SOS Response Time Detail

The Response Time screen presents various aspects of Global System Response Times.

To access the Response Time Distribution Screen from the global screen:

Type S from the SOS Enter command: prompt to view the Screen Selection Menu screen.

From the Screen Selection Menu screen, enter R (Response Time Screen). The Response Time Distribution Screen will display.

To toggle between a Graphic and Tabular display format press the G key or press the F4 function key.

Examples of the Response Time Distribution Screen are provided in "SOS Response Time Distribution screen (graphical format)" and "SOS Response Time Distribution screen (tabular format)".

Both Prompt and First Responses are provided. Response time is defined as that time from when the Enter key is pressed until the time the user begins entering data. First Response is measured from the time the Enter key is pressed to when the very first character shows up on the screen.

Response Time Screen Keys

All of the Response Time Screen keys are identical with the keys of the CPU Detail Screen. See "CPU Detail Screen Keys" for details.

Response Time Screen Display Items

The Response Time screen can be displayed in both "Graphical Format." and "Tabular Format." Once the Response Time Detail screen is displayed, pressing the F4 function key will toggle the screens between each format.

Graphical Format

Figure 12.1 shows an example of the Response Time Distribution screen in graphical format.

Figure 12.1 SOS Response Time Distribution screen (graphical format)

Response Time Distribution (graphical format)

There are three main sections on the Graphic Response Time screen. Prompt Response, First Response and Other data are included on the lower part of the display. The primary purpose of the two upper sections is to inform you of how well overall response time service levels are being met.

The Response Time Distribution data items are described in Table 12.1.

Tabular Format

The Tabular screen (Figure 12.2) contains the absolute number of responses (Count) that make up the current set of statistics. The average and cumulative values are also provided on the Tabular screen. These numbers are displayed in brackets ([nnn]). Percentage averages and Count represent values that have been tabulated since SOS/3000 was initiated or since the last time the RESET TOTALS function key was pressed, whichever occurred last.

Figure 12.2 SOS Response Time Distribution screen (tabular format)

Response Time Distribution (tabular format)

The data items in the Response Time Distribution screen are described in the following table.

Table 12.1 SOS Response Time data items

Data Item	Description
Time (Sec)	These columns represent a distribution breakdown of terminal responses on a global basis. All terminal activity is taken into consideration. The first row (<.5) shows which percentage of all response times are less than 0.5 seconds. Depending on what your service level objectives are, the percentage in this category will be high for normal terminal activity. In the above example, 50.0 percent of all prompt response times are under 0.5 seconds. The next distribution level (<1) includes responses that were greater than or equal to 0.5 seconds but less than 1.5 seconds, etc.
Percentage	This label appears only when the Tabular option is chosen. These values are response proportions spread out over the <.5 through >=20 second categories. These will add up vertically to 100% with a very small rounding error. Both current and cumulative values are given when the tabular option is selected.
Count	This label appears only when the Tabular option is chosen. These numbers represent the actual number (one per user depression of the Enter key) of responses used in the percentage calculations. Both current and cumulative values are given when the Tabular option is selected.
Average Prompt Response	This is the overall Current and Cumulative Prompt Response Time. These values are the same as those on the Main screen in the Global Misc Statistics section. Prompt Response Times will usually be greater than First Response Times. This is because it takes time to paint the screen before a user prompt can be supplied. So, if you have a lot of long screen reporting, you will see large Prompt Response Time values, and small First Response Time values.
Average First Response	This is the overall current and cumulative First Response Time. For reasons explained in the Average Prompt Response section above, the first response tends to better measure how long it takes the computer system to actually perform user transactions. This value is usually smaller than the Prompt Response value.
Total Transaction	These numbers represent the current, cumulative, and rate of terminal reads per minute occurring on the system. A terminal read is defined as being equivalent to a user depression of the Enter key. These values do not include VPLUS status reads or SOS/3000 automatic refresh terminal reads. Other timer-triggered programs are also excluded. The cumulative values are tabulated from the time that SOS/3000 was initiated or from the last time the RESET TOTALS function key was pressed, whichever occurred last.
Other Terminal Reads	These two values represent terminal read activity that is not user-induced. These include session programs that automatically refresh the screen (like SOS/3000) and VPLUS-like programs that perform terminal status reads when the Enter key is not pressed.