Using Load-Indexes in workload optimization

Through the Workload Management facility, you can set up Load-Indexes that track the job load fluctuations and peaks on your systems.

For each Load-Index, you define thresholds for load levels (Critical, Very High, High, Medium, and Low) based on the percentage of MSU utilization at any given time. You also specify which LPARs (that is, which SMF IDs) to include in the measurements.

Once you have Load-Indexes set up, you can associate specific Load-Indexes with Workload Policy rules, so that the defined limits on jobs or resources are applied only when a certain threshold load level is reached or exceeded. For more information, see Managing workload using Workload Policies.

The Load-Indexes that you can define are divided into the following types, based on how the measurements are obtained and calculated:

• Utilization — Control-M obtains and analyzes the current MSU utilization data from your LPARs.
• 4HRA — Control-M obtains and analyzes the current 4-Hour Rolling Average (4HRA) data from your LPARs. 4HRA is IBM's method of measuring MSU consumption for software pricing purposes.
• External — Data is obtained from an external application or utility that you choose.
• MainView Alarm (MVA) — Alarm data is obtained from BMC AMI Ops Automation.

The following procedures describe how to manage and track Load-Indexes:

• Creating or modifying a Load-Index
• Deleting a Load-Index
• Tracking the statuses of Load-Indexes
• Entering a note for a Load-Index
• Overriding the load level of a Load-Index
• Releasing an override on a Load-Index
• Viewing the status history of a Load-Index
• Viewing Load-Index calculation details for a Load-Index level entry

  Note: Alternatively, you can perform actions on Load-Indexes through the Control-M Application Program Interface (CTMAPI) or through modify commands. For more information, see Load-Index Optimization Actions in Appendix A and Load-Index Optimization Commands in the INCONTROL for z/OS Administrator Guide.