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OA63911: New Function - Providing enhancements to z/OS File System checks (IBMZFS)

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APAR status

  • Closed as new function.

Error description

  • New Function
    

Local fix

Problem summary

  • ****************************************************************
    * USERS AFFECTED: z/OS File System (ZFS) 2.5                   *
    *                 FMID(HZFS450)                                *
    *                                                              *
    *                 z/OS File System (ZFS) 3.1                   *
    *                 FMID(HZFS510)                                *
    ****************************************************************
    * PROBLEM DESCRIPTION: Providing two new ZFS health check      *
    *                      functions to assist in monitoring       *
    *                      performance and providing detailed file *
    *                      system information for mounted ZFS      *
    *                      file systems that have one or more      *
    *                      exception states.                       *
    ****************************************************************
    * RECOMMENDATION: APPLY PTF                                    *
    ****************************************************************
    APAR OA63911 is providing two new health checkers that can be
    used to assist in monitoring and improving cache performance
    (ZFS_CACHE_PERFORMANCE) and also with identifying zFS file
    systems with exception states (ZFS_EXCEPTIONS).
    

Problem conclusion

Temporary fix

Comments

  • The new function for APAR OA63911 is being delivered for both
    z/OS 2.5 and 3.1 system releases. z/OS 2.5 users should refer to
    the 3.1 online documentation as the z/OS 2.5 online versions are
    not being refreshed. All online documentation updates will be
    provided in the 3.1 links listed below.
    
    For complete details and reference, refer to the following
    chapters and sections in the z/OS 3.1.0 IBM Documentation for
    information regarding the new function.
    Link to the documentation:
    For the zFS File System Administration and File System Messages
    and Codes guides, refer to the following link:
    https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/zos/3.1.0?topic=zos-file-system-zfs
    For the IBM Health Checker for z/OS User's Guide, refer to the
    following link:
    https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/SSLTBW_3.1.0/pdf/e0zl100_v3r1.pdf
    The following updates have been made in the z/OS 3.1  File
    System Administration  SC23-6887-XX
    Summary of changes for z/OS 3.1 (New)
    You can identify zFS file systems that contain v4 directories
    and also convert v4 directories to v5 with the ioeconv4 command.
    See "ioeconv4" on page 129. "List Detailed File System
    Information" on page 298 was also updated. (APAR OA63911, which
    applies to 3.1 and 2.5)
    The reset_hcpstats value is added to the MODIFY ZFS PROCESS
    command. See "MODIFY ZFS PROCESS" on page 110. (APAR OA63911,
    which applies to 3.1 and 2.5)
    
    A new utility has been added:
    
    ioeconv4
    
    Purpose
    ioeconv4 is a utility or REXX exec that identifies zFS file
    systems that contain v4 directories and also converts v4
    directories to v5. If errors occur during the conversion of v4
    directories to v5, ioeconv4 displays the error and starts
    converting the next v4 directory. Depending on the type of the
    error, you can rerun this conversion tool after you fix the
    error. ioeconv4 can be run from the z/OS UNIX shell via
    /usr/sbin/ioeconv4 or from the TSO/E environment via
    IOE.SIOEEXEC(IOECONV4).
    
    Format
    ioeconv4 {check|convert|convertro} [path|aggr=aggrname]
    
    Options
    aggr=aggrname
    Specifies the aggregate name that will have all its v4
    directories processed according to the chosen option. If this
    option and the path option are omitted, all zFS file systems are
    checked and converted if appropriate. The aggregate name is not
    case-sensitive and is always converted to uppercase.
    
    check
    Checks for and report on directories that are v4.
    
    convert
    Converts any directories that are v4 to v5 on zFS file systems
    that are mounted read/write. If the aggregate version is not
    1.5, it is also converted to 1.5.
    
    convertro
    Same as the convert option for zFS file systems that are mounted
    read/write. For zFS file systems that are mounted read-only,
    the file systems are remounted to read/write, and then the v4
    directories area are converted to v5. If the aggregate version
    is not 1.5, it is also converted to 1.5.
    
    path
    Specify the path name of the directory in a zFS file system. If
    this option and the aggr=aggrname option are omitted, all zFS
    file systems are checked and converted as needed. If path is
    specified, the containing file system of that path will have all
    its v4 directories processed according to the chosen option.
    The name of the containing file system is displayed in the
    program output.
    
    Usage notes for ioeconv4
    1. If an aggregate has the converttov5 attribute assigned to it,
    accessing a v4 directory with the ioeconv4 check option can
    cause its conversion to a v5 directory. For more information,
    see "Converting an existing v4 directory to an extended (v5)
    directory" on page 25.
    
    2. If an aggregate contains many directories (for example,
    hundreds of thousands or millions of directories), ioeconv4
    might take a long time to complete.
    
    3. If there are many file systems mounted or there is heavy file
    system activity, the check option for all mounted file systems
    might take a long time to process.
    
    4. To show file systems that contain v4 directories, you can use
    the D4 flag when you specify the zfsadm fsinfo -selection
    option. The file system reported from zfsadm fsinfo can be
    supplied to ioeconv4 for conversion as appropriate.
    
    5. The ZFS_EXCEPTIONS health check displays the file systems
    with v4 directories that were mounted during IPL. For more
    information, see ZFS_EXCEPTIONS in IBM Health Checker for z/OS
    User's Guide.
    
    Restrictions
    1. Directories that are still opened by an application cannot be
    converted. This program reports any v4 directory that cannot be
    converted.
    
    Privilege required
    The issuer must be logged in as a root user (UID=0).
    
    The following updates have been made in the z/OS 3.1 File System
    Messages and Codes    SC23-6885-xx
    Summary of message changes for z/OS 3.1
    New
    The following messages are new.
    IOEZH0076I IOEZH0077I IOEZH0078I IOEZH0079I IOEZH0080I
    IOEZH0083I IOEZH0084I IOEZH0088I
    New message information:
    IOEZH0076I zFS does not have enough performance data to do an
    analysis.
    Explanation: zFS needs more time to collect more performance
    data for Health Checker to analyze.
    System action: The system continues processing.
    Operator response: N/A        System programmer response: N/A
    Problem determination: N/A    Module: IOEZHCK1
    Source: z/OS File System      Automation: N/A
    Routing code: N/A             Descriptor code: N/A
    IOEZH0077I File cache performance is good. No further action is
    needed.
    Explanation: Based on the collected statistics, overall file
    cache hit ratios are good. You do not need to take any action.
    System action: The system continues processing.
    Operator response: N/A         System programmer response: N/A
    Problem determination: N/A     Module: IOEZHCK1
    Source: z/OS File System       Automation: N/A
    Routing code: N/A              Descriptor code: N/A
    IOEZH0078I Meta cache performance is good. No further action is
    needed.
    Explanation: Based on the collected statistics, overall meta
    cache hit ratios are good. You do not need to take any action.
    System action: The system continues processing.
    Operator response: N/A          System programmer response: N/A
    Problem determination: N/A      Module: IOEZHCK1
    Source: z/OS File System        Automation: N/A
    Routing code: N/A               Descriptor code: N/A
    IOEZH0079I File cache total significant intervals = number
    number% of collected intervals showed sub-optimal performance
    data.
    Explanation: File cache total significant intervals is the
    number of observed intervals where file cache request threshold
    are met. % of collected intervals showing suboptimal performance
    data is the ratio of the total collected intervals with
    sub-optimal file cache performance to the file cache total
    significant intervals.
    This message indicates file cache performance is not optimal. A
    report of the time periods with sub-optimal performance will be
    displayed after this message. No action is required. zFS
    considers file cache performance good when the file cache hit
    ratio, (the ratio of requests to the cache that find the desired
    data in the cache divided by the total requests to the cache),
    is above 90%. In many cases, active systems that read file data
    stored in zFS file systems will achieve this hit ratio since
    many UNIX applications read the same files multiple times and
    zFS aggressively performs read-ahead for files. However, there
    are some situations where the cache hit ratio might be less,
    such as system startup when applications might be reading large
    volumes of data for the first time, or during administration
    actions such as moving ownership of file systems and other zFS
    administration commands. If data that is not read frequently is
    accessed, a temporary dip in the hit ratio might occur. zFS will
    list the time periods (if infrequent) when the hit ratio was
    smaller than desired to assist the administrator in determining
    if the situation is transient or persistent. Another situation
    where the zFS file cache hit ratio is consistently lower than
    90% is when the client applications are aggressively caching
    outside of zFS. In this case, the zFS is a second-level cache
    and will generally not see frequent reads of cached data. In
    these situations the zFS cache hit ratio might be much lower
    than 90%. Typically, situations where customer applications
    cache zFS file data aggressively will see file cache hit ratios
    closer to 50-60%.
    System action: The system continues processing.
    Operator response: N/A          System programmer response: N/A
    Problem determination: N/A      Module: IOEZHCK1
    Source: z/OS File System
    Reference documentation: See Performance tuning in z/OS File
    System Administration.
    Automation: N/A               Routing code: N/A
    Descriptor code: N/A
    IOEZH0080I Meta cache total significant intervals =
    meta_cache_significant
    % of collected intervals showing sub-optimal performance data =
    percentage
    Explanation:
    Meta cache total significant intervals is the number of observed
    intervals where meta cache request threshold are met. % of
    collected intervals showing sub-optimal performance data is the
    ratio of the total collected intervals with sub-optimal meta
    cache performance to the meta cache total significant intervals.
    This message indicates meta cache performance is not optimal. A
    report of the associated intervals with sub-optimal performance
    will be displayed following this message. No action is required.
    System action: The system continues processing.
    Operator response: N/A           System programmer response: N/A
    Problem determination: N/A       Module: IOEZHCK1
    Source: z/OS File System         Automation: N/A
    Reference documentation:
    See Performance tuning in z/OS File System Administration.
    Routing code: N/A                Descriptor code: N/A
    IOEZH0083I Found no zFS file system with exception status.
    Explanation:
    There is no mounted zFS file system that had: low on space
    error, disk I/O error, XCF communication error, out of space
    error, dynamic grow failure, dynamic grow disabled, software
    error, mounted with no high availability option and RWSHARE,
    encrypted file system with a non-encrypted log file, containing
    at least one V4 directory or aggregate disk size exceeded
    AGGRFULL threshold.
    System action: The system continues processing.
    Operator response: N/A           System programmer response: N/A
    Problem determination: N/A       Module: IOEZHCK1
    Source: z/OS File System
    Reference documentation: See zfsadm fsinfo in z/OS File System
    Administration.
    Routing code: N/A                Descriptor code: N/A
    IOEZH0084I Found zFS file system(s) in exception state.
    Explanation
    Found zFS file systems that meet one of more of the exceptional
    states, such as low on space, disk I/O error, software error,
    XCF communication error, out of space error, dynamic grow
    failure, dynamic grow disabled, mounted with non-use of high
    availability option and RWSHARE, having at least one V4
    directory or aggregate disk size exceeded AGGRFULL threshold.
    A report of the affected file systems will be displayed after
    this message. In the report, the file system name, owning system
    name and the file system status will be shown.
    The report includes the file system name, owning system name and
    the file system states. The states contain abbreviated values.
    For quick reference, the values are defined in a Legend string
    at the end of the report.
    System action: The system continues processing.
    Operator response: N/A           System programmer response: N/A
    Problem determination: N/A       Module: IOEZHCK1
    Source: z/OS File System
    Reference documentation:
    See Converting an existing v4 directory to an extended (v5)
    directory in z/OS File System Administration.
    Automation: N/A                         Routing code: N/A
    Descriptor code: N/A
    IOEZH0088I Could not get completed file system information error
    =error_code, reason=reason_code.
    Explanation:
    Getting file system information is not completed due to the
    displayed return code and reason code. Health check displays as
    much information as it can.
    System action: The system continues processing.
    Operator response: N/A           System programmer response: N/A
    Problem determination: N/A       Module: IOEZHCK1
    Source: z/OS File System         Automation: N/A
    Routing code: N/A                Descriptor code: N/A
    
    The following updates have been made in the z/OS 3.1 IBM Health
    Checker for z/OS User's Guide  SC23-6843-XX
    
    In the "Summary of changes for z/OS 3.1", the following new ZFS
    health checks have been added:
    "ZFS_CACHE_PERFORMANCE" on page 710 (APAR OA63911, applies to
    z/OS V3R1 and V2R5)
    "ZFS_EXCEPTIONS" on page 712 (APAR OA63911, applies to z/OS V3R1
    and V2R5).
    In Part 3. Check Descriptions, the new checks have been added
    for z/OS File System checks (IBMZFS):
    ZFS_CACHE_PERFORMANCE
    ZFS_EXCEPTIONS
    Chapter 13. IBM Health Checker for z/OS checks
    In "z/OS File System checks (IBMZFS)", detailed information has
    been added for the new checks:
    ZFS_CACHE_PERFORMANCE
    Description:
    Use the ZFS_CACHE_PERFORMANCE check to report cases where the
    zFS file cache hit ratio or meta cache hit ratio are low. The
    report is based on collected file cache and meta cache
    performance statistics over a long period of time. The check
    does not make any specific cache size recommendations.
    Reason for check:
    This check provides analysis of performance information that is
    collected over a long period of time, up to 60 days. If there
    were intervals that experienced suboptimal performance, the
    check will display the frequency of occurrence and the dates and
    times in ranges. zFS considers file cache performance to be good
    when the file cache hit ratio is above 90%. The meta cache
    performance is considered to be good when the meta cache
    hit ratio is above 98%.
    z/OS releases the check applies to:
    z/OS V2R5 and z/OS 3.1 with the PTF for APAR OA63911 applied.
    User override of IBM values:
    The following sample shows the defaults for customizable values
    for this check. Use this sample to make permanent customizations
    in an HZSPRMxx parmlib member that is used at IBM Health
    Checker for z/OS startup. If you want a one-time only update to
    the check defaults, omit the first line (ADDREPLACE POLICY) and
    use the UPDATE statement on a MODIFY hzsproc command. Using
    non-POLICY UPDATE statements in HZSPRMxx can lead to unexpected
    results and is not recommended.
    ADDREPLACE POLICY[(policyname)] [STATEMENT(name)]
    UPDATE
    CHECK(IBMZFS,ZFS_CACHE_PERFORMANCE)
    SEVERITY(LOW)
    INTERVAL(24:00)
    DATE('date_of_the_change')
    REASON('your reason for making change')
    Debug support: No.
    Verbose support: No.
    Parameters accepted: No.
    Default: None.
    Reference:
    For more information about tuning cache sizes to improve
    performance, see Performance tuning in z/OS File System
    Administration.
    Messages:
    This check issues the following messages:
    IOEZH0076I IOEZH0077I IOEZH0078I IOEZH0079I IOEZH0080I
    See z/OS File System Messages and Codes.
    SECLABEL recommended for multilevel security users:
    SYSLOW - see z/OS Planning for Multilevel Security and the
    Common Criteria for information about using security labels.
    Output:
    An example of the report is as follows:
    The following shows an example of cache performance analysis:
    CHECK(IBMZFS,ZFS_CACHE_PERFORMANCE)
    SYSPLEX: XXXXXXXX SYSTEM: YYYYYYYY
    START TIME: 01/30/2023 10:21:05.508504
    CHECK DATE: 20220919 CHECK SEVERITY: LOW
    IOEZH0079I File cache total significant intervals = 40
    35% of collected intervals showed sub-optimal performance data.
    Time periods with sub-optimal performance
    -------------------------------------------
    01/28/2023 10:32:11 - 01/28/2023 11:32:11
    01/29/2023 05:32:11 - 01/29/2023 15:32:11
    01/30/2023 01:32:11 - 01/30/2023 04:32:11
    IOEZH0080I Meta cache total significant intervals = 41
    53% of collected intervals showed sub-optimal performance data.
    Time periods with sub-optimal performance
    -------------------------------------------
    01/29/2023 01:32:11 - 01/29/2023 23:32:11
    END TIME: 01/30/2023 10:21:05.563131 STATUS: SUCCESSFUL
    ZFS_EXCEPTIONS
    Description:
    ZFS_EXCEPTIONS provides detailed file system information for
    mounted zFS file systems that have one or more exception states.
    Examples of the exception states are as follows, with the
    abbreviations in parentheses.
    - Low on space error (L) - Disk I/O error (IE)
    - XCF communication error (CE) - Out of space error (SE)
    - Software error (DI) - Dynamic grow failure (GF)
    - Dynamic grow disabled (GD)
    - Mounted with no high availability option and RWSHARE (NH)
    - Encrypted file system with a nonencrypted log file (LN)
    - File system containing at least one V4 directory (D4)
    - Aggregate disk size exceeded AGGRFULL threshold (AF)
    The report shows the file system name, owning system, and file
    system states. The states contain abbreviated values. For quick
    reference, the values are defined in the Legend section at the
    end of the report.
    Tip: Use the z/OS UNIX check USS_CLIENT_MOUNTS to verify that,
    in a shared file system configuration, sysplex-aware file
    systems are not sysplex-aware. That is, they were mounted with
    the RWSHARE option. For more information about the check, see
    "USS_CLIENT_MOUNTS" on page 629.
    If file systems containing V4 directories (D4) are displayed in
    the report, consider converting to V5 directories by using
    IOECONV4 for better performance. For more information, see
    Converting an existing v4 directory to an extended (v5)
    directory in z/OS File System Administration.
    Reason for check:
    This check provides a simpler way to alert users about mounted
    zFS file systems that have exception states.
    z/OS releases the check applies to:
    z/OS V2R5 and z/OS 3.1 with the PTF for APAR OA63911 applied.
    User override of IBM values:
    The following sample shows the defaults for customizable values
    for this check. Use this sample to make permanent customizations
    in an HZSPRMxx parmlib member that is used at IBM Health
    Checker for z/OS startup. If you want a one-time only update to
    the check defaults, omit the first line (ADDREPLACE POLICY) and
    use the UPDATE statement on a MODIFY hzsproc command. Including
    non-POLICY UPDATE statements in HZSPRMxx might lead to
    unexpected results and is not recommended.
    ADDREPLACE POLICY[(policyname)] [STATEMENT(name)]
    UPDATE
    CHECK(IBMZFS,ZFS_EXCEPTIONS)
    SEVERITY(LOW)
    INTERVAL(ONETIME)
    DATE('date_of_the_change')
    REASON('your reason for making change')
    Debug support: No.
    Verbose support: No.
    Parameters accepted: No.
    Default: None.
    Reference:
    For information about zfsadm fsinfo, see zfsadm fsinfo in z/OS
    File System Administration. For information about how to convert
    V4 directories to V5, see Converting an existing v4 directory
    to an extended (v5) directory in z/OS File System
    Administration.
    Messages:
    This check issues the following messages:
    IOEZH0083I IOEZH0084I IOEZH0088I
    See z/OS File System Messages and Codes.
    
    SECLABEL recommended for multilevel security users:
    SYSLOW - see z/OS Planning for Multilevel Security and the
    Common Criteria for information about using security labels.
    Output:
    An example of the report is as follows:
    IOEZH0084I Found zFS file system(s) in exception state.
    File system name Owner Status
    ---------------------------------------------------------------
    PLEX.IMGXXXXX.V4A DCEXXXX1 RW,RS,NE,NC,NH,D4,
    AF
    ZFSAGGR.BIGZFS.XYZ.ZTST DCEXXXX2
    RW,RS,NE,NC,NH
    Legend:
    RW=Read-write   RS=Mounted RWSHARE NE=Not encrypted
    NC=Not compressed D4=Contains V4 Directory
    AF=Exceeded AGGRFULL threshold NH=Not high availability
    Note: One or more file systems have V4 directories in them.
    Consider converting to V5 directories with IOECONV4 REXX exec or
    utility for better performance.
    The supported exception states are L, IE, CE, SE, DI, GF, GD,
    NH, LN, D4 and AF.
    

APAR Information

  • APAR number

    OA63911

  • Reported component name

    ZFS ZSERIES FIL

  • Reported component ID

    5696EFS00

  • Reported release

    450

  • Status

    CLOSED UR1

  • PE

    NoPE

  • HIPER

    NoHIPER

  • Special Attention

    YesSpecatt / New Function / Xsystem

  • Submitted date

    2022-10-11

  • Closed date

    2024-02-02

  • Last modified date

    2024-03-03

  • APAR is sysrouted FROM one or more of the following:

  • APAR is sysrouted TO one or more of the following:

    UJ94539 UJ94540

Modules/Macros

  • IOEAGFMT IOEAGSLV IOEDUMPF IOEE0020 IOEFSCM  IOEFSKN  IOEFSTHD
    IOEFSUTL IOEZADM  IOEZH003 IOEZHADD IOEZHCK1 IOEZHMSG
    

Publications Referenced
SC236887XXSC236885XXSC236843XX  

Fix information

  • Fixed component name

    ZFS ZSERIES FIL

  • Fixed component ID

    5696EFS00

Applicable component levels

  • R450 PSY UJ94540

       UP24/02/15 P F402  

  • R510 PSY UJ94539

       UP24/02/15 P F402  

Fix is available

  • Select the PTF appropriate for your component level. You will be required to sign in. Distribution on physical media is not available in all countries.

[{"Business Unit":{"code":"BU011","label":"Systems - zSystems software"},"Product":{"code":"SG19O"},"Platform":[{"code":"PF054","label":"z Systems"}],"Version":"450"}]

Document Information

Modified date:
03 March 2024