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Lund Performance Solutions

SOS Host-specific Configuration Files

SOSADVIC File

In the System Performance Advice portion of the Global Summary screen (see "System Performance Advice"), advice messages are displayed based upon system activity that occurred during the current interval. The advice messages and display criteria are maintained in the SOSADVIC file (a portion of which is shown below) located in PUB.LPS.

User Notification Command
 
################################################################################
—
MODEL 900-999999
 
 
TELLOP
 
 
TELL MANAGER.SYS
 
 
 
Default Advice Specification Block
—
<GI01>The CPU was used a total of %s of its capacity during this interval
 
ALWAYS
 
CPU-BUSY%

Figure 8.1 SOSADVIC configuration file (example)
The SOS program can display a single-line message for each item-name variable (a data item selected from the ITEMLIST file) placed in the advice file. For a list of the data items in the ITEMLIST file, see "SOS/3000 Data Items".

During each current interval, SOS compares the value of each variable being monitored to the threshold criteria placed in the advice file. If the monitored value meets its threshold criteria, the message associated with that variable is displayed in the System Performance Advice portion of the Global Summary screen.

NOTE Please note that the lower and upper bounds of the thresholds for the MODERATE, HEAVY, and EXCESSIVE categories of each default advice message in the advice file are suggested values. It may be appropriate to adjust these values to reflect your system’s performance criteria.

Advice Message Specification Blocks

Advice message specification blocks are constructed in accordance with specific configuration rules and syntax. The rules for configuring advice message specification blocks within the advice file are listed in "Configuration Rules". The syntax of the specification blocks is outlined below using the default ME04 advice message as an example.
Example
<ME04>Memory indicator #4 (Page Fault rate) reveals %s %s memory load
PAGE-FAULT/S (10-50)
PAGE-FAULT/S | 20 an | 15 a | 10 a |
PAGE-FAULT/S | 20 EXCESSIVE | 15 HEAVY | 10 moderate |
Syntax
<message-id><message-text>
item-name (min-max)
item-name [|<value1><string1>|<value2><string2>|<value3><string3>|]
item-name [|<value1><string1>|<value2><string2>|<value3><string3>|]
Where:
  • <message-id> is a unique, four-character message identification code.
  • <message-text> is the actual advice message text.
  • item-name is the itemlist value to be used to determine the text string.
  • (min-max) is the minimum and maximum item threshold values required for the message to display.
  • The last two lines in the example are each single-line text qualifiers that correspond to the text place-holder(s) (%s) in the message-text.
  • The first place-holder in the message-text corresponds to the first text qualifier in the specification block.
    • In the example, the first place-holder in the message-text line:
    <ME04>Memory indicator #4 (Page Fault rate) reveals %s %s memory load
    is determined by the value thresholds in the corresponding text-qualifier:
    PAGE-FAULT/S | 20 an | 15 a | 10 a |
  • The second conversion specifiers in the <message-text> corresponds to the second text qualifier line in the block, and so on.
    • In the example, the first place-holder in the message-text line:
    <ME04>Memory indicator #4 (Page Fault rate) reveals %s %s memory load
    is determined by the value thresholds in the corresponding text-qualifier:
    PAGE-FAULT/S | 20 EXCESSIVE | 15 HEAVY | 10 moderate |
    The item-name <value> determines which <string> text is inserted into the printed advice message.

    Configuration Rules

  • Comment lines must be preceded by a number sign character (#).
  • The first line of the SOSADVIC file:
  • Specifies the HP 3000 models for which this advice file is valid. If there is no advice specification file, or if the model specified does not match the model on which SOS is being run, SOS will print a warning message and will not display any configured advice messages.
  • Is formatted:
    • Model xxxxxxxx (to specify a single hardware model)
    or
    Model xxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxx (to specify a range of hardware models)
    Example
    MODEL 900-999999
  • The first line is followed by any number of user notification commands, terminated by a blank line. Advice messages are displayed on a terminal screen or in STDLIST in the case of batch. You can also send messages to the console and to individual sessions via the TELLOP and TELL commands, respectively. All selected advice messages will be sent to a list of users and/or the system console. The TELL function is implemented as follows:
    • TELLOP
    TELL MANAGER.SYS
    TELL MGR.FINANCE
    <GI01>The CPU was ...
  • The rest of the file contains any number of message advice specification blocks separated by one or more blank lines. Each advice specification block must contain a message-id code followed by the actual advice message-text on the first line. Subsequent lines contain threshold criteria.
  • The message-id code is made up of the following components:
  • A type code, which denotes the specific system activity monitored.
  • D for disc activity
  • G for global activity
  • M for memory activity
  • W for workload activity
  • P for process activity
  • A user-defined priority code assigned to the <variable>
  • I indicates the advice message is informational.
  • E indicates the performance level is exceptional or excessive.
  • A unique two-digit identification number (00-99)
  • The <message-id> code is followed by the message text (<message-text>).
    • Example
    <CE01> The CPU Queue length indicates %s %s CPU bottleneck
    The message identification code precedes the message text in the specification file, but follows the message text in the actual advice message display.
  • Conversion specifications in the <message-text> specification must be introduced by the percent sign character (%). After the % character, a conversion character (either s or %) will indicate the type of conversion to by applied.
  • %s (percent sign followed immediately by a lower-case s) indicates the argument is a string and characters from the string will be printed until the end of the string.
  • %% (percent sign followed immediately by a percent sign) will print a % character; no argument is converted.
    • For each variable text or value to be included in the message text, a single-line text qualifier must follow the basic advice specification.
  • If the advice message should always be displayed, the second line of the advice specification block can be replaced with the word ALWAYS to specify the message should always be generated. The <item-name> from the ITEMLIST file would then be the only entry on the third line of the block.
    • Example
    <GI02>Process CPU use by Sub-Queue: AQ-%s BQ-%s CQ-%s DQ-%s EQ-%s
    ALWAYS
    AS-PROCESS%
    BS-PROCESS%
    CS-PROCESS%
    DS-PROCESS%
    ES-PROCESS%
  • The item-name specification used to determine the text string is usually, but not necessarily, the same as the advice threshold item. An item-name can be selected from block types 0, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, or 15 in the ITEMLIST file. Or, it can be one of six special item-names preceded by a percent sign (%item-name).
    • The following three items can only be used as variable text item-names. They will be replaced with a string of the form #nnn (nnn=PIN) to identify the appropriate process:
  • %CPU-HOG, which identifies the CPU hog process
  • %DISC-HOG, which identifies the disc hog process
  • %TERM-HOG, which identifies the terminal read hog process
    • The next three special items can be used anywhere as a regular item-name can be used:
  • %HOG-CPU, the CPU percentage used by %CPU_HOG
  • %HOG-Disc, the disc I/O’s performed by %DISC_HOG
  • %HOG-TERM, the terminal reads performed by %TERM_HOG
    • A special construct is used to configure advice messages when workload group response time service level objectives are exceeded. For these messages the second line should be the work "WORKLOAD(x)", where "x" is:
  • F to specify a first response time exceeded objective
  • P to specify a prompt response time exceeded objective
  • C to specify a CPU time exceeded objective
    • The following special item names can be used for workload messages only:
  • %WORKLOAD, the name of workload group
  • %ACTUAL, the actual group average response time
  • %LIMIT, the response time service level objective
  • An item-name preceded by an exclamation character (!item-name), specifies that all occurrences of this advice message will be sent through user-notification commands.

    • Pulse Points - SOSADVIC File

    The SOSADVIC file also contains the Pulse Point configuration information for the Pulse Points screen. For information about Pulse points, see "SOS/3000 Pulse Points"

     
     
    #########################################################################################
    CPU Pulse Points Indicator Lines
    —
    $PP_CPU HIGH-PRI-BUSY% "Hi-Pri Busy(%)" 50,85 "AQ+BQ+CQ+Mem+Disp+ICS"
     
    $PP_CPU QUEUE-LEN "CPU QL" 5,15 ""
     
    $PP_CPU OVERHEAD%+DISPATCHER% "ICS/OH+Dispatch(%)" 10,15 ""
     
     
    $PP_CPU CPU-CM "CPU CM(%)" 10,15 "Subjective"
     
     
    $PP_CPU AS-PROCESS%+BS-PROCESS% "AQ+BQ" 5, 8 "Opr sys dependent"
     
    Memory Pulse Points Indicator Lines
    —
    $PP_MEMORY MEM-MANAGER% "CPU MM(%)" 4,10 "Reliable indicator"
     
    $PP_MEMORY PAGE-FAULTS "Page Fault Rate" 10,25 "CPU dependent"
     
    $PP_MEMORY SWAPS/LAUNCH "Swaps/Launch" 40,80 ""
     
     
    $PP_MEMORY MEM-CYCLES "Memory Cycles/Hour" 4,10 ""
     
    Disc Pulse Points Indicator Lines
    —
    $PP_DISC PAUSE% "Pause" 5,15 "Reflects data loc"
     
    $PP_DISC READ-HIT% "Read Hit(%)" 95,85 ""
     
    $PP_DISC DISC-QUEUE-LEN "Average Q-Length" 5,10 "Overall average"
     
     
    $PP_DISC DISC-IO-RATE "Disc I/O Rate/Sec" 10,25 "Avg per disc"
     
    Misc. Pulse Points Indicator Lines
    —
    $PP_MISC C/N-SWITCHES "CM to NM Switches" 200,500 "CPU dependent"
     
    $PP_MISC N/C-SWITCHES "NM to CM Switches" 25,75 "CPU dependent"
     
     

    Figure 8.2 SOSADVI C - Pulse Points configuration file (example)
    An example of the Pulse Points screen is shown in Figure 8.3.


    Figure 8.3 SOS Pulse Points screen (example)
    By default, the Pulse point thresholds and messages are configured for you. You can edit the SOSADVIC file in order to:
  • Add, delete, or reorder the Pulse point indicators (variables) that appear in each section
  • Modify the Green (normal), Yellow (problematic), and Red (unacceptable) threshold values
  • Modify the comments associated with each Pulse point indicator

    • Pulse Point Indicator Lines

    Example
    $PP_MEMORY MEM-MANAGER% "CPU MM(%)" 4,10 "Reliable indicator"
    Syntax
    <section><value-spec><label><yellow-threshold, red-threshold><comment>

    Configuration Rules

    All the comments lines in the file start with a "#". The information for pulse points can be placed anywhere in the SOSADVIC file, but it is currently organized in the front section. All pulse point variables start with "$PP" and are in uppercase. Do not change or delete these variable names; new names must follow the same format.
  • The first line of the SOSADVIC file:
  • Specifies the HP 3000 models for which this advice file is valid. If there is no advice specification file, or if the model specified does not match the model on which SOS is being run, SOS will print a warning message and will not display any configured advice messages.
  • Is formatted:
    • Model xxxxxxxx (to specify a single hardware model)
    or
    Model xxxxxxxx-xxxxxxxx (to specify a range of hardware models)
    Example
    MODEL 900-999999
  • The first line is followed by any number of user notification commands, terminated by a blank line. Advice messages are displayed on a terminal screen or in STDLIST in the case of batch. You can also send messages to the console and to individual sessions via the TELLOP and TELL commands, respectively. All selected advice messages will be sent to a list of users and/or the system console. The TELL function is implemented as:
    • TELLOP
    TELL MANAGER.SYS
  • Any Pulse points variable that you want to display in the Pulse Points screen must be defined in the SOSADVIC file.
  • The first four specification fields in the Pulse points indicator line must be completed. The <comments> field may be omitted.
  • Commas, spaces, or tabs must separate the specification fields in the Pulse points indicator line to allow for "white space" in the display.
  • Each indicator line must begin with the name of the section in which the variable will appear in the Pulse Points screen. The section name in the <section> field must be preceded by "$PP_". The valid section names are:

  • $PP_ CPU
    		•
    (CPU section)
  • $PP_MEMORY
    		•
    (Memory section)
  • $PP_DISC
    		•
    (Disc I/O section)
  • $PP_MISC
    		•
    (Miscellaneous section)

  • The <value-spec> field is composed of a variable and an (optional) operator in the format:
    • <variable>[<operator><variable>]...[<operator><variable>]
    Where:
  • <variable> is either the SOS variable name being monitored and displayed in the Pulse Points screen, or the SOS variable being used after the operator. A variable name must meet the following qualifications:
  • It must be included in the ITEMLIST file.
  • It must have block numbers 1, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12 or 14.
  • It must have item types less than 1000.
  • Information referenced from block 1 will be averages
  • <operator> is either the addition (+) or subtraction (-) function applied to the corresponding variable within the indicator line. White space (achieved by inserting a comma, a space, or a tab) must exist on both sides of the operator within the indicator line.
  • The <label> field is the text that describes the <variable> on the Pulse Points screen. For example, in the indicator line:
    • $PP_MEMORY MEM-MANAGER% "CPU MM(%)" 4,10 "Reliable indicator"
    "CPU MM(%)" is the <label> that describes the <variable>, MEM-MANAGER%.
  • The <yellow-threshold, red-threshold> field follows the <label> field in a Pulse points indicator line. The values entered for the yellow- and red-thresholds should be in the scale or unit appropriate for the <variable>.
  • Green
    • To display in the Green (normal) column in the Pulse Points screen, the value of the <variable> must be less than the value for the yellow-threshold when the scale is from low to high (the yellow-threshold value is less than the red threshold value). See Example 1 50.
    When the scale is from high to low (the yellow-threshold value is greater than the red- threshold value), the value of the <variable> must be greater than the value for the yellow threshold. See Example 2 on 50.
  • Yellow
    • To display in the Yellow (problematic) column in the Pulse Points screen, the value of the <variable> must be equal to or greater than the yellow threshold value and less than the red threshold value when the scale is low to high. See Example 1.
    When the scale is from high to low, the <variable> must be equal to or less than the yellow threshold value and greater than the red threshold value. See Example 2.
  • Red
    • To display in the Red (unacceptable) column in the Pulse Points screen, the value of the <variable> must be equal to or greater than the red threshold value when the scale is set from low to high. See Example 1.
    When the scale is from high to low, the <variable> must be equal to or less than the red threshold value. See Example 2.
    Example 1
    $PP_CPU HIGH-PRI-BUSY% "High Pri Busy(%)" 50,85 "AQ+BQ+CQ+Mem+Disp+ICS"
    The Pulse points for this example indicator line would be interpreted as: