Creating database files from Collection Services data

Collection Services places the data you collected into management collection objects. To use this data, you must first place the data in a special set of database files. To create database files automatically as data is collected, select Create database files on the Start Collection Services dialog. You can also create the database files later when you want to export data to them from an existing management collection object.

You have many options that allow you to create database files.

• When you use Collection Services to collect performance data, you can create database files automatically as data is collected.
• You can create database files from the management collection object, where the data is stored after it has been collected. You can use the Create Performance Data (CRTPFRDTA) command to create a set of performance database files from performance information stored in a management collection (*MGTCOL) object. You can use either the IBM® Navigator for i interface or the CRTPFRDTA command.

You can use the database files that you have created with the IBM Navigator for i Performance interface or other applications to produce performance reports. You can collect the performance data on one system and then move the management collection object (*MGTCOL) to another system to generate the performance data files and produce performance reports. This action allows you to analyze the performance data on another system without affecting the performance of the source system.

Using data stored in management collection objects instead of in database files

Why should you use the data stored in management collection objects instead of in the database files that you need to run your reports? Because you can manage the management collection objects separately from the database files, you can collect your performance data in small collection intervals (such as 5-minute intervals) and then create your database files with a longer sampling interval (such as 15-minute intervals).

From a single management collection object, you can create many different sets of database files for different purposes by specifying different data categories, different ranges of time, and different sampling intervals.

For example, you might collect performance data on the entire set of categories (all data, or the Standard plus protocol profile) in 5-minute collection intervals for 24 hours. From that one management collection object, you can create different sets of database files for different purposes. You could create one set of database files to run your normal daily performance reports. These files might contain data from all categories with a sampling interval of 15 minutes. Then, to analyze a particular performance problem, you could create another set of database files. These files might contain only data for a single category that you need to analyze, a specific time period within the 24 hours, and a more granular sampling interval of 5 minutes.

In addition, the single management collection object allows you to manage the data as a single object rather than as many files. The single collection object allows you to move the performance data between releases without converting the data. As long as you retain the collection objects, you can look back and analyze the performance-related events down to the level of detail that you collected.