Glossary

IT Service Vision Glossary

active PDB: the PDB that you are currently using. The name of the active PDB is displayed across the top of the window in the IT Service Vision window interface.
administration tasks: tasks that require write access to a PDB, SITELIB, or PGMLIB; typically, tasks related to the IT Service Vision server.
analysis variable: a numeric variable used to calculate statistics or display values. Usually an analysis variable contains quantitative or continuous values, but this is not required.
archived data: detail level data that has been stored in a location external to the PDB.
autoexec file: a file containing SAS statements that are executed automatically when the SAS System is invoked. The autoexec file can be used to specify some SAS system options, as well as library and file references that you commonly use.
availability: the percentage of time that a system is available to service the users' requests.
axis: a one-dimensional line representing the scale used to plot values of x, y, or z coordinates.
batch/background: state in which work runs without interacting with the user; one of the categories into which work can be submitted.
BY variable: a variable named in a BY statement whose values define groups of observations to process. In the Detail-level of a table, a BY variable isone of a list of variables, the BY variable list, that specifies the sort order and grouping of the observations in the detail level of that table.

For reports, a BY variable is one of a list of variables, the BY variables list, that specifies the sort order and grouping of the data in the report, regardless of the level in which the data resides. A separate report is produced for every new combination of values of the BY variables.
capacity planning: the process of tracking performance and workload volume and comparing them over time to baseline values, in order to anticipate when resource upgrades will be required.
catalog entry: see entry type or SAS catalog.
chart: a graph in which graphics elements (bars, pie slices, and so on) show the magnitude of a statistic. The graphics elements can represent one data value or a range of data values.
class variable: in IT Service Vision, a variable used to group or classify data. For PDB tables, class variables define the groups for reducing data at the day, week, month, and year levels of the PDB. For reporting, class variables are used to group observations for graphic or tabular representation.
client: see IT Service Vision client.
collector: software that collects logged data that is related to IT services; the collector may also be a data source.
cron: UNIX utility for executing batch jobs on a periodic basis.
daemons: UNIX background processes.
data-collection software: the software packages used to log IT Service Vision performance data at regular intervals or at predefined events. The data collection software may be part of IT Service Vision, a facility of the operating system (such as that provided by IBM), a products provided by a third-party vendor, or user-written.
data dictionary: a SAS data library containing SAS data sets that completely describe each table of performance data. The data dictionary includes information on which measurements are kept for each reduction level.
data reduction: the process of summarizing data over time. Data reduction decreases the storage that is required but still preserves information for trend analysis.
data source: software that logs data that is related to IT services.
DATA statement: the SAS statement that provides names for any SAS data set being created. See the DATA statement in the SAS Language Reference documentation for your current version of SAS.
data visualization: any group of methods for representing data in a visual or graphical way; includes charts, static and rotating plots, and other visual representations.
date and time format: in SAS software, the instructions that tell the SAS System how to write numeric values as dates, times, and datetimes.
day-level data: performance data summarized for a full day. Day-level data are summarized from detail-level data. See also detail-level data.
DeskTop Reporter: a component of the IT Service Vision client software that uses interactive drill down techniques on reports created from your data.
detail-level data: the point at which performance data enters the performance data base (PDB). Detail-level data typically contain a large portion of the data just as the data was logged by the data-collection software. See also performance database (PDB) and day-level, week-level, year-level data.
duplicate data: in IT Service Vision, the term duplicate data has two meanings: 1) observations that have identical values in all of the BY or CLASS variables, and 2) observations that have identical values in every variable. Which meaning is intended is explained when the term is used.
duration: in IT Service Vision 1) a value in seconds representing the difference between length of time between observations for interval data. 2) the length of time represented in an observation in a record in an interval table.
entry type: a characteristic of a SAS catalog entry that identifies its structure and attributes to the SAS System. When you create an entry, the SAS System automatically assigns the entry type as part of the name.
exit: a user-written routine that executes at a specified point in the supplied software.
external detail: a view that allows data that is not in the PDB to be reduced directly into the non-detail levels of the PDB and, therefore, bypass the process step.
external file: a file created and maintained on the host operating system from which you can read data or stored SAS statements or in which you can write procedure output. An external file is not a SAS data set.
format: a pattern that the SAS System uses to determine how a variable value should be displayed. The SAS System provides a set of standard formats and also enables you to define your own custom formats.
formula variable: a variable for which the values are calculated when the variable is used. The formula variable's source statements are not stored in the PDB; the formula variable's values are not stored.
generate source: to produce a rough draft of a table definition from a SAS data set or view. Also, a specific data dictionary control statement that performs this function.
generic collector: a facility that enables the use of staging code and definition of tables for an additional data source.
graph report: a report using high-resolution graphics capabilities. See also text report.
graphics option: a value specified in a GOPTIONS statement that controls some attribute of the graphics output. The values specified remain in effect only for the duration of the SAS session. Some graphics options override device parameters.
graphics output device: any terminal, printer, or other output device capable of displaying or producing graphic output.
graphics stream file (GSF): a file containing device-dependent graphics commands from a SAS/GRAPH device driver. This file can be sent to a graphics device or to other software packages.
GUI: graphical user interface; the interactive interface of IT Service Vision.
ID variable: a variable that rarely changes andis used at one or more reduction levels, for example, the volume name of a disk.
install a table: store a PDB's table definition (and associated control statements) in the master data dictionary so that the table definition can be used for other PDBs as if it were a supplied table.
internet: a series of connected networks based on the Internet protocol.
Internet: a worldwide network based on TCP/IP.
intranet: a global network of all networks within an organization or company.
interpolate: to estimate values between two or more known values.
IT: information technology.
IT services: any service an IT organization provides to customers, such as computer system support, networks, applications, phones, faxes, web pages, and so on.
IT Service Vision client: a host that has IT Service Vision software installed with a client license. The client accesses PDB(s) on server hosts through remote protocols such as TCP/IP. In the current version of IT Service Vision, client access is limited to read-only and includes support for reporting, data visualization, and querying PDB definitions and status, as well as the DeskTop Reporter and Showroom.
IT Service Vision server: a host that has IT Service Vision software installed with a server license. The server has read/write access to the PDB(s) and is used for processing and reducing data into one or more PDBs that are accessible through the host's file system(s). In addition, the server is used for PDB administration and scheduling of batch/background work. The server may also be used for reporting.
keyword parameter: a parameter identified by name, as in %macro_name(NAME=value);. Keyword parameters can be set or defined in any order on the macro but must follow any positional parameters.
LAN: local area network.
level: a logical grouping of all data that is consolidated for a specific unit of time. Within a table there are five levels in which data are stored: Detail, Day, Week, Month, Year.
libref: the first part of a multilevel SAS filename indicating the SAS data library in which the file is stored. For example, in the name SASUSER.ACCTS, the name SASUSER is the libref.
local PDB: a PDB is considered local under the following conditions: if your current host is a PC (running Windows 95 or Windows NT), a PDB is local if it resides on a disk attached to your current PC or it resides on a disk available through your "Network Neighborhood." If your current host is running UNIX, a PDB is local if it resides on a disk attached to the local host or it resides on a disk available through NFS, AFS, or DFS. If your current host is MVS and you are not using SAS/SHARE, your PDB is local when it resides on disks that are physically connected to the MVS system on which you are running.

If your PDB is not accessible through one of these methods it is considered a remote PDB.
machine: a single CPU.
macro facility: a portion of the SAS System used for extending and customizing the SAS System and for reducing the amount of text that must be entered to do common tasks. It consists of the macro processor and the macro language.
macro source: macro code that can be run in batch.
macro variable: a variable, belonging to the macro language, whose value is a string that remains constant until you change it. A macro variable is also called a symbolic variable.
maintain a table: apply changes to a PDB's table from a master data dictionary that is more recent than the one from which the table definition was obtained.
management host: host on which the collector resides.
master data dictionary: the data dictionary that is shipped with IT Service Vision; it contains table definitions (and the associated variable definitions) that can be added to a PDB's data dictionary.
menu bar: the primary menu list that displays across the top of the window. Groups of related actions or tasks are listed under each menu. Selecting a menu displays the list of menu items and selecting a menu item executes an action or opens a dialog box requesting additional information.
metric: a performance measurement, such as bytes per second throughput.
MIB: acronym for management information base. The virtual database for data gathered by one or more SNMP agents.
migrate a table: add a table from the master data dictionary to a PDB's data dictionary, and apply to the PDB's data dictionary any control statements that are associated with the table definition in the master data dictionary.
missing value: a value in the SAS System indicating that no data is stored for the variable in the current observation. By default, the SAS System prints a missing numeric value as a single period (.) and a missing character value as a blank space.
monitor: software or hardware that observes and records selected real-time activities.
month-level data: performance data that are summarized for a full month or for the month-to-date.
MXG software: a collection of SAS programs that operate on raw performance data created by MVS, MVS/XA, VM, and DOS/VSE operating systems and subsystems.
network: a configuration of data processing devices and software that are connected for information exchange.
network management: the process of monitoring, analyzing, and acting on measurements and alert notifications collected from various devices to facilitate computer communications.
network traffic pattern: the record of communications between devices.
node: an end point of a link, or a junction common to two or more links in a network. A node may be a processor, a controller, or a workstation.
observation: a row in a SAS data set. Typically, one observation corresponds to a record that is read from or written to a file.
parameter: a data item passed to a routine. In SAS macro, a constant or variable passed tothe macro routine when invoking it. See also keyword parameter and positional parameter.
PDB: see performance data warehouse.
PDB's data dictionary: the data dictionary that resides in the PDB and manages the tables in the PDB; the DICTLIB library in the PDB.
performance data warehouse: a data warehouse (PDB) that contains detailed and summarized performance data, and other information necessary to manage the data. The PDB also contains the various reduced levels of data for longer time periods (day, week, month, and year levels), a data dictionary that describes the contents of the performance data, and a collection of tables that span the reduction levels.
permanent SAS data library: a library that is not deleted when the SAS session terminates; it is available for subsequent SAS sessions. Unless the USER libref is defined, you use a two-level name to access a file in a permanent library. The first-level name is the libref, and the second-level name is the member name.
PGMLIB: one of the SAS libraries in which IT Service Vision software resides.
plot: in SAS/GRAPH software, a graph showing the relationship between variables. The coordinates of each point on the graph represent the values you plot.
polling: the process of contacting data stations to request them to transmit their status.
positional parameter: in SAS macro, a parameter identified only by the posiion of the parameter in the macro definition and invocation. Positional parameters must be separated by commas or a comma must be inserted as a placeholder, to indicate that the parameter is not being used. For example, if filename is the second positional parameter on a macro, you would either type the name of your data file in the second position (parm1, filename, parm3), or use a comma as a placeholder (parm1, , parm3).
procedure: see SAS procedure.
process: in IT Service vision software, to transform raw data collected by data collection software, into a detail-level SAS data library in a performance database. The incoming data is usually stored in a raw data file, but in some cases, it is already be stored in a SAS data set.
protocol: a set of rules that determine the behavior of functional units in achieving communication. For example, the TCP/IP protocol is a set of rules for network communication.
pull-down menu: the list of menu items or choices that appear when you choose an item from the menu bar or another menu.
raw data: data that have not been read into a SAS data set.
reduce: to decrease the quantity of stored data either by dropping variables in the data as it ages or by calculating summary statistics to represent the values of variables for multiple observations. Reduced data are summarized into day-level, week-level, month-level, and year-level data.
reduction level: all of the performance data that is summarized for a specific unit of time. The four reduction levels are day, week, month, and year. The data at a given reduction level is stored in a corresponding library. For example, data summarized by day is stored in the DAY library of the PBD.
remote PDB: a PDB is considered remote if it is NOT accessible through one of the following methods. If your current host is a PC (running Windows 95 or Windows NT), a PDB is local if it resides on a disk attached to your current PC or if it resides on a disk available through your "Network Neighborhood." If your current host is running UNIX, a PDB is local if it resides on a disk attached to the local host or if it resides on a disk available through NFS, AFS, or DFS.
report: graph or text that is generated by running a report definition.
report definition: specifications for generating a report.The report definition includes items such as the table and variable names, the report style, labels, formats, and other attributes.
response time: the amount of time between the completion of a request for service and the system's response to that request.
RMON: a remote monitor.
roadmap: a list and description of the information sources related to IT Service Vision
router: determines the network path to be used for transmission.
SAS catalog: a SAS file that stores many different kinds of information in smaller units called catalog entries. A single SAS catalog can contain several different types of catalog entries.
SAS data library: a collection of one or more SAS files that are recognized by the SAS System and that are referenced and stored as a unit. Each file is a member of the library on UNIX or the PC. On MVS, the units are stored as one file.
SAS data set: data values that are organized as a table of observations and variables that can be processed by the SAS System. A SAS data set also contains a descriptor for each of the columns in a table.
SAS data view: a SAS data set in which the descriptor information and the observations are obtained from other files. SAS data views store only the information required to retrieve data values or descriptor information.
SAS date value: an integer representing a date in the SAS System. The integer represents the number of days between January 1, 1960, and another specified date. For example, the SAS date value 366 represents the calendar date January 1, 1961.
SAS datetime constant: a string in the form 'ddMMMyy: hh: mm: ss'dt or 'ddMMMyyyy: hh: mm: ss'dt representing a date and time in the SAS System. The string should be enclosed in quotes and followed by the characters dt, for example, '06JUL91:09:53:22'dt.
SAS datetime value: an integer representing a date and time in the SAS System. The integer represents the number of seconds between midnight, January 1, 1960, and another date and time that you specify or that is specified in your data. For example, the SAS datetime value for 9:30 AM, June 5, 1989, is 928661400.
SAS Display Manager System: an interactive, window interface to SAS System software. Display manager commands can be issued by typing them on the command line, pressing function keys, or selecting items from the PMENU facility. Within one session, many different tasks can be accomplished, including preparing and submitting programs, viewing and printing results, and debugging and resubmitting programs.
SAS log: a file that contains a record of the executed SAS statements you enter and messages about the execution of your program.
SAS name: a name that is assigned to items such as variables and SAS data sets. SAS names can be up to eight characters long. The first character must be a letter or an underscore. Subsequent characters can be letters, numbers, or underscores. Blanks and special characters (except the underscore) are not allowed. In IT Service Vision the name can be a maximum of seven characters long.
SAS procedure: a program accessed with a PROC statement that produces reports, manages files, or analyzes data. Many procedures are included with the SAS System. In addition, users can write their own procedures using SAS/TOOLKIT software; these are called user-written procedures.
SAS program: a group of SAS statements that guide the SAS System through a process or series of processes.
SAS statement: a string (of SAS keywords, SAS names, and special characters and operators) that ends with a semicolon. A SAS statement instructs the SAS System to perform an operation or gives information to the SAS System.
SAS system option: an option that affects processing the entire SAS program or interactive SAS session from the time the option is specified until it is changed or the SAS session ends. Examples of items controlled by SAS system options include appearance of SAS output, handling of some files used by the SAS System, user of system variables, processing observations in SAS data sets, features of SAS System initialization, and the SAS System's interface with your computer hardware and with the host operation system.
schema: physical layout of logged/collected data.
server: see IT Service Vision server.
service-levels objectives: the levels of throughput and response time for a system that are mutually accepted by the users and the systems administrators and management.
setup: customizing the collector and IT Service Vision to enable data from the collector to be processed into a PDB and reduced in the PDB.
Showroom: a component of the software that contains collector-related examples and instructions for web-enabling reports generated by IT Service Vision.
sinple index variable: a variable for which an index is build. The index contains information on the values of the variable and the observations on which the values reside.
SITELIB: a data structure that stores site-related information.
SNA: Systems Network Architecture.
SNMP: an acronym for Simple Network Management Protocol, which is a protocol or standard that is used to exchange network management information.
staging data: reading raw data, optionally transforming it, and writing it to a SAS data set.
subnet: a particular section of the network. It is also called segment.
summarize: see reduce.
supplied collector: collector for which IT Service Vision supplies table definitions and staging code for using the data with IT Service Vision; also, the table definitions and staging code supplied with IT Service Vision.
system management: managing available computer resources.
system option: see SAS system option.
table: in IT Service Vision, a logical collection of data that includes all levels in the PDB for the same topic of information. All of the data sets in a table have the same data structure, but they do not necessarily have the same variables. A table consists of a single SAS data set from each of the five data libraries, DETAIL, DAY, WEEK, MONTH, and YEAR.
table definition: the instructions for creating the associated table. To create a table you must first create and run a table definition.
text report: a report that tabulates or prints data values.
throughput: the rate at which requests for work are serviced by a system.
tool: the name of the software that converts collected data into temporary SAS data sets. The data are processed into the detail level of the performance database.
tuning: the process of tracking daily network and system performance, comparing them to service objectives to identify bottlenecks and hardware problems, and then adjusting the system to eliminate the problems. Tuning also involves balancing activity across networks and devices to optimize the use of these resources.
user tasks: tasks that do not require write access to a PDB, SITELIB, or PGMLIB; typically, tasks related to the IT Service Vision client
utilization: 1) the fractional usage of a resource that can be partially occupied, for example, memory. 2) the ratio of time that a resource is being used to the total elapsed time, for resources that cannot be partially busy, for example, a CPU.
variable: a column in a SAS data set. A variable is a set of data values that describe a given characteristic across all observations.
view: in IT Service Vision, a view is a term for the data for one level in a table plus any data constructed from that data by the view.
web browser: a tool such as Internet Explorer, Netscape, or Mosaic that you use to access information on the Internet or your company's intranet.
week-level data: performance data that are summarized for a full week or for week-to-date.
weight variable: a variable whose values represent the weights for each observation.
WHERE expression: a type of SAS expression used to specify a condition for selecting observations for processing by a DATA or PROC step.
window: a visibly bounded area that displays text or graphical information or presents a space for you to communicate with a computer system.
window environment: see SAS Display Manager System.
workload: the amount of work a system is experiencing. Workload can be measured in terms of characters per second, processes per second, or transactions per second.
write a collector: write the table definitions and staging code for processing data from a given collector into a PDB
year-level data: performance data that is summarized for a full year or for year-to-date.