Section 2, Task 1: Customize and Verify Your Test PDB

This task walks you through planning which variables to keep in your production PDB. It also walks you through implementing decisions in the test PDB, checking the test PDB, and adjusting the test PDB until you are satisfied with your choices. In the task after this one, you will make a production PDB from the customized test PDB.

1. You have a printed copy of the table definition(s).
   
   
2. In the tables that you chose, you have determined which variables you want to use and you have reviewed the default settings of the variables and the variables' statistics.
   
   
3. Your test PDB is the active PDB, and you have write access to it.
   
   
4. If you want to monitor line utilization for full-duplex lines, you know the host name and instance number of each full-duplex interface, if any, on your network.
   
   

1. If you plan to customize the PDB, delete data from the PDB.

   You can customize with data in the PDB, but deleting the data makes the customization and testing much faster and easier. Deleting the data also results in a consistent set of data at the end of this task.
2. As necessary, make changes to your PDB's work shift schedule, holiday list, and start of week.

   For the work shift schedule and holiday list, see Section 1, Task 1: Start the IT Service Vision Server Software, except make two passes: when working on the work shift schedule, select Active PDB, make changes, and OK out (or select Site Default, make changes, OK out, return, select Active PDB, select Copy from SITELIB, and OK out); when working on the holiday list, select Site Default, make changes, and OK out.
   
   For the start of week, see Action 1 of Section 1, Task 3: Create a Test PDB and Process, Reduce, and Report on Your Data.

3. As necessary, edit the table and variable definitions for each table in your test PDB.
   
   
   1. Display the table definitions or table properties window.

      Follow this path:

      MVS	PDB Admin -> Config Active PDB Dictionary -> select the table -> ItemActions -> Edit Definition
      UNIX	Administration -> Manage Tables -> click right mouse button on the table -> Properties
      WNT	Administration -> Manage Tables -> click right mouse button on the table -> Properties

      
      

   2. Change the Table Kept status of the table, if necessary.
      
      

      MVS	On the Edit Table window, Table Kept is in the upper left quadrant.
      UNIX	On the General tab, Table Kept is in the upper right quadrant.
      WNT	On the General tab, Table Kept is in the upper right quadrant.

      Check that Table Kept status is set to Yes if you want to keep data in the table.

   3. Change the Age Limits of the levels in the table, if necessary.
      
      

      MVS	On the Edit Table window, the Age Limit for the levels are in the lower half of the window. See the intersection of the Level row (Day through Year) and the Duration Column.
      UNIX	On the Table Status tab, see the intersection of the Level row and Age Limit column, for each of the levels (Detail through Year).
      WNT	On the Table Status tab, see the intersection of the Level row and Age Limit column, for each of the levels (Detail through Year).

      To change a value, overwrite it.

   4. List the variables in the table.
      
      Note: The term metric means the same as the term variable. Typically, the term metric is used for a field on the records in the data log, and the term variable is used for a field on the observations in a table in the PDB.
      
      

      MVS	On the Edit Table window, select Variables, which is on the right side of the window.
      UNIX	On the General tab, select Variables, which is on the right side of the window.
      WNT	On the General tab, select Variables, which is on the right side of the window.

      IT Service Vision displays a list of the variables in this table.
   5. Adjust the Kept status of the variables, if necessary.

      Look through the decisions that you made in the prerequisites to this task for the variables for which you now want to keep data. For that set of variables, find the ones whose Kept status is currently No. To change the Kept status for all these at the same time, follow this path from the list of variables:

      MVS	select all variables to change from No to Yes -> ItemActions -> Mark Kept
      UNIX	select list of variables to change from No to Yes -> right mouse click -> Properties -> Modify the kept in PDB status to Yes
      WNT	select list of variables to change from No to Yes -> right mouse click -> Properties -> Modify the kept in PDB status to Yes

      Data will be kept at detail level for these variables.

      Look through your list for the variables for which you no longer want to collect data. For that set of variables, find the ones whose Kept status is currently Yes. To change the Kept status for all these at the same time, follow this path from the list of variables:

      MVS	select all variables to change from Yes to No -> ItemActions -> Mark Not Kept
      UNIX	select all variables to change from Yes to No -> right mouse click -> Properties -> Modify the Kept in PDB status to No.
      WNT	select all variables to change from Yes to No -> right mouse click -> Properties -> Modify the Kept in PDB status to No.

      Data will not be read and thus not kept at detail level for these variables. As a consequence, data will also not be available at reduction levels for these variables.

   6. Adjust the calculation status of the statistics on the variables whose Kept status is Yes, if you require values different from the default settings.

      One of the attributes of a variable is its interpretation type, such as INT, C2RATE, STRING, TIME, and so on. By default, IT Service Vision calculates the same statistics for all variables of the same interpretation type. (For a table of the default statistics that correspond to each interpretation type, see Shared Appendix 6: Characteristics of Variables.)

      MVS	select the variable -> Item Actions -> Edit statistics
      UNIX	select the variable -> click right mouse button -> Properties -> Statistics
      WNT	select the variable -> click right mouse button -> Properties -> Statistics

      If you want to change which statistics are set for a variable, IT Service Vision displays a grid of statistic vs. level. Highlighted statistics are calculated at the indicated level.

      For all the variables, if you want to see which statistics are selected it is often easier to look at the complete table definition (see the Prerequisites in this task). Note that in a variable definition, the statistics are listed by level.

      Select or de-select statistics to correspond to your choices. (Only the selected statistics will be calculated.) Then select

      MVS	Goback
      UNIX	OK
      WNT	OK

      When you finish editing the statistics for the variables whose Kept status is Yes, return to the table definition by selecting

      MVS	File -> End
      UNIX	OK
      WNT	OK

      
      

   7. Modify the BY and Class variables lists, ID variables lists, and index variables lists, if you require values different from the default settings.
      
      The BY variables list specifies the sort order and grouping of data at the detail level. Each Class variables list specifies the sort order and grouping of the data used to calculate the statistics at a reduction level (day, week, month, or year).
      
      Each ID variables list specifies the non-changing (or slowly changing) variables whose values you want to have available at one or more reduction levels.
      
      Each index variables list specifies the variables whose values you want to index, in order to speed up report generation when you run a report definition that uses one or more of those variables.
      
      
   8. Save your customizations of the tables and variables.

      After you finish customizing a table and its variables, on the table definition/properties window select OK.

      It can take a long time for the data dictionary to be updated and the view or views to be recreated, perhaps several minutes. If you have time to do this now, select OK; otherwise, select Cancel. (The next action describes what to do later if you select Cancel now.) Then IT Service Vision returns you to the list of tables in your PDB.

      After the last table, return to the main menu by selecting File and then End.

4. Build views.

   Note: If you canceled out of view update, you will need to update your PDB views in background/batch if you want to do reporting before the next time that you run the process step. (The process step updates views, as necessary.)
5. Log and collect another day's data.

   As necessary, modify the logging and collection software to provide the collected metrics.

   For details, see Section 1, Task 2: Start Your Data Collection Software. Remember to keep the polling interval short enough that at least two full polling intervals occur between process runs.

   Wait approximately six hours to one day for additional data to be logged and collected if you have modified the logging and collection software.
6. Process and reduce the new data.
   
   
7. Check the results.
   
   
   1. Examine the data.
   2. Check the SAS log for error messages.
      
      
   3. Decide whether the modifications are working to your satisfaction.
      
      If not, continue to customize the PDB by cycling through the actions in this task until you are satisfied with the results.

Section 2, Task 1: Customize and Verify Your Test PDB