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1.  May 2006 z/OS CPU Chart
2.  Flash 10460 Renamed 
3.  HIPER Workload Manager Fix

1.  May 2006 z/OS CPU Chart

We have created an updated version of our popular z/OS CPU Chart that includes the new System z9 processors announced by IBM on April 27, 2006.  As with the previous chart, this one contains three sets of ratings - one based on IBM's z/OS 1.4 LSPR (Large System Performance Reference) ratings, one based on z/OS 1.6 LSPRs on a single image, and one based on z/OS 1.6 LSPRs with multiple images.  Although this may be confusing at first, we think developing these different ratings was a great decision on the part of IBM, and will lead to more accurate forecasts when using our CPU Chart.  Our CPU Chart explains which chart you should be using for your configuration.

The May 2006 version of the CPU Chart was emailed to TUNING Letter subscribers on May 8, 2006.  Even if you do not subscribe to the TUNING Letter, you may purchase a copy of the CPU Chart by visiting our Web site at http://www.watsonwalker.com.

Alan Gray of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield was quick to catch a minor error in the documentation accompanying the latest CPU Chart.  In the section that describes the column "H/W MSUs" (pages 10-11), the last sentence should read:

"We didn't think that was right, so we'll no longer publish estimated H/W MSUs."

The last word in the sentence should be MSUs, not MIPS.  This error will be corrected in the next version of the CPU Chart.

2.  Flash 10460 Renamed

In our latest TUNING Letter, we mentioned a Washington Systems Center Flash that we thought would be useful to many of our readers (see TUNING Letter 2006 No. 2, page 8):
 

FLASH10460 - Calculating LPAR Image Capacity


Shortly after the issue was published, we were notified by Susan Grossman of UCLA that the Flash no longer seemed to be available.  We did some searching on the WSC Web site (http://www.ibm.com/support/techdocs), and think we have solved the mystery.

It appears the former Flash has now been converted into a Hint and Tip, with a document name of TD103094.  If you search the Flash section of the library with a search argument of "flash10460," you will not find it.  But the same argument will work if you search the entire library, or just the "Hints, tips and Technotes" section.  Also, the abstract that describes the document still calls it a Flash.  

3.  HIPER Workload Manager Fix

Thanks to Lawrence Jermyn of Fidelity Investments for passing along this important fix that applies to the z/OS Workload Manager:

OA14222 - ABEND15F RC190 after a WLM Policy Activation (2Feb2006)

The Workload Manager routine that handles the activation of a new policy does not always construct the new control blocks correctly, which can cause a subsequent S15F ABEND.  Other types of serious errors are also described in the description of the fix.

This applies to users running z/OS 1.4 up through the current release, which means that most of our readers are probably exposed to this problem.  As the name implies, a HIPER (High-Impact, Pervasive) problem is one with the potential to cause serious problems for a wide range of users.  Have someone from your organization check this one out and save yourself some grief.

Stay tuned!

Cheryl Watson
====================================================== 

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