Configuring the Data Collection settings

About this task

Use the Data Collection settings to set and modify the system settings for the managing server to regulate the frequency of data collection, the percentage of data stored, and the level of monitoring. The default data collection settings can be established at the managing server level, then overridden by configuration settings specific to each configured data collector.

To configure the Data Collection settings:

Procedure

  1. From the top navigation, click Administration > Managing Server > System Properties.
    The System Properties page opens.
  2. Enter the appropriate value for the following properties:
    • System Resources Polling Frequency - Set how often the system resources requests information from your application server. The default setting is 60 seconds.
    • Request Sampling Rate - The percentage of requests stored in the database for reporting and analysis. The default request sampling rate is 2%.
    • Default Monitoring Level - The currently set default monitoring level for all servers connected to the application monitor. This is the case when configuring a server for the first time and bringing up the server under the management of the application monitor. The default monitoring level for the non z/OS® platform is L2 (Problem Determination). As for the z/OS platform, the default monitoring level is L1 (Production Mode). The monitoring levels are as follows:
      • L1 (Production mode) – this monitoring level provides availability management, system resources, and basic request-level data. This monitoring level has a low affect on the CPU usage per transaction and is appropriate for servers that are not malfunctioning.
      • L2 (Problem determination mode) – this monitoring level provides production level monitoring plus advanced request data, including external component and CPU information, as well as additional monitoring fields and functions. Under problem determination mode, you can view component traces. These are traces that show J2EE request-related events that are made to external services. Use this level when you suspect a problem or when you want to capture data about external events but do not need all the method-level data. When you select L2, you can check MP for Method Profiling. This feature allows you to determine how often the data collector aggregates method data and send the data to the managing server: 1-999 minutes. You can view the method profile reports on the Method Profiling Management page.
      • L3 (Tracing Mode) – this is the most powerful monitoring level, therefore only this level uses all reporting elements available. For example, in L3 the server activity display shows additional data for the following columns: Accumulated CPU, Last Known Class Name, Last Known Method, and Last Known action. In addition, on the Request Detail page, the method trace with SQL statements are also available. L3 has inherently higher overhead than the other monitoring levels. Use this level for servers that have been selected for diagnostics and detailed workload characterization.
    • Transaction CPU Time (CICS® only) - This field indicates whether the CPU time for a CICS transaction is collected or not. The CPU times for CICS tasks are reported, but to avoid processor usage from the data capture, adjust these settings as necessary. Select one of the following four options for collecting transaction CPU:
      • Do Not Collect
      • Collect at Monitoring Level L1, L2, and L3
      • Collect at Monitoring Level L2 and L3
      • Collect at Monitoring Level L3 only
    • Maximum Method Records - The maximum number of method trace records. The records are cycled through, showing the 10,000 (or Maximum Method Records value) most recent methods in the system. The default value is 10,000.
    • Maximum IMS Message Data Length - The maximum length of the IMS message data. The default is 256.
  3. Click Save.