Building IT-Control Chart with COGNOS

I am developing SEDS elements using IBM Cognos. Here is the 1st result, which is just a POC prototype of IT-Control Chart report.

I used the test data (Date-hour stamped utilization metric) that I developed to build the same IT-Control Charts by other tools (BIRT, MySQL, R). I have published some information about that on my previous blog posts. (e.g. R-script to plot IT-Control Chart against MySQL)

This time I have developed simplest meta-data package against ODBC to MySQL database by using Cognos Framework Manager and published that in TCR locally on my Laptop. Then I used Cognos Report Studio to build the report. The result of running the report is following:

I got the same result as I got by using R or BIRT, but I have noticed some nice features in COGNOS that helped me to build that faster and more accurate (e.g. adding the dates at the X-Axis)

I am going to mention that progress with some details on my up-coming SCMG presentation:

SEDS-Lite: Using Open Source Tools (R, BIRT and MySQL) to Report and Analyze Performance Data

UPDATE: I will be presenting that again at CMG'12 conference:  http://itrubin.blogspot.com/2012/08/seds-lite-using-open-source-tools-r.html

Southern CMG Spring 2012 Meeting in Richmond - MXG is our Sponsor!

At SCMG we have usually two meetings each season (2 Spring and 2 Fall ones, both in Richmond and Raleigh). Last season - 2011 fall - I had my presentation; see the following post: "My Southern CMG Presentation in Richmond Is About Open Source Tools for Capacity Management ". Presentation slides are published here: slides

This spring I have the similar but updated presentation in our Raleigh SCMG meeting: "SEDS-Lite: Using Open Source Tools (R, BIRT and MySQL) to Report and Analyze Performance Data" 

So this time I am not presenting in Richmond but I found very good sponsor for that meeting - Merrill Consultants (http://www.mxg.com). Barry Merrill himself responded on my invitation and now we have a great opportunity to see and listen the legendary Capacity Management inventor!

Please consider attending our Richmond VA SCMG meeting on May 11, 2012: 
 
http://regions.cmg.org/regions/scmg/spring_12/richmond/meeting.htm

SEDS-Lite: Using Open Source Tools (R, BIRT and MySQL) to Report and Analyze Performance Data

My presentation with this name has been scheduled for the next Southern CMG meeting  at SAS Institute:

SCMG Meeting Raleigh
May 04, 2012

You are welcome to attend!

Prehistory of SEDS: Virtual CMG'90 Trip Report about Control Chart Usage. Part 1.

Using the key word "Control Chart" I have found in the www.CMG.org knowledge base a few very old CMG papers with some discussions about using classical SPC approach against computer performance data.

Here is the first one:

 Fine-Grain Analysis (FGA): A Methodology for Analyzing Intermittent Performance Problems
  By Robert Berry & Jeffrey Hedglin 

 

The paper describes what Mainframe metrics are good to use for Control Charting. They should be two types - a. Performance Quality Measure - sounds like modern KPI... (e.g. response time);  b. System performance metrics (e.g. CPU queue length). Then the paper describes how the intermittent problem could be detected just by plotting SPC Control Charts for both type of metrics in sync (correlated).

I use that approach a lot now, but using MASF type of Control chart and specifically my IT-Control Charts.  BTW I am writing now my next CMG paper and plan to add there a couple very persuasive  examples of correlated IT-Control Charts, such as, number of concurrent user LOGONS vs. number of Ph. CPUs used by LPARS on some p770 AIX frame....

To be continued....