IBM z/OS Workload Interaction Correlator

IBM® z/OS® Workload Interaction Correlator (WIC) enables a product, such as a z/OS component, middleware, or application that executes in multiple instances distributed across multiple address spaces, to generate high-frequency, summarized, system-wide and compartmental data. The product can use the IBM z/OS Workload Interaction Correlator services to generate an SMF type 98 record for the product's subtype every 5 seconds containing data about the product's activities in a standardized, synchronized, contextualized format.

To exploit the IBM z/OS Workload Interaction Correlator services, a product issues the IFAWIC service. The IFAWIC service allows an exploiter to register a product's subtype for instrumentation, receive an instrumentation buffer, and provide an exit routine. The IFAWIC exploiter provides an IBM-assigned subtype number to distinguish the system function. The subtype number is used by the exploiter's exit routine when writing SMF type 98 records. If your product wishes to exploit workload interaction correlator services, contact IBM to be assigned a subtype number. Subtype numbers in the range 8192 – 8199 are available for test purposes. Production environments must use an official IBM-assigned subtype number.

When registering for instrumentation, the exploiter specifies the desired characteristics for the workload interaction correlator buffer. The exploiter can use the BUFFERKEY parameter to specify that the buffer is in key 0 or key 8 shared storage. The exploiter can use the BUFFER4KPAGES parameter to specify the size of the shared buffer. The system makes the instrumentation storage available to the exploiter's primary address space to instrument into the buffer, and to the SMF address space for use by the exploiter's exit routine.

The IFAWIC REGISTER request returns a buffer to the caller to use for instrumenting exploiter resource use activities for the exploiter's primary address space. The REGISTER request must be used in each address space in which an exploiter runs. This supplies each address space with a distinct buffer for instrumenting address space activities.

The IFAWIC caller provides an exit routine that SMF calls during the WIC processing. This exit routine is responsible for aggregating and summarizing activities from all address spaces in which an exploiter runs. The exit routine is also responsible for preparing and writing an SMF type 98 record for an exploiter's subtype.