PERFM procedure

Most performance problems are related to system tuning and should be handled by system programmers.

Keyword: PERFM or PERFORMANCE

Always use the keywords PERFM and PERFORMANCE for performance problems. You should use the OR operator to link them together in the search argument.

You can use the following search argument to check for all performance APARs in IMS Fast Path: 
5655J3800 PERFM | PERFORMANCE FAST | PATH | FASTPATH
For a structured database search, you can use this search argument: 
PIDS/5655J3800 PERFM  | PERFORMANCE RIDS/FASTPATH

You can add the OR operator to the general component identifier together with the Fast Path component identifier. With this search argument, the resulting number of hits could be very large, but would include APARs describing performance problems in Fast Path.

You can add more keywords to narrow the number of hits. For example, if the performance problem occurs because of an excessive number of file opens and closes, you can add the OR operator with the following keywords to the above search argument: 
OPEN | CLOSE
For a structured database search, use this search argument: 
PCSS/OPEN  |  PCSS/CLOSE

If you cannot find an appropriate APAR with these search arguments, contact IBM® Software Support.

Appropriate documentation for performance problems might include:

  • Traces, such as DL/I, lock, dispatcher, scheduler, external subsystem, and others, depending on the area of the performance problem
  • Dumps of the problem during the period of performance degradation
  • Dumps of the problem during normal periods, for comparison
  • DB or IMS Monitor reports during the performance problem period
  • DB or IMS Monitor reports during normal operations, for comparison
  • Copy of the IMS log during the performance problem period
  • Copy of the IMS log during the normal period, for comparison

If a coordinator controller (CCTL) application program experiences a performance problem in a Database Control (DBCTL) environment, you might need the following documentation in addition to that listed above:

  • Any CCTL traces or monitor reports
  • A dump of the CCTL subsystem during the period of performance degradation