Midwest CMG

Mainframe Storage Trends and Performance

Bob Heister, BMC

This presentation will focus on aspects of storage management and challenges for the mainframe storage specialist. Appropriate tool use and storage design are two of the elements that will be explored.

Developing a Storage Strategy

Randy Kerns, Evaluator Group Inc.

Storage has become a critical asset for corporations and the purchase, management, and overall strategy is a key decision that may have effects on the overall success of the company. The continued growth of corporate data has made it extremely important to have a storage strategy. The good news is that even in today’s tough economy, executing that strategy can mean an investment in technology that has the potential for significant financial gains for a company. This discussion will help you understand the business requirements that are necessary for developing a storage strategy that is a sound business practice with economic gains to be realized. The decisions to be made and their potential impacts will be examined and a process for moving forward explained.

Performance Analysis of Virtual Tape Subsystems

Ned Diehl, The Information Systems Manager

Virtual tape (VT) subsystems are an important part of a large percentage of OS/390 installations. While, they do a beautiful job of solving many traditional tape problems, they are not all things for all installations. VT systems present some interesting challenges. While they look like real tape drives to standard OS/390 performance monitors, there are important internal activities that those monitors do not see. The two primary implementations (IBM VTS and STK VSM) both produce SMF records, which provide metrics unique to virtual tape. Approaches to analysis will be discussed and will include both an RMF view and virtual tape measurements. Graphical examples will be drawn from a variety of different types of installations. While most examples will be based on STK VSM, specific IBM VTS metric references will also be provided. There will be no attempt to compare the performance and merits of different architectures, though the techniques presented can help installations with comparative analysis.

The Instant Copy Game

Gregory A. Korbecki, ABN AMRO

Instant data set copy is the ability to create a copy of a S/390 data set with a new name in seconds regardless of the data set size. This function was introduced by Storage Technology on their SVA disk platform. The function has been improved and enhanced since the first introduction. Instant data set copy is offered by three vendors; Storage Technology, EMC and IBM. This paper will provide an independent analysis of: the benefits of instant data set copy, the contrast between product offerings, limitations discovered with each product and future enhancements required.

A Capacity Planning Approach for the Newcomer: Where Do I Start?

Sue Rohr, Information Resources, Inc.

This presentation provides a starting point for a new Capacity Planner/Performance Analyst. Eight "rules" are presented that should provide some guidance on how to approach this new job. A bibliography of documents that should be read by every CP/PA is included.