CICSRPT
A CICS report, often generated from CICS monitoring data, provides detailed information about CICS region activity, transaction performance, resource utilization, and system events. It is a crucial tool for understanding the operational health and efficiency of CICS applications and the CICS environment itself.
Key Characteristics
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- Data Source: Primarily derived from CICS Monitoring Facility (CMF) data, which is typically written to System Management Facilities (SMF) records (type 110, subtype 1 for performance data, subtype 2 for exception data).
- Content Scope: Reports can cover various aspects, including transaction response times, CPU utilization, storage usage (DSA, EDSA), file I/O, program usage, terminal activity, and abend statistics.
- Generation Method: Often generated offline as a batch job using IBM utilities like
DFH$MOLS(for CICS/ESA and earlier, or as a base for custom reports) or more advanced products like CICS Performance Analyzer (CICS PA). - Granularity: Data can be aggregated at various levels, such as per transaction, per program, per terminal, per user, or summarized across the entire CICS region over a specific time period.
- Output Format: Typically produced as formatted text files, often suitable for printing or further processing by other tools, providing both summary and detailed views.
Use Cases
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- Performance Tuning: Identifying slow transactions, resource bottlenecks, or inefficient application code by analyzing response times, CPU usage, and wait times.
- Capacity Planning: Forecasting future resource requirements (CPU, memory, I/O) based on historical trends of transaction volumes and resource consumption.
- Problem Determination: Pinpointing the cause of CICS abends, transaction failures, or resource contention issues by examining exception reports and detailed transaction traces.
- Resource Optimization: Understanding which CICS resources (files, programs, temporary storage) are heavily used or underutilized to optimize their configuration and allocation.
- Chargeback and Billing: Providing data for allocating computing costs to specific departments or applications based on their CICS resource consumption.
Related Concepts
CICS reports are intrinsically linked to the CICS Monitoring Facility (CMF), which collects the raw performance and resource data. This data is then typically written to System Management Facilities (SMF) datasets, making it available for offline processing. Tools like CICS Performance Analyzer (CICS PA) are specialized applications designed to process these SMF records and generate sophisticated, customizable CICS reports, providing deeper insights than basic utilities. They are essential for understanding the performance of CICS transactions and the overall health of the CICS region.
- Regular Review: Establish a routine for reviewing key CICS reports (e.g., daily, weekly) to proactively identify performance degradation, unusual activity, or potential issues.
- Utilize Specialized Tools: Leverage advanced tools like CICS Performance Analyzer (CICS PA) for comprehensive analysis, graphical representation, and automated report generation, rather than relying solely on basic utilities.
- Customize Reports: Tailor report content and aggregation levels to specific operational needs, focusing on critical transactions, resources, or time periods relevant to your environment.
- Archive Historical Data: Retain CICS report data or the underlying SMF records for historical trend analysis, capacity planning, and long-term performance comparisons.
- Understand the Metrics: Ensure that operations staff and developers understand the meaning and implications of the various metrics presented in CICS reports to make informed decisions.