Disk and DASD peace of mind
DASD-Plus automates disk management on iSeries systems.
Significant gains in machine throughput and performance are the result of
optimizing disk, ASP and iASP space wasted by the operating system, application software,
IFS, and data. Extensive reporting capabilities identify and track emerging
problems, and resource forecasting features facilitate better hardware purchase
decisions.
DASD-Plus outperforms IBM utilities and all other third party disk management
solutions with more than 25 different disk maintenance routines, from clearing history logs, to
re-sizing libraries, job queues and objects on the fly. It analyzes disk usage by
library, file, user, group, total disk, or user-defined criteria. If desired, these routines can be
performed automatically at scheduled intervals to ensure that the system is always optimized.
Get more from DB2. The way that DB2 is architected, the database will perform a number of table joins and build indexes to satisfy the users' requests for information. Some of these requests can result in large, temporary objects being built and stored in the database, some of them as large 5 GB to 30 GB. Also, other applications such as WebSphere can increase the utilization of IBM i's IFS for production storage.
Knowing where the problem is generally coming from is one thing. But having the information to actually tackle the problem in an efficient manner was entirely another.
DASD-Plus takes the disk utilization results returned by the PEX tool and compiles them into a format that's easier to read and use. With DASD-Plus running, systems administrators can quickly find out which jobs are consuming disk, what objects are associated with those jobs, and who created the job--all the things that an administrator needs to know when he has to manually go in and stop the process, and do it fast.
Some applications can leave trails and logs that the administrators didn't know about. With DASD-Plus you can set up procedures to clean up and remove them.
As System i companies move away from an RPG-centric approach to its applications and toward a DB2-centric approach, it will likely have more disk usage spikes to deal with. RPG allocated disk resources can be much more predictable than DB2. But if you're armed with the DASD-Plus, you're covered.
"We tested the product on only one LPAR and were able to recover the storage equivalent to two 141 GB drives. We got our ROI and then some just on the test -- we deployed DASD Plus system-wide. Now we use it to project storage requirements as well as to monitor library growth, proactively keeping storage use and costs in check.”
AS/400 Administrator Supervisor, Berry Plastics
Key benefits
Effective
DASD-Plus will increase the effective utilization and capacity of your System i disk resources. Its automated clean-up routines will further increase the effectiveness of your IT operations staff, freeing them to perform other business-critical tasks. Its usage forecasting will assist your hardware capacity planning, allowing time to make informed, effective DASD purchases in the future.
Efficient
DASD-Plus facilitates more efficient management of your System i disk resources, increasing DASD availability and, ultimately, providing faster access by end-users to the data they need. The software runs only within timeframes you establish, and uses only system resources you allocate, further increasing and guaranteeing efficient use of your System i.
Economical
DASD-Plus is all about economical use of your capital and system resources. This software tool will extend the useful capacity-life of your disk resources, prolonging the interval between DASD purchases. In addition, its forecasting reports will facilitate your purchase of additional DASD on a timely and economical basis, instead of budget-busting.
