Spring '98 FORUM
March 5-6, 1998
Sheraton Denver West - 360 Union Boulevard, Lakewood CO (303) 987-2000
AGENDA THURSDAY MARCH 5 -
8:00-8:30 Registration
8:30-9:00 Annual Business Meeting
9:00-10:00 "Analysis of a Problem in Goal Mode Scheduling"
Ethan Bolker, UMass Boston and BGS Systems
Dr. Jeffrey Buzen, BGS Systems
This talk presents some initial results from our analysis of Goal Mode scheduling
under Workload Manager in MVS Version 5 and OS/390. Goal Mode scheduling can be
regarded as an additional level of control that operates above a conventional
priority scheduler. Instead of specifying priorities for different classes of
work, administrators specify performance goals they would like each class of work
to attain. We discuss how to determine whether a set of response time goals is
feasible, and, when it is, how to find a set of priority assignments that enable
those goals to be met. This talk focuses on the insight our analysis provides
rather than on the mathematical details of our solution.
10:00-10:15 Break
10:15-11:15 "Capacity Planning and Performance Issues in Y2K Projects"
Ellen M. Friedman, SRM Associates, Ltd.
Jerry L. Rosenberg, SRM Associates, Ltd.
Almost all major IS Departments are faced with monumental efforts in preparing for
required Year 2000 system changes. Unfortunately many are not aware or are not
planning for the potential capacity, performance, and financial implications of those
changes. This paper will explore the background of the Y2K problem, discuss the
management structure that should be in place, and detail the exposure that potentially
exists.
11:15-11:30 Break
11:30-12:30 "Year 2000 Testing Experiences, or 666 Days Until Nothing Works"
Michael L. Puldy, IBM Business Recovery Services Y2K Delivery
This presentation will discuss Year 2000 testing experiences. No platform is exempt.
Large Systems, Mid-Range and Personal Computers are all impacted by the computer event
of the millennium. Some companies make the transformation themselves while other
companies contract out to vendors to make the magic happen for them. Successes and
failures will be described as well as some testing and assessment strategies that may be
right for your company. Financial implications and staffing complexities will also be
reviewed.
12:30-1:45 Lunch - Sponsored by Candle Corporation
1:45-2:00 " A Proposal for an RMCMG Working Group"
Dr. Tim R. Norton, MCI Corporation
This presentation is a brief description of the proposed RMCMG Working Group on the
Coordination of Industry and Education for Computer Measurement. This working group will
establish an interactive relationship between Rocky Mountain companies and
colleges/universities to promote computer measurement activities. The overall goal of the
working group is to encourage the universities to offer the needed courses and business to
provide research opportunities in current problem areas.
2:00-3:00 "Computer Printing Economics"
Frank Bereznay, Automobile Club of Southern California
The economics of high volume production printing are very different from other areas in the
Data Center; variable costs are far higher than fixed costs. More importantly, the costs of
printing itself are dwarfed by the costs of finishing and postage for output destined for the
mail room. The total cost of this operation needs to be analyzed to direct attention to the
most important issues and opportunities. We provide a summary of the total costs for printing,
finishing, and mailing, and we show how the information can be used to identify the real issues
to manage the operation better.
3:00-3:15 Break
3:15-4:15 "Application Modeling Methodology"
John Pilch, Performance Capacity Solutions
All planning exercises, at their essence, consist of answering four fundamental questions:
1) Where are we? 2) Where are we going? 3) How do we get there? 4) What will it cost?
These fundamental questions are answered when the focus is capacity planning and configuration
sizing. This presentation will show a detailed approach to determining the resource requirements
for new applications including capacity planning and evaluation of the application design.
4:15-5:15 Cocktail Hour - Sponsored by Storage Technology Corporation
AGENDA FRIDAY MARCH 6 -
8:30-9:00 Registration
9:00-10:00 "Understanding OS/390 Coupling Facility Measurements"
Peter Enrico, IBM
The objective of this presentation is to enable the attendee to feel comfortable reading
and analyzing the RMF Coupling Facility activity report. The presentation will introduce
the attendees to the Coupling Facility measurements available by RMF Monitor I, explain
concepts like SYNC and ASYNC, and then shed some light on Coupling Facility performance
analysis in an OS/390 Parallel Sysplex environment by reading examples of the RMF Coupling
Facility activity report.
10:00-10:15 Break
10:15-11:45 "A Collection of Diverse Technical Notes"
H. W. "Barry" Merrill, PhD, Merrill Consultants
1) Measurement of CPU Utilization in PR/SM, MDF, and MLPF. 2) Using Reporting Classes
(or RPGN's) for workload measurement. 3) Merging CICS and DB2 by UOWID for transaction
accounting. 4) SMF Interval Start Time is earlier than TOD by leap seconds. 5) What
happens to measurements in a Y2K Test system.
11:45-1:00 Lunch - Sponsored by Candle Corporation
1:00-2:00 "Windows NT Measurement and Tuning"
Mark Friedman, Demand Technology
This presentation is a review of the performance metrics available for Windows NT
performance management and capacity planning. It will also include a discussion of how
key metrics can be used to resolve traditional performance issues.
2:00-2:15 Break
2:15-3:15 "Workload Management and Open Systems"
Brian Wong, SUN Microsystems
One of the things that has always separated "mainframes" from "open systems" has been the
former's ability to run multiple workloads. Open systems in the data center, whether
running UNIX or Windows NT, are nearly always asked to handle a single workload, or even
just a component of a workload. From a technical standpoint, one of the keys to running
multiple workloads is the ability of the MVS mainframe to allocate and manage resources
for each requestor. Because the cost of managing and maintaining a data center is roughly
proportional to the number of systems, rather than their complexity, MIS organizations
are now seeking ways to run additional workloads on open systems - or to transfer work
back tomainframes. This presentation considers the technical issues and reports on current
research in this area.
At press time, these speakers are confirmed. RMCMG reserves the right to substitute without
notice in case of cancellation beyond our control.
Dr. Barry and Judith Merrill have again extended their generous offer to all RMCMG registrants
and their families to join them Saturday, March 7, for a day of skiing at Keystone - they
will provide lift tickets at their expense. Then join them apres ski at their condominium for
light refreshments. Details will be provided at the conference registration desk.