This IBM Redbooks publication provides a detailed look at Resource Measurement Facility (RMF), the IBM product designed to simplify management of single and multiple system workloads. RMF gathers data and creates reports that help system programmers and administrators to tune their system optimally, react quickly to system delays, and diagnose and remediate performance problems.

This book describes RMF functionality with special emphasis on the newest features, and also presents a review of the older, established components. Detailed instructions for setting up and customizing the components are provided. New features introduced are Spreadsheet Reporter, Distributed Data Server, Linux data gatherer, and Performance Monitor.

A high-level overview of performance analysis concepts is presented, along with a detailed discussion of performance metrics. This information is the foundation for an in-depth look at how RMF can be used to manage systems in the real world. Practical scenarios demonstrate how to use RMF to conduct overall performance evaluations and monitor batch and transactional workloads. The new reporting capabilities are illustrated with numerous examples, in particular those that support the latest workload licensing model, zAAP, UNIX System Services, WebSphere Application Server, and Linux.

Part 1. RMF Components

Chapter 1. RMF data gatherers

Chapter 2. RMF performance data front ends

Part 2. Setting up and customizing RMF components

Chapter 3. Setup and customization of the traditional favorites

Chapter 4. Setup and customization of the new RMF facilities

Part 3. Using RMF to answer your performance questions

Chapter 5. Performance analysis

Chapter 6. Using RMF for performance monitoring and problem diagnosis

Chapter 7. Monitoring batch workloads using RMF

Chapter 8. Monitoring transactional workloads using RMF

Chapter 9. Understanding the new RMF reporting capabilities

Chapter 10. Using RMF to investigate Linux performance

Appendix A. Formulas and laws in performance management