Updated: 11 December 1998

OpenVMS System Manager's Manual

Use live recording to capture MONITOR data for future use. Possible uses include the following ones:

• Installation checkout, tuning, troubleshooting; that is, all the uses that are listed for live display monitoring.
  Choose recording over display when you want to capture more classes than you can reasonably watch at a terminal, when a terminal is not available, or when you want to gather data about the system but cannot spend time at the terminal until later.
• Routine performance data gathering for long-term analysis.
  You can record MONITOR data on a routine basis and summarize it to gather data about system resource use over long periods of time.

The following example shows how to use the live recording mode of operation.

Example

$ MONITOR/NODE=(LARRY,MOE)/NODISPLAY/RECORD MODES+STATES

The command in this example records data on the time spent in each processor mode and on the number of processes in each scheduler state for nodes LARRY and MOE. The command does not display this information.

18.8.5 Using Concurrent Display and Recording Monitoring

Use the concurrent display and recording mode of operation when you want to both retain performance data and watch as it is being collected. Because MONITOR allows shared read access to the recording file, a separate display process can play back the recording file as it is being written by another process.

The following examples show how to use the concurrent display and recording mode of operation. The first example both collects and records data in the same command. The second and third examples show how you can perform concurrent recording and display using two separate processes: the process in the second example performs recording; the process in the third example plays back the file to obtain a summary.

Examples

1. $ MONITOR/RECORD FCP/AVERAGE,FILE_SYSTEM_CACHE/MINIMUM

   
   This command collects and records file system data and file system cache data every 3 seconds. It also displays, in bar graph form, average FCP statistics and minimum FILE_SYSTEM_CACHE statistics. The display alternates between the two graphs every 3 seconds. You can obtain current statistics in a subsequent playback request.

2. $ MONITOR/RECORD=SYS$MANAGER:ARCHIVE.DAT - _$ /INTERVAL=300/NODISPLAY ALL_CLASSES

   
   This command archives data for all classes once every 5 minutes. You might find it convenient to execute a similar command in a batch job, taking care to monitor disk space usage.

3. $ MONITOR/INPUT=SYS$MANAGER:ARCHIVE.DAT: - _$ /NODISPLAY/SUMMARY/BEGINNING="-1" PAGE,IO

   
   The command in this example produces a summary of page and I/O activity that occurred during the previous hour, perhaps as part of an investigation of a reported performance problem. Note that because the recording process executes an OpenVMS RMS flush operation every 5 minutes, up to 5 minutes of the most recently collected data is not available to the display process.
   You can specify the time between flush operations explicitly with the /FLUSH_INTERVAL qualifier. Note also that the display process must have read access to the recording file.

Use playback of a recording file to obtain terminal output and summary reports of all collected data or a subset of it. You can make a subset of data according to class, node, or time segment. For example, if you collect several classes of data for an entire day, you can examine or summarize the data on one or more classes during any time period in that day.

You can also display or summarize data with a different interval than the one at which it was recorded. You control the actual amount of time between displays of screen images with the /VIEWING_TIME qualifier. The following examples show how to use the playback mode of operation.

Examples

1. $ MONITOR/RECORD/INTERVAL=5 IO . . . $ MONITOR/INPUT IO

   
   The commands in this example produce system I/O statistics. The first command gathers and displays data every 5 seconds, beginning when you enter the command and ending when you press Ctrl/Z. In addition, the first command records binary data in the default output file MONITOR.DAT.
   The second command plays back the I/O statistics display, using the data in MONITOR.DAT for input. The default viewing time for the playback is 3 seconds, but each screen display represents 5 seconds of monitored I/O statistics.

2. $ MONITOR/RECORD/NODISPLAY - _$ /BEGINNING=08:00:00 - _$ /ENDING=16:00:00 - _$ /INTERVAL=120 DISK . . . $ MONITOR/INPUT/DISPLAY=HOURLY.LOG/INTERVAL=3600 DISK

   
   The sequence of commands in this example illustrates data recording with a relatively small interval and data playback with a relatively large interval. This is useful for producing average, minimum, and maximum statistics that cover a wide range of time, but have greater precision than if they had been gathered using the larger interval.
   The first command records data on I/O operations for all disks on the system for the indicated 8-hour period, using an interval of 2 minutes. The second command plays the data back with an interval of 1 hour, storing display output in the file HOURLY.LOG. You can then type or print this file to show the cumulative average disk use at each hour throughout the 8-hour period.

   Note The current statistic in HOURLY.LOG shows the current data in terms of the original collection interval of 120 seconds, not the new collection interval of 3600 seconds.

3. $ MONITOR/INPUT/NODISPLAY/SUMMARY=DAILY.LOG DISK

   
   The command in this example uses the recording file created in the previous example to produce a one-page summary report file showing statistics for the indicated 8-hour period. The summary report has the same format as a screen display. For example:

   OpenVMS Monitor Utility DISK I/O STATISTICS on node TLC From: 25-JAN-1998 08:00:00 SUMMARY To: 25-JAN-1998 16:00:00 I/O Operation Rate CUR AVE MIN MAX DSA0: SYSTEM_0 0.53 1.50 0.40 3.88 DSA1: SYSTEM_1 0.00 0.39 0.00 8.38 DSA4: WORK_0 0.00 0.11 0.00 1.29 DSA5: WORK_1 0.03 0.87 0.00 5.95 DSA6: WORK_2 0.03 0.25 0.00 2.69 DSA7: WORK_3 0.04 0.97 0.00 20.33 DSA17: TOM_DISK 0.00 0.04 0.00 0.80 DSA23: MKC 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.13 $4$DUA0: (RABBIT) SYSTEM_0 0.20 0.65 0.17 1.97 $4$DUA2: (RABBIT) SYSTEM_0 0.20 0.65 0.17 1.97 $4$DUA3: (RABBIT) SYSTEM_1 0.00 0.14 0.00 2.49 PLAYBACK SUMMARIZING

If suitably privileged, you can collect MONITOR data from any system to which your system has a DECnet connection. You can then display the data live on your local system. To do so, follow these steps:

1. In the default DECnet directory on each remote system, create a file named MONITOR.COM, similar to the following example:

   $ ! $ ! * Enable MONITOR remote playback * $ ! $ MONITOR /NODISPLAY/RECORD=SYS$NET ALL_CLASSES

2. On your local system, define a logical name for the remote system from which you want to collect data. Use the following syntax:

   DEFINE remotenodename_mon node::task=monitor

   
   You might want to define, in a login command procedure, a series of logical names for all the systems you want to access.

3. To display the remote MONITOR data as it is being collected, enter a command using the following syntax:

   MONITOR/INPUT=remotenodename_mon classnames

You can also place MONITOR.COM files in directories other than the default DECnet directory and use access control strings or proxy accounts to invoke these command files remotely.

When you invoke MONITOR on your local system, a process is created on the remote system that executes the MONITOR.COM command file. The remote system therefore experiences some associated CPU and DECnet overhead. You can regulate the overhead in the MONITOR.COM file by using the /INTERVAL qualifier and the list of class names.

Section 18.8.10 describes remote monitoring in a mixed-version cluster system.

18.8.8 Rerecording Monitoring

Rerecording is a combination of playback and recording. You can use it for data reduction of recording files. When you play back an existing recording file, all MONITOR options are available to you; thus, you can choose to record a subset of the recorded classes and a subset of the recorded time segment and a larger interval value.

All these techniques produce a new, smaller recording file at the expense of some of the recorded data. A larger interval value reduces the volume of the collected data, so displays and summary output produced from the newer recorded file will be less precise. Note that average rate values are not affected in this case, but average level values are less precise (since the sample size is reduced), as are maximum and minimum values. The following example shows how to use the rerecording mode of operation:

Example

$ SUBMIT MONREC.COM

MONREC.COM contains the following commands:

$ MONITOR/NODISPLAY/RECORD/INTERVAL=60 /BEGINNING=8:00/ENDING=16:00 DECNET,LOCK $ MONITOR/INPUT/NODISPLAY/RECORD DECNET

The first command runs in a batch job, recording DECnet and lock management data once every minute between the hours of 8 A.M. and 4 P.M.. The second command, which is issued after the first command completes, rerecords the data by creating a new version of the MONITOR.DAT file, containing only the DECnet data.

18.8.9 Running MONITOR Continuously

You can develop a database of performance information for your system by running MONITOR continuously as a background process. This section contains examples of procedures that you, as cluster manager, might use to create multifile clusterwide summaries.

You can adapt the command procedures to suit conditions at your site. Note that you must define the logical names SYS$MONITOR and MON$ARCHIVE in SYSTARTUP.COM before executing any of the command files.

The directory with the logical name SYS$EXAMPLES includes three command procedures that you can use to establish the database. Instructions for installing and running the procedures are in the comments at the beginning of each procedure. Table 18-9 contains a brief summary of these procedures.

Table 18-9 MONITOR Command Procedures

Procedure	Description
MONITOR.COM	Creates a summary file from the recording file of the previous boot, and then begins recording for this boot. The recording interval is 10 minutes.
MONSUM.COM	Generates two clusterwide multifile summary reports that are mailed to the system manager: one report is for the previous 24 hours, and the other is for the previous day's prime-time period (9 A.M. to 6 P.M.). The procedure resubmits itself to run each day at midnight.
SUBMON.COM	Starts MONITOR.COM as a detached process. Invoke SUBMON.COM from the site-specific startup command procedure.

While MONITOR records data continuously, a summary report can cover any finite time segment. The MONSUM.COM command procedure, which is executed every midnight, produces and mails the two multifile summary reports described in Table 18-9. Because these reports are not saved as files, to keep them, you must either extract them from your mail file or alter the MONSUM.COM command procedure to save them.

18.8.9.1 Using the MONITOR.COM Procedure

The procedure in Example 18-7 archives the recording file and summary file from the previous boot and initiates continuous recording for the current boot. (Note that this procedure does not purge recording files.)

Example 18-7 MONITOR.COM Procedure

$ SET VERIFY $ ! $ ! MONITOR.COM $ ! $ ! This command file is to be placed in a cluster-accessible directory $ ! called SYS$MONITOR and submitted at system startup time as a detached $ ! process via SUBMON.COM. For each node, MONITOR.COM creates, in $ ! SYS$MONITOR, a MONITOR recording file that is updated throughout the $ ! life of the boot. It also creates, in MON$ARCHIVE, a summary file from $ ! the recording file of the previous boot, along with a copy of that $ ! recording file. Include logical name definitions for both cluster- $ ! accessible directories, SYS$MONITOR and MON$ARCHIVE, in SYSTARTUP.COM. $ ! $ SET DEF SYS$MONITOR $ SET NOON $ PURGE MONITOR.LOG/KEEP:2 $ ! $ ! Compute executing node name and recording and summary file names $ ! (incorporating node name and date). $ ! $ NODE = F$GETSYI("NODENAME") $ SEP = "" $ IF NODE .NES. "" THEN SEP = "_" $ DAY = F$EXTRACT (0,2,F$TIME()) $ IF F$EXTRACT(0,1,DAY) .EQS. " " THEN DAY = F$EXTRACT(1,1,DAY) $ MONTH = F$EXTRACT(3,3,F$TIME()) $ ARCHFILNAM = "MON$ARCHIVE:"+NODE+SEP+"MON"+DAY+MONTH $ RECFIL = NODE+SEP+"MON.DAT" $ SUMFIL = ARCHFILNAM+".SUM" $ ! $ ! Check for existence of recording file from previous boot and skip $ ! summary if not present. $ ! $ OPEN/READ/ERROR=NORECFIL RECORDING 'RECFIL' $ CLOSE RECORDING $ ! $ ! $ ! Generate summary file from previous boot. $ ! $ MONITOR /INPUT='RECFIL' /NODISPLAY /SUMMARY='SUMFIL' - $ ALL_CLASSES+MODE/ALL+STATES/ALL+SCS/ITEM=ALL+SYSTEM/ALL+DISK/ITEM=ALL $ ! $ ! $ ! Compute subject string and mail summary file to cluster manager. $ ! $ ! $ A=""" $ B=" MONITOR Summary " $ SUB = A+NODE+B+F$TIME()+A $ MAIL/SUBJECT='SUB' 'SUMFIL' CLUSTER_MANAGER $ ! $ ! $ ! Archive recording file and delete it from SYS$MONITOR. $ ! $ COPY 'RECFIL' 'ARCHFILNAM'.DAT $ DELETE 'RECFIL';* $ ! $ NORECFIL: $ SET PROCESS/PRIORITY=15 $ ! $ ! $ ! Begin recording for this boot. The specified /INTERVAL value is $ ! adequate for long-term summaries; you might need a smaller value $ ! to get reasonable "semi-live" playback summaries (at the expense $ ! of more disk space for the recording file). $ ! $ MONITOR /INTERVAL=300 /NODISPLAY /RECORD='RECFIL' ALL_CLASSES $ ! $ ! $ ! End of MONITOR.COM $ !

18.8.9.2 Using the SUBMON.COM Procedure

The procedure in Example 18-8 submits MONITOR.COM as a detached process from SYSTARTUP.COM to initiate continuous recording for the current boot.

Example 18-8 SUBMON.COM Procedure

$ SET VERIFY $ ! $ ! SUBMON.COM $ ! $ ! This command file is to be placed in a cluster-accessible directory $ ! called SYS$MONITOR. At system startup time, for each node, it is $ ! executed by SYSTARTUP.COM, following logical name definitions for $ ! the cluster-accessible directories SYS$MONITOR and MON$ARCHIVE. $ ! $ ! $ ! Submit detached MONITOR process to do continuous recording. $ ! $ ! $ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:LOGINOUT.EXE - /UIC=[1,4] - /INPUT=SYS$MONITOR:MONITOR.COM - /OUTPUT=SYS$MONITOR:MONITOR.LOG - /ERROR=SYS$MONITOR:MONITOR.LOG - /PROCESS_NAME="Monitor" - /WORKING_SET=512 - /MAXIMUM_WORKING_SET=512 - /EXTENT=512/NOSWAPPING $ ! $ ! $ ! End of SUBMON.COM $ !

18.8.9.3 Using the MONSUM.COM Procedure

The procedure in Example 18-9 produces daily and prime-time clusterwide summaries.

Example 18-9 MONSUM.COM Procedure

$ SET VERIFY $ ! $ ! MONSUM.COM $ ! $ ! This command file is to be placed in a cluster-accessible directory $ ! called SYS$MONITOR and executed at the convenience of the cluster $ ! manager. The file generates both 24-hour and "prime time" cluster $ ! summaries and resubmits itself to run each day at midnight. $ ! $ SET DEF SYS$MONITOR $ SET NOON $ ! $ ! Compute file specification for MONSUM.COM and resubmit the file. $ ! $ FILE = F$ENVIRONMENT("PROCEDURE") $ FILE = F$PARSE(FILE,,,"DEVICE")+F$PARSE(FILE,,,"DIRECTORY")+F$PARSE(FILE,,,"NAME") $ SUBMIT 'FILE' /AFTER=TOMORROW /NOPRINT $ ! $ ! Generate 24-hour cluster summary. $ ! $ ! $ MONITOR/INPUT=(SYS$MONITOR:*MON*.DAT;*,MON$ARCHIVE:*MON*.DAT;*) - /NODISPLAY/SUMMARY=MONSUM.SUM - ALL_CLASSES+DISK/ITEM=ALL+SCS/ITEM=ALL- /BEGIN="YESTERDAY+0:0:0.00" /END="TODAY+0:0:0.00" /BY_NODE $ ! $ ! $ ! Mail 24-hour summary file to cluster manager and delete the file from $ ! SYS$MONITOR. $ ! $ ! $ MAIL/SUBJECT="Daily Monitor Clusterwide Summary" MONSUM.SUM CLUSTER_MANAGER $ DELETE MONSUM.SUM;* $ ! $ ! Generate prime-time cluster summary. $ ! $ ! $ MONITOR/INPUT=(SYS$MONITOR:*MON*.DAT;*,MON$ARCHIVE:*MON*.DAT;*) - /NODISPLAY/SUMMARY=MONSUM.SUM - ALL_CLASSES+DISK/ITEM=ALL+SCS/ITEM=ALL- /BEGIN="YESTERDAY+9:0:0.00" /END="YESTERDAY+18:0:0.00" /BY_NODE $ ! $ ! $ ! Mail prime-time summary file to cluster manager and delete the file $ ! from SYS$MONITOR. $ ! $ ! $ MAIL/SUBJECT="Prime-Time Monitor Clusterwide Summary" MONSUM.SUM CLUSTER_MANAGER $ DELETE MONSUM.SUM;* $ ! $ ! End of MONSUM.COM $ !

Note that Mail commands in this procedure send files to user CLUSTER_MANAGER. Replace CLUSTER_MANAGER with the appropriate user name or logical name for your site.

Because summary data might be extensive, Compaq recommends that you print out summary files.

18.8.10 Using Remote Monitoring

MONITOR is capable of using both TCP/IP and DECnet as a transport mechanism. Beginning with OpenVMS Version 7.0, to use TCP/IP, you must start the TCP/IP server by issuing the following command inside SYS$STARTUP:SYSTARTUP_VMS.COM:

$ @SYS$STARTUP:VPM$STARTUP.COM

DECnet continues to work as in the past: a network object is created at the time of the request.

Remote Monitoring in a Mixed-Version OpenVMS Cluster System

You can monitor any node in an OpenVMS Cluster system either by issuing the MONITOR CLUSTER command or by adding the /NODE qualifier to any interactive MONITOR request.

Remote monitoring in an OpenVMS Cluster system might not be compatible, however, between nodes that are running different versions of OpenVMS. Table 18-10 shows the compatibility of versions for remote monitoring.

Table 18-10 Remote Monitoring Compatibility in an OpenVMS Cluster System

Versions	OpenVMS Alpha and VAX Version 6.n or 7.n	OpenVMS Alpha Version 1.5 and VAX Version 5.n
OpenVMS Alpha and VAX Version 6. n or 7. n	Yes	No
OpenVMS Alpha Version 1.5 and VAX Version 5. n	No	Yes

If you attempt to monitor a remote node that is incompatible, the system displays the following message:

%MONITOR-E-SRVMISMATCH, MONITOR server on remote node is an incompatible version

If you receive this message, you can still use MONITOR to obtain data about the remote node. To do this, record the data on the remote node and then run the MONITOR playback feature to examine the data on the local node.

Another difference exists when you monitor remote nodes in an OpenVMS Cluster system. Beginning with OpenVMS Version 6.2, the limit on the number of disks that can be monitored was raised from 799 to 909 for record output and from 799 to 1817 for display and summary outputs. If you monitor a remote node running OpenVMS Version 6.2 or later from a system running a version earlier than OpenVMS Version 6.2, the old limit of 799 applies.

For more information about MONITOR, refer to the OpenVMS System Management Utilities Reference Manual.

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