http://www.cmg.org <---Link to CMG.org here (CMG is the national Computer Measurement Group.)
Welcome to the Greater Atlanta - Computer Measurement Group (GA-CMG) website!
General Information:
We are a group from the Atlanta CMG region and represent people interested in measurement topics related to computers. We share information of lessons-learned from one another and from others who may visit our region. We specialize in enhancing computer performance and reducing the cost of executing computing processes. Also, we use computer measurements to predict usage for maximum capacity needs.
Typically, we sponsor two regional conferences a year, one in the spring (mid-April), and another in the fall (mid-October).
(Note that the national CMG conference is usually held during the first week of December. It is an incredible learning opportunity for both newcomers to the field and experienced staff.)
We invite all to the conferences who wish to come, and we encourage participation. We share best practices with one another, learn about others in the computing field, and discuss problems and possible solutions. You do not need to write a 'formal' paper to make a presentation to the group. Vendors products may often be showcased with the perspective of learning more about computers and measurement. To be placed on our email list, send a request to Bob.Chaney(at)Delta.Com.
Information on the LAST conference:
On April 22, 2009, we had a great conference that included presentations from two invited speakers. IBM Tivoli was our sponsor.
In the morning, Peter Sevcik, the inventor of the Apdex score spoke. Peter also the executive director of the Apdex Alliance and a principal in the NetForecast website. He is a leading authority on measuring, assessing, and improving the performance of networked applications. He has contributed to the design of more than 100 systems and to the success of more than 25 application management products. He has pioneered several performance management techniques that are in common use today.
The Apdex score is the open standard numerical measure of application performance satisfaction. Essentially, the Apdex score is a number between 0 (Zero) and 1 (One). Zero represents an application performace that is rated by the user community as being a disaster and one represents application performance perfection. The base idea of the scoring system is to achieve a rating, such as point five nine's as defined by the user community. A user score example would be described as being an "F" (frustrated with the application) , "T" (tolerating the performance), or "S" (satisfied with the performance) of the application. The strength of the Apdex scoring system is that it discovers hidden problems. The use is not 'one time', but is a periodic trend that can be used to help find capacity problems during the time addressed. The important part of the system is that the score is linked to the business needs. John showed the group his 'formula' and used a case study of a business-to-business commercial website as an example of use. He explained some of the different metrics selected as the measurement markers. The Apdex score is used by many large companies and government web sites.
Peter's presentation may be viewed at http://www.apdex.org. He suggested further study at the following site: http://kpilibrary.com. (This contains Key Performance Indicators used by the scoring system.) Also, others may be interested in the web-site http://www.netforecast.com where Peter is a frequent contributor to the blog area.
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In the afternoon, our second presenter was John Van Wagenen. John works with a team of performance analysts at Caterpillar, Inc. The company is a large producer of diesel engines that includes the ones used in ships, trains, and trucks. He attended national CMG for the first time in 2006 and presented his first paper in 2007. Following that experience, he decided to write three papers, in hopes of having another accepted. Well, all three were accepted and at the national CMG 2008 conference, he presented his papers and was selected as a Mullen Award winner! With this award, comes a stipend that allows him to travel to regional meetings and present his papers to others. He is an engaging speaker and is truly interested in helping others learn from his experience. We are grateful to John for coming to visit us. John didn't spend much time in Atlanta, he flew to Atlanta the morning of the conference, and he flew out immediately after his presentation. He told us that he is also presenting his paper in Paris, and other regions in the upcoming months.
John presented two papers. His first paper was: “So you want to manage your z-Series MIPS? Then detect and control application workload variance!” He has an outstanding success story from Caterpillar where they have not upgraded the mainframe capacity for two years, in spite of doubling growth in sales. He explained how his team was able to find code inefficiencies by analyzing usage and comparing the baseline measure of an application to recent growth, or variance. They look for applications that exceed a 20% monthly threshold and target that application for more analysis. Many times, a deeper dive into application performance yields finding code that can use less computer cycles if it is changed to be more efficient. His paper was the result of lessons-learned and instructions on how others may measure their usage. He creates a daily/hourly file for about 700 applications that run on the mainframe. He noted that they execute 10,000 batch jobs an hour. The team looks at schedules that can shift and many factors of how the mainframe can be more effective.
John's second paper was titled: “Pivot tables/charts - magic beans without living in a fairy tale". This presentation was one where ‘you had to be there’. John was both entertaining and educational with a live demonstration of the creation and use of Microsoft Excel Pivot tables. The take-home use of this information is invaluable to those who have not experienced ‘pivoting’. He has found where delineation of functionality creates better diagnostics. He used a DB2 Authid/CorrelationId pivot chart as an example for the web activity at Caterpillar. He said that they have found that sizing workloads can improve application forecasts. They use a technique called "Pad Management" where they follow application growth patterns, and tune, when possible, to protect the white-space. (The area on a graph above actual usage and below the maximum capacity of the machine.)
His papers may be found at http://www.cmg.org in the national CMG 2008 papers and ***here***. <--- Click to go to John's presentation.
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We had a self-serve, light breakfast, and a self-serve BBQ
Buffet lunch from Slope's sponsored by IBM Tivoli.
Tivoli is used by IBM for Service Management and can be incorporated into
ITIL measurements. Thank you, IBM, for lunch and thank you, Bank
of America, for the use of the facilities.
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GA-CMG 2008 Fall Conference Information <--- Click for information on the GA-CMG 2008 Fall Conference
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Information on the NEXT conference:
GA-CMG 2009 Fall Conference is currently being planned.
Date: October 2009 (Exact day to be determined)
Time: 8:30 am -3:30 pm
Location: Bank of America Midtown Building (Note: Location may change.) 3rd floor Conference Room
715 Peachtree Street, NE (corner of Third Street and Peachtree Street, N.E.)
Atlanta, Ga. 30308
Cost: $25 (Link to PayPal ***here***)
General Location: The Bank of America building is at the corner of 3rd St., N.E. and Peachtree St., N.E. It has a prominent acrylic dome walkway leading to the building entrance and this entrance is the only one into the building. Additional landmarks immediately nearby include the Fox Theatre, the Georg
ian Terrace, and the BellSouth building. (Note: Agatha's Dinner Theatre used to be located across the street.) Third Street is two blocks north of North Avenue and one block north of Ponce de Leon Avenue.Rapid Transit: The closest MARTA stop is the North Avenue station on the North/South line. Exit the North Avenue station on the north end and walk east on Third Street to the top of the hill which is Peachtree Street. The walk is about a hundred yards. The entrance to the Bank of America building is diagonal from the stoplight at the corner. Note: MARTA travels to the airport and parking is available there.
Driving Directions: If you are travelling from the North of Atlanta to downtown, take the I-85/I-75 Connector exit to North Avenue. Turn left onto North Avenue at the top of the exit and go to the second traffic light. Turn left onto West Peachtree Street. Go to the second traffic light and turn right onto Third Street N.W. Drive about two-tenths of a mile to the top of the hill and Peachtree Street. (Note: You may not turn left onto Peachtree Street from North Avenue.)
If you are travelling from the south of Atlanta to downtown, take the I-85/I-75 Connector to the Pine Street exit (#249B). Travel straight on Pine Street for about one-tenth of a mile to the traffic light. Turn left onto Peachtree Street and drive about four-tenths of a mile to Third Street. The building numbers are prominently displayed near the door.
Parking: A building-connected parking deck is available on the east side of the building. Access to the parking deck is from Third Street. There are also two non-connected decks nearby.
-One is accessed from 705 Peachtree Street (the Georgian Terrace entrance directly across from the Fox Theater).
-The other is accessed at 720 Peachtree Street (directly across the street from the Bank of America building).
-There is also surface street parking at Bellsouth's parking lot adjacent to the Fox Theater.
-If you are feeling lucky, and enjoy walking, there is a small amount of free parking that may be available one block further east on Third and Fourth Streets. This parking lot involves navigating the adjacent one-way streets.
Building and Room Access: We meet on the third floor in a conference area. From the elevator, look for signs posted on or near the doors. All building entrants will be required to sign in at the security desk in the front lobby of the building. Upon signing-in, you be provided with a temporary access badge for the day from the security guard. Please remember that after the meeting has concluded, you must return the badge to the security area when departing from the building.
Information on Board Members:
President
: Kevin Mobley Email: gacmg@cmg.orgThe Ian Thomas Group http://www.IanThomasGroup.com
1185 State Street, Suite 800
Atlanta, GA 30318
Business: 404-993-5698 Fax: 404-949-5936
An article about the Ian Thomas Group was published in the TechJournal South, Technology Business News March 18,2009.
Vice President:
Juliana Hughes Email: Juliana.Hughes(at)Macys.comMainframe Capacity Planning, Macy's, John's Creek, GA Business: 678-474-2708
Secretary: Bob Chaney Email:Bob.Chaney(at)Delta.com NOTE: Bob was a previous CMG Mullen Award winner.
Delta Technology, LLC, Enterprise Architecture, Atlanta Airport, Atlanta GA
Business: 404-242-4117
Treasurer: Charles Savage Email: Charles.Savage(at)BankofAmerica.com NOTE: Charles is the current national CMG treasurer.
Mail Information: Greater Atlanta Computer Measurement Group
%Charles Savage (Resiliancy and Availability Services)
715 Peachtree Street N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
Board Of Director Member: Prentice Frazier Email: Prentice.Frazier(at)Comcast.Net
(Note: The (at) name in all the previous email addresses is to be replaced with an "@" symbol in the address field of the email. The '(at)' coding here is to prevent webcrawling software from collecting email addresses and sending spam.
Occasionally, CMG learns of open positions in the field. In that case, an email may be sent to the list to notify others of the opportunity.)