Introduction to IBM Z Performance and Capacity Analytics

IBM Z Performance and Capacity Analytics enables you to effectively manage the performance of your system by collecting performance data in a Db2® database and presenting the data in a variety of formats for use in systems management.

After reading this topic, you should have a basic understanding of IBM Z Performance and Capacity Analytics and be ready to install it.

IBM Z Performance and Capacity Analytics has two basic functions:
  1. Collecting systems management data into a Db2 database.
  2. Reporting on the data.

IBM Z Performance and Capacity Analytics consists of a base product and several optional features.

The IBM Z Performance and Capacity Analytics base can generate graphical and tabular reports using systems management data it stores in its Db2 database. To display graphical reports, IBM Z Performance and Capacity Analytics can use IBM Graphical Data Display Manager (GDDM) or web reporting tools such as IBM Cognos Analytics. You can also send the data to other platforms for further analysis and reporting using interfacing products such as Splunk and ELK.

The IBM Z Performance and Capacity Analytics Administration and Reporting dialogs enable you to specify your data collection and reporting requirements. An overview of the setup for data collection and reporting is shown in the following diagram. Use the Administration dialog to define to the Log Collector the type of log data that you want to collect from SMF, IMS, and other systems to store in Db2 databases. Use the Reporting dialog to define to the report generator the reports that you want produced.

Figure 1. Overview of IBM Z Performance and Capacity Analytics
This figure shows an overview of the setup for data collection and reporting.

You can use IBM Z Performance and Capacity Analytics for batch data collection and periodic reporting. When familiar with batch operation, you can implement more advanced configurations for automated data gathering and continuous collection.

Figure 2. Overview of batch data collection
This figure shows an overview of batch collection.
Figure 3. Overview of automated data gathering and continuous collection
This figure shows an overview of automated data gathering and continuous collection.