z/OS Performance & Tuning with Workload Manager and z/OSMF

This course gives technical support personnel in a z/OS installation a clear understanding of the tasks involved in effective performance management. It covers conceptual performance issues as well as the significant technical considerations, such as parameters

This course has been recently upgraded and updated to take into account the use of z/OS Management Facility (z/OSMF), which delivers solutions in a task-oriented, web browser-based user interface with integrated user assistance.
The course also includes a number of practical online exercises, including implementing your own policy.

This course is available 'on demand' (minimum 2 students) for public presentations live over the Internet or for exclusive, one-company presentations.

Virtual Classroom Environment dates - click to book!

UK Start Times

24 February 2025 10 November 2025

What is a 'Virtual Classroom Environment'?

What do I need?

webcam
headphones with microphone
sufficient bandwidth, at least 1.5 Mb/s in each direction.

What you will learn

On successful completion of this course you will be able to:

explain system performance requirements
explain the role of a performance person
apply basic MVS tuning
explain the important WLM considerations
evaluate a WLM setup
utilise RMF reports to tune MVS
define service policies, service classes and classification rules
describe the mechanisms for managing and balancing any workload in a WLMPlex
explain the implications of using Workload Managed Batch and Resource Affinity Scheduling
implement your own WLM policy in z/OS
use the z/OSMF Workload Management facility.

Who Should Attend

This course is suitable for all Systems Programmers and Performance Analysts working in the Z Systems environment.

Prerequisites

To benefit from this course, participants need familiarity with z/OS internal operations. This prerequisite can be met by completing the courses z/OS System Fundamentals Workshop - Part 1 and z/OS System Fundamentals Workshop - Part 2.

Duration

3 days

Fee (per attendee)

£1995 (ex VAT)

This includes free online 24/7 access to course notes.

Hard copy course notes are available on request from rsmshop@rsm.co.uk

at £50.00 plus carriage per set.

Course Code

ZPER

What is Performance?

What is performance?; the performance issues; performance related activities; performance management; a transaction; transaction delay time components; measuring delays; MVS tuning and the Systems Programmer; three kinds of tuning; corrective tuning; preventive tuning; negative tuning; knowing your system.

Workload Management Overview

The Workload Manager (WLM); WLM Goal Mode and Parmlib members; WLM concepts; Service Policies; Multi-system workload management; Workload reporting; Building the service definition; Service Policy; Creating workloads; Creating resource groups; Creating service classes; Goal types; Creating Service Classes; IBM specified subsystems; Work qualifiers; Subsystems and work qualifiers; Classification Groups; System-provided Service Classes; Defining service policy overrides; Specifying overriding Goals for a Service Class; The Service Definition; Classification rules for subsystems; Implementing WLM; Create performance objectives; Manuals on WLM.

How WLM works

WLM components; WLM Considerations; Dispatchable Units (DUs); SRB types & priorities; SRB scheduling with IEAMSCHD; SRB Enclaves; Dispatcher queues; Performance Index; Donor and receiver determination; Dispatching Priority Control; Dispatching Priority Assignment; INITTMP; Swap control; Work Requests to WLM; Server Topology; Monitoring environment - CICS & IMS; Enclave management; DASD I/O priority management; Sysplex I/O Priority Management; Parallel Access Volumes (PAV); Policy Adjustment Function; Resource Adjustment Function; Workload management services.

Workload Manager Applications

TSO workloads; Emergency TSO Service Class; WLM Batch Initiators; Scheduling Environment; WLM or JES Initiators?; Batch workloadsBatch workload Goals; Special Service Classes; STC default Service Classes; STC Service Class considerations; SYSSTC Service Class; DB2 Address Spaces; DDF enclaves; Classification rules for DDF; DDF Goal types; DB2 Stored Procedures; Sysplex Query Parallelism; CICS - Types of Goals; CICS Region Management Goal; CICS Transaction Management Goal; Transaction goal rules; Unix System Services (USS); Why USS uses WLM; UNIX Services fork and spawn function calls; USS Service Classes; USS Classification rules; Definitions for OMVS subsystem type work.

Understanding the z/OS Management Facility

Objectives; The reason for z/OSMF; z/OSMF user interface; z/OSMF as a Server/Client application; z/OSMF - other interfaces; The use of ZIIPs; z/OSMF available tasks; z/OSMF tasks in detail Logging on to z/OSMF; Desktop vs Classic Style; Cloud provisioning and management.

z/OSMF Workload Management Task

Focus on configuration and performance; z/OSMF Workload Management benefits; z/OSMF Workload Management Service Definitions - editing, printing, history ; Managing Service Policies; Performance of Active Policy; Sysplex status; Authorisation of Users ; Settings ; Application Linking with Resource Monitoring and WLM.

Understanding RMF Reports

Resource Measurement Facility; SMF Records; Monitor II; Monitor III; Postprocessor Reports; Workload activity report reporting options; Workload activity report - Goal mode; RMF monitor I service class period report Goal mode; Monitor I workload group and service class period report; CACHE - Cache subsystem summary report; CHAN - Channel path activity report; DEVICE - Device activity report; Monitor I shared DASD activity; Monitor I shared tape activity report; FCD - FICON Director activity report; IOQ - I/O Queuing activity report ; HFS - Hierarchical File System global statistics report; HFS - Hierarchical File System statistics report ; OMVS - OMVS kernel activity report; PAGESP -Page/Swap data set activity report; PAGING - Paging Activity report; VSAM RLS activity by storage class; VSAM RLS activity by dataset.