from this system value.
  17. If you changed any other system value such as security level (QSECURITY) during your upgrade, change it back now.
  18. Some of the tasks in this topic require that you change the QSYSOPR severity code filter to 95. If you do not want to continue with this level or you want to change the delivery notification, type CHGMSGQ QSYSOPR DLVRY(xx) SEV(yy) where xx indicates the delivery notification and yyindicates the severity code that you want to use. The system defaults are DLVRY(*HOLD) SEV(0).
  19. If you have installed the product 5722-VI1, Content Manager, you can use the product. However, you must perform commands referenced in the Post Installation section in the product document IBM ImagePlus®: Planning and Installation, SC27-1133-01.
  20. If you have not already verified the compatibility of your licensed programs with the IBM i operating system, do this now. Use LICPGM menu option 10, Display installed licensed programs. If *COMPATIBLE is not listed next to a licensed program, then go to Installed status values and determine how to proceed.
  21. Depending on your strategy for object conversion, consider running the Start Object Conversion (STROBJCVN) command to either convert user objects or check which objects still require conversion.
  22. Save your system using your normal save procedures. Refer to the instructions in the Backing up your system topic. Make sure that the Initialize System (INZSYS) process is complete before you save your system.
    NoteBefore you start a save operation, use the Work with Active Jobs (WRKACTJOB) command to check the status of QDCPOBJx jobs. These jobs decompress objects. There could be more than one QDCPOBJx job. You can start your save operation if these jobs are in an inactive state. If you put the system in a restricted state by ending subsystems, the QDCPOBJx jobs become inactive. The jobs will restart when the system is not in a restricted state. For more information about decompressing objects, see Compressed objects and storage space.
  23. If you have installed IBM i Access Family products, you might have other tasks that you need to complete. You can find further information about IBM i Access Family products at IBM i Access website Link outside information center.
  24. You might have installed licensed programs that require additional installation steps on PCs, or you might have programs that should be installed on PCs through an IBM i Access Family function. If you have products such as these, complete your PC installation by using the instructions for the product.
  25. If you have a IBM i integration with BladeCenter and System x that you stopped before you began the installation process, restart it now.
    1. Type GO NWSADM on a CL command line. The Network Server Administration display appears.
    2. Select option 2 (Start a network server).
  26. If you installed 5770-TC1, TCP/IP Utilities, go to the topic TCP/IP setup for advanced configuration and setup information.
  27. If you have customized an IBM-supplied program (for example, QSTRUP in library QSYS) in a previous release, make sure that you re-create this program to run correctly in the new release.
  28. If you have duplicated any IBM-supplied objects, you might want to make new duplicates after you install the release. This enables you to take advantage of functions added in the new release. Examples of objects that you might duplicate include the following:
    • Message text descriptions
    • Commands
    • Command defaults
  29. If you use the IBM Performance Management for Power Systems™ function, the Collection Services tool, or the Performance Tools licensed program and you collected data before installing your new release, you need to perform an action to enable the collecting of performance data to continue.
    You have the following choices regarding how to handle your performance data from the prior release:
    • Convert the data.

      Use the Convert Performance Collection (CVTPFRCOL) command to convert the data in the collection library. This command supports data conversion for Collection Services, PEX, Job Watcher, and Disk Watcher file collections.

    • Automatic data collection support. When Collection Services is started at IPL, a performance library for the prior release files is created. Collection Service database files are moved to that library. This action allows new files to be created and preserves the existing data files from the previous release. You should be aware of the following items:
      • The library name that is created is QPFRDvrmnn, where vrm is the current version, release, and modification and nn is a unique sequence number starting with 01, for example, QPFRD52001.
      • The library is created with *EXCLUDE public authority. The library is owned by the QSYS user profile, and the owner of the original library is given *ALL authority.
      • All QAPMxxxx files are moved.
      • If you do not want to keep the data from the previous release, you can delete the QPFRDvrmnn library with the Delete Library (DLTLIB) command (DLTLIB qpfrdvrmnn)

You have completed upgrading to the new release on your system.

IBM Reference

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